Biz Beat 3-21-2013

Emerald Meadows is a nice bit of county-owned acreage out at Buford Park where Faerieworlds has been held the last couple of years. We hear the county is planning on improving the site, maybe bringing in electrical power and even adding RV hook-ups in order to accommodate music festivals and other big events. The Cascadia Music Festival has booked the site for July 5 and is starting to sell tickets this week at cascadiamusicfestival.com Headlining the event will be Bruce Hornsby, Railroad Earth, Tony Furtado, Jelly Bread and more. The festival hopes to grow to three days next year. Faerieworlds, by the way, will be July 26-28 this year. The Dirty Dash mud run obstacle course is also at the site, this year June 29-30.

Lane County’s fourth annual Spring Propagation Fair will be from 11 am to 3 pm Saturday, March 23, at the LCC main campus cafeteria. The event is free and open to the public, made possible by a volunteer effort to support home orchardists, vegetable gardeners and native plant enthusiasts in and around the southern Willamette Valley. See springpropagationfair.com 

Party@Jo’s is the latest “Westraunt Concept” from the West Brothers in Eugene. The restaurant attached to Dickie Jo’s Burgers on Valley River Way across from the mall is designed to accommodate evening dinner parties and afternoon kid events, such as birthday parties. The restaurant opened March 6 and can be contacted at 912-9091.

We hear Level Up Arcade at 13th and Oak west of campus is planning to expand into the old Cornucopia Maize Lounge space next door, sometime soon. Level Up has arcade games, old and new, along with a bar and restaurant. See leveluparcade.com  

 Need a small, cheap office downtown with wi-fi, a meeting space and a group of friendly lefties to rub elbows with and share a bathroom and kitchenette? The nonprofit Helios Resource Network has a cubicle available at 120 W. Broadway. Email Cary at cdt@efn.org

Hummingbird Wholesale in Eugene has gotten attention in this column in the past, and here’s more. The innovative bulk food distributor and food business incubator has earned national recognition from Green America’s People & Planet Awards for businesses that “deeply integrate environmental and social considerations in their strategies and operations.” Green America is a nonprofit that promotes ethical consumerism. Kristie Steele of Hummingbird says the $5,000 prize will be used to purchase a second electric bike cart for use in local deliveries.

Plant Nerd Night begins at 6 pm Thursday, March 28, at the Eugene Garden Club, 1645 High St., and nursery folks from Territorial Seed, Bloom River Gardens, Doak Creek, Dancing Lizard and Johnson Brothers will be there to show off their plants and share their expertise. The event is free but raffle tickets will be sold to help fund local civic and youth gardening projects.

Hop Valley Brewing received a Regional Award of Merit for Economic Enhancement at a recent Lane Council of Governments member appreciation dinner at LCC. Hop Valley operates a restaurant and brewery in Springfield and is planning a 30,000 sq. ft. facility in the Whiteaker neighborhood that will include a tasting room. Two of Hop Valley’s founders, Ron Howard and Jonas Kungys, accepted the award. 

A second Togo’s sandwich shop opened March 16 on West 11th at Seneca. The first of the West Coast franchises in Lane County opened in January at 954 Pearl St. See togoseugene.com