arts & business are essential to inspiring a
Thriving Tourism Economy
When Eugene welcomes a global audience to the nation’s first ever hosting of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, July 15 – 25, 2022, our arts + culture sector will be a primary focus of celebration and inspiration at the Eugene Riverfront Festival. The Festival will be the main experience hub for visitors and residents during the track event.
Culture is the personality of place, and Eugene’s personality is especially vibrant and focused on creative expression. Creative expression is the heartbeat of Eugene. Art pulses through the city’s neighborhoods and streets. It might be a formal affair like an opera or symphony or it could be an elaborately painted bus heading to the Oregon Country Fair. Sometimes it blossoms in an artist’s home studio or hotel lobby and sometimes it explodes as a flash mob in Kesey Square — however art and culture manifests, small or large, quiet or loud — in Eugene there is a lot of it!
Culture is what travel is all about, whether for vacation, education (conference), or sports. Travel Lane County, one of ABAE’s founding members, is charged with investing a portion of hotel taxes to attract visitors here. They help build Eugene’s reputation as a destination by highlighting its creative energy as a cultural arts hub for the Eugene, Cascades & Coast region.
This essential part of our destination’s personality will be a focus for the 2022 Eugene Riverfront Festival, presented by the City of Eugene, produced by REVERE (an Oregon event production company), sponsored by Travel Oregon and many large and small businesses. For those attending the Championships it will serve as a warm welcome to visitors from around the globe and for our residents it will be a celebration of the rich diversity here in Oregon. The Eugene Riverfront Festival’s vision is to be a source of inspiration to residents and visitors alike as we create an event that embraces our strong arts + culture sector, legacy of sustainability, and an integration and elevation of diverse voices that authentically celebrate and honor the diversity of cultures that are here in Eugene and Oregon.
Our important industries and businesses will be celebrated, too, as integral parts of our personality and our success as a place to live, work and play. There will be much to celebrate, and surprises that inspire residents and visitors alike are guaranteed. We are so excited to WELCOME and INSPIRE the world!
