Meet Queen Jubilee Hedonisto: The Joyful Slug Monarch of Eugene!
The 41st in a line of wild Slug Queens, Jubilee’s mission is simple: have fun and try to ensure everyone else does too! She’s a firm believer that joy and pleasure are ultimate forms of both resistance and inclusion. She wants everyone in Eugene, visitors, newcomers and locals alike, to embrace playfulness, authenticity, and wholesome rebellion, much like the Slug Queens before her.
Jubilee isn’t naive; she knows no life is a simple slime through the park. Yet, research shows that we often underestimate the effects that acts of kindness, gratitude, or compliments have on those around us. Any small gesture has the potential for a multiplied positive effect. Queen Jubilee champions the idea that joy is powerful and play is essential to our survival.
In her day-to-day life, Jubilee is known as Jilynn. Her family moved to Eugene when she was a mere squishy nugget. Growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s proved to be… slightly miserable for Jilynn, but with supportive family and friends, many creative role models, lots of therapy, and a habit of late blooming, she now feels fully radiant! She wanted to challenge herself to unapologetically embrace her uniqueness while stepping into the public eye. It was time to emerge from the comforts of the leafy undergrowth, and make her run for the crown!
Jilynn built her Slug-sona around the idea of pleasure activism, a philosophy she firmly believes in. She thinks that a community that plays together will better face the inevitable challenges together. The Slug Queens, with their enduring creativity and goodwill, seemed to embody that philosophy, and Jilynn was honored to join their ranks as Jubilee, and carry that tradition forward.
While she loves that most all SLUG appearances are made in support of local non-profits, Jubilee has chosen to champion the Burrito Brigade during her rain. The Burrito Brigade is a grassroots organization dedicated to reducing food waste and feeding the community. Jubilee loves their creative approach to finding solutions that meet local needs. Diverting the waste stream of excess food through a network of volunteers and on to hungry people is simple and inspired. She hopes that she will be able to use her platform to connect the brigade with even more volunteers and financial support.
By day, Jilynn works at Eugene’s public library, shelving books and laughing at (but also trying to aid in) the endlessly earnest efforts of humans trying to get along with each other and organize a functional city! Despite her exasperated bemusement at the city’s antics, she feels deep gratitude that her livelihood serves the community and aligns with her personal values.
Eugene is filled with passionate, caring people working to create a thriving community. Jubilee hopes to encourage everyone to make a practice of celebrating our successes. Eugene is a place where people continually come together in the ongoing creation of our remarkable city. Despite conflicts and frustrations, we have many glimmering successes.
In her more sluggish moments Queen Jubilee fills her time with chaotic crafting of all kinds, darwinistic landscaping efforts, and (admittedly too often) dulling the mild roar of worldly troubles with jigsaw puzzles or phone scrolling. Jubilee also has a true wealth of friends and family which she loves to spend quality time with.
Jubilee’s mission as the Slug Queen is clear — encourage Eugenians to celebrate, find common bonds, and nurture human connections through wholesome mayhem. She reminds us, Slugs may seem tender and squishy, but they have thousands of teeth, and discerning tastes for change!
In a world that often crushes hopes, Queen Jubilee insists that embracing joy is a radical act. We can’t change that our day to day choices will effect the future, so she sees it as imperative that we choose empathy choose kindness, choose to invest in ongoing happiness. See what serious business fun can be?! She urges us all to reject capitalistic conformity, choose empathy, and focus on our shared humanity.
In essence, Queen Jubilee embodies a spirit of joy, creativity, curiosity, care, rebellion, and indulgence. Her reign aspires to unite Eugenians through revolutionary satisfaction, advocating for pleasure activism with a focus on building strong and lasting community.