A unique idea came to present itself when I first moved to Eugene from Portland. I was living in the Whiteaker district in 2005. The place I was renting was owned by a guy that started the last Friday Artwalk. We were walking through “The Whit”during a Friday early evening and I heard music playing. When we approached, there were people eating and dancing on the street. There was a band playing in a garage and next to the make-shift stage in the garage, was a giant plywood board. The board was drawn and divided much like a giant puzzle. I noticed that it was divided by properties. some had one, some had two. Each was decorated differently. Some looked like grateful dead motif’s, another like a vw bus, another had a blue bus that said “Further” on it. There were tie-dyed tiles, some looked just like the buildings and properties that they represented. Each neighbor, renter, even squaters had to decorate their tile and bring it to the event. The event was called, “The Whiteaker Block Party”.  It was the most real and meaningful stranger gathering I have ever been a part of.

Peace-out!

DougW