Eye on the Prize 

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With less than year left until its self-imposed Feb. 12, 2014, could be expiration date, the future of Kevin Hoover’s Arcata Eye remains undecided. Will the paper fold? Will a buyer materialize? Will it be taken over by the Plazoid masses? Time will, most likely, tell.

In the meantime, we party. This Saturday, March 9, sees the return of the Arcata Eye Ball at the Arcata Theatre Lounge. Now in its 16th year, the evening is packed full of local performers, classic rock and enough color to rival any Arcata Eye front page. Here’s the what’s skedded:

• Vaudevillian antics and artistry with Shea Freelove and his circus.
• Bumpin’ and grindin’ with the Rutabaga Queens.
• Appearance by the Eureka Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
• Theatrical musicality courtesy of Dell’Arte’s Michael Fields.
• Gyrating PomPom Queens.
• Face-melting rock from Paranoid Android.
• The evening closing All-Star Arcata Eye Rockestra featuring: Kevin Hoover, Dan Davis, Wolf Navarro, Kelly Brannon, Gil Cline, Morgan Corviday, Kelly Hoover, Marla Joy, Gene Joyce, Rick Park, Terrence McNally, Mark Lovelace and, uh, me.

But the Eye Ball is not completely frivolous. This year’s event will act as a benefit for the soon-to-be-realized Arcata Ridge Trail. After years of work and colorful community fundraising, the land of the proposed four-mile trail, which will connect the Sunny Brae Forest and the Arcata Community Forest, is reportedly only $10,000 away from being purchased.

You may begin having a ball when the ATL’s doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets for the evening are $15. For more info, check out arcatatheatre.com and/or arcataeye.com.