PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 20, 2015
Keizer Iris Festival returns May 14 to 17
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
In less than two months,
Keizer’s biggest annual event
returns.
The 28th annual Keizer Iris
Festival will take place Thurs-
day, May 14 through Sunday,
May 17.
Per usual, the highlight
event of the weekend is the
parade on Saturday sponsored
by Valley Credit Services,
which starts at River Road
and Lockhaven Drive at 10:30
a.m. and proceeds south along
River Road through town.
The main parade will be
preceded by a pet parade and
a fun run.
“About 30,000 to 40,000
people pack the streets for
the parade,” said Joe Egli, the
former Keizer City Councilor
who is once again serving as
festival chair. “You can still put
a fl oat together.”
The theme for this year’s
festival is Early Riser.
The fi rst offi cial event is
the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast
at 7 a.m. on May 7.
Iris Festival activities will
be centered around the Keizer
Lions Club again this year. The
Egli
festival moved
there last year
due to growth
at Keizer Sta-
tion. With sev-
eral events in
the area, part
of Cherry Av-
enue will be
closed for the
weekend.
Iris Festival weekend kicks
off on May 14 with the noon
kickoff luncheon sponsored
by Eagle Home Mortgage.
The Keizerfest Tent will be
the site for that and will also
be the home for live music
throughout the weekend, in-
cluding until midnight Friday
and Saturday nights.
Egli noted one of the big
changes this year centers
around beer.
“When you go into the
tent, we have decided to
take care of our local people
fi rst,” Egli said at last week’s
monthly Keizer Chamber of
Commerce luncheon. “We’ve
gone out to the Salem Brew-
ers Guild and will have them
pour beers for us. It’s good
beer, brewed in our backyard.
They are enthusiastic about
craft beer. Each
of the four or
fi ve
vendors
will have three
beers on tap.”
There will
be several run-
ning
events
throughout
Iris
Festival
weekend, in-
cluding both a
marathon and a
half-marathon
on Sunday and
several for chil-
dren on Satur-
day.
“Everything
we do is run
by our volun-
teers,” Egli said. “This is our
community hard at work.
Whatever you want to do,
we’ll fi nd a job for you. Tell us
when you can help and what
items you’d like to do.”
Audrey Butler, president of
the Keizer Chamber, empha-
sized how the event runs on
volunteers.
“We need volunteers,” But-
ler said. “We had around 200
last year.”
The Keizertimes produces
the offi cial Iris Festival guide
each May and offers the best
in coverage of all Iris Festival
events, including photo galler-
ies from the weekend.
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
There will once again be plenty of rides and other exhibits when the 28th annual Keizier Iris
Festival takes place in mid-May. Many of the activities will be happening on or around Cherry
Avenue for a second straight year.
KEIZERTIMES fi le/Craig Murphy
Parishioners fi ll St. Edward Catholic Church’s new building
during its dedication ceremony in Feb. 2014.
St. Ed church
wins national
design award
Since opening early last
year, the new St. Edward
Catholic Church building in
Keizer has earned plenty of
raves locally.
The raves are now national
as well.
Portland-based di loreto-
ARCHITECTURE earned
a 2015 Wood Design award
from the WoodWorks Wood
Products Council for promi-
nent use of wood in the de-
sign of St. Edward.
The annual national com-
petition had 160 submittals,
with 16 awards announced. St.
Edward was the only Oregon
winner.
The $4 million church has
11,700 square feet of space
and replaced a building that
was 40 years old and deemed
too small. The new building
can be arranged to seat up to
750 people by adding seats to
the entry narthex and aisles.
The building also includes a
sizable balcony.
The interior of the church
has beams, arches and oth-
er woodwork using locally
sourced Douglas fi r and Or-
egon white oak. The exterior
woodwork also uses Douglas
fi r, in addition to cedar. The
interior arches are visible from
the outside thanks to a sky-
light that goes around the en-
tire building.
Thank You
Keizer!
PARTNERS IN EDUCATION
Big Town Hero
Copper Creek Mercantile
Keizer Fire District
Keizer Rotary Club
Keizertimes
McNary Fine Arts Staff
Uptown Music
OUR SPONSORS
Capitol Auto Group
Earth Tech LLC
H & B Painting Company
Highway Fuel Co. LLC
Joe Egli, R. Bauer Insurance
Keizer Elks #2472
Keizer Professional Firefi ghters Local 3881
Keizer Volunteer Firefi ghters Association
Keizer Vision Source
Lowe’s Home Improvement & Valspar Paint
Oil Can Henry’s
Pacifi c Sanitation
Pints of Portland
Quality Suites
Scenic Valley Winery
Town and Country Lanes
OUR DONORS
HOST YOUR EVENT AT
KEIZER HERITAGE CENTER
Looking for a unique
setting for your special
event? Look no further
than the beautiful and
historical Keizer Heritage
Center. In 1916, it was
an old school house.
Today, it’s an elegant and
afforable venue for your wedding, family gathering, meeting, or
other occasion. Host your event inside, or enjoy the outdoor
space of our sunken patio and gazebo.
Also available: kitchen, sound system, podium,
projection screen, wireless internet access
Learn more at
keizerheritage.org
980 Chemawa Road NE • Keizer, Oregon 97303
phone: (503) 393-9660
AAbco Plumbing, Jerry VanGorkum
Aileen Adams
Alaska Airlines
Alpha Nursery
ARIES Corporation
Attention to Detail Auto Detailing
Kim Banick
Bill Bischoff
Hector & Christine Blanco
Blownout Hair Salon
Carrie Brown
Boucher Jewelry
Center 50+
City Dance Theatre
Cathy Clark, Keizer Mayor
Carin Davis
Bradli Daun
Delaney Madison Grill
E.Z Orchards
Egan Gardens
Paul Elliot
Elsinore Framing & Gallery
Joe & Julie Elwell
Steve Ernst
Executive Auto Detail
Fessler Nursery Company
G & G Auto Care Supply Company
Karo Grunberg
Joe Guerra Insurance Agency
Shane Hall
Highway Fuel Co., LLC
John Honey
HydroSports Dive & Travel
Jiffy Lube
Keizer Computer Annex
Keizer Courthouse Atheltic Club
Keizer Martial Arts
Keizer Vision Source
Kelly’s Home Center
Mike Kuenzi
La Hacienda Real Restaurant
Lakepoint Law Firm
Trenton LeBaron, DDS
Les Schwab Tire Center, River Road
Loren’s Sanitation
Los Dos Hermanos
Lowe’s Home Improvement
Mr. Video / Limeberry
McDonald Orthodontics
McNary Golf Club
McNary Restaurant and Lounge
Bonnie & Jeff Miller
Mo’s Restaurant
Jim Nardi
Out Call Massage, Horacio Gomez
Stacie Miner
Oregon Beach Vacations
Pacifi c Sanitation Inc.
Plaza Morella
Quality Suites
Laura Reitz
Jim Robison
Schreiner’s Iris Gardens
Barbara & Mike Sigurdson
Smile Care of Oregon
Dee Smith
Snap Fitness, Keizer
Starbucks, Keizer Station
Tan Republic
Joe Taylor
Andy Thomas
Tire Experts, Salem
Tire Factory, Keizer
Tony’s World of Comics
Consuelo Torres Torres
Valley Recycle & Disposal
Walery’s Pizza
Chris and Karen Weathers
Willamette Valley Vineyards
David Williams
Fred Williams
Katherine Wilson
John Zielinski
For making McNary’s
Knight of Arts a huge success!