The rideshare service Uber announced today that it will return to Eugene on Sept. 6, 2018. According to a press release issued by the Technology Association of Oregon, Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis will make the inaugural ride at the Arcimoto Manufacturing Plant and the service will be available to the public beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday morning.

The Register-Guard first reported the news on Thursday.

“We’re thrilled we’ll soon be turning rideshare service on in Eugene,” Alejandro Chouza, general manager for Uber in the Pacific Northwest, stated in the press release. “For anyone not yet familiar with the app, I think they’ll find it reliable, convenient and easy to use. Essentially you tap a button on your phone to request a ride.”

Lindsay Selser, a communications analyst with Eugene’s Planning and Development Administration, told the Emerald that the city will benefit from having “more and greater options for people to get around.” She also said the city hopes rideshare services like Uber will reduce the number of intoxicated driving incidents.

In April, the Eugene City Council voted 7-1 to approve a new law that would allow rideshare services to operate in Eugene. Selser said Uber is the first rideshare service to apply to operate in Eugene since the law was updated.

The decision to pass the law came three years after Uber failed to obtain a public transportation license in 2014. In April 2015, Uber suspended its services after the city filed a lawsuit against the company for failing to obtain the license, the Emerald reported.  

Uber is offering Eugene riders $5 off up to two rides until midnight, Sept. 20. Riders can enter the promotion code “UberEugene” to receive the discount, according to the press release.

Those interested in driving for Uber can sign up online. Uber will also offer information sessions for drivers at the Coffee Plant Roasters on Sept. 5 and 6. The Wednesday session lasts from noon to 3 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Thursday sessions last from 8 a.m to 11 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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As thousands of Oregon football fans fill the stadium this weekend, Geni White, 82, will be preparing to walk onto the field during a timeout to be recognized as a Cancer Hero of the Game.

Cancer runs in White’s family, she said, and she’s the first of three generations to survive the disease, a hereditary type of colon cancer called Lynch Syndrome. Though she’s been cancer-free for about 10 years, she said she’s routinely tested and must have procedures done to remove any polyps that might become cancerous.

UO’s new campaign, named Fight like a Duck, will recognize 10 local cancer survivors, one at each of the home football games, in addition to other sporting events throughout the year.

University of Oregon Athletics partnered with Willamette Valley Cancer Institute to bring awareness to the fight against cancer and highlight the care that WVCI provides in the community, said Dr. Chris Yasenchak, a medical oncologist and campaign organizer. 

White said she is excited to take the field on Saturday to represent the WVCI. “It’s delightful,” she said with a smile. “It’s really fun.”

Yasenchak said the campaign aims to highlight the stories of survivors. “I think it’s just a great way for us to be able to acknowledge the hard work our patients put in every day in their fight against cancer and provide a little bit of support and encouragement,” he said.

Janis Ross is the head of the sports commission for Lane County and works closely with UO Track and Field. She’s also a cancer survivor living with Hodgkin lymphoma, an incurable cancer. Ross said she’s honored to represent the patients at WVCI. 

“I’m really honored and happy to represent all the patients there [WVCI],” says Janis Ross, head of the sports commission for Lane County. Ross lives with Hodgkin lymphoma, an incurable cancer that makes her feel fatigued, but as a native Oregonian, she enjoys traveling, hiking and staying active. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

“I think what the Ducks are doing is amazing, and Willamette Valley Cancer, they’re awesome,” said Ross, who will be recognized on September 15 at the game against San Jose State.

The campaign kicked off on Monday when all the cancer survivors and their families were invited to Autzen. After introductions, the group toured the Moshofsky Center and Autzen Stadium. They took photos on the field as they tried to imagine it filled with over 50,000 people on game day.

“When you know so many people in Eugene, it’s kind of frightening,” said Michelle McCoy, a cancer survivor who was diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer two and a half years ago. She graduated from the UO Lundquist College of Business in 2002 and will be recognized at the game against Washington on October 13. 

“As a cancer patient you constantly are doing what you can to beat this disease,” says Michelle McCoy, a 2002 University of Oregon alumna from Hawaii. Diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer at 36, McCoy juggles work, family and is a forever fighter, meaning her battle with cancer isn’t over. McCoy says she represents the university well and realizes she falls on the younger side of the age spectrum, noting that “cancer doesn’t discriminate.” (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

As the tour continued, cancer survivors were shown around the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, Oregon’s Football Operations Center. Typically, only the lobby of the building is open to the public, where they can see the Marcus Mariota’s Heisman trophy.

But the cancer survivors got an insider’s look at the building, from players’ lounges and meeting rooms, to the weight room and locker room, the dining hall, press conference room and a theater.

This isn’t the first time Oregon Athletics has supported the fight for cancer. Last year, the football team partnered with Nike and OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Three children affected by cancer designed the players’ uniforms and apparel, with all proceeds from apparel sales going toward Doernbecher’s pediatric cancer fund. The Ducks also recognize active duty and retired military veterans during games.

Tate Kelly, a senior account executive with International Management Group for Oregon who spearheaded the campaign, said he wanted to work on the campaign after seeing something similar at Ohio State University. The campaign will continue for at least the next three years, maybe longer, he said.

“This is something powerful, for us to use our platform for something like this is honestly why I do this job,” he said. “Because this is the type of stuff that really makes a difference for people.”

The selected Fight Like a Duck “Cancer Heroes of the Game” receive a tour of Autzen Stadium on Aug. 27, 2018. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

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Among many other changes, including the new Tykeson Hall and demolition of Hayward Field, University of Oregon students can expect to a new lab in the Knight Library for faculty, graduate educators and students doing research projects and pedagogical work.

Although the Academic Design and Innovation Lab will be open for use by faculty and students at the start of fall term, it will not be fully complete until later in the term. Over the long term, the space will adapt to fit the needs of different programs, faculty and GE researchers, said Helen Chu, the associate dean of the Libraries.

“The idea behind the space is really about bringing together the research and instructional missions of the university in a very specific way,” Chu said. “We want to be able to support our faculty, scholars and our instructors and GEs to really integrate research into their teaching at a very nuts-and-bolts level.”

UO Capital Construction, in collaboration with the UO Libraries, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and Central Information Services, designed the ADI Lab to be a place “where digital scholarship meets collaboration and technology meets sophistication,” according to the UO Libraries website. The project was funded entirely by an anonymous donor.

The lab will be a place where GEs and faculty can collaborate with each other and connect with experts in certain fields, and Chu described teaching and research in the digital age as something that is “becoming a team sport.”

The Academic Design/Innovation Lab construction site in the UO Knight Library. (Dana Sparks/Emerald)

The space is divided into three main sections: an event or workshop space with 32 seats, a collaboration space with a sofa and bar-height seating and two private consultation rooms. Chu said faculty and GEs will be able to reserve the consultation rooms and event spaces, whereas the collaboration area will be more casual.

“We wanted it to be an inspirational space,” Chu said.

The lab features a variety of comfortable seating, writable surfaces and artwork. Chu said that according to research she has read, students tend to study better in libraries.

“Your physical environment really encourages a certain type of work and focus,” she said.

Franny Gaede, the head of Digital Scholarship Services, said she wanted the space to be flexible. Most furniture and equipment in the lab is mobile and there are outlets and hardwired data connections throughout the lab to make accessing datasets easy.

Gaede said the lab is designed for researchers to bring their own computers and devices, which she described as “empowering.”

“You don’t need a special tool or special technique, it’s what you already have,” Gaede said.

A conceptual design of the Knight Library ADI Lab. (Courtesy of Campus Planning & Facilities Management and UO Libraries)

Although there are few desktop computers in the lab, there are multiple high-resolution screens for viewing things like art, manuscripts or data visualizations. Videoconferencing technology is available throughout the lab as well, in addition to a camera in the event space to broadcast events and workshops for people who can’t attend in person.

In addition to the lab, which will likely have a new name come fall term, students will have access to BrowZine, a website that graphically organizes scholarly articles and journals, making it easier to find things in your field, Chu said. The library also has a new LibrarySearch Interface to search for items in the library’s catalogue.

“It really is about bringing together multiple units in the library to be able to bring together research and pedagogy and provide more holistic support for faculty and their GEs and the students that they work with,” Chu said.

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On Friday evening, a program from the first-ever NCAA basketball championship in 1939 sold for $5,184 on Lelands.com, a sports memorabilia auction website. The University of Oregon Webfoots were named national champions on March 27, 1939 after they beat Ohio State 46-33 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Bidding for the program began on July 15 with a starting price of $300. The first few bids were in the $300-$500 range, but the next drove the price up to $2,438. It jumped to $3,570 on July 24, where it remained until the last day of bidding on Friday, Aug. 17. Although the program was sold Friday night, the winner’s name will be announced when the company is given permission to release it.

The 79-year-old program, which the website describes as in excellent to mint condition minus a creased corner, features a black and white photo at Northwestern University’s Patten Gymnasium. The inside of the program lists the teams’ starting lineups with their rosters listed above each of the team’s photos.

(Courtesy of Lelands.com)

The “Tall Firs,” a nickname given to the Oregon team due to the height of the starting lineup, were coached by Howard Hobson. According to a 2016 video interview with University Archivist graduate assistant Zachary Bigalke, the team’s front court starters we’re at least 6’4, making the team one of the tallest in the nation at the time.

The Oregonian reported that during the game, the players “gave 4,000 midwest fans and some 400 basketball coaches a whirlwind exhibition of crushing offensive power combined with just as effective defensive tactics.”  The story was published to The Oregonian’s website in 2017, when the Ducks made it to the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 1939.

The “homegrown” team received national attention and a warm welcome home in Eugene, where students met the Tall Firs at the train station, said Lauren Goss, Accessioning and Processing Archivist at Knight Library.

“The championship team was comprised solely of student-athletes from either Oregon and Washington,” Goss said. “The national news recognition celebrated the athletic talents of the university, but also identified the Pacific Northwest as a formidable power for developing collegiate athletes.”

The Tall Firs were the first NCAA championship winners, and the Oregon Daily Emerald reported on March 28, 1939 that “Oregon’s doors to immortality swing wide today as Eugene, the state, and the nation hail these Oregon champions.”

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This summer, Safe Ride and the Designated Driver Service (DDS) implemented a disciplinary action plan for student drivers who speed. The ability to record driver’s speed comes with the installation of a GPS device in each vehicle.

“The goal is to educate [drivers] and let them have that time frame to correct their behavior,” said Ashley McCrea, the Safe Rides program manager for University of Oregon Police Department. She said that by tracking drivers’ speeds, she hopes to bring more safety and accountability to the program.

McCrea said that employees who exceed the speed limit by 10 miles per hour will receive a verbal warning and reminder of speed limits. If that driver is recorded speeding again, they will receive a written warning.

While disciplinary actions will be discussed on a case-by-case basis, Kelly McIver, the UOPD spokesperson, said that speeding over 20 miles per hour could result in immediate suspension.

University of Oregon Safe Ride drivers were involved in 10 collision incidents and DDS drivers were involved in five during the 2017-18 fiscal year. The collisions included both single and multiple-vehicle incidents.

This was a 50 percent increase from the 2016-17 fiscal year McIver wrote in an email. Additionally, the services hired 33 new drivers, bringing their total from 67 to 100. Ridership also saw a 47 percent increase between the 2017 and 2018 fiscal year.

A reason for the increase in collisions could be that both Safe Ride and DDS expanded the number of vehicles and employees, McIver said.

“More cars, more drivers, more rides can logically lead to an increased chance for collisions,” McIver wrote.

Another factor could be that not every incident was reported prior to 2017, before UOPD began overseeing the programs.

“No number of accidents is acceptable or desirable, and the UO has a responsibility for drivers, riders and the community at large, to operate the programs as safely as possible,” McIver wrote.

Although not all collisions can be attributed to speeding, McCrea said feedback from Safe Ride and DDS passengers indicated that drivers speeding was a concern. As a solution, Safe Ride and DDS vehicles were fitted with GPS devices during the 2017 winter break that allow the program directors to track the speed and location of vehicles.

McIver said all vehicles operated by UOPD have GPS, so the installation of GPS devices was a matter of bringing the Safe Ride and DDS fleet of 11 vehicles up to the rest of the department’s standards.

Since the GPS devices were installed and the disciplinary action plan was put in place, McCrea said speeding has become less frequent. Making drivers aware of their speeds, she said, keeps them defensive, aware and accountable.

In May, the Emerald reported that Safe Ride and DDS expanded their fleet of vehicles to increase the number of rides given to students. Now, McCrea said, the programs are aiming to become more efficient. The GPS devices allow Safe Ride directors to track vehicle mileage and speed to generate a report that can be used to implement better routes or processes in the future.

Safe Ride and DDS are also partnering with UO’s Geographic Information System (GIS) department to create an app that will allow employees to use the data from GPS trackers to become more efficient. Eventually, McCrea said, the goal is to have a user-friendly app to request a ride, but for now the app would be used mainly by employees.

In addition, students can expect to see new decals on Safe Ride and DDS vehicles to make them more easily identifiable. In January, the program requested $13,400 from ASUO for new decals, and although ASUO initially postponed the proposal, it was later accepted.  

Correction: The disciplinary action plan was corrected. ASUO postponed a decision on decals, an earlier version of the story said the request was rejected. 

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On Thursday afternoon, a UO text message alert informed students of a grass fire behind the Campus Planning and Facilities Management on Franklin Blvd. Eugene-Springfield Fire Battalion Chief Brian Smith said that the fire broke out near the train tracks, but crews were quick to extinguish the flames.

The consequences of the fire were minimal; some utility poles were damaged and the railroad was closed momentarily. Crews quickly contained the fire and it did not spread beyond the grass area behind the building.

Although the situation was cleared at 2:30 p.m., fire crews are continuing to monitor the situation. “It spread pretty quickly just because things are dry and it’s hot,” Smith said. “But we were able to get a lot of resources on it quickly.”

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In the upcoming week, Eugene will be transformed with a colorful array of new murals, street art installations and gallery walks during 20x21EUG Mural Project’s Eugene Walls, which is part of the Downtown Visual Arts Festival.

From July 27 to Aug. 3, artists from around the world will be creating murals and street art as part of 20x21EUG’s initiative to add 20 murals by international artists to Eugene by the year 2021. The goal of the 20x21EUG Mural Project is to showcase art from around the world when athletes converge on Eugene for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in 2021.

The project began in 2016 with a goal of 10 murals to showcase international artists, and is well on its way to surpassing its new goal of 20 murals this year.

“Eugene has always been on the map for track and we’re having this great championship coming in the year 2021,” said Jessica Watson, EUG Mural Project coordinator. “We’ve always tried to be a place for arts and culture, so when the world comes to Eugene in 2021, they’re going to see world class artists.”

The Downtown Visual Arts Festival will be the first of its kind in decades, said Watson. During the week, the City of Eugene will be hosting a plethora of gallery tours, walking public art tours and artist meet-and-greets.

Muralists this week include Alexis Diaz from Puerto Rico, AIKO from Japan, WK Interact who is based in New York but originally from France and Bayne Gardner from Eugene. Artists Kiran Maharjan “H11235” from Nepal and Shamisa Hassani from Afghanistan will be painting murals later this summer. 

Local artists Bayne Gardner and Justin Bauer began their day of painting at 5 a.m. Artists have begun painting new murals for this year’s festival and will continue until Aug. 3, 2018. (Henry Ward/Emerald)

In addition, artist Matt Small from the UK has already created a mosaic-style street art portrait of Jesse Owens, the American Olympic track and field gold medalist, using recycled material found around Eugene, including pieces from the Hayward Field stadium.

Martha Cooper, a world-famous street art photographer from New York, will have a storefront street art photography exhibit and will be documenting the mural-making process.

Debbie Williamson Smith, director of communications for 20x21EUG, encourages people to watch the mural making process throughout the week. The 20x21EUG website has a map of each new and existing mural location. There will be refreshments and guides at new locations.

In addition, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is hosting an artist reception on Aug. 1 from 6-8:30 p.m. It will be an opportunity to meet the muralists and will offer a beer and wine garden in front of the museum. The event is free and open to the public.

“That will be your chance to see them one-on-one as opposed to you on the ground and them on a scissor lift way up tall,” said Williamson Smith. “We want the whole community to come out.”

Among other events, PeaceHealth is offering bike tours on Aug. 1 and 2. On Aug. 3, Lane Arts Council will host a First Friday Art Walk tour of several murals and art installations.

By the end of summer, 20x21EUG will have 18 out of 20 murals by both local and international artists completed to reach their goal. Local artist Bayne Gardner said it’s like a dream to be painting murals in a large-scale festival in his hometown. He’s keeping his project largely underwraps for now.

“Let’s just say it might get a little weird,” he said, “but not too weird.” He plans to incorporate “local imagery,” nature and a few messages into his mural.

Gardner is “a huge fan of public art,” he said. “It changes the landscape, hopefully brightens someone’s day or makes them smile and makes them feel good […] It turns the city into a gallery.”

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Whether you’re looking to plan an inexpensive date night or just wanting to escape the heat for a few hours this weekend, look no further than Summer SOUP’s rendition of “Wondrous Strange.”

Summer SOUP is the University of Oregon’s summer theater program that challenges students to audition, rehearse and perform plays all in a matter of weeks. The program’s motto is “Theater by the Seat of Our Pants,” or, SOUP.

On Friday and Saturday, July 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m., students and community members can watch “Wondrous Strange” for free at the Hope Theatre in the Miller Theatre Complex on campus.

“Wondrous Strange” is a collection of four short plays written by up-and-coming female playwrights Meg Miroshnik, Martyna Majok, Jiehae Park and Jen Silverman. The collection addresses themes of the supernatural, paranormal hauntings and loss.

“It runs the gamut,” said Tricia Rodley, UO theater professor and founder of Summer SOUP. Rodley, who is also directing “Wondrous Strange,” said there will be no shortage of gasps, laughs and hard-hitting moments throughout the production. 

UO students Michael Teague and Lauren Nychelle work to perfect lighting and audio. Summer SOUP Theater presents “Wondrous Strange” on July 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hope Theater. (Henry Ward/Emerald)

“It’s really funny and there are very random parts in it that make it funny,” said stage manager Kyleen Carter, a junior theater major. “As a stage manager, I love listening to the audience laugh because I know we all did our jobs right as a production team to come together and make sure the audience could enjoy it.”

The program began last summer as a way for students to continue honing their skills and building their resumes in the off-season. A typical theater season runs from fall to spring, but Summer SOUP allows students to stay active in the theater community while providing more flexibility for vacations and jobs than the regular season. The actors rehearse most nights for two weeks before the production and earn class credit for their participation. The program is open to all students who are interested.

“It’s actually one of the most fun plays I’ve worked on, to be honest, just because of the randomness,” said Carter.

Students can try out new roles and learn a variety of skills during the summer theater program. Tanna Stafford, a junior theater major, mostly does “odds and ends” for the theater during the regular season, but is an actor in this summer’s performance of “Wondrous Strange.”

“It’s really, really upbeat and really fast in a good way. The name rings true, we’re flying by the seat of our pants, but it does allow for a wider range of exploration,” said Stafford.

Audience members can look forward to quirky plot lines, spooky jump-scares and even a musical number on the best ways to murder people. There are Ghost Bros, sacrificial rituals and haunted asylums that are sure to entertain.

Stafford said everyone should see the play because “It’s a fun, haunted experience that’s sure to keep you on your toes.”

In late August, Summer SOUP will perform a staged reading of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” The performance will be Friday and Saturday, Aug. 24 and 25 at the Hope Theatre. There will also be free play readings by UO playwrights during Week of Welcome.

Summer SOUP Theater presents “Wondrous Strange” on July 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hope Theater. (Henry Ward/Emerald)

Correction: The spelling of Stafford’s name was corrected as well as the name of the “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

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This summer, you may want to think twice before you pull out your phone during that long road trip or quick drive down the freeway. As of July 1, distracted driving fines will begin to add up and could even result in jail time for drivers who violate the law after three or more offenses.

“The distracted driving laws are important because anytime you take your eyes off the road, you are creating a substantial hazard to yourself and anyone else that’s around you,” said Officer John Loos of the University of Oregon Police Department.

The Oregon Department of Transportation states on their website that distracted driving “occurs when a driver diverts attention to something not related to driving that uses the driver’s eyes, ears or hands.” This could mean texting, finding the perfect radio station, or grabbing something out of your glove box.

The current distracted driving legislation, which bans any kind of distracted driving, was enacted on Oct. 1, 2017, after an earlier law outlawed only texting while driving.

In Eugene, the minimum fine for a first-time offense is $300; however, it is possible to get the fine waived for a first-time offense by taking a class, but the violation remains on your permanent record. Offenders who violate the law three or more times can potentially receive a six-month jail sentence.

Although distracted driving can take many forms, police officers are mostly concerned with cell phone use. Eugene Traffic Enforcement Officer Doug Ledbetter said now that the laws are more restrictive some drivers will attempt to hide their cell phone use, and he said it’s not too difficult to spot distracted drivers.

“You’ll see people glancing down away from the road, and if they’re looking down two, three, four times when they’re stopped, that tells me they’re looking at something, something is interesting down there and it’s probably their phone,” he said.

John Hankemeier, a public information officer with the Eugene Police Department, said that Eugene police officers have given out 204 citations for distracted driving since October 2017. Ledbetter said that drivers often try to use their phone at a stoplight, which violates the law.

Deepika Viswanath, a senior linguistics major, said she sees people on their phones “all the time, especially at red lights.”

“I’ll look at them and they’ll be looking down at their phone and sometimes they’re slow to go when the green light is on.”  

Senior journalism and anthropology major Romario Garcia attributes distracted driving to people being too attached to their phones. He predicts that even with higher fines, drivers may not change their behavior.

“I feel like it’s still going to happen,” he said. “I see people each and every day getting way too attached to their phone.”

Both Garcia and Viswanath cited Facebook videos as reasons they don’t text and drive, as the videos show the dangers that distracted driving presents.

So what is allowed?  As long as the driver is not holding the phone, they can use one touch or swipe to answer a call, change a song, or start navigation while on the road. Drivers over the age of 18 are allowed to use hands-free devices to make calls. It is legal to use your phone to call 911 while driving, but for all other uses, the car must be safely parked.

Ledbetter had some straightforward advice for people who may be tempted to pick up their phone while behind the wheel:

“Put the phone away. Very few of us are doing things where we need to be 100 percent in contact with our phone,” he said. “Put it in your purse, your coat pocket, or your console and you get where you’re going.”

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When world fusion vegan food truck Vengan Pa’Ka rolled up to the third annual Eugene Food Truck Festival, its crew was ready to “kill it” for their first time at the event. The sun was shining over the Lane County Fairgrounds, heating up to 80 degrees — reaching around 100 degrees inside the trucks. With thousands of attendees, beginning at 11 a.m., lines quickly grew around each of the 47 food trucks, and for a good reason.

The Eugene Food Truck Festival is a fundraising event organized by the Eugene Mission, a non-profit homeless shelter and wellness center. The event began in 2016, with only 25 vendors, but was a huge success: it attracted 13,000 event-goers in its first year. The festival has continued to grow and raise money for the Mission.

Last Saturday, June 30, 47 food trucks and other vendors gathered at the fairgrounds to serve 12,000 guests. The cost of admission was a $3 donation and food trucks donated 15 percent of their profits from the day. There was also a VIP ticket option that cost attendees $10 and gave them early access to the food trucks to avoid lines. The 500 VIP tickets sold out quickly, according to Caitlin Vargas, Eugene Mission’s development director.

Pat Walsh, the Mission’s spokesperson, said this year’s event raised $52,000. The money will go toward programs and services like the Life Change program, a 12 to 18 month recovery and rehabilitation program that costs the Mission $5,000 per person but is free for participants.

“Seeing the amount of people that were out there supporting food trucks, and not even supporting the food trucks but the Eugene Mission is awesome,” said Juan Umaña, owner of Vengan Pa’Ka. “That was definitely one of the biggest highlights of working at the Food Truck Fest that it was going for a good cause.”

Vinnie’s Smokin’ BBQ was featured at the Eugene Mission’s third annual Food Truck Festival fundraiser on June 30, 2018.(Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

Vinnie Cowan, the owner of Vinnie’s Smokin’ BBQ food truck, has participated in all three years of the festival. He and his family are long-time supporters of the Eugene Mission.  

“My folks, they had been donating to the mission for forever,” said Cowan, showing off the tattoo of his truck’s logo on his arm. “So I knew it was a good organization. We’ve been donating to them ever since.”

Cowan’s truck raised over $1,000 for the Mission, making it one of the top-earning trucks of the day.

Along with the food trucks and what was called the “Marketplace” for craft vendors, there were live music performances, face painting and other kids activities, a tent for dogs to cool off and a free photo booth inside a van.

Eugene Police Officer Whipple is a patron of Vengan Pa’ka. Vengan Pa’ka was featured at the Eugene Mission’s third annual Food Truck Festival fundraiser on June 30, 2018.(Henry Ward/Emerald)

Organizers also held a competition between the food trucks — three celebrity judges for local news and radio stations and three Facebook contest winners taste-tested each food truck and gave awards to their favorites.

Vengan Pa’Ka won the “Most Creative Culinary Creations” and “Eugene’s Favorite Food Truck” awards. The truck opened in November 2017 and this was its first appearance at the festival.

When Umaña was taking his break, he was exploring other food trucks when he heard the news. Other food truck crews congratulated him as he walked by and he broke the news to his team.

“That was beautiful, that was probably my favorite part,” he said.  “Seeing the support within the food truck community and then just seeing the faces of my staff, that was just like, ‘Dude, we did it.’”

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