Oregon's Culture Festivals

Accent on Living, Spring, 2001 by Roberta Sotonoff

Oregon offers more than rugged coasts and interior wilderness -- Summer brings an opportunity to attend festivals amid breathtaking scenery

The flag is hoisted, trumpets blare, and the audience grows quiet. Thunder, lightning and the words of the three witches echo through the warm Ashland night. Macbeth again faces tragedy. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is just one of the many summer culture festivals in a state that is known for its rugged coasts and interior wilderness.

An OSF evening begins on the Elizabethan Theatre front lawn in Ashland. Through song and modern dance, the Green Show performers act out play themes of adventure and romance.

Comedies and tragedies are staged in the Black Swan, Angus Bowmer or outdoor Elizabethan theatre. All venues have wheelchair accessibility and nearby restrooms. With pre-arrangement, ushers will meet theatre-goers at their car and show them to their seat or to the wheelchair spot. Two chairs are also available on a show-to-show basis.

Ashland's quaint cottages and Victorian architecture also seem to be part of the act. A 19th century plaza, brimming with galleries, quaint boutiques and restaurants is easily accessible.

So is the Jerry Turner Exhibit Center. Videos feature the festival's history while props and costume exhibits give insights into its productions.

BRITT FESTIVAL

Jacksonville and the Britt Festival, just 20 minutes from Ashland, are another story. It is more music than theater. Set on a rural hillside, the old Peter Britt estate is a venue for opera, a children's festival, country, jazz, classical and blues music and Broadway plays. The festival attracts big names like Bill Cosby, Boz Scaggs and The Manhattan Transfer.

A visitor unloading area is close to wheelchair pad seating near the stage. One companion may join the disabled patron. There is also accessible seating in reserved and lawn sections. Priority is given with advanced reservations. Contact the box office for additional information 800-882-7488.

The town of Jacksonville is a living monument to the Old West. When the gold strike dried up, this National Historic Landmark town did not.

The 1912 Beckman Bank is still intact, but Kennedy's Tin Shop is no longer in business. Whole Food Saloon and Unconventional Jewish Deli has taken its place.

Other renovated buildings house boutiques, quilting and weaving galleries. Plaques alongside each store designate its original occupant.

JAZZ ON THE WATER

Like Jacksonville, late 18th and early 19th century buildings recreate Hood River's pioneer past. Notes are taken seriously when jazz greats like Charlie Haden's Quartet West, the Jazz Messengers or the Abby Lincoln Quartet perform at this quaint little town, 60 miles west of Portland.

Mount Hood is the dramatic backdrop for The Jazz on the Water Festival, September 8-10. Besides the concerts, there are three days of Beverly Beach State Park instrumental and vocal workshops. Working artists lecture on technique and composition as well as supervise group and private instruction.

There is handicapped access for the festival, no curbs or hills by handicap parking, but a lot of grass can slow down wheelchairers. Special arrangements can be made by contacting Jean Michaels 541-265-4074.

The town's popular attractions, including Phoenix Pharms Fish and Flora, the Columbia Art Gallery and the Full Sail Brewing Company are handicapped accessible. By calling ahead 800-872-4661, wheelchairs can be accommodated for brunch or dinner on the Mount Hood Railroad. The train winds through a valley of timber and fruit orchards with Mt. Hood and the Cascades as its backdrop.

If you prefer, drive the Historic Columbia River Highway Scenic Byway (Rte. 84) to see the Columbia River Gorge. On the Hood River Valley ride from Panoramic Point to Lost Lake, there is also first-class scenery. Lost Lake's landscape can be explored on its handicapped trail.

BACH FESTIVAL

If you prefer to explore the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Visit Eugene. The week-long Bach Festival is an educational experience.

Some afternoons there is personal interaction with the performers. Professional conductors and students lead the orchestra. Before each performance, there is an explanation of the music. Programs are held at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts or at the University of Oregon in Beall Hall. Except for the Beall Hall balcony and the lower balcony at the Hult Center's Silva Hall, all have wheelchair seating. In fact, there is a Lane County booklet available that highlights all the handicap facilities in the area. 800-547-5445.

Lane County is located in the Willamette Valley, a place for a grape escape drive. Unending rows of vines that produce Oregon wines fill the fields on Yamill County's Hwy. 99W Scenic Route.

South of Eugene the road gently rises and falls. It winds toward covered bridges and small towns that evoke visions of a simple life. A shortage of steel during WWI necessitated the building of these bridges of Lane County. The little town of Cottage Grove is home to five of them.