Eugene weekly., December 28, 2017, Page 12, Image 12

BEST PLACE FOR PEOPLE UNDER
T H E D R I N K I N G A G E T O H AV E F U N
With bowling alley and pool hall Southtowne Lanes
burned down and the closure of the all-ages music ven-
ue The Boreal (as mentioned in another staff pick), what’s
left for those under the age of 21 to do in Eugene? The
answer: Not much. As someone who grew up in South Eu-
gene, I’m biased towards activities in my childhood part
of town. Sure, there are other bowling alleys — but there
was something so specifically joyful about getting some
fries and a shake at Southtowne — and as for The Boreal,
there’s just no comparable all-ages, DIY, community-run
venue in town at the moment.
What’s the one thing in the Eugene-Springfield area
that holds up for people of all ages, you ask? Skateworld.
Skateworld will always be an institution of fun in the area
— it’s where I had my twelfth birthday, but also where I
went a couple months ago with friends. Whether you’re a
master at speed skating backwards or you can barely step
onto the rink, Skateworld is fun for everyone. Also, it’s a
great excuse to gorge on hot dogs, nachos and an ICEE
frozen treat. Admission, plus the price of renting skates,
is always under $10 (not counting special events like all-
night skates). So, really, there’s no reason not to go. Re-
live your childhood, or just add a little fun to adulthood.
— Meerah Powell
PHOTO: ATHENA DLENE
B E S T PIPE O R GA N
If you, as so many of us did, grew up thinking “organ”
and “Hammond B-3” were synonymous, think again. Noth-
ing sounds like a real pipe organ, particularly one played in
the cavernous acoustic space of an actual church. In an age
that craves authenticity like an addictive drug, the ornate
pipe organ that Eugene’s John Brombaugh built in 1976 for
Central Lutheran Church (1857 Potter Street) is as real
as it gets. Designed and crafted using centuries-old tech-
niques, Brombaugh’s Opus 19 is entirely mechanical and
can be played without electricity if you enlist a choirboy or
girl to tread the bellows. Its sound, you might say, is heav-
enly, especially when Central’s organist and choir director
ElRay Stewart-Cook is at the keyboard. You don’t need to
be religious to attend, though you just might find God in the
music. — Bob Keefer
BE S T C HO C O L AT E O N Y O U R L IPS
I’m a big fan of lip balm. If you are old enough to re-
member the rumors that you could get addicted to Carmex
because it contains ground glass (it doesn’t), then I’d be
one of the people they’d be pointing to, saying, “See her?
Clearly addicted.” My lip balm tastes have become re-
fined since my Carmex days and my current not-so-guilty
pleasure is As You Like It Organics Peppermint Pattie
Body Butter. It actually tastes like chocolate and pep-
permint and when you lick your lips in delight, they stay
soft and buttery. If you are familiar with As You Like It,
then you know it’s a product line from Eugene-based As
You Like It: The Pleasure Shop (1655 W. 11th Avenue #1;
541-606-0553). So, despite the lip-balm shaped tube, it’s
actually, as the name makes clear, a body butter; As You
Like It suggests you use it to “enhance intimacy” and as
“a playful, non-verbal, communication tool. Show your
sweetie where you want to be kissed, or licked, or nibbled,
and let them show you!”
As You Like It proprietor Kim Marks says, she “want-
ed to create a certified organic intimacy line that increased
pleasure, communication and playfulness.”
I’m not so sure about getting playful with my lip balm,
but hey, you do what you want to do with your chocolate
flavored personal items!
Marks is a longtime grassroots organizer who has
worked with the likes of Greenpeace, Earth First! Civ-
il Liberties Defense Center and more, so caring about
the environment is part and parcel of what she does.
“What you put on and in your body matters both to the
heath of your body but also the planet,” she says. “Ev-
erything we put on us ends up in our waterways.”
— Camilla Mortensen
BEST RUNNING TRAIL
What can be more convenient than rolling out of bed
into your running gear and crossing the street to hop on
your favorite trail? If you ask a runner, the answer would
probably be: nothing. The best running trail is the Rex-
ius Trail along West Amazon Drive, because it’s close
to some of our houses and it’s better maintained than the
trail on East Amazon. It’s our favorite primarily because
of its convenience, but also because when we pass those
Olympic runners along the trail, it secretly motivates us
to step up our training or just to run faster for a couple
of minutes. If you can’t stand those annoying bark chips,
we feel you — we hate how they get stuck in our socks
and stab us in the ankles. We’re just grateful that we live
in a place where we have our choice of running on softer
surfaces. — Corinne Boyer
BEST FLAG
Lane County sits squarely in the Cascadia bioregion.
Bioregionalism is a concept favored by some enviros that
delineates geographic regions through their land or soil
composition, flora and fauna, watershed and climate. The
Cascadia bioregion in particular encompasses the Colum-
bia River watershed up to the Continental Divide and the
Cascades from Canada down to northern California.
B EST L O C A L C L A S S I C A L
MUSIC RECORDING
You may have missed the show itself last spring
when Eugene Ballet staged its $300,000 production
of The Snow Queen, an original full-length ballet
based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale that in-
spired Disney’s Frozen. Whether you made it to
the Hult Center that weekend or not, you can still
enjoy the original music, which was composed by
Portland’s Kenji Bunch and performed by Eugene’s
OrchestraNext under the baton of Brian McWhorter.
Bunch’s complete Snow Queen score — contempo-
rary but still lush, romantic and very listenable — is
available on a two-CD set, including photos from
last year’s recording session with McWhorter and
OrchestraNext at the University of Oregon School
of Music and Dance. Get it at Amazon, iTunes and
elsewhere; $14.99. — Bob Keefer
PHOTO COURTESY ORCHESTRANEXT
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December 28, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com