COPY TIME
Self serve copies 3°
MONDAY - SATURDAY
9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Inside Sugar Pine Ridge Sports
Phone 343-7131
Any glue binding
Thru Oct. 31
860 t. 13th 344-7894
The Moose
is coming to
IDuffps
Tale of two performing arts centers
Informal WOW Hall
vs. staid Hult Center
By Cort Fernald
The corner of Lincoln St and Eighth Ave
is dark and almost deserted Cars occa
sionally cruise siowly past A mangy yellow
dog lies on the curb, his leather leash tied to
the dull silver Volkswagon van parked at a
strange sideways angle in front of the
Woodmen of the World Hall
It’s Friday night and the hall, better known
as WOW Hall, is having a concert with the
Eugene bands Mithrandir and Tattoo
The doors won't be opened until 9 p m
and only a few people wait outside A pair of
punks suck incessantly on cigarettes and
talk in tones that sound more like a moaning
drawl A babyfaced young woman with
shoulder length brown hair set in large
ringlets, wearing a bulky black-and-white
sweater, red pants and red high-top
sneakers, waits on the steps leading to the
hall. A man and woman lean against the
fender of a beat-up Ford The man points to
the sky In the distance a searchlight shoots
a column of white light that bumps along the
blue-grey underside of the clouds
He comments to her that the searchlight
is for the "gala opening" of the Hult Center
for the Performing Arts (formerly the
Eugene Performing Arts Center) that same
night They laugh about the "gala opening "
The 50-year old WOW Hall is a squat
sandy-colored stucco structure built in
early National Guard Armory style Jon
Pincus, co-coordinator of WOW Hall activi
ties, says the present hall was built on me
site of another hall built in 1883. The now
defunct Woodmen of the World labor or
ganization took over the hall in 1906 Pincus
says "ever since it has been the WOW Hall
there have been dances.”
According to Pincus, when the hall was
run by the WOW, it was more of a
community center with groups such as the
Boy Scouts regularly using the facilities
Photo by Mark Pynes
WOW Hall people consider themselves a complement to the Hult Center.
That emphasis on community use became a
tradition at the WOW Hall
"Democratically community controlled"
is how Pincus describes the WOW Hall.
Community members are encouraged to
attend the periodic board of directors
meetings
Any group can rent the hall, says Pincus,
any competent group The week before the
Mithrandir and Tattoo dance concert the
Los Angeles "punk" band FEAR played at
WOW Hall The FEAR concert was spon
sored by Modern Productions, a group
independent of the WOW Hall board
The resident dance troupe, Mary Oslund
and Company, is among other dance
groups such as the Wallflower Order per
forming there frequently Though the WOW
Hall is best known for concerts, Pincus says
it holds more dance shows than concerts
WOW Hall has even staged such events
as a healing celebration and a solstice
festival
The doors open and the few people wait
ing outside leisurely climb the steps In the
ballroom the Mithrandir drummer warms up
with short choppy riffs, while the guitar
player tunes his instrument
A WOW Hall crowd is a mixture of Eugene
lifestyles, from born-again hippies through
the polyester crowd to the New Wave Pin
cus says "what happens at WOW Hall is
classless."
"Going to EPAC is a more formalized
experience," Pincus says
This Friday night crowd sharply contrasts
the one attending the Hult Center opening
The satin tuxedos and sequined evening
gowns there are different from the India
shirts, denim jeans, and hoop skirts here
The ballroom doesn't reek of Chanel No. 5
and bay rum — it smells of petulie oil and
strawberry incense
Pincus is philosophical about the Hult
Center and its claim of being a community
center "I think it's the most developed
facility we’ve ever seen," he says. "EPAC is
clearly a performance facility, clearly for the
audience, clearly for the show ”
He cites what he calls "the feeling of
access" community members and groups
have for WOW Hall as a major difference
Continued on Page 8B
A„ oct20,8Pm
,e°n i otCt ' tfie , u
V>uU C««*•: con«« «*
?erf0,,fs«»tVesSiO-e
-
it rpote^ t)0* 5 s fr^nk --
• nu'^cen .meier & _———
Page 4 Section B
I wanna stuff you an’
yer favorite wid any
3-ingredient small
Southsider pizza anna
pitcher a soft
drink er beer fer
just
I
Wednesday
nites
CIIICACi STYLE NE1A
I I//II ■ V
TAKE-OUTS
345 4114
652 EAST
BROADWAY
tt 4 OfiO