Going to Eugene Riverfront Festival during World Athletics Championships? Here's what to know

Megan Banta, Register-Guard
·7 min read

They're calling it "the place to be."

Eugene's Riverfront Festival will run throughout the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 from July 15 to 24 at the newly opened Downtown Riverfront Park.

The free festival is the only "truly accessible" experience during the 10-day track and field event, city staff have said.

Here's what you need to know about the festival, including what hours it will be open, what people can and can't bring and what activities are included.

Where and when

The festival takes place in and around new Downtown Riverfront Park. The park, which opened in June, stretches along the Willamette River from the DeFazio Bridge to the former EWEB Steam Plant.

There are festival entrances at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Mill Street and on the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path at the northern and southern ends of the festival area.

The festival will run different hours on weekdays than weekends. It's open:

  • Noon to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday

  • 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, July 18 to Thursday, July 21

  • Noon to 10 p.m. Friday, July 22 to Sunday, July 24

There's a day-by-day schedule of events available at eugeneriverfrontfestival.com.

Related:Downtown Riverfront Park opens, linking 'Willamette to Willamette'

What to do

In addition to a video board streaming the track and field events, live performances and a zip line, there will be a variety of activities and vendors, from food trucks and a kids zone to a beer garden and an artisan market.

Kids Zone

There are various areas for kids, including:

  • Sustainable Village from Adventure! Children's Museum, featuring a interactive exhibit made from reclaimed, recycled and repurposed materials

  • Run, Jump, Woah! program from Eugene Recreation, which includes a 65-foot inflatable obstacle course and a 50-foot dash and hurdles

  • A Eugene Public Library tent with coloring, jumbo games, sensory toys and free books

  • Nurturely Lounge for a space to pump or feed or change a baby, also offering free baby carrier rentals

Food and beverages

There will be a dozen food and beverage options as well as a beer garden:

  • Aida Food

  • Bali Kitchen

  • Black Market BBQ

  • Delicias Tiki Tiki

  • Grassy Cow

  • Hayward's Kitchen

  • Justice Shaved Ice

  • The Mac

  • Makeda Cuisine

  • Red 5 Hot Dogs

  • Vanilla Jill's & Elegant Elephant

  • Za Cart Pizza

The beer garden will feature Ninkasi beer, Oakshire's amber beer and Ashland Hard Seltzer on tap, local wine in bottles and cans, and canned cocktails and cider.

Artisan market

There will be 17 vendors at a time in the artisan market, featuring everything from jewelry and leather goods to chocolate and CBD products.

Some vendors will be in the market the entire time, while others will be there from July 15 to 19 or July 20 to 25.

You can see a list of the vendors at eugeneriverfrontfestival.com.

Visitors have a look at the new Riverfront Park in Eugene.
Visitors have a look at the new Riverfront Park in Eugene.

What to bring and what to leave at home

People can bring most items in any kind of bag, but festival organizers recommend using a clear bag to make the search process easier.

There will be metal detectors at the entrances, and people will need to clear out their pockets before going through. There will be alternative options for people in wheelchairs, and people with medical devices that set off metal detectors should alert the security officer at the gate to go through an alternative screening method.

Plastic containers and bottles, even refillable water bottles, are banned. People can bring metal refillable water bottles, and there will be filling stations available.

Several other items are prohibited, including:

  • Weapons and fireworks

  • Any object that can be used as a missile

  • Poles or sticks of any kind

  • Outside food and beverages, unless there's a medical need

  • Glass containers and bottles

  • Animals, except for service animals

  • Signs and banners

  • Bullhorns, megaphone and similar noisemakers

  • Bikes, scooters and skateboards

  • Chairs of any kind

  • Any other items that create a nuisance or disruption

There's also a code of conduct, which includes not smoking and not using offensive language. That's available at eugeneriverfrontfestival.com in the "Know Before You Go" section.

Getting around Eugene:What to know about traffic, transportation ahead of World Athletics Championships

How to get there

There are several ways people can get to the festival, most of which don't involve a vehicle.

Coming from Hayward

It's a 30-minute walk or 10-minute bike ride to the festival from Hayward Field at the University of Oregon using the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path.

There's a map of the path available at bit.ly/bascom-path-map, and the festival is located at #10 on the map.

Pacific Pub Cycle also will be offering a group ride party shuttle along the riverbank path to the festival.

Bike

PeaceHealth Rides bikes will be available around Hayward Field to use. Use the app (links at peacehealthrides.com) to find a location to grab the bikes, some are blue and some are orange. Bike parking will be available at the festival entrance next to the free bike valet.

For those who ride their own bikes, there's a free bike valet located at the festival entrance near the corner of Fifth Avenue and High Street for bikes, scooters, skateboards and strollers.

In addition to PeaceHealth Rides, people can rent from, a local bike shop or through Spinlister.

Bus

People can find the nearest bus or Emerald Express, otherwise known as EmX, route to the Downtown Station then make the 15-minute walk to the festival entrance at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Mill Street, though it might be easier to find the intersection of Fifth Avenue and High Street using Google Maps.

Bus routes are free for ages 65 and older, and fares are $1.75 per trip for adults or 85 cents per trip for children. People with tickets to the World Athletics Championships can ride the EmX for free by showing their ticket.

People can use the Umo app to pay for fares, bring exact change or purchase an EmX ticket at any EmX station using the ticket vending machine.

Routes and information can be found at www.ltd.org.

Accessible vehicle parking

Attendees with ADA placards can park in the EWEB parking lot at 500 E. Fourth Ave.

If that lot is full, people can park in the Overpark or Parcade garages then locate the pick-up point for the EmGo, a five-person electric car, at either 10th Avenue or Eighth Avenue for a ride to the festival. There are directions for using the EmGo vehicles at the pick-up points.

Park and walk or bike

People without ADA placards can park at any of the designated locations around the festival:

  • Free festival parking at Cuthbert Amphitheater and Alton Baker Park. It's a 15-minute walk or five-minute bike ride to the festival from these lots.

  • Overpark Parking Garage,1000 E. 10th Ave., which organizers warn will fill up quickly. It's a 10-minute walk to the festival from the garage.

  • Parcade Parking Garage, 35 W. Eighth Ave., which organizers warn will fill up quickly. It's a 10-minute walk to the festival from the garage.

  • Valley River Center parking, which has a bike share station and a shuttle. It's a 30-minute walk or 10-minute bike ride to the festival from this lot.

  • Autzen Stadium parking for a longer but pretty route. It's a 35-minute walk or 15-minute bike ride to the festival from this lot.

There's a map with the various parking options and routes to the festival from them at bit.ly/Riverfront-festival-park-walk-bike.

Walking

Sidewalks and the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path, as well as other options, offer the chance to walk to the festival.

Google Maps can be helpful for planning a route.

People pushing strollers can check them in at the bike valet station.

Rideshare or taxi

Lyft, Uber and local taxis are all options.

Pick-ups and drop-offs at the Riverfront Festival will take place at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Mill Street in the five-minute drop off zone.

More details

More details about the festival in general, as well as a form to ask questions, are available at eugeneriverfrontfestival.com.

Contact city government watchdog Megan Banta at mbanta@registerguard.com. Follow her on Twitter @MeganBanta_1.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene Riverfront Festival during Oregon22: What to know