Jake broke this news: Ticketmaster has a crazy promotion to see Fiona Apple and Damien Rice in concert at the Les Schwab Amphitheater for only $1! (The tickets are actually free, but Ticketmaster charges a "nominal" processing fee.)

For a limited time, Ticketmaster is offering complimentary tickets* to see Fiona Apple & Damien Rice at the Les Schwab Amphitheater on Saturday, July 1! Start your holiday weekend off right - this performance will definitely be one to remember!

Offers like this don't come along often, so don't let this one slip away. This offer is only valid until June 30 at 6PM and while supplies last. Get your complimentary tickets now!

*A nominal processing fee applies.

So, up until tomorrow (Friday) at 6pm. Looks like this only applies if you go through the Ticketmaster website—they give directions on the page there.

And just it case it isn't clear, the concert is this Saturday, July 1, at 6:30pm.

Shannon sends along this tip: Avoid driving around the intersection of Wall and Newport in Downtown Bend this week. She says there's roadwork going on that's backing up traffic at least until tomorrow. (She also notes, "road rage city. poor guy that is running the stop/go sign is pissing ppl off.") So watch out.

On Tuesdays down at the Bendistillery Martini Bar, martinis are only $3. $3!! That's a great price. Ever been down to their bar? It's located in the Brooks Street alley overlooking Drake Park, just past the breezeway. They're open from 4pm til midnight Tuesday through Saturday.

They're a great place to get a before- or after-dinner drink downtown—if you can get in. It's often fairly busy there, especially out on the patio during the summertime.

Oh and another neat resource: check out their page full of recipes.

Yep, I'm even blogging about things to watch out for. This time it's the Safeway over in the Forum Shopping Center on Highway 20 and 27th.

Why avoid it? Because every single time I go there, it takes forever to check out—they have what, 10 aisles? And it seems like they only open two at a time even when there's a huge rush of people (which seems to be every time I'm there). And the ones that are there are slow.

Plus, my wife and a bunch of people we were talking to this last weekend have continuously had bad experiences there. So in the end, it's just not worth it.

No sooner than Jake invoked it and I pointed to BendStuff, craigslist has come to Bend. Not a lot on there yet, but expect that to change.

Also, Dave and Shannon beat me to the punch.

It was only relatively recently that I found out my friend Brian had written a book a few years back, called The 11th Postcard. Shannon recommended it, but said the only place you can get it is Amazon.

So imagine my surprise the other day when I was browsing in The Book Barn on a whim, and, checking out their local authors shelf, there was Brian's book—and not just one, but five copies! It's $12.95, and I bought one today. I figure, I could have bought it from Amazon, but this way I can support a local business and get the book immediately.

I'll write a review after I've had a chance to read it. Watch out, Brian. ;)

(By the way, The Book Barn in downtown is a really great store and deserves its own blog post here. I'll write one up sometime soon.)

Via Jake comes a pointer to this local classifieds site: BendStuff. I like the potential here, but I'm hoping this site just launched because there's only 4 listings at this time. I'll keep an eye on it.

Jake's comment amused me, though: "Be sure to check it out until Craig [craigslist] decides to open up shop here. If that ever happens and I were the guy running BendStuff, I'd just shut down then — you just can't compete with Craig." Harsh, but probably true...

While we were driving to Sunriver for the Sunfest yesterday, we passed the Lava River Cave and I thought this would be a good blog topic. The Cave is the longest-known lava tube in Oregon, running 5400 feet (over a mile) underground. It's located about 12 miles south of Bend on Highway 97, just past Lava Butte.

It's a pretty neat summer outing, if you're into that sort of thing. (It's only open during the summer months.) Take a jacket though—it's a constant 40 to 45 degrees F in the Cave, year-round. And it'll cost you $5 for a day pass, and if you want to rent a lantern, another $3.

Of course, you don't have to rent a lantern... you could bring your own, or a flashlight (that's what I would always do), and save your money. Take note, though, that "There are restrictions on personal lanterns, NO glass globe, white gas, or kerosene lanterns are allowed (our lanterns have special screen mesh globes, so no broken glass)."

Oh yeah, the point? Well, when was time you explored a natural underground cavern for a mile beneath the surface of the Earth? And what's really cool—after you get deep enough in so there's no more ambient light from the entrace, shut off your light. Pitch black, and if you're quiet, nearly perfect silence. Sensory deprivation! :)

I recommend trying it at least once (well, not if you're claustrophobic or really afraid of the dark). Here's a nice writeup of the Cave, worth a read before you go.

Yesterday we drove out to Sunriver to attend the Sunfest wine festival. It was a nice day for it, warm and sunny but with enough overcast to keep from getting burnt (though I think I did burn my neck a little bit).

It wasn't a huge setup, though; if you've been to the Sunriver Village Mall, you know it's not that big an area. You could walk from one end to the other in just a couple of minutes. For that, though, they had probably 15 or 20 different wineries represented, and then a number of craft and art booths. There was a live music stage set up, and food was minimal—there was a small vendor by the stage selling hot dogs, sausage brats and chicken hindquarters. Otherwise, you could get food from the restaurants in the Village Mall (pizza, Mexican, etc.).

Oh yeah, no beer available, either, except from the small food vendor ($4 for a bottle of microbrew), or the restaurants. Wine only in the festival proper.

We joined Shannon and Brian and their dog Charlie. The event was dog-friendly, mostly: we tried to get lunch at the Mexican place, who had outdoor seating, and a waitress immediately came out and told us no dogs were allowed—not even in the far corner of their outdoor area away from everyone else.

So we instead went to Ponderosa Pizza, who welcomed dogs (outside, of course). We were able to enjoy a big pizza and a pitcher of beer and then get back to the festival.

(By the way, it was really good pizza too—I'd recommend Ponderosa if you're craving a pie in Sunriver.)

All in all, a nice outing. I don't know if you could find enough to do for an all-day visit (plus it would get expensive, tasting/drinking all that wine), but it was worth the drive and a lunch.

A few of the events coming up this weekend I thought I'd mention:

• Balloons Over Bend: A bunch of balloons are launched, and fly over Bend... to be honest, I don't really get it. You have to get up really early to watch the balloons launch at 6:30, then... what?
  
• Sisters Rodeo: This is a Central Oregon institution, in its 66th year. I've never been (shock! awe!), but I've only ever heard good things about it. On Sunday, there's a pancake breakfast, too.
• Sunriver Sunfest: It's their 19th annual Sunfest, held in Sunriver Village Mall on Saturday and Sunday (the 10th and 11th). It's a food and wine festival; we're going on Sunday. Hours are: Saturday, 11-8, Sunday, 12-5.

Anyone want to write about any of these? Send it to me, and I'll post it!

Just thought I'd write up a short report to the Farmer's Market that started today down in the park. It was a nice day for it, and there were a fair number of people about. I was wandering around about 3:30... off the top of my head, there were:

• Beverages; chai, and fresh strawberry lemonade
• Roasted chestnuts
• Several meat vendors: fresh, smoked, sausage, etc.
• A fish vendor
• Fresh flowers, and plants (tomatoes)
• Lots of fresh fruits and veggies: zucchini for 50 cents apiece; carrots, onions, shallots, summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower, fresh greens, herbs; strawberries, raspberries, blackberries; more I'm sure
• A mushroom vendor, next to the cheese people
• Fresh bread from several vendors
• Cookies! A big table with many big cookies for $1 each, or 6 for $5
• Soaps, and other crafts

Some of the fresh stuff looked a little early; the blackberries, in particular (they looked suspiciously more like marionberries to me) looked premature. And there was live music, too. All in all, a nice outing... I bought a big cookie to enjoy and some dried apples to bring home (my wife just earlier bought cookies, sugar snap peas, strawberries, and a tomato plant).

I'll definitely be there next week.

When Simone broke the news about the new free newspaper, the Bend Weekly, I guess I had it stuck in my head that it was an online-only thing. Nope! I saw the actual paper in a newsbox along side all of our other local publications, and picked one up.

It appears to be about half-and-half of local content and boilerplate columns syndicated from other sources; and the introductory "welcome" article on the front page reads a little cookie cutter-ish, but all in all, it's a pretty decently-produced paper.

In general, I'd say it's a good thing to encourage more competition with our other newspapers, but I have to wonder how long it will last as a free pub (I'm thinking here of the Bend Bugle, which seemed to start out similarly; anyone remember that?). Worth keeping an eye on.

This Wednesday the 7th is the first Farmer's Market in downtown Bend, in the Drake Park and Riverfront Plaza area. Every Wednesday through October, from 3pm until 7. And according to Shannon it's also every Friday in St. Charles' parking lot... I'm assuming the same hours.

There's no official website for it, though, which is a shame. It's a decent affair, you'll find a wide variety of goods there, including (from memory): fruits and vegetables (in season, of course), fresh breads, baked goods (cookies, etc.), artisan cheese, fresh flowers, meat (someone we know sells buffalo and elk, among other meats), and more.

Of course, you need to get there as early as you can to get the best deals... perhaps I'll pop down at 3 or so to check things out.

Sad to say, I actually haven't been to the theater in McMenamins Old St. Francis School yet. But I've been to some of their other theaters, and I know it's a good deal.

First of all, $3 movies! You don't find that anymore. Second, seating is comfortable chairs and couches. Third, beer and food! Anytime you can order up a pitcher of good beer while watching a movie on the big screen is a good time, I figure...

(You know, back before the Tower Theatre was renovated and turned into a performing arts theater, I often wished that McMenamins would have bought it and turned it into a theater pub, like their Bagdad in SE Portland. I think that would've been huge... but I digress.)

This week's movies are "V for Vendetta," "The Sentinel," and "The Wild." I'm not sure which would be a better movie to watch while drinking...

The Old Mill District's website has a pretty good summertime calendar of events online (in PDF format). It covers the next three months, and includes non-Old Mill events—though Old Mill-specific ones are highlighted in orange text. Events are listed from June through August.

It reminded me that the Bend Farmer's Market starts next Wednesday... and that the Bend Brewfest is coming up the third weekend in August. Nice.

Disclaimer: I knew about this calendar because I helped set it up. :)