Reduced Snowpack and Earlier Snowmelts Means Less Water for the Willamette Valley

In the West, the vast majority of annual precipitation falls during the winter months. Most of it falls as snow in the mountains, where it’s conveniently stored in snowpacks. In the Willamette Valley, these snowpacks, once melted, provide the majority of our water during our dry summers—anywhere from 40 to 80 percent. Winter snowpack irrigates ...

Corvallisites Take a Vacation with Airbnb: A Home Away from Home

Got a sense of adventure and want an inexpensive getaway? Then you might want to consider Airbnb.com or similar websites that provide an interesting alternative to hotels. The crux: you’re staying in an individual’s home, and subject to all of that person’s peculiarities or perks. You might have roommates, in the form of a cat, ...

Ignorant Fish People: A Corvallisite’s Experience Buying Pet Fish Locally

Having only been an aquarist (the hip term, I’ve been informed, for fish-keeper) for a few years, I make mistakes. Unfortunately, one recent and particularly fundamental mistake led to the accidental death of a pet—and that’s an unbelievably bitter pill to swallow. About a month ago, I made some decisions that eventually killed a bumblebee ...

Right to Die: End of Life Rights for Oregon’s Aged and Terminally Ill

You’d want a hospital to do anything to keep you alive, right? Well, maybe not. The flippant answer of life = good, death = bad isn’t quite as easy as that. At the hospital, the default is to do anything it takes to keep you alive. That could mean sticking a tube down your throat ...

This Ass is Art: Karin Bolender’s Rural Alchemy Workshop Comes to Corvallis

On Sept. 11, 2001, the artist Karin Bolender was deep in the badlands of South Dakota. Like many Americans, the Twin Towers tragedy struck an existential chord within her. Unlike many Americans, Bolender’s first response was to think “I have to walk across the U.S. with a spotted ass.” A spotted ass, for those less ...

Corvallis’ Earth Day Events: Earth Ball, Scavenger Hunts, and the Pup Crawl

Corvallis is planning its annual Earth Day festivities, which include activities for every age group all day and evening on Saturday, April 20. The Corvallis Environmental Center and Corvallis Parks and Recreation are co-sponsoring two of these events: The Procession of the Species: An endangered animal procession—get your condor, grey wolf, or grizzly mask on ...

Corvallis’ S*M*A*S*H Unit Fought Hard Against Church of Sk8in: Derby Bout Recap

Local roller derby league Sick Town Derby Dames’ S*M*A*S*H* Unit took on Eugene’s Church of Sk8in’ at the Linn County Fairground on Saturday, April 13th, for a hard-fought bout that ultimately led to the Church’s victory. SMASH started off strong, at one point leading 102-48; but after halftime the Church dominated the track while SMASH ...

The Corvallis Advocate Gets a New Editor: Johnny Beaver Takes Over

Next week The Corvallis Advocate welcomes a new editor, Johnny Beaver. Beaver is a writer for the Advocate, and the founder of Corvallis’ Temporary Art Guild. “I’m excited at the opportunity to contribute to Corvallis’ news base,” he said. “I want the Advocate to be accessible to all members of our community—every city needs a ...

corVallis Vanities: Comics by Jack Compere

Picks of the Week!

Opera at The Whiteside: Corvallis Repertory Singers: Passion, Virtue, Revenge, April 18, 7 – 9 p.m. Great opera choruses with arias and ensembles at The Whiteside Theatre. Includes music by Verdi, Bizet, Gershwin, Bernstein, Gilbert and Sullivan, and more. Advanced tickets available at Grass Roots Books & Music, Gracewinds Music, Troubadour Music, WineStyles in Corvallis, ...

KBVR Radio’s Locals Live: Molly Jones Serves Up Local Bands Every Week

If you’re interested in the local music scene, whether you’re a musician or simply a music enthusiast, tune in to the hour-long Locals Live at OSU’s Radio and TV station, KBVR. The program has won various awards, including ‘Best Uniquely “OREGON” Program Produced by Station Non-commercially’ from the Oregon Association of Broadcasters in 2010 and ...

Corvallis Outdoor Farmers’ Market Starts April 20: A Sign of Summer

Next Saturday, April 20, might not be the official first day of summer, but it will certainly feel like it. Rain or shine, it’s the start of the outdoor farmers’ market on 1st Street in Corvallis. Most of the familiar faces from last year will be there, according to Market Director Rebecca Landis, as well ...

Music and Masquerade at Earth Ball 2013: Raise Funds for the Corvallis Environmental Center

The Corvallis Environmental Center (CEC) is hosting its Earth Ball on Saturday, April 20 to raise money for its programs and engage the community in conservation. The party officially begins at noon that day with a procession of the species through downtown Corvallis. Those in the parade bang drums, play music, and make merriment, wearing ...

It’s Beer:30, Corvallis! Fill-Your-Growler Pub Slated to Open in May

Debbie Edwards—a McMinnville native who moved to Corvallis in 1970 to attend OSU—wants to bring a sense of beer exploration to the people of Corvallis with a constantly rotating lineup of brews at her new tap room and growler-filling shop, Beer:30. While Oregon beer will feature prominently, Debbie and her daughters, Amy and Jen, want ...

Corvallis’ Bifrost Microbrewery: New Local Brews With a Nordic Twist

On the edge of Southtown hides one of the newest and most unique local breweries Corvallis has to offer. Established six months ago as a true home-brew setup, Bifrost Brewing was started by Corvallis locals Jacob Oliver and Michael Galusha. The two began brewing together as a hobby—it quickly developed into a full-on brewery driven ...

Local Radio KLOO-FM Fires DJ Westy Weaver… ‘Budget Cuts’ or Her Support of Marriage Equality?

When Westy Weaver, a radio announcer at Albany’s rock station 106.3 KLOO, had a four and a half minute music break on Tuesday, March 26, she decided she would use it to clarify Facebook’s “Sea of Red.” She explained that people were changing their profile pictures to red boxes with white equal signs inside as ...

Health of Corvallis’ Honey Bees: The Sweet Rewards of Local Beekeeping

Last Sunday, beekeepers came down to the first annual Corvallis Package Bee Day to pick up bees they ordered for new spring hives. Corvallis, unlike Junction City or Eugene, doesn’t restrict beekeeping. Bees, like dogs, fall under nuisance law. I met with Jen Larsen, Karessa Torgerson, and Melanie Sorenson, owners of recently opened Nectar Bee ...

City Club Talks Arts and Culture: April 8 Meeting Recap

City Club met on Monday to talk about Arts and Culture opportunities in Corvallis. Brenda VanDevelder, chair of the Arts and Culture Commission, Joel Hirsch, city councilman and liaison to the Arts and Culture Commission, and David Huff, executive director of Corvallis Arts Center, spoke to a full crowd at the Renaissance Building downtown. VanDevelder ...

Sick Town Derby Dames Take on Eugene’s Church of Sk8in: Derby Bout April 13

On Saturday, April 13th at 6 p.m., the Corvallis/Albany Sick Town Derby Dames are bringing the pain to the Linn County Fairgrounds in a bout against their close-knit “sister” league out of Eugene, the Emerald City Roller Girls. In 2008, Church of Sk8in team captain Brick Wallace left the team to found STDD in Corvallis. ...

The Bottlecap Boys to Release New Album: At Portland’s Wonder Ballroom, April 19

Reppin’ Corvallis, Luke Borsten invites you to Wonder Ballroom in Portland this Friday, April 19 to celebrate the release of his band, The Bottlecap Boys’, new album, East to West, soon to be available at our local record store, Happy Trails. Fellow folk-inspired acts Water Tower and Bitterroot, as well as acoustic guitar accompanied, early ...