Ashland & Southern Oregon - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 645

( 541-482-1997; www.siskiyoucyclery.com ; 1729 Siskiyou Blvd; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat,
11am-4pm Sun) Rent a bike and explore the countryside on Bear Creek Greenway.
Lithia Park ICE-SKATING
You can ice-skate at lovely, 93-acre Lithia Park, which winds along Ashland Creek
above the center of town (in summer it offers live concerts, duck ponds and picnic
tables).
OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
The Pacific Northwest is a hot spot for both traditional and innovative theater, and
one top highlight is definitely Ashland's wildly popular Oregon Shakespeare Festival
(OSF). Despite being deeply rooted in Shakespearean and Elizabethan drama, the
festival also features plenty of revivals and contemporary theater from around the
world.
As a young town, Ashland was included in the Methodist Church's cultural edu-
cation program, called the Chautauqua Series. By the 1930s, one of the venues,
Chautauqua Hall, had deteriorated to a dilapidated wooden shell. Angus Bowmer, a
drama professor at the local college, noted the resemblance of the roofless struc-
ture to drawings of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. He convinced the town to spon-
sor two performances of Shakespeare's plays and a boxing match (the Bard would
have approved) as part of its 1935 Fourth of July celebration. The plays proved a
great success, and the OSF was off and running.
Eleven productions run from February to October in three theaters near Main
and Pioneer Sts: the outdoor Elizabethan Theatre (open June to October), the An-
gus Bowmer Theatre and the intimate Thomas Theatre . Children under six are
not allowed. There are no Monday performances.
Performances sell out quickly; obtain tickets in advance at www.osfashland.org .
You can also try the box office ( 541-482-4331; 15 S Pioneer St; tickets $25-95) for last-
minute tickets. Popular backstage tours (adult/child 6-17yr $15/11) also need to
be booked well in advance.
Check the OSF Welcome Center ( Click here ) for other events, which may include
scholarly lectures, play readings, concerts and pre-show talks.
Sleeping
From May to October, try to arrive with reservations. Rooms are cheaper in Medford
( Click here ) , 12 miles north of Ashland. There's camping, RV sites and tipis at Jackson
Wellsprings ( Click here ) .