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By the Boss, Monday, June 22, 2009 11:11 am

One of the great summer pleasures in Oregon is the annual return of the Oregon Bach Festival, a three-week extravaganza of brutally good live classical music performed in Eugene and, recently, in Portland as well.

The festival makes its grand splash opening on Friday in Eugene’s Hult Center, where the OBF forces will gather under the direction of German maestro Helmuth Rilling to perform Joseph Haydn’s Creation oratorio. The Festival travels to Portland on Saturday night put on the same show at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

But there’s much, much more to the three-week Bach Festival. This year they’re bringing in opera diva Frederica von Stade, dancer Savion Glover, pianist Jeffrey Kahane and the Portland Baroque Orchestra, the latter to add a touch of historically informed performance to Rilling’s big and romantic choral presentations.

Best free show: For the first time the festival is doing Fourth of July pops concert, together with the fireworks at Eugene’s Alton Baker Park. It’s free with admission to the annual Art and the Vineyard  orchestra there. On the program is Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Must see: Rilling’s afternoon “Discovery Series” presentations at the Hult Center. The maestro, with the aid of students in his master conducting class as well as members of the festival orchestra and chorus, talks and demonstrates the intricacies of Bach cantatas in a series of informal presentations.

Rilling, 76, won’t be doing this forever. Catch him while you can.

Find tickets and a complete festival schedule at OregonBachFestival.com.

photo: Helmuth Rilling conducts the Oregon Bach Festival orchestra and chorus. (Michael McDermott/OBF)

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By the Boss, Sunday, June 21, 2009 10:40 am

Eugene’s Civic Stadium was built in 1938 with help from the federal Works Progress Administration. Those bleachers you see are old growth Douglas fir, much of it donated. Now it all may be headed for the scrap pile, as it’s in need of more renovation than anyone seems to have money for.

This could be Civic’s final season. Check out savecivicstadium.org for details.

Meanwhile, go and take in a ballgame with the Eugene Emeralds at one of the last great minor league ballparks in America. Admission is cheap, the fans are friendly and there is always plenty of beer and hotdogs to go around.