Raining on our parade?

I got sidetracked on my way between the credit union and work today because there were such interesting storm clouds, and I wanted to get pictures. It’s been sprinkly all week, which is atypical for Eugene in September; it’s usually still in the 80s and sunny and clear. They’re predicting “real” rain for the Eugene Celebration this weekend, too, which is too bad, though since the celebration’s theme this year is “The Big E.C.,” intended to evoke New Orleans, it’s only fair that we get our own storm in parallel with their hurricane.

We have three big community parties here. There’s the county fair, which is rather staid and agricultural (neat quilts, farm animals, etc., as I described on August 21st and 22nd). There’s the country fair, which is a huge, wild counterculture event of body-painted people and Grateful Dead fans, in a wooded field west of town. Then, roughly in between on the spectrum, there’s the Eugene Celebration. We have a slug queen, who is basically a drag queen though she can be male or female, and we have a bizarre parade that – the time I saw it – included our U.S. congressman scooping up behind some horses. Then we have lots of stages for entertainment, all throughout downtown, and a food zone, and lots of booths, and it’s pretty interesting.