top Oregon, Illinois  -  Have You Discovered Us ?
Issue Two
May 28, 2010
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
The Fields Project
Lorado Taft - The Art Legacy
Shop, Dine and Stay
Forward Oregon
Forward Oregon Logo

Join Our Mailing List
Upcoming Events


Farmer's Market
Saturdays  - June -Sept.

8:30 - 12:00 noon on the Oregon Coliseum Lawn

Nature Discovery Walks
Sponsored by the Oregon Park District.  On the following Saturdays, beginning at 9am.  Call 815-732-3101 for more information.

June 19th - Castle Rock State Park - "Prarie Flowers & Plants"

July 17th - Castle Rock State Park - "St. Peter's Sandstone"

June 19th - 27th

June 26th - MIX IT UP - First annual sidewalk painting event at Mix Park

June 27th - FINE ARTS & CRAFT SHOW

Concerts In The Park
Oregon Park West - 7:00pm
Bring your lawn chair, blanket and picnic basket

June 22 - The StingRays

June 29 - Southern Heritage

July 16-18
Celebrating Oregon's Native American and Western Heritage

Lions Club Auto Show
July 11th
8am - 4pm
Oregon Park East
Quick Links...

Chamber of Commerce

Oregon Park District

The Fields Project

Oregon According To Wikipedia

Oregon School District #220

Conover Square Shopping Mall

Oregon Rotary Club

Oregon Kiwanis Club
Watch Us On YouTube

Oregon Tourism Commercial
Come and Visit !!   Nestled in the scenic Rock River Valley, surrounded by three state parks and a state forest, with unlimited recreation and wildlife viewing opportunities, Oregon is a great place to put on your map.  We look forward to seeing you and getting to know you in the coming months!
The Fields Project

If you enjoy art, join us in June for the Fields Project , beginning June 19th and extending through June 27th.

The objective is to focus public attention on art, agriculture and our natural resources while creating new relationships between artists, farmers, environmentalists and educators.

For painters, photographers and sculptors there is a nine day program that includes lodging on a working farm.  During this time the artists can apply their art or choose to do a Field Sculpture, which is an opportunity to "paint with the land" by cutting / mowing the flora on a piece of land that can be up to 5 acres in size.  These are obviously designed to be viewed and photographed from the air.

On the last Sunday of the event, June 27th, there is a Fine Arts & Crafts Festival where visiting artists display and sell their work.  On the Saturday before, June 26th, there will be the 1st Annual Mix-It-Up Sidewalk Painting event.  Both of these events will occur at Mix Park in Oregon, located on Route 2 on the south edge of town.

Each year there is a sculptor's competition.  The winning maquette is reproduced as a life size bronze sculpture and placed in the Oregon area.  The goal is to place ten outdoor sculptures in ten years, of which the first was installed in 2005.  When the project is completed there will be 16 public sculptures on the Oregon Sculpture Trail.

Back To Top
Lorado Taft  -  The Art Legacy
Lorado TaftLorado Taft(1860 - 1936)  was an American Sculptor, writer and educator.  He earned his bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Illinois, attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in France, and settled in Chicago where he taught at the Art Institute of Chicago.

In 1898 he established the Eagles Nest Art Colony, located in what is now known as the Lorado Taft Field Campus of Northern Illinois University, situated adjacent to Lowden State Park and overlooking the Rock River.  The colony was populated by Chicago artists, all members of the Chicago Art Institute or the University of Chicago Art Department, who gathered outside of Oregon on the banks of the Rock River to escape the summer heat of Chicago.  The original members included several renowned members of the art community in Chicago, including, in addition to Taft, Hamlin Garland, Henry Fuller, Irving Kane Pond and Clarence Dickerson.

Taft's greatest contribution to the Oregon area was the construction of the statue of the "Eternal Indian", known more familiarly as Blackhawk.  This was completed in 1911, and is said to represent the second largest concrete monolithic statue in the world.

Today, the Eagle's Nest Art Group continues as a local association of artists, dedicated to preserving and continuing the mission that Taft and his original members started out to accomplish.  The Fields Project represents a continuation of this legacy, and has inspired the annual commission of sculptures known as the Sculpture Trail.  We invite you to come visit Oregon and enjoy the art work inspired by Taft and his original Eagles Nest Art Colony.

Back to Top
Shop, Dine and Stay
Pinehill Inn
The Patchwork Inn....
                Lodging in Casual Elegance


Step back in time to a gentler age when hospitality was an art and life was unhurried. When a person could while away an hour on the front porch with coffee and newspaper...without a shred of guilt. When nights were spent in high-ceiling bedrooms under cozy handmade quilts, waking to the robin's early-morning song. The Patchwork Inn captures this spirit of the casual elegance from the past with the sophistication of today. They offer a range of accommodations, including two suites.  You might enjoy spending the night in the room in which Abraham Lincoln once stayed.  Things have been updated since Mr. Lincoln was here, but you probably would not mind.  In fact, you will probably enjoy the continental breakfast and free WiFi.  Each room has it's own thermostat control, private bath, and T.V.  There is also ample parking for guests as well as a lower level for meetings or family gatherings. They are located at 122 North Third Street Oregon, Illinois.  You can call them at (815) 732-4113 or make your reservations on-line at www.patchworkinn.com.

Back To Top

THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHECK US OUT !!


This email is presented to you by Forward Oregon, which is a volunteer organization in Oregon, Illinois dedicated to promoting the benefits of living, working, playing in and visiting our great community.

Please share this newsletter with your friends.  Click on the "Share this information with a friend" link at the bottom to forward this email on to someone who might enjoy finding out about our community.  We appreciate your help!

Our website is currently under re-construction, but will be up again shortly. In addition we will soon have a Facebook page.  We will let you know when it is up and running.....we want you to be one of our Friends!


The Forward Oregon Team
 
Rock River Valley DVD
Rock River Valley Documentary

Rock River Valley - "Where We Live" intends to present and preserve the history and present day of this beautiful area known as the Rock River Valley.  Come along for a journey which stems along the Rock River from Janesville, Wisconsin down to Dixon, Illinois.
 
The documentary was created by Jim Tsioles, a thirty year resident of the area.  Filmed for over two years and completed in 2008, the video intends to present and preserve the area known as the Rock River Valley.
PURCHASE THIS VIDEO AND SAVE 10% OFF THE REGULAR PRICE OF $15.00

Use Promo Code forward oregon  to receive 10% off of your order.  A portion of each DVD purchased benefits Forward Oregon.  Click HERE to purchase the DVD today.