Fred Chamberlin - Eugene/Springfield's #1 Experienced FHA Mortgage Consultant

The world may be focused on the Olympics in Bejing on August 8, but the Junction City Scandinavian Festival will already be a day old.

Every year since 1961, the people of Junction City have celebrated their Scandinavian heritage with a festival that offers cultural entertainment and activities and food, food, food. The four day festival honors the culture of Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland. Many imigrants from those areas ended up in the Junction City area.

There are handmade items in booths, authentic costume and dances all during the festival. Story tellers will regale the children with stories from Hans Christian Anderson. For more information:

http://scandinavianfestival.com/

There is a photo gallery that gives you a good feel for the festival. See you all there. There always seems to be something happening in Lane County.

The resturant is located in the Three Rivers Casino in Florence, OR. Just head west from Eugene and you can't miss it.
http://www.threeriverscasino.com/a/pages/hotel.htm...
We had dinner at the Prime Resturant and I enjoyed the meal very much. Overall, I would give them about 4 stars out of 5. My lobster was outstanding, the prime with it was very good, however, my lady's filet was not cooked enough for her. The salad course takes special note. Our server recommended the lettuce wedge with a special blue cheese dressing and it was mouth watering. It so good we got a doggie bag for the left over salad. I have never done that in the past.

The waitstaff was well trained and attentive. They took care of our needs without a lot of asking. The food was served hot (or cold if it was supposed to be.) The drawn butter was on a warmer that greatly increased the enjoyment.

The prices were as one would expect from a very nice resturant. For two top of the line entree's, two glasses of wine and two appetizers, the bill came to $90.

We enjoyed our time together. The dinner was unrushed but still left us plenty of time before the show. We went over to see the Coasters concert and it was a blast. The interesting thing about the concert, I am 60 and was one of the youngest in the place. LOL

Every year the Eugene/Springfield area Rotary clubs sponsor the Great Rotary Duck Race to fight child abuse in Lane County. This year's constest will be October 4, Alton Baker Park, Eugene OR.

In 1988, the incoming presidents of the Eugene/Springfield Rotary Clubs agreed to have a community-wide fundraiser and to make a difference in our communities. The Duck Race was unanimously adopted by the area Rotary clubs as a fun vehicle to attract and hold public attention and support. The proceeds of the first two races were earmarked for the Community Substance Abuse Consortium. The following years, intervention and prevention of child abuse was the rallying cry. The annual Duck Race in October has become a great event in the area with the involvement of hundreds of Rotarians making it possible.

After 19 years, Rotarians are responsible for sponsoring, promoting and selling 58,275 Ducks at $5 each. Since 1988, local Rotarians have raised almost $3.7 million to combat child abuse.

There are numerous prizes awarded to the owners of the winning ducks. Rotarians spend all day in preparation for the short race and then hours afterward picking up the wayward ducks. Tickets are only $5 each and could win you a new VW Jetta. Worst case scenario, you donate $5 to help kids. I have tickets, contact me and I will be glad to mail any number you would like. fchamberlin@alpinemc.com

The great thing about the duck race is that everyone wins.

The other interesting thing is that the Duck Race is Oregon's second largest lottery, but I think our chances of winning are much better than being struck by lightning (twice). Drop me a line. Buy a duck!

One of Lane County's best kept secrets has got to be the Oregon Country Fair. However, for a best kept secret, we sure have a lot of people show up for it each year. The fair started today and runs through Sunday. Here is a map from their website on how to get there:

I will include a link to their website at the end of this blog, but I just wanted to give a bit of a head's up for those that haven't been there before or heard about it. The Country Fair is a private gathering and probably had the largest collection of old VW buses in one place at one time in the world. Hippy may be out of style, but it is in vogue at the Country Fair.

Also, clothing is fairly optional. The entertainment is outstanding and the sights and sounds are beyond imagination. There are crafts galore, many of them outstanding. The venue is so different than most anything you have ever experienced. The craft booths are cut out of the "jungle" of the location.

So, come and enjoy. Here is that link:

http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/index.php

I promised more pictures of my flowers, so I guess I have to deliver. The Willamette Valley is one of the finest places in the world to grow things. I have a lot of plants that grow even without my help. Those, I consider weeds. My wife and I had a disagreement as to what constituted a weed. I said if it grew where it wasn't planted, it was a weed. She said it if bloomed, it was a flower.

My easy win was to point out the poor dandylion. It blooms, but it is always a weed. I think the only thing it is good for is wine. LOL Well, here are the latest floral examples:

I will add more flowers later. I just want to stress that flowers grow here, abundantly.