McKenzie Memories show sold out

Posted: 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 2

All tickets for this year's McKenzie Memories have been sold - none will be available at the door.

EUGENE: A paddle down a stream full of memories is planned for the night of April 4th. The third annual McKenzie Memories history event will feature storytelling, music, rare historic films and photographs of the McKenzie River.

The evening will kick off with live acoustic music by The Blue McKenzie band. Then Dave Helfrich will share early family stories in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Helfrich family on the McKenzie River. Historian and author Roger Fletcher will give a presentation about the evolution of the McKenzie Wooden Drift Boat, and students from the University of Oregon Environmental Leadership Program will share River Stories.

The McKenzie River Trust is hosting the Friday night event at Cozmic Pizza, 199 West 8th Avenue in Eugene. Randy Dersham will emcee from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

McKenzie  Memories  has  sold

out both times in the two years, so people interested in attending are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance. Tickets are $10 and available at http://www.mckenzieriver.org. The event is a fundraiser for the nonprofit McKenzie River Trust and its mission to protect and care for the lands and rivers of western Oregon.

“If you share our love of Oregon’s wild McKenzie River and its remarkable history, this evening of storytelling and films is not to be missed,” said Brandi Ferguson, Donor Relations Manager for the McKenzie River Trust. “This year’s event will again feature Dave Helfrich for those who couldn’t make it to hear him during the sold-out event last year. And we decided to focus on the evolution of the McKenzie Wooden drift boat because people come from far and wide to attend the annual wooden boat festival held at Eagle Rock Lodge on the McKenzie. Roger Fletcher’s presentation will be a chance to understand the diversity of these incredible handcrafted boats and how the McKenzie River played a role in their evolution.”

During a brief live auction at this year’s event, attendees will have the chance to bid on some very unique items including a float down the McKenzie River with Dave Helfrich and a custom 15-inch wooden replica of a 1947 double-ender drift boat.

Copies of Roger Fletcher’s book, Drift Boats and River Dories: Their History, Design, Construction and Use, will be available for $49.99. Fletcher will be available to sign books, either purchased in advance or at the event. He will donate $15 to the McKenzie River Trust for each book sold.

Image above: Photo courtesy Dave Helfrich. Dave Helfrich and his brother, Dick, in one of Woody Hindman’s replica wooden boats in a pond near their home on the McKenzie River, 1941.