Longtime Eugene Weekly nature columnist David Wagner received the Oregon Blackberry Award Thursday, Oct. 7 for the way he helps Eugeneans notice and enjoy the changes in our community. Peter Eberhardt invented the Oregon Blackberry Award to recognize people making a difference in the cultures and communities of Oregon. Taking the Nobel Prize as its inspiration, the Blackberry Award is local and presented more frequently. “Awardees are chosen by the Oregon Blackberry Trust,” Eberhardt told EW’s Happening People, “a group of friends committed to progressive social change, good conversations and fun.” EW, KLCC and the NAACP’s Eric Richardson are among the recipients of this inspirational award.
• It’s that time of year, with Halloween and Samhain drawing closer when we like to freak ourselves out, or at the very least ponder the fleeting nature of life and the longevity of spirits, evil or otherwise. So if you like to explore the possibility of the afterlife and ghosts lurking about, check out former EW calendar editor Ken Goodman’s Haunts of Western Oregon, with tales of a haunted elevator at Lane Community College, a haunted catwalk in the South Eugene High School auditorium and, of course, ghosts in local cemeteries. The book is available in most bookstores or through Schiffer Publishing.
• Thinking about staying healthy as the holidays approach? The Y has a triathlon for you: the ESCAPE 2021 on-your-own Triathlon. Participants have three months to log progress for an Ironman distance triathlon: 2.5-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26-mile run. Not a swimmer? Do you walk instead of run? You can make substitutions for each leg. Cost is $20 or $10 for Y members, thanks to sponsors Team Eugene Aquatics and Run Hub Northwest. Head over to EugeneYMCA.org for more information.
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