July kicks off the start of the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer in the Willamette Valley. You won’t be bored during National Anti-boredom Month with all the delightful activities organized in part by the University of Oregon’s creative employees.
Learning in the outdoors
Bring the family to the Museum of Natural and Cultural History native plant courtyard for English-Spanish bilingual “Family Fun in the Sun” activities on Fridays and Saturdays. Explore how Native American people have used knowledge, creativity and ingenuity to solve problems with “Native Innovation” July 11-12 and 18-19. Embrace the tiny creatures around us in the “Big World of Bugs” July 25-26 and Aug. 1-2.
Oregon Culture Nights take place every Thursday in July at the museum. Take a tour around the globe with Irish Gaelic singing, Indian dancing and singing, and Palestinian embroidery.
Open the UO Campus Map and click on the Art Tour map for a one-mile trip around the Eugene campus to view freestanding sculptures and other artworks.
Celebrations
The UO is a sponsor of the 40th annual Oregon Asian Celebration taking place July 19 at Alton Baker Park, this year celebrating the Year of the Snake. Several groups will be representing the UO including the Museum of Natural and Cultural History and Team Duckling.
Exhibitions
Come back to the Museum of Natural and Cultural History to escape the heat on a summer workday and view “Roots and Resilience—Chinese American Heritage in Oregon,” which tells the stories of the communities in Eugene, Portland and the Malheur National Forest. Also on view is “Transgressors,” a new exhibition by Indigiqueers artists. The museum, open Wednesdays through Sundays, is free with UO ID card.
With over 18,000 objects in their collection, you’ll find art that speaks to you at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. Several new exhibitions will go up later this summer. Also open Wednesdays through Sundays, it reopens July 9 after a summer break.
Hands-on art
If you’re one who likes to do art in addition to viewing it, the Craft Center may have a class for you. Summer workshops registration is now open for the UO community. Get your creative juices flowing making glass berries, silver jewelry or a planter that looks like your pet.
Music
The annual Oregon Bach Festival continues its run through July 13, finishing at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts with “Carmina Burana,” one of classical music’s most electrifying works. Other concerts take place at the School of Music and Dance, at a church and a bookstore.
If you like your music on the go, the campus radio station KWVA 88.1 and classical KWAX 91.1 offer their programming via streaming.
Grab a slice at the Roaring Rapids Pizza Company and relax on the riverside patio to hear local artists including UO music faculty members and students perform free jazz concerts.
The Erb Memorial Union Ticket Office sells concert tickets to the Bach festival and local venues including the WOW Hall.
Streaming resources
The Oregon Humanities Center UO Today program is now a podcast. Listen to the latest episode with Director Leah Middlebrook interviewing archivists from UO Libraries Special Collections and University Archives and a professor from the School of Music and Dance.
UO employees who think they know the ins and outs of campus but now have a student attending UO this fall can gain support from Flock Talk, a podcast hosted by Cora Bennett, director of Student Orientation Programs.
Miss the commencement ceremony? View the livestream on YouTube.
—Jennifer Archer, University Communications