Eugene Weekly : Calendar : 07.07.05

Our lil' fair is all growed up: This summer finds the Oregon Country Fair turning 37, if you can believe that. As always, the Fair promises craft booths, food vendors (what would the Fair be without strawberry lemonade?), musicians, speakers, a free book library, parades, magicians, vaudevillians and a whole host of other entertainers and activities. Performers and speakers include former vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke, mad accordionist Jason Webley (playing a wee 20-minute set), the Zen Tricksters, activist Medea Benjamin, "Jefferson Exchange" host Jeff Golden, alternative health authority Dr. Andrew Weil and many, many more. Go west this weekend — Veneta awaits! See stories, starting on p. 12, and Calendar.

The Oregon Bach Festival comes to a close Sunday with Haydn's The Creation, performed by the Festival Choir and Orchestra and conducted by OBF Artistic Director Helmuth Rilling. The Creation packs the six days in which the world was brought to life into two glorious hours, depicting storms, floods, sun, moon, the awakening of the animals and the arrival of Adam and Eve. Written at the height of Haydn's career, the joyful Creation is sure to be an uplifting finale for this year's Festival. See Sunday Calendar.

Today, we hear traditional Celtic music on TV commercials, Riverdance shows, concerts and club jam sessions. But Irish music was hard to find until the British folk revival heated up in the early 1960s. That's when Paddy Moloney joined the Irish traditionalist Sean Ó Riada to found The Chieftains, the granddaddies of the Celtic music resurgence that has spawned uncounted bands, record labels, and worldwide recognition of the haunting beauty of the music of that little green island. After a decade on a small Irish label, the band broke into American consciousness in the mid-1970s with the magnificent album Bonaparte's Retreat and the score to Stanley Kubrick's film Barry Lyndon. Even as they flirted with other influences (American folk, world music) by century's end, after more soundtracks and guest appearances from musicians such as Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Nanci Griffith, Willie Nelson, James Galway and dozens of others, the Chieftains had cemented their reputation as the living embodiments of Irish traditional music, even if other groups eventually gleaned more compelling music from the same territory. Moloney's virtuosic pipes still drive the group's signature sound, and despite the recent death of longtime harpist Derek Bell, the Chieftains can still set feet dancing and hearts fluttering. They're an ideal choice for an outdoor concert at the Cuthbert Amphitheater, which should be one of the summer's best shows. See Tuesday Calendar — Brett Campbell

This weekend, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art welcomes a new exhibit, Advocates for the Land: Photography in the American West. The historically important exhibition features 140 works by 19th to 21st century photographers. In the press release, Curator David Turner says "Photographs have the ability to make the viewer take notice of the beauty in our landscape and encourage thought about how to safeguard that beauty in a society that can value progress and preservation." The exhibit features work by Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter, photographers who contributed to Sierra Club publications and worked on projects that brought attention to vulnerable lands such as Yosemite National Park and the Glen Canyon area of the Colorado River. "Advocates for the Land" also includes a historical exploration of the photographic process. Don't miss the public opening Friday night. See Friday Calendar.

It's been 25 years since keyboard player and organist Melvin Seals joined the Jerry Garcia Band, with whom he played from 1980 until Garcia's death in 1995. A year after Garcia died, Seals formed JGB and took his new band on the road for almost a solid year before releasing a live CD, Welcome to Our World. The band, described on their website as "Keepers of the Flame," have toured extensively ever since … and how could they not make regular stops in Eugene, the long-time "spiritual home" of the Dead? (At least, that's what our parents told us when we were small and confused by all the people packing the city for Dead concerts.) JGB featuring Melvin Seals and other original band members hits the Jungle this week. See Tuesday Calendar.