Wine, Art and Jazz… come together next week in Florence
The emphasis is on quality for Florence Fest ’17 next week. The brand new wine, art and jazz festival at the Florence Events Center will highlight selections from some of the top Northwest Wineries along with some of Oregon’s best musicians; all surrounded by a juried art show featuring the best out of more than 100 entries.
Eugene artist, appraiser and gallery owner Robert Canaga has pared down the art entries to just over 40 pieces. They’ll be juried by a panel of local gallery owners and artists. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three pieces.
Seven different Northwest Musical acts will be featured on stage, including Tony Glausi and his 9-piece funk band on Friday, March 31st. Internationally acclaimed Halie Loren and her quartet will headline April 1st.
Festival organizer Jon Thompson says he wouldn’t want you to go hungry… he’s added a mix of “small plates” from several different area eateries with what he is calling a “tapas-style menu of epicurean delights”.
Advance tickets are just $20 for each day and are available at the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. Tickets will be $25 at the door.
Raffle to benefit school garden
You could win a $100 gift certificate at a popular local restaurant… or a two-hour walk through the woods for you and ten friends featuring an “all you can eat” menu.
Organizers of the gardens at Siuslaw Schools are offering the prizes as a way to raise money in their efforts to help students connect with their food from “the seed to the table”. The school garden at Siuslaw Elementary consists of 18 garden beds, a composting system and will soon feature a small greenhouse.
Top prizes for the raffle include a $100 gift certificate at Florence’s Home Grown Public House, or a two-hour edible plant walking tour… and the book “The Wild Table”. Winning tickets will be drawn April Fourth. For now, you can pick up your entries for five dollars each at the Homegrown; Florence Feed Store; GreenMan Endor Garden Supply; and Nature’s Corner Café and Market.
Florence man unfit for trial
A Florence man accused of firing a gunshot while watching New England’s come-from-behind victory in the Super Bowl has been deemed unfit to stand trial.
Court records in Eugene show a judge ordered Donald Bolden transferred from the Lane County Jail to the Oregon State Hospital. The move came after a psychological evaluation, the results of which were sealed by the court. Police say Bolden was having a “one-sided” argument with a man at the bar of a Eugene restaurant when he pulled out the gun and fired. The bullet struck the bar and nobody was injured.
An off-duty police sergeant dining in the restaurant helped detain Bolden.
The 63-year-old is charged with disorderly conduct, unlawful use of a weapon, attempted assault with a firearm and recklessly endangering another person.
(Friends of the FEC photo)
Heceta Takes Flight to PeaceHealth
One of the 20 Dancing Sea Lions featured in last year’s Friends of the Events Center fund raiser is continuing to generate money for a good cause.
Heceta Takes Flight was the entry created by Florence Artist Julie Larson. She bought it back last fall when the Dancing Sea Lions went on sale. Two weeks ago Larson then donated it to the Florence Rotary for inclusion in their annual fundraising auction and dinner.
A group of six employees at PeaceHealth pooled their cash the night of the auction and purchased Heceta Takes Flight. It will be placed on public display outside the PeaceHealth Walk In Clinic.
The $3,750 paid by Drs. Claire Brien, Ron Shearer and Grant McClune, assisted by Debbie Shearer, Michele Diffenderfer and Rick Yecny will go into the total raised by Florence Rotary for scholarships and local programs.
