Celebration has all the pieces in place.

Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

EVENT PREVIEW 2006 Eugene Celebration What: Community festival of arts, education, music and food When: 5 p.m. to midnight today, 11:30 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday Where: Along Eighth Avenue and Broadway between Oak and Charnelton streets Tickets: Wristbands for all three days are $10, and Sunday-only admission is $5; children younger than 12 get in free; one-day admission is not available for today or Saturday

INSIDE Music: Local musicians are the focus this year / 9 Entertainers: The Little Tramp will roam the streets / 10 Movies: Best of the Best Film Fest attracts diverse works / 11

In its second year at the helm of producing the Eugene Celebration, Big Green Events is sticking with the plan it came up with last year.

There are no new attractions to highlight. The boundaries of the annual arts festival remain compact, you can still walk around with a beer until 8 p.m., and the music lineup will once again focus on Oregon.

One pleasing development: free parking in city parking structures.

There is a new stage this year, at the vacant lot adjacent to the WOW Hall at 291 W. Eighth Ave. But don't get used to the WestTown stage, because by this time next year the Metropolitan Affordable Housing Corporation will be well on its way to constructing housing on the site.

Last year, Downtown Events Management Incorporated chose Big Green Events from a pool of private production companies vying to take over operations of the festival. DEMI's board remains the decision-making force behind the event, as it has been since the city stopped funding and producing it in 1997.

But for all Big Green Events' plans and good intentions last year, the new and improved Celebration was doused with rain. DEMI finished more than $50,000 in the hole.

This year, organizers hope to shake the bad luck that has seen attendance decline in the past four Celebrations.

Festival rolls with punches

The first blow to the bottom line came after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, when the nation was understandably not in the mood to shake, revel or roll - as this year's theme would encourage.

Then in 2002, with a chance to build momentum from the year before, the parade had to be moved up to 8 a.m. so police could manage both it and Ducks football traffic.

In 2003, the event rebounded some, regaining lost sponsorships from 2001, but it still had money to recoup. In both 2004 and 2005, it rained.

But the Eugene Celebration story is not one of doom and gloom. It is a tale of scheduling flexibility, community support and tenacity.

The three-day party comes earlier for 2006, and as of Thursday, the forecast was semi-cooperating with a slight chance of rain late today and Saturday morning but the rest of the weekend in the clear. Traditionally, the Celebration was held the third weekend in September, but that was before the Ducks were good enough at football to put much of a dent in Celebration attendance.

This year, the event has to compete only with a televised evening football game.

"If the weather is good, we'll have something like 60,000 people come over the course of the weekend," said Matt Purvis, one of the volunteers who comprise the DEMI board.

"Being a Celebration focused on downtown, part of our goal is to get people downtown to get them aware of the great opportunities this year. Part of our plan has been to pull off the best Celebration we can, then revisit the event and maybe do some formal surveying and get some hard feedback."

A chance to energize downtown

Purvis was referring to the opportunities available year-round downtown, part of why the city was willing to grant $50,000 for the next two Celebrations with goal of having the event self-sustainable. If the Celebration helps pump energy into downtown, it's in the city's long-term best interest.

Brendan Relaford, Big Green's general manager and the director of operations for the Celebration, said it's possible that DEMI and Big Green can achieve that sustainability by the time all the receipts for this year's bash come in.

"The most optimistic I can be is that we do enough business and our vendors (make enough money to want to come back), that there is money in the bank to start working on the (2007) event right away," he said. "The day after this event's over, we want to know that that's there."

In terms of programming, there's enough food, music, ambient entertainment and children's activities to amuse anyone who doesn't mind a crowd. The Celebration parade begins at a reasonable hour, 9:30 a.m. Saturday, and with the shorter route adopted in 2000. Also, the Sunday afternoon pet parade returns.

For the part of the event that requires a wristband, organizers have tinkered with layout to prevent the need to cross the busy Sixth and Seventh avenues. And downtown restaurant and bar owners within the footprint of the Celebration have agreed to host indoor events with no cover charges.

"There's more net bare space with the way that these three stages are, but it's in a smaller overall footprint," Relaford explained.

As was the case last year, there's access to a classic car cruise, some ambient entertainment, the Community Causeway, the Health and Well Being Fair and a free stage at Saturday Market.

No price break was offered for buying wristbands in advance, but the reduced price of $10 from last year remains in effect. Children younger than 12 get in for free, and if you go on Sunday only it's just $5.

While pleased with all the talented performers scheduled, Relaford said he believes the real draw of the Celebration is a chance to roam the packed streets in the heart of downtown.

"It's just fun," he said. "Frankly, I think 99 percent of the people come to the Celebration to hang with their friends. When I was just a patron, that's why I went.

`It's once a year when you know that's where everyone's going."

You can call Serena Markstrom at 338-2371 or e-mail her at [e-mail].