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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 2, 2002)
Tuesday, July 2,2002 Since 1 900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 104, Issue 3 ‘The colors just sing’ Local quilters are reviving the old pastime, using it to celebrate patriotism and other important issues in today’s culture By John Liebhardt for the Emerald After two and a half months of fighting a feisty army with winter fast approaching, British General “Gentleman John ny” Burgoyne surrendered his 7,000-man army at Saratoga on Oc tober 17, 1777 to Horatio Gates of the American militia. The surren der was a much-needed victory for the rebels, and the battle convinced the reluctant French that these troops were serious in fighting their colonial masters. One local artist is drawing from the annals of colonial pop culture to keep memory of the victory alive. Pene Marquette Bollini, a local quil ter, has created a red, white and blue bed-sized quilt that depicts the American victo ry. The red pieces, repre senting the Eng lish redcoats, sit in the middle of a white field, completely sur rounded by an army of blue, representing the Americans. Springfield Mu seum Director Kathy Jensen said Bollini has created a con temporary up date on an old classic quilting pattern. Turn to Quilt, page 4 '1; Adam Jones Emerald Quilts on display at the Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House and the Springfield Museum display a patriotic mood in recognition of the Fourth of July holiday. Eugeneans can find fireworks in every flavor Locals can go to Alton Baker Park, Civic Stadium and the Eugene Pro Rodeo to see big-scale displays By Brad Schmidt Oregon Daily Emerald Trying to get more bang for your buck or just plain trying to see some fireworks that don’t suck? For the fireworks enthusiast who loves a big show or for the casual observer who wants some hands-off entertain ment, Eugene has something to offer everyone on Indepen dence Day. Organizers have lined up a variety of venues that could lead to a hog-wild good time or a grand-slam of a night. Here’s what Eugene has to offer: Alton Baker Park The Eugene Active 20-30 Club will host the 56th Annual Freedom Festival in what promoters say will be the strongest of local fireworks displays. After a rousing show last year, which captured the attention of about 12,000 attendees, festi val chairman Mike Clark said he expects higher attendance. Events begin at 4 p.m. Clark said he is optimistic about attendance because two major improvements have been made. Last year, some attendees complained of a long walk between Autzen Sta dium — where parking is provided — and Alton Baker Park. This year, shuttles will be provided free of charge. Clark also said some festival-goers become restless in the hours leading up to the fireworks display. That problem has been remedied, he said, because the festival will now have three times as many food booths and entertainment stands. All of which, he hopes, will help pass the time before the 10 p.m. fireworks show. “The key is for people to arrive early and to find a place to sit and enjoy the fun,” Clark said. Clark said the 685 fireworks shells — which now con sist of 5-inch shells rather than the smaller ones that were used at the festival’s prior location of the Lane County Fairgrounds — will bring in the largest local crowd. “This is the big one,” he said. But to enjoy the show, Clark said, attendance is mandatory. “Because of the nature of how the trees line Alton Baker Park, it is very difficult to see the show from outside the Turn to Displays, page 3 Legal fireworks offer bang, but little ‘wow for the buck Emerald staff members blow up some fireworks to bring readers the unvarnished truth By Michael J. Kleckner Oregon Daily Emerald Oregon doesn’t offer fireworks enthusiasts much in the way of legal, do-it-yourself enjoy ment for the Fourth of July holiday. At least, that was the Emerald staff’s assessment after our In dependence Fireworks Test, conducted Sunday at an undisclosed downtown Eugene location. This year, we decided to offer readers a col lege student view of fairly inexpensive, locally available fireworks. We purchased from TNT Fireworks — simply because of the convenient location. Fifty dollars bought quite an assortment of fireworks, from super cheap fountains and nov elties to two fountains in the more-than $10 range. As might be expected, you get what you pay for. The smaller items were fun but generally unspectacular, although we had the feeling that a boatload of these novelties might have possibilities. We thought that an interested pyrotechnic fan could combine a lot of the novelties (which can be McGyver-ed into more impressive displays — but that should never, ever be done, as serious injury can occur) and a few of the larger foun tains to create a satisfactory hour or two of enjoy ment before a professional fireworks show. We ranked the fireworks on a scale of one to seven in three categories: Fun factor, artistic quality and firepower. Read on, and then clip this article out and take it with you to the stands. Under$2 “Crickets”: The best value of the bunch, with a lengthy display of red, green and blue stars and Turn to Fireworks, page 6 Adam Jones Emerald Emitting a shower of sparks, this ‘Crackling Cactus’ was tested Sunday for an Emerald report.
