people
Best Famous Visitor to Eugene
1. Tom Cruise
2. Ralph Nader
3. Bob Dylan, Hillary Clinton (tie)
Best Activist
1. Tim Lewis
2. Carol Berg
3. Frog, Julia Butterfly Hill (tie)
Best TV Anchor
1. Rick Dancer
2. Lisa Verch
3. Shelly Kurtz
Best Weather Person
1. John Fisher
2. Tim Chuey
3. Joseph Calbreath
Best Radio Announcer
1. Jenny Newtson
2. Mike Meyers, Alan Siporin (tie)
3. Tripp Sommer
Best Newspaper Reporter
1. Alan Pittman
2. Karen McGowan
3. Jeff Wright, Lance Robertson, Bob Welch (tie)
Best Athlete
1. Lance Deal
2. Maria Mutola
3. Marla Runyan
Best Musician
1. Mark Alan
2. Mare Wakefield
3. Laura Kemp
Best Band
1. Sugar Beets
2. Cherry Poppin' Daddies
3. Satin Love Orchestra
Best Artist
1. Lavonne Tarbox-Crone
2. Karie Johnson
3. Dan Chen
Best Local Politician
1. Peter DeFazio
2. David Kelly
3. Peter Sorenson
Best Power Couple
1. Kitty and David Piercy
2. Kathryn Herr and Jim Brown
outside fun
Best Reason to See an Ems
Game
1. Beer
2. Socializing
3. Hot dogs
Best Golf Course
1. Laurelwood Municipal Golf Course
2. Eugene Country Club
3. Riveridge Golf Course
Best Bike Path
1. Along Willamette River
2. Amazon
3. Fern Ridge Trail
Best Running Path
1. Amazon Park
2. Willamette River
3. Pre's Trail
Best Park
1. Hendrick's Park
2. Alton Baker Park
3. Mt. Pisgah
Best Place to Walk Your Dog
1. Amazon Park
2. Alton Baker Park
3. Along the Willamette River
Best Place to Throw a Frisbee
1. Alton Baker Park
2. Westmoreland Park
3. UO campus
Best Place to Make Out
1. Skinner's Butte
2. Hendrick's Park
3. Home
Best Place to Moon Gaze
1. Top of Spencer Butte
2. Top of Mt. Pisgah
3. Skinner's Butte
Best Place to Pick Mushrooms
1. I'm not telling!
2. Any cow pasture
3. Mt. Pisgah
Best Place to Stroll in the
Rain
1. Mt. Pisgah
2. Hendrick's Park
3. River path
Best Picnic Spot
1. Hendrick's Park
2. Mt. Pisgah
3. Skinner's Butte, Rose Garden (tie)
Best Place to Fly a Kite
1. Amazon Park
2. The coast
3. Alton Baker Park
Best Place to Hide from the
World
1. Mt. Pisgah
2. Hendrick's Park
3. The coast
Best Swimming Hole
1. Fall Creek
2. I'll never tell
3. Bryce Creek
Best Place to See Rainbows
1. Top of Spencer Butte
2. Saturday Market
3. Top of Skinner's Butte
Best Fishing Hole
It's a secret
goods & services
Best Saturday Market Booth
1. Ritta's Burritos
2. Bangkok Grill
3. Dana's Cheesecake
Best Organic Grocery Store
1. Oasis
2. Sundance
3. Kiva
Best Sportswear Store
1. REI
2. McKenzie Outfitters
3. GI Joes
Best Record Store
1. House of
Records
2. CD World
3. Face the Music
Best Hair Salon
1. Creative Id
2. London Hair
3. Just Hair
Best Car Repair Shop
1. Sandpiper
2. Bob James Auto
3. Wagon Works
Best Bike Shop
1. Paul's Bicycle Way of Life
2. Collin's
3. Blue Heron
Best Head Shop
1. Hunky Dory
2. Lazar's
3. Sweet Potato Pie
Best Piercing Shop
1. High Priestess
2. Piercing Shop, Primal Body Piercing
3. Tattoo by Design
Best Tattoo Parlour
1. Thee Parlour Tattooing
2. Tattoo by Design
3. High Priestess
Best Jewelry Store
1. Ruby Chasm
2. Blue Moon
3. Saturday Market
Best Secondhand Store
1. Goodwill
2. St. Vincent de Paul's
3. Buffalo Exchange
Best Children's Store
1. Elephant's Trunk
2. Fletcher's
3. Kidstuff
arts & entertainment
Best Movie Theater
1. Bijou
Best Theater Company
1. Lord Leebrick Theatre Company
2. Very Little Theatre
3. Actor's Cabaret
Best Annual Festival
1. Oregon Country Fair
2. Eugene Celebration
3. Art and the Vineyard
Best Museum
1. UO Art Museum
2. UO Natural History Museum
3. Lane County Historical Museum
Best Art Gallery
1. Canyon Moon
2. Maude Kern's
3. Jacobs Gallery
Best Music Club
1. Sam Bond's
2. Wild Duck, WOW Hall (tie)
3. Jo Fed's
Best Dance Floor
1. WOW Hall
2. Wild Duck
3. Biagio's, Diablo's (tie)
Best Outdoor Art
1. Columns at
Broadway and Willamette
2. Millenium Clothesline
3. Mural at Jawbreaker Gallery
uniquely Eugene
Best Proof Eugene is the
Center of the Universe
1. I live here
2. Anarchists
3. Saturday Market
Best Reference to Eugene
in the Media
1. Anarchist capital of U.S.
2. "10 Best Cities" program on A&E
3. Home of Prefontaine
Best Protest Outcome
1. Students getting UO
to join WRC
2. Police/Anarchists
Best Local Cause
1. The environment
2. Food for Lane County
3. School Funding
Best Local Scandal
1. Police brutality, cops vs. David Kelly, Hyundai (tie)
2. Nike and the WRC
3. Anarchists
Best Neighborhood
1. Whiteaker
2. South Eugene
3. Friendly Street
Best Roadtrip
1. Coast
2. McKenzie Pass to Sisters
3. Seattle
Best Place to Meet People
1. Saturday Market
2. UO
3. L & L Market Place
media
Best Local 'Zine
1. Talking Leaves
2. Elixir
Best Newspaper
1. Eugene Weekly
2. The Register-Guard
3. Comic News
Best Radio Station
1. KLCC
2. KRVM
3. KNRQ
Best TV News
1. KEZI
2. KVAL
3. KMTR |
PEOPLE
Best Famous Visitor to Eugene
Winner! Tom Cruise
What saves Eugene -- in our estimation -- for going for total cheese in this category
are the runners up: Ralph Nader (second place) Bob Dylan and Hillary Clinton (tied
for third). But hey, we only count the votes, folks, it's your decision. And let's
face it: It's nice to have those little reminders that we still are, in many ways,
a podunk little town more awed by Hollywood than any worthwhile cause.
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BEST ACTIVIST:
Tim Lewis
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Best Activist
Winner! Tim Lewis
Tim Lewis says, "It's great to have been honored by the readers in this way.
Of course, such a selection is not about a person but about the work and what it
symbolizes. My work is about exposing and challenging the illegitimate authority
that attempts to control our lives. Locally, that can mean an out-of-control Eugene
Police Department or an unaccountable city government as exposed on 'Cascadia Alive!'
Or on a bigger scale, my feature-length pieces with pickAxe productions have looked
at how concerned people stood up to the rogue U.S. Forest Service at Warner Creek
and how local folks helped shut down the WTO in Seattle. I take this as an honor
to the amazing work of the people who I've captured on tape and as yet another call
to join us. For all the success we seem to enjoy in outting the crooks in power,
it will take the rest of you to help us deal with them in the manner they deserve."
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BEST RADIO ANNOUNCER:
Jenny Newtson
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Best Radio Announcer
Winner! Jenny Newtson
KLCC's (your pick for favorite radio station) morning announcer has that velvety
smooth voice that gets listeners up every morning. In addition to hosting the programs
that get you through your morning coffee and commute, Newtson also creates beautiful
jewelry, working with glass and beads. And that melodious voice of hers isn't only
put to use on the airwaves -- just catch her some time singing her stuff. Wow.
Best Athlete
Winner! Lance Deal
Winning the silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Lance Deal became
the first American in 40 years to earn an Olympic medal in the hammer throw. The
father of a seven-year-old girl he spends as much time with as possible, Deal also
does a little bit of steel work in addition to his hammer throwing. He sells training
instruments and works out of his garage. What's next for the best athlete in Eugene?"
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BEST ATHLETE:
Lance Deal
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"There's so much going on -- it's banging at my door and is a real challenge
to decide exactly what. I've held back my steelworking business in order to keep
throwing hammer, and I'm really looking forward to seeing that expand and find a
way to help the sport in that area," says Deal. He tells us Eugene needs a "really
good hammer cage." (The thing they throw out of to keep from hitting people.)
Deal trains at Alton Baker Park and tells this story: "It's nice and secluded.
One of the great hammer throwers ever in the world is from Estonia, and he walked
into our training area once -- no running water, maybe 50 yards from the road, nothing
going on but birds and hammer throwing -- and he spread his arms wide and said, 'This
is just like Russia!'"
The glitz of the big time isn't going to Deal's head. He's going to stay in Eugene.
"I'm stuck in the mud," he says.
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BEST MUSICIAN:
Mark Alan
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Best Musician
Winner! Mark Alan
Playing professionally for about 20 years, Mark Alan is living his life's dream:
to make a living playing music. His standard Sunday night gig at Jo Fed's (going
on 14 years now!) is supplemented by performances "all over the place,"
from Seattle to Portland to Lake Tahoe. Most recently, Alan opened for his hero,
Ray Charles, in Bend, another "life's dream." Alan is currently recording
a CD and working on new songs for another one.
The singer-songwriter has been influenced by all sorts of sounds, from R&B to
soul to country and all kinds of rock, alternative tunes and jazz. "I'm really
thankful to live in a community that supports music, and more specifically, what
I've always wanted to do," he says.
If Ray Charles is his hero, then who is his heroine? Easy.
Aretha Franklin.
Best Artist
Winner! Lavonne Tarbox-Crone
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BEST ARTIST:
Lavonne Tarbox-Crone
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Former Springfield High School counselor and your favorite local artist, Lavonne
Tarbox-Crone has been splashing around in watercolors for about 11 years or so. From
her very first year of painting, Full City Coffeehouse has been showing off her stuff.
Just shows what happens when a couple of winners hang out. Some of Tarbox-Crone's
series have included Oregon landscapes and reminiscences of her trip to Turkey. Those
paintings were part of her Now and Forever series, with the "forever" depicting
scenes such as the ancient architecture of Turkey and the "now" represented
by a piece of fruit -- "whatever's currently growing in my yard," she says.
Her latest series focuses on scissors. "Scissors can point, poke, cut, do lots
of things and mean lots of things. They're great shapes. Old scissors are neat. I
prune my yard with scissors. They are a big part of my life, an everyday thing. I
can get turned on by scissors." Dare to argue? No way. "I'm painting what
I want to paint," she adds. Right on.
Best Power Couple
Winner! Kitty and David Piercy
Politics and education in bed? Why not? Assistant 4-J Superintendant David
Piercy and his wife Kitty, member of the state Legislature and board member of many
organizations dealing with children, have your vote for this category. And what could
be more important than concentrating on kids, our future? Nothing.
OUTSIDE FUN
Best Reason to See an Ems Game
Personally, I always wear my mitt in the hopes of catching a foul ball, but others
must wear theirs to avoid callouses from too much swigging. Yes, folks, pitifully,
the number one reason you go to see the Ems is as American as apple pie: beer.
After that? Well, your second place answer was socializing, followed by the obvious:
hot dogs.
Best Place to Make Out
Well, not anymore. I mean, the cat's out of the bag and everybody's going to be up
there, smooching away. Where? Atop Skinner's Butte, alas. Now everyone knows. You
didn't say if the kissing was all being done in the car or if you walked into the
woods and puckered up along the trails, but no matter. We get the idea. Moon, stars,
skyline. Makes sense. Or it used to, before everybody started coming. Second place
winner is Hendrick's Park followed by the unadventurous pick: home. Although, "the
kitchen table" was one response that had us giggling.
Best Place to Pick Mushrooms
"I'm not telling!" Hey, that's not very nice, not to share what you know.
But don't feel alone. Your buddies who like to fish wouldn't fess up the best spot,
either.
Best Fishing Hole
"It's a secret." See?
GOODS & SERVICES
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BEST HAIR SALON:
Creative Id
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Best Hair Salon
Winner! Creative Id
Owners Gayle and John Muckerman have been involved with Creative Id
Salon for about 25 years now and have owned it independently for 16. John Muckerman
says what makes their salon unique -- besides the splashy mural that greets you when
you walk in and the Miami style decor of downstairs -- is the team atmosphere of
the place. "We all help each other," he says. Not to mention the fact that
they do the "best color around." Apparently, you agree. In addition, makeup,
nails, waxing and facials pretty you up, and all to the beat of some happening music
-- old standards in the morning and dance tunes in the afternoon.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Best Theater Company
Winner! Lord Leebrick Theatre Company
While you enjoy the shows offered by ACE, VLT, and Willamette Rep, you always tell
us that Lord Leebrick Theatre Company is your favorite. According to Impact! Theatre
co-founder Katina Paxino, former LLTC administrative assistant, you're going to have
even more to love in the coming year.
"The past year has been a breakthrough year, the fruition of all the years Randy
(Lord) and Chris (Leebrick) put into the theater," says Paxino. The theater's
vitality comes from use: an educational youth program during the day that is growing
"like gangbusters;" productions being rehearsed at night and sets being
built on weekends. This year, a late night series, which will continue to run at
different times during the year, filled the house during summer weekends.
"We've had a tremendous explosion of growth," says Paxino. The theater
is adding more shows, renting the space to more outside performers or co-sponsoring
those performances, and looking forward to more cutting edge, avant-garde productions
such as performance art and spoken word poetry. VLT and ACE showed up in second and
third place.
Best Annual Festival
Winner! Oregon Country Fair
Once a year, everybody rips off their clothes, throws on a little (or a lot) of tie
dye, and heads out to Veneta, where it's still 1969 for those who refuse to give
up that era and for others who want to go back to the olden days before they were
born. With activities for every taste, tons of arts and crafts and food booths and
entertainment stages galore, Oregon Country Fair offers an annual escape to a completely
different world, just a hop and skip from downtown. A few months later, all those
same folks converge downtown for your second favorite fest, the Eugene Celebration,
which some have called "Country Fair on asphalt." Third place? You tidy
up a bit and head to Alton Baker Park for Art and the Vineyard. A little eclectic,
Eugene is.
UNIQUELY EUGENE
Best Proof that Eugene is the Center of the Universe
We certainly don't have self-esteem issues, do we? The number one reason out distancing
any others by a long shot? "I live here!" Absolutely. Wouldn't be
the same without each and every one of you beautiful, special people who filled in
that answer. Amen.
Best Local Cause
From trees to rivers to air to drinking water to pesticides, you care about the environment
and are working hard to improve the conditions of the planet. Ancient forests and
owls, salmon and streams are all great causes, and we lumped them all into one for
the overriding concern you have to clean up the planet. The environment was the number
one answer, followed by Food for Lane County and school funding. Yep, gotta eat and
educate the children. We agree.
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BEST NEIGHBORHOOD:
Whiteaker. |
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BEST OUTDOOR ART:
Columns at Broadway and WIllamette
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BEST TATTOO PARLOUR:
Thee Parlour Tattooing. |
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BEST RUNNING PATH:
Amazon Park
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BEST DANCE FLOOR:
WOW Hall. |
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BEST CAR REPAIR
SHOP:
Sandpiper
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