Merry Christmas! I hope everyone's having a safe time this year and enjoying good food, good cheer, and good family. Except for a (possibly) a few posts here and there, I'm expecting to take the week off from the blog—sort of a Christmas blog vacation.

Happy Holidays everybody!

Yes, there are only two real shopping days until Christmas left, and I realize there are more things in town to shop for than pets, books, toys and games, and food and drink. Here's a general roundup of more shopping options that I missed. (And I'm pretty sure I'll miss more, too.)

The Brew Shop: Homebrewing supplies for beer makers, and an excellent bottle shop for beer seekers. 2524 NE Division, 541-323-2318.

Local Joe: Downtown's locally-owned clothing store that's been around forever. 929 NW Wall, 541-385-7137.

Hot Box Betty: Women's boutique clothing. 903 NW Wall, 541-383-0050.

Bambini of Bend: Kids clothing, toys, and gear. 1052 NW Newport, Suite 102, 541-385-1806.

Folks from Desperado wrote in earlier with: "Desperado in the Old Mill carries some fun leather pillows by designer Patricia Wolf." The Old Mill, 541-749-9980.

Goody's: Can't believe I missed them the first time around. Handmade chocolates and candies, including sugar-free treats. 957 NW Wall, 541-389-5185, and 2680 NE Hwy. 20, 541-388-6965.

Ranch Records: Best local music store in town. 831 NW Wall, 541-389-6116.

Skjersaa's: They've really been around forever (since 1958). Ski and snowboard shop. 130 SW Century Drive, 541-382-2154‎.

Pine Mountain Sports: Outdoor sports and gear shop of all kinds. 255 SW Century Drive, 541-385-8080.

The last few posts have been pretty Bulletin-centric, but what can I say? They're publishing interesting stuff. Today it's a compendium of their own holiday gift guide.

Tech gifts, "nifty gifts" (whatever that means), practical gifts, homemade gifts, luxuries: not everything is local but it's good for ideas. Only a couple of shopping days left, and judging by what I've seen so far this season, people have waited longer this year—it's still busy out there.

The Bulletin has their annual list of big Christmas light displays online, and you should definitely drive around and check these out one of these nights.

We did tonight, and while we didn't follow the Bulletin's list, we did catch the display at Perrigan Drive, which the paper's article covers. It is as big and crazy as advertised and totally worth seeing.

The Bulletin's Ben Salmon has brought back Near/Far for the third year now: the compilation of free music representing the best music of 2009.

36 free, legal, downloadable MP3s covering the best music of 2009.

There are 18 from local bands like Moon Mountain Ramblers, Person People, Eric Tollefson, Erin Cole-Baker and more, and 18 from national acts like The Avett Brothers, Brendan Benson, Animal Collective, Felt, and Japandroids.

It all comes with nifty artwork in two .zip files.

I've said it before: this is one of the most progressive, open things the Bulletin does during the year. Of course, it's Salmon's hard work that makes this happen, but kudos to the Bulletin for being willing to support the endeavor.

Christmas is fast approaching (less than two weeks away!) and for any last-minute shopping you need to do, herewith are some suggestions. Organized by category, all as local as possible, with some specific suggestions and some general. Feel free to leave additional suggestions in the comments.

Both Newport Avenue Market and Whole Foods are great places to go for both specialty foods (gourmet cheeses, chocolates and candies, organic whatever), and have extensive beer and wine selections as well. (Particularly the beer—both have great offering perfect for any beer geek.)

Newport Market: 1121 NW Newport Avenue (west side), 541-382-3940. Open 7 days a week, 7am to 9pm.

Whole Foods: 2610 NE Highway 20 (east side), 541-389-0151. Open 7 days a week, 8am to 9pm.

Gift cards to one of our many good restaurants is always a good option: off the top of my head several good ones would be Zydeco, Ariana, the Pine Tavern, Joolz, the Victorian Café, Kebaba, and one of the many breweries.

Speaking of breweries, pick up a growler or bottles from one of our many: Deschutes Brewery, Bend Brewing, Silver Moon, 10 Barrel (at JC's), McMenamins, Cascade Lakes, or Three Creeks (in Sisters). Word to the wise about growlers though: they shouldn't sit around too long after buying them—they're full of fresh beer and don't have an airtight seal. So if you buy one a week or more in advance then you'll likely be giving flat beer as a gift.

More of a wine person? Try Maragas Winery or Volcano Vineyards. Both offer a nice variety of locally-produced wines which you can pick up (and taste!) in their tasting rooms here in town. Both also feature wine clubs that would be a fun gift to someone as well.

Maragas tasting room: 643 NW Colorado, 541-330-0919. Open Thursday through Saturday 2 to 8.

Volcano tasting room: 126 NW Minnesota, 541-617-1102. Open Tuesday through Saturday 12 to 8, Sunday 12 to 5.

Cheese goes great with wine, and Tumalo Farms produces handcrafted cheeses locally: artisan goat milk cheese, six different varieties on their website right now. You can order from them directly online, but I've also seen some of their cheeses as Whole Foods, and Newport Market probably has them as well.

Coffee lovers on your list? Check out Strictly Organic: they roast their own beans and sell a wide variety of blends and yes, they are certified organic. Stop in at their retail location/café to pick up your coffee, and stick around long enough for a cup or two and maybe lunch.

6 SW Bond, 541-330-6061. Open Monday through Saturday 8 to 8, Sunday 10 to 6.

Finally, booze might be what you're after—nothing wrong with that! My favorite liquor store is East Bend Liquor at 2220 East Highway 20, though the smaller west side liquor store inside of Ray's is pretty good also. East Bend Liquor carries a nice variety of gift packages—bottles of specialty alcohol with custom glassware, for instance—and the staff is friendly and very helpful.

And they stock the full line of Bendistillery wares as well: Crater Lake Vodka, Cascade Mountain Gin, Mazama Pepper Vodka, and the Hazelnut Espresso Vodka.

Christmas is fast approaching (less than two weeks away!) and for any last-minute shopping you need to do, herewith are some suggestions. Organized by category, all as local as possible, with some specific suggestions and some general. Feel free to leave additional suggestions in the comments.

D's Hobbies: A full-service hobby shop, with models, radio-controlled everything, paintball, wood hobbies, trains, puzzles, rockets, and much much more. It would be pretty hard not to find something, though they don't stock "just" toys (it's all hobby oriented). They have an online store too, but I definitely encourage you to stop in and browse.

757 NE Greenwood, 541-389-1330. Open 7 days a week, 10 to 6.

Leapin' Lizards: Downtown Bend's boutique toy store, carrying many of the popular toys as well as the unusual, imaginative, and educational toys and games. Great for big gifts and stocking stuffers. They'll gift wrap orders over $15.

953 NW Wall, 541-382-8326. Open Monday through Saturday from 10 to 6, Sunday from 11 to 4 (winter hours).

Pegasus Books: Not just books and comics, Pegasus carries a large number of games and toys that are comic, video game, and/or science fiction themed, or just plain eclectic or unusual. Heard of a fun and unusual board game? Try here first.

105 NW Minnesota, 541-388-4588. Open Monday through Saturday 11 to 6, Sunday 12 to 4.

I don't know of any toymakers in town, other than the Qubits people: they've developed an educational construction toy that's kind of a cross between an erector set and Legos, but flexible; the pieces are uniquely geometrical and there are a couple of kinds of connectors to play around with.

There's a Junior Kit for $29.99, and a Jumbo Kit for $79.95, all ages 5 and up. Order online directly from their website.

Christmas is fast approaching (less than two weeks away!) and for any last-minute shopping you need to do, herewith are some suggestions. Organized by category, all as local as possible, with some specific suggestions and some general. Feel free to leave additional suggestions in the comments.

If you're just browsing, there are a number of local new and used bookstores you should visit (in alphabetical order):

Between the Covers: 645 NW Delaware (the corner of Delaware and Bond), 541-385-4766. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 to 6.

The Bookmark: 228 NE Greenwood, 541-617-9271. Open 10 to 5:30, I think 7 days a week (at least Monday through Saturday).

Camalli Book Company: 1288 SW Simpson, Suite C, 541-323-6134. Open Monday through Saturday 10 to 6, Sunday 12 to 4.

Dudley's Bookshop Cafe: 135 NW Minnesota, 541-749-2010.

The Open Book: 155 NE Greenwood, 541-388-3249. Open Monday through Saturday 10 to 6.

Pegasus Books: 105 NW Minnesota, 541-388-4588. Open Monday through Saturday 11 to 6, Sunday 12 to 4.

Of course, there are specific book recommendations as well (some from user submissions, some are my own picks):

All Around Bend: Though the first printing has sold out, this newest (locally-published) guidebook to Bend looks to be accepting (pre?)orders for the new edition.

Living Local Coupon Book: Featuring 150 coupons from local businesses, including Alpenglow Cafe, Bellatazza, the Deschutes Historical Museum, Pine Mountain Sports, and many more. It's $20 and coupons are good through November 2010.

Haven Home Style in downtown Bend features a variety of "Interior Design and Specialty Books" available for purchase. If you're looking for books on architecture, interior design, or lifestyle you might give them a look.

Bend, Overall: Great guidebook released five years ago, by Scott Cook. (Read my review.) (Yes, a couple of these are Amazon.com links—despite my admonition to buy local. Sometimes those are the best-available links and I'm using my affiliate code. Click as you wish.)

Frontier Doctor: Love this book, it's the early history of Bend and the town's first doctor, Urling Coe. Fun read, a must for local history buffs.

Bend (Images of America): You can get this at the Deschutes Historical Museum, a 100-year pictorial history of Bend.

Meet Me in the Badlands: Exploring Central Oregon with Jim Witty: A collection of some of the best of the late Jim Witty's great travel adventures around Central Oregon. Proceeds from sales go to the Jim Witty Memorial Fund. Also found at the Deschutes Historical Museum, and some of the outdoor sports stores like Pine Mountain Sports.

Christmas is fast approaching (less than two weeks away!) and for any last-minute shopping you need to do, herewith are some suggestions. Organized by category, all as local as possible, with some specific suggestions and some general. Feel free to leave additional suggestions in the comments.

RuffWear: Bend is a dog town, so naturally there evolved a company like RuffWear: they produce gear for "dogs on the go", from boots to coats to packs to beds and quite a bit more. They even helpfully have a Holiday Gift Ideas section on their website, organized by price.

The folks from RuffWear wrote in to say, "Our products are available either through our website, or at Healthy Paws in Northwest crossing, Pandora's Backpack downtown, or at both locations of Bend Pet Express."

Contact/info: order directly from their website or visit one of the afore-mentioned stores in person.

Bend Pet Express: Bend's locally-owned pet superstore, with locations on both the west and east sides of town. Pet food, toys, accessories, treats, and even a grooming service, Bend Pet Express has everything you should need. You can shop online, and they'll even deliver!

Right now you can buy personalized ornaments, and like RuffWear are running some other Holiday Gift Ideas on their website's front page. Even better, they are running wishlists for local non-profits: things you can buy and donate to organizations that help animals.

East side: 420 NE Windy Knolls, 541-385-5298. Open 7 days a week, 9 to 6.

West side: 133 SW Century Drive, 541-89-4620. Same days/hours.

A bit late, but here's a roundup of stuff going on this weekend. The Good Drop Wine Shoppe is still holding their free tastings through Saturday during their regular hours of 11 to 6. There's also a number of Santa-related things I'm not listing here, but you can find on Visit Bend's event calendar.

Friday

• The Bicycle Art Walk is going on downtown; businesses will display bicycle-themed art and other fun bike-related events will take place in conjunction with the 2009 National Cyclocross Championships. From 5 to 9pm.
• Matt Miller brings his music to Bottoms Up in Sunriver, starting at 7pm.
• Indie artists The Physical Hearts & Celilo are playing Silver Moon Brewing at 9pm. Cover is only $5.

Saturday

• The Phoenix Inn is having a Holiday Rummage Sale from 8am until 4pm. $2 admission for adults, taking place at the hotel on Franklin.
• Frontier Santa—aka Father Christmas—is at the High Desert Museum from 11 to 2. This is Santa dressed in green Victorian garb. $10 non-members (plus admission), $5 members; includes a gingerbread cookie and a personalized photograph.
• Matt Miller gets around: he's playing Strictly Organic Coffee at noon. It's a free show.
• Blind Citizens & The Dirty Words are playing at Silver Moon at 9pm. Hip-hop/rock music for $5.
• Sublime tribute band 40 Oz. to Freedom is playing The Domino Room at 9pm (doors open at 8). $12 cover.

Sunday

• Peace of Mind Orchestra is at Silver Moon Brewing at 7pm. They're funk/rock, and cover is $5.

First full week of December is down and I'm thinking about the ol' Holiday Shopping Guide series of posts. Actually, there were two different ones: the Shopping Guide for places to shop back in 2006, and the Gift Guide for specific local products back in 2007.

(Last year I did a "12 days of Christmas" countdown.)

So if I do a 2009 all-in-one shopping/gift guide, what does everyone want to see? Perhaps I'll scroll through the old posts of 2009 and look for likely things, as well as rehashing the previous guides.

If you have something in mind, or something you want to sell, let me know either with a comment on this post or via the contact form. Or heck, use Facebook or Twitter too.

This seems like such an odd story—how does a government operation not get its lease renewed?—but KOHD is reporting that the DMV did just that and now has to move.

The Bend DMV field office is moving temporarily to the former Bend Visitor Center, now owned by another division of the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The office will leave its current location after close of business on Dec. 17 and will reopen Dec. 22 at the ODOT Region 4 annex building, 63085 N Highway 97, Bend. DMV will operate at this location until a permanent site is ready for use in Bend. That location has not been announced. The DMV hopes to have one secure by January. It has to relocate because the lease at its current location was not renewed.

The temporary office's hours of business will remain the same - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Wednesday, when the office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Just in time for the holidays...

The old Visitor Center is just across the street from and a bit north of Shopko.

We were late to the Christmas Parade today, so naturally missed the Flash Mob that happened beforehand.

Wait, "Flash Mob"? Well, just watch:

If you have trouble viewing the embedded video, go check out the original on YouTube.

There's a pretty good variety of things going on this weekend, check it out:

Friday

• Tonight it's First Friday in Downtown Bend, the Old Mill District, and Northwest Crossing: also know as the Art Walk where galleries stay open late with receptions, featuring guest artists and new exhibits. There's also been known to be live music and refreshments (wine!). From 5 until 9pm tonight.
• During Art Walk, Lahaina Galleries is featuring their Annual Holiday Show, featuring original artwork that will be unveiled from three artists (who will be attending). Also 5 to 9.
• At Paradigm Artist suites (upstairs from Local Joes), there will be featured Portland filmmaker Phil Davis (who will be there in person) and his documentary "Living in Community", about a community working hard to live sustainably away from modern society. It takes place at 7pm. (During Art Walk.) Also featuring artwork by Karen Eland and Coffee Creations and Photography from Native American Artist Forest James.
• Mark Ransom and The Mostest (with special guest Brad Jones) is the featured show at Silver Moon Brewing tonight. Rock/folk music for a $5 cover. The show starts at 9pm.

Saturday

• The Bend Christmas Parade is taking place at noon!
• The Good Drop Wine Shoppe is featuring free wine tastings from 11 until 6 for a week starting Saturday. Besides the free tastings, a portion of the proceeds from sales over the week will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon.
• It's Repeal Day at the Blacksmith: December 5th is the day Prohibition ended, so the Blacksmith is having "a special celebration with a pre-prohibition cocktail list with such delights as the whiskey daisy, the Saratoga brace up, and Santa Cruz sour."
• Bluegrass group the Montana Slim String Band is playing Silver Moon Brewing at 9pm. Cover is $7.

Sunday

• The free Cascade Winds Symphonic Band Concert is taking place at Summit High School starting at 2pm. It's their opening concert of the season, and you can go watch Jake bang on some drums.

I nearly forgot that the Bend Christmas Parade is this weekend! This is one of my favorite Bend events of the holiday season, and it's coming up this Saturday, December 5th.

The Parade starts at noon, and as always, proceeds from Newport and Harmon east along Newport and the Bridge, then turns south(west) on Wall. Then west on Franklin/Riverside (along Drake Park) to cross the Galveston Bridge and end up back on Harmon.

Bundle up before you go, though. The temperature is only supposed to be 33 degrees that day.

You can't go anywhere without hearing about the OSU-UO Civil War tonight, and if you're looking for a place to watch the game tonight, McMenamins is showing the game on their big screen (the theater).

Doors will open at 4:30 while the game kicks off at 6. Admission is free (though you can buy food and drinks, of course—and what would football be without beer?), and minors are welcome with a parent.

This Friday is the First Friday Art Walk in Downtown Bend (also the Old Mill District and Northwest Crossing). In addition to the usual activities going on from 5pm until 9pm (galleries open late, often with live music and/or refreshments), I have some details on extra things happening that were sent in.

- At Paradigm Artist suites (upstairs from Local Joes), there will be featured Portland filmmaker Phil Davis (who will be there in person) and his documentary "Living in Community", about a community working hard to live sustainably away from modern society. It takes place at 7pm.

- They'll also be "featuring Artwork by Karen Eland and Coffee Creations (coffee-art.com) and Photography from Native American Artist Forest James forestjames.com".

- There's going to be a second Art Walk on Friday, December 11th:

The Downtown Bend Business Association invites bicycle fans to enjoy a special Bicycle Art Walk on Friday, December 11. Downtown business will display bicycle-themed art and other fun bike-related events will take place in conjunction with the 2009 National Cyclocross Championships in Bend, December 10-13. The Bicycle Art Walk event is in addition to the regular First Friday Art Walk downtown on December 4. For Bicycle Art Walk, everyone is encouraged to leave their cars at home and ride a bicycle.

Incidentally, the Downtown Bend website has been revamped and is now actually usable; they have a good listing of businesses participating in this Friday's Art Walk, as well as participants for the Bicycle Art Walk.

The title pretty much says it all... this evening (from 5:30 until about 7) there's a Tweetup/"Ugly Holiday Sweater Party" over at Flatbread Pizza in the Old Mill District. The Facebook Event page is here.

Wear your ugliest (or coolest, depending on your point of view) holiday sweater, show up and have fun. Kids are welcome. And yes, Flatbread has beer and wine as well as food.

January 1st is the date the new cellphone law goes into effect: if you talk on your cellphone while driving and are not using a hands-free device, you can be pulled over and fined $90. Are you ready for that? The Bulletin ran an article today on the subject.

Passed by the Oregon Legislature earlier this year, the new law bars drivers younger than 18 from using a cell phone behind the wheel at all — with or without a hands-free device — and outlaws text messaging while driving for all drivers.

Violation of the law will be considered a “primary” offense, meaning police will be authorized to pull over and cite drivers observed texting or holding a phone to their ear.

A hands-free device is a headset or earpiece that connects to a phone by wire or with a wireless signal, allowing an individual to talk on the phone without the use of their hands. Under the new law, drivers will be permitted to handle their phone to answer a call, dial a number or hang up, but must use the hands-free device while conversing.

The article also covers the exemption to the law: if you are driving and using a cellphone "in the scope of" your job. But it's pretty clear no one knows what that means.

So what does everyone think? Are we going to see an uptick on people being pulled over around town come January 1st?

Jake has the details on the latest free concert coming up from the Cascade Winds Symphonic Band:

• Sunday, December 6th, at 2pm
• Location: Summit High School auditorium
• Free!

It's the kickoff concert of their 2009-10 season, and while free, they happily accept donations. You can call 593-1635 for more information.

Looks like they're opening with a good show, and you'll get a chance to see one of Bend's most popular bloggers (Jake) bang on some drums.

It's late notice, I know, but tonight is the annual Christmas tree lighting in downtown Bend.

A great tradition in Central Oregon! The Downtown Bend Holiday Tree Lighting. Spend the evening singing carols, listening to local choirs, music and dance groups. The festivities get under way at 6pm. The big guy will be there to light the tree just before 7pm. The tree is in a new location! Come to Newport Avenue and Wall Street for all the fun.

Note the "new location": Newport and Wall, presumably by the Bank of America digital sign and the fountain.

Sometimes you don't feel like cooking on Thanksgiving, or perhaps your plans fell through, or perhaps you have no other alternatives to a Thanksgiving meal. If you need other plans for your Thanksgiving dinner, here are some I've found around Central Oregon:

• McMenamins Old St. Francis School is hosting a Thanksgiving Buffet from 1pm until 7pm. You'll need reservations, and costs are: $23.95 adults; $18.95 senior; $11.95 kids 6-12; free for kids 5 and under. Their blurb:

  This holiday, let us handle the food — you bring the guests. Make reservations (early!) for the whole family to meet for an incredible meal with all the traditional American fixings. Throw in some handcrafted ales, wines and spirits, and it'll certainly be a Thanksgiving to give thanks about!

• The Jackalope Grill is open and featuring a Thanksgiving dinner from 1pm until 5pm. They'll be serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal (as well as items from their regular menu).
• The Lodge at Suttle Lake is offering "Thanksgiving at the Boathouse": $29.95 Adults, $15.95 children 10 and under. I don't have times though, so call 541-595-2267 to find out more.
• The Trinity Episcopal Church downtown is having their Community Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by the Hunger Prevention Coalition from 11am until 2pm. They accept volunteers and donations to help, you can find out more by emailing help1729@hotmail.com.
• Jake's Diner is hosting their Fifth Annual Thanksgiving Meal for Seniors from 12pm to 5pm. For $7.95 they serve Thanksgiving dinner to seniors in the area who do not have family here; the restaurant is closed for the occasion and staffed by volunteers.
• Sunriver Resort is having their Thanksgiving Feast in their Great Hall: $39 adults; $19 children 6-12; complimentary for children 5 and under. Reservations required. It takes place from 1pm to 7pm, and you can make reservations by calling 800-486-8591.
• The Blacksmith is featuring Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday: a four course pri fix menu for $30 a person and a smaller version for children under 12 for $15. They feature the menu on the blog post I linked, which has traditional dishes; the regular Blacksmith menu will be available too.

Any other suggestions? Leave 'em in the comments!

This Saturday Maragas Winery is hosting a winery barrel tasting out at their north-of-Terrebonne location. They're teaming up with Volcano Vineyards to do this, which is cool. Here's their news blurb about it:

The first annual Central Oregon Winery Barrel Tasting Saturday November 28, 2009 from 10am to 5pm.

Maragas Winery and Volcano Vineyards will both be tasting and celebrating the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend on Saturday with their limited production wines – including internationally award winning wines. Additionally, they will each barrel taste wine that has yet to be released.

Five dollar entrance fee allows for 5 tastes of wine. Additional tastes are one dollar each. Kids are welcome with their parents and will be admitted free. Hot spiced cider and popcorn will be provided free to all.

We'll also be tasting local/regional cheese.

And - Live jazz - Enjoy the Desmond/Getz jazz stylings of Bend's "Just Joe" and Portland's own David Evans.

They don't specify exactly what wines they'll be sampling, but it's hard to beat the price whatever they might be.

The Good Drop Wine Shoppe is the new wine place that moved into the old Chocolat et Gateaux space on Minnesota in Downtown Bend. They've been open almost a month and are having their grand opening celebration the beginning of December. Here's the press release:

The Good Drop Wine Shoppe, which opened Oct. 2 in downtown Bend, is hosting a Grand Opening celebration over the entire week of Dec. 5 - 12. The new wine store and tasting venue will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for anyone who wants to come downtown to taste "bubbles" and unique wines for free, and shop for unique gifts at special, grand opening prices for the wine lover on their list.

In addition, a portion of the proceeds from sales over the week will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon.

"This will be a truly special week-long wine event like no other," said The Good Drop's owner Chris Oatman. "We'll be pouring free tastings of bubbles, but also at times will bring out vintage wines that are probably out of stock everywhere else or extremely hard to find. It will certainly be a memorable celebration of great wine and good times. And while the event and tastings are free, any sales made during that time will benefit a great cause."

Throughout the week, Oatman, a vintage and rare wine specialist, will greet guests, answer questions, and have wine tastings available as they peruse the unique selections of wine and wine-related gifts.

For years, Oatman has collected, sold, and shipped wines to wine connoisseurs across the world. Now these same wines are available in downtown Bend at its new store a 141 NW Minnesota Avenue, and through www.gooddropwineshoppe.com. It carries vintage, hard-to-find, rare, and everyday fine wines at affordable prices.

According to Oatman, "Being so close to the Willamette and Columbia Valleys, Walla Walla, Yakima, and the California wine regions, means we can offer a wide selection of well-rounded, diverse, and high-end wines at a price that's often lower than wine connoisseurs might expect."

See www.gooddropwineshoppe.com or call 541-410-1470 for wine store location and hours, wine selection, and for more information about the latest offerings.

I don't really know anything about the shop, but free wine tastings are always an intriguing start.

This weekend is busy! I'm too late on the Friday stuff, but there's a bunch more to cover if you're looking for something to do Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday

• Deschutes Brewery's Annual Garage Sale starts at 10am and ends at 1. As always, it takes place up at their Mountain Room over at 901 SW Simpson. Lots of stuff for really good deals.
• Summit High School presents Harmony 4 Women, a holiday chorus, at 2 and 7pm. Non-profit beneficiaries are Grandma's House, Saving Grace, Women's Resource Center of Central Oregon (WRCCO) and Central Oregon Showcase Chorus.
• The Renegade Rollergirls kick off their fourth season at the Midtown Music Hall on Greenwood. Crazy skating sports! Doors open at 6pm, action begins at 7. $10 admission and kids 10 and under are free.
• The Freak Mountain Ramblers are playing at McMenamins as part of the Old St. Francis School's fifth(!) anniversary celebration. Show starts at 8pm, it's free, and all ages are welcome.
• The Ascetic Junkies are playing Silver Moon Brewing, with Mai from the Moon Mountain Ramblers also. Starts at 9pm. Folk/bluegrass/rock, for only a $5 cover.
• Tan Republic is hosting the Blacksmith After Dark Party, starting at 10pm. "Bend's best DJ and sick drinks" and everyone who comes will get a free tan from Tan Republic.

Sunday

• Kites and Crows, an acoustic duo, is playing Silver Moon Brewing, starting at 7pm. This is a free show!

I've gone through and added a bunch of stuff to the Calendar, so if you haven't checked it out in awhile, do so now.

I'll probably be posting some of those items to the blog in a bit, too.

More sucky local economy news: The Source breaks the news today that the 2nd Street Theater is closing.

I just got word that, after nine years as a main player in Central Oregon’s theatrical world, 2nd Street Theater will be closing for good following the upcoming run of Harvey.

“It was a very hard decision to make but since we will still own the building, it will be open for other groups to produce shows and rent the space for parties and events. I may even produce one or two shows a year as long as the building is available,” Thoma said in a press release this morning.

2nd Street was the theater that brought us Evil Dead: The Musical.

This Qwest notice about the new area code coming up is sitting here on the desk staring at me, so I'm relaying the news for anyone who hasn't heard it yet: come January 10, 2010, all of Oregon outside the Northwest 503/971 area codes will have a new area code in addition to 541: 458.

January 10 is the magic date because that's the day that all calls will have to be made with the area code—even the local calls. Qwest's little info notice indicates that we should all be dialing the 10-digit numbers for local calls even now, just to get used to it.

Numbers with the new 458 code should start showing up after February 10.

At least they're not changing everyone's current numbers to the new code...

The Bulletin had two new restaurant bits on Saturday:

• NorthWest Crossing gets new restaurant
  The new NWX Bar & Grill, at 745 N.W. Mt. Washington Drive, replaces Aloha Cafe, which closed Oct. 23. Aloha’s other two restaurants in east Bend and Sunriver remain open.
  Stoddard said the restaurant is a family-friendly neighborhood gathering place that serves burgers and sandwiches but also features a full bar and big-screen televisions for sports.
• Chicago-style hot dog shop opens in Bend
  A new Chicago-inspired hot dog shop opened Nov. 7 in the old Baskin-Robbins location at 1106 N.E. Third St.
  Chicago Style Hot Dogs is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The owners said they import all of their products — from Vienna Beef hot dogs to neon green relish — from suppliers in Chicago. Co-owner Jeff DeHart, who grew up in Chicago, said the food is authentic, adding his restaurant serves up hot dogs just like they do in Chicago.

But what I know really drew you in to this post was the Olive Garden news.

There's an opening date: Monday, January 18th at 4pm. That's the word straight from their Corporate offices.

(We had heard a rumor last week that they were doing a soft opening this past weekend, but that turned out to be false, and my wife called them direct.)

I was wondering when roller derby started back up: for the Renegade Rollergirls, it's Saturday, November 21st. It's their season opener.

Oregon Renegade Roller Derby; Bend's only non-profit Roller Derby League, will hold their first bout of their 4th season at Midtown Music Hall, located on Greenwood Ave. The Renegades will be competing in a co-ed bouting event including guest skaters from Medford and Salem. This is a no holds barred bout, full of hardcore skating abilities, wipeouts, bumps, bruises and cat fighting fistfights. This event is sponsored by The Source, 92.7FM, Action Typesetting and Printing, THEM! Marketing, Players Bar and Midtown Music Hall. Doors open at 6 p.m., action begins at 7 p.m. Admission is $10.00 and kids 10 and under are free. There will be an after party with live music at Players on Century Drive. Presale tickets are available at Aspect Board Shop, or from your favorite rollergirl. Tickets are also available for purchased at the door beginning at 2pm the day of the event.

If you've never been to a bout, it's definitely an experience worth seeking out at least once. Only $10!

I just realized my headline there could be read a different way, which amuses me. Anyway.

The Bulletin reports that a new restaurant is finally taking over the space of the former Deep, Jody Denton's expensive sushi bar that closed suddenly in January when Denton left town in a hurry.

A new restaurant, 5 Spice Fusion and Sushi, will open in December in the vacant space that once housed Deep, a similarly themed Japanese fusion restaurant that closed in January.

The restaurant, in the O.C. Henkle Building at 821 N.W. Wall St., will be a sushi bar that also serves Asian-European fusion dishes, said co-owner and Chef Bi Long. The restaurant will use organic, local, healthy food, said co-owner Lilian Chu, the former owner of the Hong Kong Restaurant on Southeast Third Street.

They plan to open December 3.

Been awhile since I ran a press release... this one is for a good cause but since they're looking for volunteers aged 55 and older, I started to wonder what's the age demographic of Hack Bend blog readers?

Central Oregon Council on Aging RSVP needs volunteers. If you are 55+ years old and can read to children, help build homes for those in need, deliver meals to seniors or lend a hand with a community project, we need you.

The Central Oregon Council on Aging RSVP is looking for dedicated and resourceful volunteers with all kinds of talents and skills. You can be part of a dynamic team, meet new people, and set your own schedule.

Volunteers are needed now for:

Marine Corps Central Oregon Toys for Tots — Share a smile with a child in need this Christmas by helping out once a week with the Central Oregon Toys for Tots project.

Meals-On-Wheels — Drivers who can deliver meals to seniors and disabled people a few hours once a week.

Santa To A Senior — To make the Christmas deadline, we need volunteers to help sort and label, and participate in our gift wrapping party on December 16th.

Habitat for Humanity — Needs people who can use a hammer to help in construction of homes for low-income families.

Central Oregon Council On Aging serves seniors in the Tri-County. Help fellow seniors in multiple ways.

If you’re looking for a meaningful way to help friends, neighbors and your community, please call (541) 548-8817 and sign up today.

For more information about RSVP and additional volunteer opportunities, visit www.rsvpco.org.

Central Oregon Council On Aging (COCOA) is a 501c3 organization dedicated to promoting dignity, well-being, security and independence for Central Oregon Seniors and the designated AAA. RSVP is a partner agency of COCOA.

Here's our weekly look at the goings-on around Bend for the weekend, culled from the calendar. It's also First Friday tonight, so there are a number of things going on across downtown, the Old Mill District, and Northwest Crossing that aren't listed—just lumped together under the heading "First Friday."

The Nature of Words also continues through the weekend. There a number of readings, workshops, and signings still going on; I'll point to their event page for details.

Friday

• Swollen Members (hip-hop) are playing The Domino Room at 8pm (door open at 7). It's an all-ages show costing $18 in advance and $20 at the door.
• Alpaca brings their funk/electronic music to a show across the street at Silver Moon Brewing starting at 9pm. $7 cover.
• Volcano Vineyards is hosting live music from The Quons in their new location at 126 NW Minnesota, across from Toomie's.
• After the First Friday festivities, PoetHouse Art is featuring "Art Fusion" at 9:30pm: "Featuring perfomances by five painters, five spoken-word poets and live music." $5 to get in.

Saturday

• Hoe Down for Hunger: a fundraiser to feed the hungry, taking place at the Bend Community Center starting at 11am. There'll be a chili feed, a silent auction, and live music, all for $15.
• Eric Tollefson plays Silver Moon at 9pm. Blues music for a $5 cover.

Sunday

• Dropkick Murphys are playing The Domino Room at 8pm (doors at 7). It's an all-ages show with tickets costing $22 in advance, at $25 at the door.

For a ton of other live music listings, go check out The Source's music calendar too—they've got it covered like nobody's business.

I suspect I'm behind the curve on this one, but Monday nights at Typhoon in downtown Bend are half-price wine nights. Basically, all wine under $100 is half price... that's per glass and per bottle.

No kidding, half off a bottle. Our waitress told us that there are people who basically order a bottle on Monday nights just to take home.

It's probably about time to start compiling a new list of happy hours and deals like this one.

Tonight is the first "Open Mic with Tall Adam" night at Silver Moon Brewing, something new they're debuting that will repeat on the first Tuesday of each month. Here's their blurb:

Starting in November, the Moon will be hosting an open mic on the first Tuesday of every month, hosted by our very own bartender Tall Adam. All kinds of performers are welcome...solo-singer/songwriters, bands, drummers, spoken word artists...you name it. We will provide a stage and a mic for our talented community to show what they've got. This event is free and starts at 8.

Free entertainment and microbrewed beer. It's hard to get much better than that...

We noticed this weekend that Dick's Sporting Goods is now open up on the north side of Bend. That's the business that took over the old Joe's (née GI Joe's) space in the Cascade Village shopping center (between Food 4 Less and Ross).

Personally I'd never heard of Dick's prior to them coming to town, but they've got a huge presence nationwide, and at least the Joe's space didn't sit vacant for long. Is anyone excited about the opening?

Yes, "late edition" since it's late Friday night so I've already missed listing one-third of the stuff going on this weekend. And, remember I posted a big Halloween Happenings list the other day, so I won't be reiterating that stuff here, just the non-Halloween stuff.

(As an addendum to the Halloween Happenings, The Source's calendar has a bunch of Halloween things on it that I didn't list.)

Saturday

• Goodbye Dyna and Warm Gadget are playing at Silver Moon Brewing at 9pm. Rock music, cover is $5.
• The Moon Mountain Ramblers are playing across the street at the Domino Room at 9pm also. Tickets are $7.
• Necktie Killer, Tuck and Roll, and Danger Death Ray are playing a free show at the Black Horse Saloon at 9pm.

Sunday

• There's a Dia de los Muertos Festival at the Domino Room, starting at 4pm. "Admission and dinner on sliding scale starting at $5. Celebrate the holiday and support a great cause with traditional food, fellowship, mole cook-off, raffle and more. Call Greg at 617-3879 for info." (via The Source)

Looking for something to do on Halloween? There's a ton going on, both on the 31st and the days before as well. Here's the list:

General

• The Deschutes County Fairgrounds is hosting their "ScareGrounds" featuring "The Haunt at Juniper Hollow" and "Dark Intentions" running on a number of days this month, including the 28th through the 31st. You'll need to buy tickets and they recommend children to be ages 12 and up (though not required).
• Don't forget you can catch a showing of Evil Dead: The Musical at the 2nd Street Theater right up until the 31st—when they will present a midnight show, "Rocky Horror" style.

Thursday

• Bouncing off the Wall is having a Halloween party Thursday (the 29th). Unfortunately I don't have any other details but you can always call them at 306-6587.

Friday

• There's a Family Halloween Party at the Athletic Club of Bend Friday night (the 30th), from 6 until 8:30pm. It's taking place at the basketball court, and you'll need to RSVP at the front desk. (Thanks, Jen!)
• Person People is playing at the Domino Room Friday night; while not explicitly a Halloween event, it's "Mischief Night" and people are encouraged to wear costumes. The show starts at 8pm and costs $10.
• Deschutes Brewery is having their Halloween Fresh Hop Beer Tasting on Friday the 30th. They will be pouring at least six fresh hop beers and costumes are encouraged. $40 per person, starting at 6pm at the Mountain Room. Call 385-8606 to get in.
  
• The Monster Ball is taking place at the Old Stone Church Friday night (the 30th), starting at 8pm and lasting until whenever. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door; with lots of live music and a costume contest with prizes for the funniest, scariest, and naughtiest costumes, this is sure to be a wild party.

Saturday

• The Old Mill District is hosting a Halloween Party from 2-6p. There will be trick-or-treat for candy, healthy snacks and toys in each of the Old Mill District stores. Crafts will be hosted in Central Plaza (by the footbridge) by Arts Central and will include treat bag decorating, pumpkin painting, spooky sensory boxes and more. There will also be wagon rides as well as a special one-day reopening of Working Wonders Children's Museum. (Thanks, Cassondra!)
• CAT6 is having their party from noon on the 31st until 2am: "Spend this Halloween with your friends at CAT6. We’ll be running contests and mini-tournaments for prizes. Wear a video-game related costume and get a free candy! Best costume wins a 1-Year Family Membership to the lounge!!"
• Halloween is Carnivore Day at the High Desert Museum: "See our meat-eating animals enjoy special treats and other activities throughout the day."
• The Bend Factory Stores (AKA the Factory Outlets) are having their First Annual Halloween Festival from 10am until 4pm, with Trick-or-Treating among 21 of the Mall's stores from 4 to 8pm: "The Halloween Festival will feature Bouncy Houses, Face Painting, Balloon Creations, & Delicious Food! Entrance to the event is FREE and includes a Treasure Hunt for the first 100 kids with Prizes and Goody Bags. Make sure to arrive in the morning if you want to participate in the Treasure Hunt."
• The Tower Theatre is presenting a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween night. $10, all ages, doors open at 9pm, costume judging (of course!) is at 9:30, and the film starts at 10.
• The Run Like Hell! Half Marathon starts in the morning at 8:30pm. It's a fundraiser and for Halloween is featuring a costume contest and an afterparty at Deschutes Brewery.
• The (new) Maragas Tap Room is featuring a Halloween Beatnik Bash from 3pm until 10, featuring live music with no cover charge. Beer on tap is $2.50, and wine on tap is $4, $5, and $6.
• Cascade Village (the shopping center at the north end of Bend) is featuring Trick-or-Treating from 5 to 7pm Halloween night.
• Kids can Trick-or-Treat at the Bend Police Department and get a Halloween goodie bag between 5 and 8pm.
• McMenamins Old St. Francis School is having their Halloween Party in the Theater, featuring the Empty Space Orchestra and MC Mosley Wotta. It starts at 9pm and is 21 and over.
• McMenamins is also having a DJ'd Costume Dance Party in Father Luke's Room, starting at 9pm—also 21 and over.
• Seven Nightclub is celebrating their first birthday with "Flesh for Fantasy: A Halloween Experience." It starts at 6:30pm, and yes, I'm guessing it will be exactly as the name sounds...

Have I missed anything?

Halloween is this Saturday (already!) and I'm putting together a list of Halloween events going on around town to be posted later in the week. You know, if you need something to do.

But! If there's something going on I (possibly/probably) don't know about, you need to tell me. Let me know here in the comments or via the contact form, and it'll make the list.

Couple of email dispatches from the Deschutes County offices:

First, the County has a new draft of the "Comprehensive Plan" that they're offering open houses over the next couple of months for residents to offer feedback on. What is it?

The Comprehensive Plan is a blueprint of how and where growth and development occur and natural resources are protected in the unincorporated areas of the County for the next 20 years. The draft Plan is based on public input received over the past year, changes to state law, coordination with other agencies and organizations and analysis of current conditions and trends.

It's the first time a new draft has been prepared since 1979. This type of thing sounds like it could be rife with controversy.

Here's their schedule of public meetings:

• 10-27-09 Brothers - Brothers School 6-8 p.m.
• 10-28-09 Redmond - Redmond Fire Station 6-8 p.m.
• 11-10-09 La Pine - Mid-State Electric Building 6-8 p.m.
• 11-30-09 Sunriver - Three Rivers School 6-8 p.m.
• 12-7-09 Bend - Deschutes County Services Center  6-8 p.m.
• 12-9-09 Sisters - Sisters Library 6-8 p.m.

Next, the Cascade Lakes Highway is being closed tomorrow, the 27th, at 9am. The weather's moving in, folks. They're talking about snow in the weather reports.

Let's see what's going on around town this weekend.

Friday

• Matt Hopper and Eric Tollefson are playing at Silver Moon Brewing tonight, starting at 9pm. Folk/rock music with a $5 cover.

Saturday

• The High Desert Museum is featuring Civil War in the High Desert: "Experience life in the 1860s through Living History with military drills, authentic cooking, and when they aren’t gambling, they will try to recruit you. Dutch oven cooking demonstrations and churning butter as well!" It runs from 11 until 3.
• The Blacksmith is hosting another Mixology class, with bartender/mixologist Columbine Quillen. It starts at 2pm. Cost is $25, 21 and older (obviously). You'll need to reserve a space: call 318-0588.
• Larry and His Flask is playing at Silver Moon Brewing at 9pm. Acoustic punk enjoyment for a $3 to $4 cover.
• Poor Mans Whiskey is hitting the Domino Room at 9pm and performing their "Dark Side of the Moonshine"—their own interpretation of the Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon" album. Pick up tickets at Ranch Records in advance for $15, or $20 at the door.

Sunday

• The Civil War in the High Desert continues at the High Desert Museum, 11 to 3.
• Silver Moon Brewing has a special show Sunday night starting at 7pm (not 9 like usual): Jail Weddings, a 10 piece soul/retro group. Cover is $5.

Over on his Source Weekly blog, Bob Woodward (who should rightly be Bend's official historian) posts an interesting piece of Bend history: a summary of the life of George Putnam, an early Bulletin publisher and mayor of Bend, who married Amelia Earnhart.

As Mayor he approved the laying of Bend's first sewer lines. As majority owner of The Bulletin, he turned it from a weekly into a daily paper.

Putnam's marriage to Earhart was a much publicized event, and according to books on her life was, a very modern "open" marriage. Open or not, Putnam was a big supporter of Earhart’s career and a major financial backer of her various flights leading up to her final flight in 1937.

As to their life in Bend, Putnam and Earhart set up residence at 606 NW Congress Street. The house still stands.

Neat. I'd love to see more interesting history from Woodward.

On the Go-Go has a nice writeup on Bend's growing "street food" scene—AKA food carts like hot dog stands and the like. King Weenie gets a mention, and Soupçon and Spork get several paragraphs. I had no idea street food could be so gourmet.

Soupçon’s daily lunch offerings change with the season. Current selections include curried pumpkin soup with coconut, chickpeas, and fresh basil, exotic mushroom and pearl barley with dried tomato gremolata, and Creamy Red Potato/Bacon/Corn Chowder with scallions and smoked paprika.

Spork’s offerings include Vietnamese caramel chicken served with a mint-sprout salad and extra fine jasmine rice, Korean BBQ pork belly tacos topped with house kimchi slaw, Thai style grilled Vegetable coconut green curry with fresh herbs, a bit of heat, and rice and crispy egg-leek salad with a lemon garlic thyme vinaigrette.

There's also a mention of Blacksmith's Gavin McMichael's latest plan, "The Street": a "centralized location for vendors in collaboration with several other food vendors in and around town". Located next to the Blacksmith, of course.

(Doesn't the whole street food vendor concept work best when it's decentralized? You know, spread out? Isn't that more convenient to people over a wider area?)

Good news for you beer lovers out there: Deschutes Brewery is having their Abyss release party on Tuesday, November 3rd, starting at 5:30pm. They posted on their Facebook fan page:

The wait is almost over. The Abyss 2009 release party at the Bend pub will be on Tuesday, November 3rd, at 5:30 PM. This will be your chance to purchase the first bottle of the season, try a three year vertical tasting and purchase the new t-shirt.

If you're wondering, a "vertical tasting" is where they take several different vintages of the same beer and taste them side-by-side. Most likely they will be doing the tastings based on the 2007, 2008, and 2009 (this year's) vintages of The Abyss.

We've got a slower weekend this time around, with only a few things going on (and nothing on Sunday)—at least, going off the calendar. And of course if you're stretched for things to do, there's always the Free Fall Guide to give you ideas.

Anything else going on this weekend? Tell us about it in the comments!

Friday

• Tracorum and Shayna and the Bulldog are playing live at Silver Moon Brewery at 9pm. This is Americana/rock music for a $5 cover.

Saturday

• From 12 noon until 4pm, it's the Northwest Crossing Harvest Fest: lots of kids' activities including a scavenger hunt and a free bouncy house; live music; and the "Produce Patch Harvest Bounty Booth."
• From 7pm until 10 at the Decoy Bar and Grill downtown, they will be hosting free live jazz. This is their first foray into live music, and free is a tough price to beat.
• Eric Tollefson and James Orr are bringing acoustic and blues music to Silver Moon at 9pm. Cover is $5.

I've been hearing apocryphal accounts lately of how rampant swine flu is here in Central Oregon, and while not disbelieving them, it's hard to point out any hard figures—'til now. The Source has a blog post today on this very topic.

The swine flu situation in Deschutes County is more serious than the local news media so far have reported, judging by an e-mail County Communicable Disease Manager Shannon Dames sent to health care professionals today.

Under the subject line “H1N1 Cases are way up!” Dames’s e-mail states:

“I am sure this is not news to you, given what you are seeing in your own clinics, but to be sure we are all in the loop:

• Schools are seeing higher absentee rates - some up to 25%
• The Bend and Redmond emergency rooms are packed - 44 ILI [influenza-like illness] admissions in two days early this week, and 22 positive results [for H1N1 flu] from the State lab.
• We are getting reports that staffing [has] become a concern at some of our medical locations with people having to leave due to onset of ILI.”

There's also not much vaccine to be had: there's "some out there" but right now it's a waiting game.

However, so as not to inflame any fears needlessly, let's review this post I made back in April:

Illness caused by this new strain of flu has the same symptoms as other strains of flu including fever, lack of energy and appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, and can include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Those who have had swine flu in the United States have experienced mild illness, and have recovered. US hospitals have not reported an increase in serious respiratory illness. All cases were detected through routine surveillance for seasonal influenza.

I highlighted the "recovered" portion there, but obviously there have been some swine flu-related deaths that are owed more to extra circumstances than just getting the flu. From all accounts, H1N1 is a milder form of the "regular" influenza outbreaks that happen every year. So if you get swine flu, you'll be sick for a few days and (most likely) be just fine.

The number one thing you can do to prevent catching it? Wash your hands regularly.

Bend Memorial Clinic (BMC) will be relocating their existing Redmond services currently located at 1541 NE Canal Blvd to a new expanded location projected to open in March 2010. The new building is located at 865 SW Veterans Way approximately four blocks west of Highway 97 near Fred Meyer in Redmond.

Read full press release

Looks like there's been a very recent Streetview update for Bend in Google Maps—and I mean very recent, as in within the past week or two at most. Previously they only had the blue "Streetview routes" (in blue) on Highways 97 and 20. Take a look now:

And when you look at the Streetview pictures, it's obvious they were taken in the Fall—leaves on the trees are turned and the weather looks like, well, like it has been lately. And, you can view the schedule on the Tower Theatre's sign to see October events highlighted—notably BendFilm. So it's fairly obvious the Google Car has been through Bend and that Google does fast updates to their system.

Two questions: is the Google Car still driving around Bend, getting Streetview pictures? And, did anyone see it?

Update: Apparently I'm wrong and these images are from last year; the anonymous comment below and over on Jake's post point out the correct dates and better research. Still, it's nice to see more coverage coming to Central Oregon and hopefully there will be more updates soon.

Don't forget, the third Ignite Bend is coming up this Wednesday, the 14th! It's at the Tower Theatre, starting at 7pm (doors open at 6:30), and admission as always is free. However, seating can be limited so it's a good idea to get advance tickets if you're going. And a $3 donation would be greatly appreciated.

Doors will open at 6:30pm. Anyone holding advance tickets will be admitted immediately. We’re requesting a $3 donation – anyone that donates any amount will receive a raffle ticket. Kousefly will be warming up the crowd with some tunes. Twist Cocktail Catering will be selling adult beverages. After some brief announcements at 7pm the first round of presentations will begin.

Volcano Vineyards posted on their blog today that their new Tasting Lounge is open:

Right this second Scott is at the OLCC office picking up our new license, so we should be open today at 126 NW Minnesota (between Wall and Bond) by 3 pm! Woohoo! The next two weeks we will be in “soft opening” mode, meaning we won’t have the full food menu (if any food at all) just yet, and the hours will be erratic, as we complete the move and iron out the new set up.

No Grand Opening announced as yet, and one other bit of news: no minors allowed anymore. (Minors used to be allowed into their tasting room on Brooks.)

Another weekend is upon us already and there's a few things going on. The biggest and most obvious is the BendFilm Festival, which started yesterday, and packs a ton of movies, short films, parties and more into four busy days (concluding on Sunday).

Other stuff going on:

Friday

• Silver Moon Brewing has Tom Catmull and the Clerics playing tonight at 9pm, bringing Americana music to the brewpub. Cover is $5.

Saturday

• The Central Oregon Trail Alliance is having their Biketoberfest Trail Work Party, from 9 to 2pm, with an after party from 2 until 6 at the Wanoga Complex parking lot. Additional info:

  We will meet at the Park and ride(Colorado & Simpson) by 9 a.m.,then divide into work parties. Food and beverage will be provided to all volunteers at the BBQ.
  
  Remember to bring plenty of water, safety glasses, gloves, sturdy shoes, sunscreen and lots of friends.

• The Original Central Oregon Pumpkin Festival kicks off from 10 until 4 out at Tillicum Ranch (off Couch Market road west of Bend towards Sisters). Pumpkins to pick, hay rides, live entertainment, a haunted barn, lots of kids activities, food. (No dogs allowed.) Kids activities cost money (not much), adults are free.
• At two o'clock there is a Mixology Class with Columbine Quillen at The Blacksmith. The cost is $25 and you'll need to call 318-0588 for reservations.
• Silver Moon hosts Planet Loop and Thumbrprint Collective at 9pm. World/jazz/electronica music for a $5 cover.

Sunday

• The Janks and AM Interstate are playing at Silver Moon at 9pm. Indie rock music for a $7 cover.

It's not very glamorous, but next month from October 31st until November 15th, all yard debris disposal fees at Knott Landfill are half off, part of the FireFree awareness to create/maintain a wildfire-defensible space around homes and businesses. Since it's fall cleanup time (dead leaves, pine needles, branches, etc.) it makes sense to take advantage of the reduced fees.

The hours of the Recycling Center out at Knott Landfill are 7am to 4:30pm, seven days a week.

There's been something of a "local economy" movement floating around lately ("make local habit" is the prominent phrase I keep seeing) and now there's a local coupon book that is embracing that philosophy. It's called Living Local: A Community Coupon Book for Central Oregon, and has been out since May of this year.

It's a $20 purchase, and funds partially benefit the Waldorf School of Bend. Here's what they say about it:

2000 copies of LIVING LOCAL were printed Spring 2009, with a distribution premiere at the Waldorf School of Bend’s May Fair Festival, May 2, 2009. Books will be available for purchase ($20, tax deductible) from many local outlets; check www.livinglocalbook.org for all locations including Camalli Book Company, VisitBend, and Tower Theatre Box Office. Participating businesses were charged NO FEES to participate in this project so that more local businesses could participate in this community-building project. Also, current LL Book vendors are not receiving any book profits. Thus, all of the project's proceeds come directly from book sales and support the local non-profit school and support the community!

For this first edition, coupons will not expire until November 2010 so that participants may use and enjoy its offers for a full 1½ years. Printed locally on FSC paper. Future editions in coming years are expected to surpass 5000 copies. We plan to publish annually in Fall after 2010 as a perpetual income source for the school and community at large.

They've assembled an impressive list of local participants but to be fair, I don't know what kind of savings the coupon book represents; some sort of preview would be nice.

Has anyone seen this book around town?

I keep seeing updates on Twitter but it finally sunk in that BendFilm is just around the corner—as in, two days around the corner. (Maybe because it's been less hyped this year?)

From the 8th through the 11th (Thursday through Sunday), this independent film festival grips Bend with a ton of feature length and short films, documentaries and special events that will leave any movie buff satisfied. (Or so I understand.) Movies will be showing at the Tower Theatre, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, two "Regal" screens (at the Old Mill), and the Sisters Movie House.

Of course, the parties are what it's all about. Should make for an interesting few days.

So there's now a Hack Bend Facebook group set up and I'll be honest, my Facebook knowledge is limited so I don't entirely know what I'm doing with it (like, is the group page better, or would a fan page be the way to go? What's the difference exactly?). But since I've been using other services it was time for Facebook integration.

Events would be a nice thing to include on the page—ideally I'd like to be able to import events from the Google Calender rather than having to re-create them manually on Facebook (duplicating the work).

If I need to create a fan page instead of (or along with) the group, let me know.

Monday, October 5th (tomorrow... or "today" if you reading this Monday morning) is "ODS Free Seniors Day at the High Desert Museum": People aged 60 and older will have free admission all day. (Actually, the website says 65, but the email I received says 60—call first.)

In addition to the free admission, they are offering "special wildlife encounters, Living History performances and animal keeper talks", which sounds like business as usual—though I suspect these will be stepped up for the day.

And it's not entirely related, an additional note was attached to the email as well:

Also, the High Desert Museum will honor Working Wonders Children's Museum Golden Tickets through their expiration date and punchcards through March 2010 for free admission to the High Desert Museum.

The first weekend of October, and the cold weather is on us; I think I even heard some forecast mention snow, though I very much have my doubts about that.

Friday

• It's First Friday, which means the art galleries and shops downtown, in the Old Mill District, and in Northwest Crossing are all open later hours (5pm until 9pm), often offering up refreshments and live music as well. But wait! It's also the twice-a-year Art Hop! It's basically more of the same, only amped up.
• There's also a shuttle service going on during First Friday/Art Hop:

  Catch the free shuttle driven by Bend's own John Flannery of Green Energy Transport to take you from downtown Bend to the Old Mill District and Northwest Crossing to celebrate wine, art & music all over Bend. The shuttle runs from 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. and leaves from 900 Wall St. beginning at 5 p.m. The loop is about an hour and is free for riders.

  (Picked that tidbit up from Visit Bend.)

Saturday

• The Bend Fall Festival starts today. Like the other seasonal 'fests, downtown streets will be closed and there will be artists and vendors set up and selling their wares, free live music across several stages, food, beer, and wine, and more.
• The Deschutes Public Library is having their quarterly Friends of the Library Book Sale, in the Administration building from 10am until 4pm. You know I always recommend this—I loves me some cheap books!
• At Silver Moon Brewing starting at 9pm, Longbottom Leaf is bringing their acoustic music to Bend from Ashland, and the cover is only $3.

Sunday

• The Bend Fall Festival continues.

The topic of chili came up at work today (why not? It's perfect chili weather), and it was mentioned that Pilot Butte Drive-in has good chili and cornbread on their menu. Which naturally got me to wondering, what restaurant in Bend has the best chili?

For that matter, what restaurants have chili regularly on their menu? Besides Pilot Butte, I see that Black Bear Diner has chili on their lunch menu (along with a chili burger). A quick search online also reveals:

• The D&D Bar and Grill: Ah yes, of course the D would have chili.
• Baldy's BBQ
• ...and Wendy's of course, if you want to count them.

Who else in town is serving up chili? I want to hear about them, and I want to know who's the best. Sound off in the comments!

Ignite Bend 3 is coming up rapidly—it's on October 14th, just over two weeks away—and they are in serious need of sponsorship help to be able to even have the event. From their blog:

We are looking for sponsors for Ignite Bend 3! Ignite Bend is a free community event organized by a bunch of Bend locals. 100% of sponsor dollars go toward venue, refreshments, and other costs of putting on the event. We need your help to put on this amazing event!

And they Twittered today, "Hi folks! @ignitebend desperately needs sponsors asap for the upcoming event at the Tower Theater #inbend. http://www.ignitebend.com".

Essentially, if they don't get sponsorships, they can't have Ignite Bend, at least at the Tower Theatre: the Tower requires a deposit 10 days in advance of an event—otherwise, there's no event. That means Ignite Bend has to get the sponsorships and raise the money by October 4th in order to make the deposit.

One of the best things about Ignite Bend is that admission is always free—this is because they're able to get the sponsorships needed to cover all of their costs. Yes, there may be alternatives to the Tower Theatre if it comes down to it (I don't know)—but the attendance and experience will suffer for it.

Let's get some local businesses on the sponsorship bandwagon—there's only five days left!

All during the month of October, the 2nd Street Theater is presenting one of the more (most?) unusual shows to grace Central Oregon's stages: Evil Dead: The Musical.

Based on Sam Raimi's 80s cult classic films, EVIL DEAD tells the tale of 5 college kids who travel to a cabin in the woods and accidentally unleash an evil force. The songs are hilariously campy and the show is bursting with more farce than a Monty Python skit.

EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL unearths the old familiar story: boy and friends take a weekend getaway at abandoned cabin, boy expects to get lucky, boy unleashes ancient evil spirit, friends turn into Candarian Demons, boy fights until dawn to survive. As musical mayhem descends upon this sleepover in the woods, "camp" takes on a whole new meaning with uproarious numbers like "All the Men in my Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons", "Look Who's Evil Now "and "Do the Necronomicon".

Shows take place Wednesday through Sunday (except for this Sunday, the 4th), starting at 8pm Wednesdays through Saturdays and 6pm on Sundays. On October 31st, they're going Rocky Horror-style and presenting a midnight show.

Tickets cost $20 and $18, and you can buy them online at the 2nd Street Theater site.

As many have probably heard, Working Wonders Children's Museum in the Old Mill District is closing, effective October 4th (Saturday, October 3rd will be their last day). They weren't able to meet their fundraising goals (some $200,000, I heard on the news), and the overall model apparently isn't financially viable.

The kicker is, this week they're also celebrating their fifth anniversary:

We invite you to share in our final 5th birthday celebration from Wednesday, September 30th to Saturday, October 3rd in the museum. We have scheduled special activities and encourage everyone to participate in the festivities. If you have a punch card or Golden Ticket, please invite your friends and family in with you.

Unfortunately, there's nothing else quite like it in town for kids that I'm aware of; and I particularly liked when they would sponsor the childrens activities during the Summerfest for free.

The latter half of this week the Great American Beer Festival has been going on in Denver, Colorado, and today was the awards ceremony for all the beers across the country that was sent to compete. There was some 3300 beers in 78 different categories, and I'm happy to report several of our local breweries are bringing home medals.

First and foremost, big congrats to 10 Barrel Brewing for winning their first GABF medal! They won the Bronze in the "Out of Category" er, category for their S1NIST0R Black Ale, beating out 79 other beers to do so (82 entries in the category total). Huge win for the young brewery—good job guys!

Bend Brewing also brought home a medal: Silver in the "Old Ale or Strong Ale" for Outback X, their double-strength Outback Old Ale. They have been a consistent medal contender for the past few years, so it's nice to see another big award like this.

And finally, Deschutes Brewery won three medals: Silver for Mirror Pond Pale Ale in the "Classic English Style Pale Ale" category; Bronze for their "Quad" (a Belgian Quadrupel) in the "Belgian-Style Abbey Ale" category; and Bronze for Black Butte Porter in the "Brown Porter" category. Nice work as always!

The first weekend of Fall is here, made apparent by the fact that it's the last Friday Farmer's Market and the Bend Oktoberfest is going on. Check out what's going on this weekend, but there's also the Free Fall Guide to check if you run out of ideas (shameless plug!).

Friday

• The final Bend Farmers Market in front of St. Charles hospital for the season is taking place from 2 until 6pm. (The one at Drake Park on Wednesdays continues until October 14th.)
• The Bend Roots Revival music festival continues, with evening shows taking over the westside at 14th and Galveston (Parrilla Grill and Victorian Café).
• The Bend Oktoberfest starts at 6pm, 21 and over only for the evening. It's free admission this year. Beer, German food, music, and more.
• At Silver Moon Brewing, Ruins of Ooah and Raquy and the Cavemen bring world music to the stage, starting at 9pm. (I don't know what the cover charge is.)
• Cabaret is playing the Tower Theatre starting at 8pm. Tickets are $25.

Saturday

• More Bend Roots Revival, starting early and going all day with a ton of things happening.
• Oktoberfest continues, still free admission, and starts at noon. Kids are allowed until 6pm. (Festivities end at 10.)
• It's Open Mic night at Silver Moon Brewing, in conjunction with Bend Roots Revival. It's free and open to anyone and starts at 9pm.
• Cabaret has its final performance at the Tower.

Sunday

• Final day of Bend Roots Revival. It's another all-day packed schedule.
• Maragas Winery is crushing 2 tons of grapes, most of which were actually harvested here in Central Oregon (I didn't know they were at that stage!), at their Terrebonne location. It's free to the public to come watch and starts at 10am.

Since I've taken the time to create a Free Summertime Activity Guide the past couple of years, a friend on Twitter suggested/asked if I was going to do any for fall and winter as well. I am now! So here is a guide to the free (or nearly free) activities to be found during autumn in Bend.

Keep checking back, as I'll be updating this over the next few days/weeks, as well.

Click through for the Free Fall Activity Guide!

Ben Salmon over on his Frequency blog has posted (the first of?) a "fall music guide", lists of upcoming shows for Bend. Ben is pretty much the music authority these days for what's happening locally, so if you're into the music scene, this is where you need to start.

In the next day or so I will have a Free Activity Guide online for the Fall, to replace the Summertime one I ran the last few months. It was brought about by a suggestion and it seemed like one of those no-brainer things to do that of course I didn't think of it myself first. (I'll be doing a Winter one too, and probably Spring.)

It's going to be somewhat of a "first pass" guide, and I'll be editing and adding to it as I come up with more free (or cheap) things to do in the Fall—as always, suggestions are welcome.

Now in its fourth year, the Bend Roots Revival is possibly the biggest free music festival / celebration / revival / clambake in Central Oregon; spanning four days this coming weekend (the 24th through the 27th), the Revival will take over the westside at 14th and Galveston—both Parrilla Grill and the Victorian Café are heavily involved—and will present no less than 70(!) local acts and workshops across eight performance areas.

Here's a bit about the Revival in their own words (emphasis mine):

The Bend Roots Revival, now in it’s 4th year, is a 4-day celebration of our local performing arts community. The annual event is a project of 106.7 KPOV Bend Community Radio.

As a project of KPOV Bend Community Radio, all Revival performances and workshops are free and open to the public. This event is underwritten by pure community giving and effort, and hosted by The Victorian Café and Parrilla Grill.

Bend Roots a grassroots organization based in Bend, Oregon. Our mission is to help educate, connect, nurture and promote performing artists (of all ages and skill levels) in our area.

Many workshops are offered throughout the weekend and Sunday is focused on kids and families. This year we are pleased to announce that Victor Johnson will be performing and helping out with the Kids Music Workshop. Victor is a renowned kids music performer and Putamayo recording artist who has made a career of kid's songs. Based in the Dalles, he is a bright light for sure, and a neighbor our performing arts community can learn from.

Check out the schedule on their site; it's pretty eclectic and simply huge. Whatever music you're into, I'm willing to bet you'll find something to like at the Revival.

The musical Cabaret has been brought to the Tower Theatre for six showings by a brand-new local theater company, Cat Call Productions. You've probably seen the ads or heard the spots on the radio, it's been pretty well publicized. It's a high-profile musical, too, and The Source mentioned it "might be one of the most innovative theater ventures" Bend has seen in a while.

Evan Smith, a member of the cast, had written in to say:

A brand-new theater company, Cat Call Productions, owned by Tifany [LeGuyonne], is putting this on.  I went with to massage school with Tiffany for two years back in 2002, at COCC. She is way cool and producing this on her own dime... so she is def. a go-getter and entrepreneur worth mentioning.

We had our dress rehearsal tonight and it was off da Hook!

Tickets are $25, though for $100 you can get a VIP table for two right up front:

The front three rows of theater seats have been removed to make way for 8 tables, creating the illusion that you are sitting in the rear of the Kit Kat Klub - Berlin 1929. Stairs will bring the show from the stage to play out amongst you and your guests.

That sounds like fun!

Show performances are the 17th (first was tonight), 18th, and 19th, and then next week the 24th, 25th, and 26th. It's also a more adult-oriented show, as it contains mature content.

Oh, and in case you need a synopsis:

CABARET is set in Berlin at the close of 1929 and the beginning rise of the Third Reich. A young American novelist has come to Berlin to write and has fallen in love with an English cabaret singer. He becomes entangled in a rocky relationship, political propaganda, and the seedy, sorted night life of the Kit Kat Klub. The Cabaret’s own Emcee sarcastically narrates the story through song and dance. The audience gets a glimpse into the changing political tide of a nation destined to transform history forever.

In what has become an annual tradition, the Bend Oktoberfest is back again this month, on September 25th and 26th (Friday night and all day Saturday). A portion of Downtown Bend will be closed off for the autumn festival.

Friday night starts at 6pm and is for 21 and over only, ending at 10. Saturday starts at noon and until 6 is all ages, and then from 6 until 10 again is 21 and over.

Admission is free—though food and drink will cost you, of course. This is the first year that the admission is free—my past blogs on the event (back to 2006) list an admission price—so that's a good sign!

So what to expect? Well, aside from the usual bounty of Oktoberfest beer and German food, there will be live music and dancing, yodeling contests, wiener dog races, activities for kids like puppet shows and face painting, and more.

Most intriguing (odd?) are the wiener dog races; their free to anyone who wants to enter though it'll cost $10 per dog. I don't remember them being a part of the original Oktoberfest tradition, but here they benefit the Humane Society of Central Oregon. You can print out the registration form from the site.

Posting this because I always find it interesting when blogs are involved.

Bend Memorial Clinic (BMC) has launched a blog regarding healthcare in Central Oregon. The inaugural post by BMC’s CEO Marvin J. Lein titled “What If Our Current Healthcare System Chose to Be Accountable?” can be viewed by visiting BMC’s website located at www.BendMemorialClinic.com.

The blog will host a variety of topics including healthcare reform, health care issues effecting Central Oregon and BMC’s TotalCareTM promise to continue to support the unique relationship between a patient and their doctor.

ABOUT BMC: Bend Memorial Clinic includes over 100 providers representing 15 branches of medicine and 30 service specialties. It is the largest multi-specialty group east of the Cascades and functions as a comprehensive referral center for physicians and communities throughout the state. The Clinic has provided primary and specialty care since 1946.

With Portland's Poison Waters and Friends

Human Dignity Coalition is raising funds to support our Queer and Allied Youth Program and make schools safer for all youth and the community. Bring your checkbook or credit card!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Boondocks Bar & Grill
70 NW Newport Ave, Bend, OR 97701

Doors open at 7:30 doors, 8PM Showtime Tickets $10-20 sliding scale at the door. Ages 21 and over - no host bar Live Auction, bring your checkbook.

Proceeds benefit Human Dignity Coalition

For accessibility and info, 541-385-3320 office@humandignitycoalition.org

Jen forwarded this email to me, thinking it would be "hack bend-able." (I kind of like how she adjectified the blog name... verb next?) Anyway, it looks like a good deal to check out.

Dear Boot Campers and Friends,

You are invited to our Bend Chamber Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Thursday September 17th at 4:15pm-5pm. Please come to Drake Park, and share this exciting afternoon with us. We'll be providing refreshments, a raffle, and we are even offering an hour long boot camp class at 5pm at no cost, so bring your workout gear! Come out, join in on the fun, and see what the new owners of Bend Adventure Boot Camp are all about! We'll also be raffling off fun prizes like boot camp class passes! If you are interested in joining us, please RSVP! Here are the details:

Time
4:15 PM TO 5:00 PM, 5PM FREE BOOT CAMP
Date:
9/17/2009

Event Description:
Adventure Fitness Boot Camp is Central Oregon's Premier Fitness Program! Boot camp classes are held all year long and each hour-long workout includes world-class fitness instruction, motivational tools, and of course, a lot of fun! The program is designed to help you reach your fitness goals fast, in both women only and coed fitness programs. Lose weight, tone up, and feel great!

Please stay after the Ribbon Cutting ceremony for a free boot camp class around 5pm to see what our business is all about. The workout will be for all fitness levels.

Directions:
Look for us in the stage area of Drake Park.

Email or call us with any questions. PLEASE RSVP!

To your health,

Victoria Adelus and Josh Field - Adventure Boot Camp Trainers/Owners

Phone: 541-350-5343
Address: PO Box 5861, Bend, OR 97708
Website: www.BendBootCamp.com

Email: info@bendbootcamp.com
Max Muscle Bend Store: maxmusclebend.com

Saturday was The Little Woody, the barrel-aged beer festival I'd been touting for awhile, and I was able to make it down there from 12:30 until 3. (The event lasted until 10.) I've written a more detailed review over at my beer blog, including notes on the beers themselves, but here are some general notes about the fest from a more Bend-centric angle, along with the pictures I took.

Read more

Another weekend upon us already! Summer is winding down, the days are noticeably shorter, kids are back in school. What's going on this weekend?

Friday

• The Bend Farmers Market is at the St. Charles entrance today, from 2 until 6pm.
• It's the final night of Munch and Movies, taking place at Compass Park in Northwest Crossing. Tonight's movie is "Kung Fu Panda", and it's free to come watch. M&M starts at 6 with live music and food vendors, and the movie starts at dusk.
• Matt Hopper and the Roman Candles are playing live at Silver Moon Brewing at 9pm. Cover charge is $7.

 Saturday

• The Saturday Market continue at its place across from the Bend Public Library, from 10 until 4.
• The final Northwest Crossing Farmers Market is taking place from 10am until 2pm, right in the heart of the NWX commercial district.
• The Little Woody, the barrel-aged beer festival I've been blogging about, takes place from noon until 10pm downtown at the Deschutes Historical Museum lawn. All our local breweries will be represented (but alas, the homebrew club cannot pour their beer after all) with special beers for the event. $6 admission, no kids allowed. $15 for the taster package.
• The Bend VFW is hosting a free barbecue (donations requested) to help support our troops; it takes place at the VFW at 1503 N.E. 4th St. and starts at 2pm.
• Los Tikkilyches (straight out of Mexico) are playing Silver Moon Brewing at 9pm. Cover charge is $5.

Sunday

• The Great Drake Park Duck Race kicks off from 11am until 4pm. Music, food, and activities are punctuated by the actual Duck Race when the ducks hit the water at 2pm.
• Sunday night at 9pm, Silver Moon Brewing is featuring Sleep Waves and The Sofa Kings. Only a $3 cover.

As many of you may know, the owners of The Downtowner, a great little sandwich-and-soup shop located to the entrance of the breezeway in downtown Bend, are also the owners of The Summit Saloon, the sports bar located in the O'Kane Building on Oregon Avenue. You may also know that as of two days ago, they closed The Downtowner and merged with The Summit.

Here's the email Matt Gordon, one of the owners, had sent me (sorry about being late posting this):

As of Tues. Sept 8th, we will be closing the Breezeway location and merging the two businesses.

All of your DT favorites will be available at The Summit on that date. We will be opening daily at 11 AM. We are excited for this change, as it will finally afford our diners a more open and relaxed atmosphere as well full table service and more timely food preparation.

I appreciate it you can help us get the word out. Our new phone number for take out and deliveries is 541-749-2440 and the new physical address is 125 NW Oregon Ave.

On the one hand they're offering more space and better service and get to open The Summit for lunch during the week; on the other hand, there's this lament from The Source (bemoaning the loss of the East Coast character that imbued The Downtowner).

What do you all think? Good move for them? Same Downtowner quality at the new location? Or something else?

This is taking place over in Terrebonne, but it's for a good cause. Plus, I absolutely did not know that Terrebonne had a growing agritourism industry. Should I have?

Every day in Deschutes county, over 650 children are homeless, 1 in 7 go to bed hungry, and more than 6500 children don’t have access to adequate healthcare. Too many parents are faced with deciding: Heat? Or eat?

To help ensure all children in Deschutes County have access to basic-need services, the Heat? Or Eat? Benefit will be held on Sunday, October 4th at 3:00 pm at the Faith, Hope, and Charity Vineyard in Terrebonne. This fun, family event will feature several booths highlighting Terrebonne’s growing Agritourism industry. Educational displays will showcase the Crescent Moon Alpaca Ranch with alpacas to pet and learn about, Deep Canyon Preserve with information on Pheasant and Chucker hunts, a new Organic Vegetable Farm, local vineyards and a winery. There will also be a silent auction, horse-drawn wagon rides, wine tasting, art, and music provided by Erin Cole Baker and Casey Elliott. Beverages & hors d'oeuvres will be provided. Entry to the event is $10 and children under 12 are free.

All of the funds raised from this benefit will be used to support Family Access Network. FAN is a local non-profit organization that is committed to building a healthy community by alleviating the suffering of children in need. Through FAN advocates in each public school, children and families are connected to essential services including food, shelter, healthcare, clothing, job opportunities, child support, and more.

Questions regarding the Heat? Or Eat? Benefit can be directed to:
Angela Bacuyani - 604-0289 - angela.bacuyani@redmond.k12.or.us

Questions regarding Faith, Hope, and Charity Vineyards or Agritourism can be directed to: Cindy Grossmann-541-350-5384 events@faithhopeandcharityevents.com

Last week I posted details about the upcoming barrel-aged beer fest, The Little Woody—and today, I have a list of the beers that are going to be on tap.

This Saturday, the 12th, the lawn of the Deschutes Historical Museum will be the site of the beer festival, which is running from 12 noon until 10pm and featuring wood-aged beers from all of our local breweries. $6 admission, $15 for the "tasting package".

Here are the beers:

Bend Brewing

Barrel X
A limited release of our award winning Outback X aged for a year in a bourbon barrel. This is a deep mahogany beer with an aroma of rich malt balanced by hops and alcohol in the background. It fills the mouth with a medley of prickly hops, dry roasted malt and toasted oak.
O.G. = ?
Alc. by vol. = ?
IBUs = ?

Cascade Lakes Brewing

Skookum Strong Wood
This is a special version of our Skookum Creek Strong Ale. It starts out a medium-bodied strong ale with a noticeable hop presence. There are four hop varieties and eight different malts in this beer that provide the hop presence and malt complexity our region is known for. We then aged it in a bourbon barrel for 9-plus months, which lends notes of vanilla and toffee.
O.G. = 1.068
Alc. by Vol. = 7%
IBUs = 50

Paulina Lake Pilsner
This is a classic German style pilsner that’s light straw in color and well hopped with European noble hops, and fermented to a low final gravity. This leads to a beer with few residual sugars to create a dry crisp lager with higher hop bitterness and aroma than your typical American Lager. A perfect palette cleanser during a day of drinking barrel aged beers.
O.G. = 1.045
Alc by Vol = 4.5%
IBUs = 30

Deschutes Brewery

Lost Barrels of Mirror Mirror
After releasing this inspired barely wine last April as part of our Reserve Series, we found some “lost” barrels in the back corner of the warehouse. So, we set aside this special 100 percent barrel-aged version of Mirror Mirror for occasions such as this. This was brewed at our main brewery in a barrel previously used by Domaine Drouhin with Millenium and Cascade hops and four different malts.
O.G.= 1.102
Alc. by vol = 10.7%
IBUs = 51

Bond Street Bourbon Barrel Quad
A celebration of a classic Belgian-style ale with a Deschutes twist made with loving care in our Bond Street Pub using three different hops and two different malts. The barrel from which this beer originates was originally used to age bourbon by Makers Mark for 15 years.
O.G. = 1.087
Alc. by vol. = 9.3%
IBUs = 19

McMenamins Old St. Francis School

Reaper’s Demise Oktoberfest
This traditional Oktoberfest-style ale was aged in a McMenamins Hogshead whiskey barrel to help give a nice roundness and oaken flavor to an already malty and somewhat sweet beer. A medium hop flavor and aroma add nicely to the smooth aftertaste of whiskey while sipping the Reaper’s Demise. Beware as you might not get much work done harvesting the fields once you indulge yourself in this creation.
OG = 1.059
Alc. by vol. = 6.2%

Silver Moon Brewing

The Nekkid Creeper
This is an old-style strong ale aged several months in a fresh bourbon barrel with a fresh a floral aroma thanks to a generous Goldings dry hop and late kettle addition. Vanilla and oak dominate the nose along with alcohol due to the high gravity of this beer. The flavor is full bodied and mouth layering with a strong English malt background, toasty and bready. This beer is a dark mohagony in color and low in carbonation.
ABV = 9.1%
IBUs = 110

Bourbon Bite Porter
Our award-winning Snake Bite Porter aged in a fresh bourbon oak barrel. The aroma is that of roasted coffee, chocolate and a slight smokiness thanks to the black patent and chocolate malts, which satisfy the oakiness of our robust porter. Finishing dry, this porter has a big-mouth feel, along with the vanilla and sweet bourbon flavors, the roasted smoke character smoothes and compliments. Jet black in color a low carbonation level ensures a smooth tantalizing experience.
ABV = 5.2%
IBUs = 20

10 Barrel Brewing

Bourbon Barrel RIPA
A unique and generous blend of Ten Barrel’s original IPA and Rusty Barrel Red Ale, aged for several months in an oak bourbon barrel. This beer is deep amber in color with smooth ruby highlights. It has a full-bodied mouth feel that’s malty with hints of caramel and toffee. The beer uses six different types of malts and four hops to create a balanced hop bitterness and flavor, mingled with a smooth blend of bourbon, oak and vanilla.
Alc. by vol. = 7.5%
IBUs = 62

Three Creeks Brewing

Firewater Red
A big, balanced Red Ale with Northwest attitude, aged in a Hogshead Whiskey barrel. It took six malts and just over 10 pounds of hops (Columbus, Cluster, Willamette and Centennial) to create this Red ale that starts dry, offers a hint of malt sweetness in the middle and finishes with just the right amount of hop bitterness and evidence of whiskey that we were looking for.
OG = 1.058
Alc. by vol. = 5.8%

In addition, the Central Oregon Homebrewers Organization has two beers that will be available: both stouts, one is aged in a rum barrel and one in a whiskey barrel.

Seems like there's a bit of autumn in the air this first weekend of September; this weekend is going to be cooler according to the weather reports. Tonight it's supposed to be 65° by 9pm, which isn't too bad for First Friday walkers.

And today is the full moon. Make of that what you will.

Friday

• The Bend Farmers Market is at the St. Charles entrance today, from 2 until 6pm.
• It's First Friday, so that means Art Walk in Downtown and the Old Mill, where art galleries stay open late and host receptions and (often) refreshments. There's bound to be some live music, too. From 5 until 9pm.
• Munch and Movies continues tonight with "Twilight". Things start at 6pm and the movie starts at dusk, at Compass Park in Northwest Crossing.
• Kim Kelley is playing at Silver Moon Brewing tonight, starting at 9. Folk music for a $5 cover charge.

Saturday

• You'll find the Saturday Market at its place across from the Bend Public Library, from 10 until 4.
• Bonnie Raitt is playing the Les Schwab Amphitheater, with special guest Taj Mahal, at 6:30. (Gates open at 5.) Tickets should still be available at the Ticket Mill in the Old Mill, but Ticketmaster tells me they are $73(!).
• Silver Moon sees the music of Wendy Darling and Flyer, indie and rock music, for a $5 cover. Starting at 9, of course.

Sunday

• The only thing I have on the calendar is another Silver Moon show: Naomi and the Courteous Rudeboys ("Cali-funk, soul & reggae") and Cornflower ("beat-box, looping electro-pop"). Show at 9, cover charge is $7.

Another dispatch from Deschutes County to post in one day: this one's an advisory on the Deschutes River. With a photo even!

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is advising the public that the area of the Deschutes River near the Pringle Falls footbridge is extremely hazardous at this time and should be considered impassable.

The river area immediately upstream from the footbridge is currently spanned from bank-to-bank by a large tree. This tree span is approximately 60’ feet in length, with portions of the tree submerged. Additional debris is beginning to collect around this tree, making the river impassable.

With the current water flow, this area again should be considered extremely dangerous. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is cautioning all recreation users of the Deschutes River and other waterways in the area to use extreme caution when attempting to navigate these waters. If you are unfamiliar with an area, or simply have not been in or around the water you are attempting to navigate, you should always scout the waterway first and observe the current conditions and any hazards to navigation.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office will be making contact with other Federal, State and local agencies in an attempt to mitigate this danger.

One of the many dispatches I get from Deschutes County came today about Knott Landfill's free tire collection event coming up on September 19th. I don't personally worry much about tires, but I like to know when these free collection events are since I've been known to get rid of other things...

Residents can dispose of unwanted tires free at a collection event scheduled on Saturday, September 19 at the Knott Landfill Recycling & Transfer Facility. This annual event benefits the community by giving citizens an opportunity to dispose of used tires in a responsible manner.

The recycling event takes place at Knott Landfill, 61050 SE 27th St. in Bend, on Saturday, September 19, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Citizens are encouraged to take this opportunity to clean up their property as well as neighboring lands, which helps to serve as a deterrent to the West Nile virus.

Tires both on-and-off the rim can be dropped off, however, no tires over 24.5” (wheel diameter) can be accepted. No farm equipment tires, tires from businesses, fleet tires, or heavy equipment tires will be accepted. A limit of 12 tires per household has been set so if you have more than that please contact the Solid Waste office for approval.

For more information, please contact the Deschutes County Solid Waste Office at
317-3163 or visit the Solid Waste website at www.co.deschutes.or.us/solidwaste.

Got this media alert from Bend Memorial Clinic, their flu shot clinic coming up in September.

WHAT: Need your flu shot? Get your shot before the start of the peak flu season in February. Bend Memorial Clinic will hold a Flu Shot Clinic this September and the flu vaccination will cost only $25.

WHO: The Flu Shot Clinic is open to anyone over the age of three years old. To make an appointment, please call 541.382.4900. Walk-ins are welcome. For questions and concerns, please call Bend Memorial Clinic at 541.382.2811.

WHEN & WHERE: September 19 from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. located at BMC’s Eastside Clinic located at 1501 NE Medical Center Drive.

I mentioned a while back a brief bit about The Little Woody, the barrel-aged brew festival coming up in September to replace the Bend Brew Fest. There are more details now; as I posted on my beer blog last night:

This festival will feature hand crafted, wood aged beer as well as one specialty brew from all of Central Oregon’s seven breweries. The Little Woody will be the place to be September 12, 2009. Festival goers will enjoy live music, great food, a wood carving exhibition and beer tastings throughout the day and into the night.

The Little Woody will take place in downtown Bend on the lawn of the Des Chutes Historical Museum located on the corner of Wall Street and Idaho. Event hours are Saturday September 12th from 12pm-10pm. Admission to the event is just $6 and includes a commemorative glass. A tasting package is available for $15 and includes a commemorative glass and tasting tickets. A portion of the event proceeds will benefit the Deschutes Historical Society.

All of the local microbreweries are participating—even Sisters-based Three Creeks Brewing. There will even be two beers from the local homebrewing club—both stouts, one aged in a rum barrel and one aged in a whiskey barrel.

In addition, the music line-up looks like this:

• 12:00 A Scottish Heart
• 1:30 Shireen Amini
• 3pm Old Wave
• 4:30 Bare Roots
• 6pm Buck & the Digs
• 8pm Blackstrap

This should be a good beer fest—while Deschutes Brewing obviously is an old hand at barrel-aging their beers, I'm really interested in seeing what the other breweries can do.

Over on my original Abbey Pub post, Geoff (the owner) has been answering comments and providing updates, and the last was worth reposting:

Our hours have changed a little bit. Here's the scoop: we were closed last Tuesday due to having a wisdom tooth extracted.

We will be closed this Tuesday due to going back to the dentist in the AM and then, frankly, taking the rest of the day off to rest. Coming up on a month straight with the only day off being the wisdom tooth day, I need a little break.

We are opening at 11:00 am Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sat. We have been opening at 2:00 on Sunday because it has been really slow in the mornings, but this will change when Football start and when COCC starts (Sept 21st I think).

I have started a twitter account if anyone wants to follow that to see what the current draft list is (twitter.com/TheAbbeyPub). We blew the Big Sky Trout Slayer yesterday and put Terminal Gravity ESG (Extra Special Golden) on. Upcoming beers are: Sea Dog brewing Blueberry Wheat and Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale.

As for the lighting, that will be taken care of after the cooler issues. I have a guy coming over on Wednesday to look at the coolers, so we should have the coolers up and stocked (somewhat) by Friday. That means the lights should be addressed by the following Friday. I will go shopping for lights on Tuesday and try to get that taken care of. Thanks for all the posts and suggestions.

Say Hi when you come in and let me know you found out about my place on Jons' awesome blog!

Geoff Marlowe
The Abbey Pub
323-2337 (323-BEER)
1740 NW Pence Ln

I added the emphasis and the link. Have you been in there yet? Why not?

Friday seems to be the big day this weekend, looking over the calendar. (Since I mostly pull these "Weekend happenings" from the calendar...) Sunday is pretty sparse.

Friday

• The Bend Farmers Market is at the St. Charles entrance today, from 2 until 6pm.
• Munch and Movies continues tonight with "The Princess Bride". Things start at 6pm and the movie starts at dusk, at Compass Park in Northwest Crossing.
• Deschutes Brewery is hosting a "Farmer's Feast Beer Dinner" at their Mountain Room tonight. It might be too late to get in, but it's $55 per person; go here for details.
• The big buzz for the weekend is Ween, playing at the Les Schwab Amphitheater tonight. Gates open at 5, the show starts at 6:30, and you should still be able to get tickets at the Ticket Mill in the Old Mill District.
• At Silver Moon Brewing tonight, Marv Ellis with The Platform is playing at 9pm. It's hip hop/soul music and they're further featuring DJ Dv8 and extra special guest Mosley Wotta. Cover is $7.

Saturday

• You'll find the Saturday Market at its place across from the Bend Public Library, from 10 until 4.
• Kebaba is hosting an "August Patio Party" from 5 until 8pm featuring Live Music with The Sweet Harlots.
• Portland-based Pink Martini is playing the Les Schwab Amphitheater at 6:30pm (gates open at 5.) Get your tickets at the Ticket Mill. The show is an Oregon Sesquicentennial Celebration.
• Silver Moon hosts the band Ghostwriter, out of Texas, at 9pm. Punk/folk music, and local "super rocker kids" We Are Brontosaurus will be opening. No cover was posted, but it'll be around $5 I'm sure.

Sunday

Apparently not much going on (relatively).

Redmond's Centennial is coming up next year (the city was incorporated on July 6, 1910), and their 2010 Centennial Committee is holding a poster contest to select the official poster for the Celebration. I've reproduced the press release below; the only question is, what is the due date for submissions?

The 2010 Redmond Centennial Committee is excited to announce a poster contest for the official poster for the Centennial Celebration! This is a wonderful way to contribute to the Redmond Centennial through your artistic and graphic skills. We are looking for poster designs that represent the past 100 years of Redmond. This can focus on a specific image or time or a collage.

We ask that all posters include the following text/graphics:

1. Redmond Centennial 2010
2. Dates of events are as follows:
   1. Centennial Kickoff Weekend, May 28-31, 2010
   2. Centennial Week Celebration, July 2-6,2010
   3. Harvest Festival, September 17-19, 2010
3. Web address, phone number and email address:
   www.ci.redmond.or.us, (541) 504-2010, redmond2010@ci.redmond.or.us
4. Redmond Centennial HUB (will be emailed upon request).

Rules:

1. Only original artwork will be considered.
2. Copyrighted Images/Subjects: The winner’s work will become the property of the City of Redmond.
3. Please submit your poster as a .jpeg or .pdf. It may be emailed or sent on a cd. The winner will be asked to submit a high-resolution .jpeg.
4. Artists may submit multiple posters. When creating your poster, please remember that the winning poster will be reproduced and distributed and consider the cost of reproduction.
5. Please leave space at the bottom of your design for sponsorship logos.

Benefits:

1. Listing on the Centennial website as poster artist.
2. Invitations to Centennial events.
3. Press release announcing your winning entry.
4. If you have a business, your logo on the poster.

Please contact us at: (541) 504-2010, redmond2010@ci.redmond.or.us for a submission form.

Ben Salmon on the Frequency blog reports that the Midtown Music Hall is back under new/old management:

Co-owners Rhoda and Creig Jones and Duane McCabe and Lise Hoffman-McCabe are taking back control of the venues. The quartet ran the Midtown for years until 2007, when they leased its operations to a new team. (They had put the property up for sale in 2006. It never sold.)

In the 2-1/2 years since [under the "new" management], though, the Midtown’s live-music offerings have dwindled. Random Presents continues to host shows there regularly, but the Taylor/Fought/Dickey team never established a consistent slate of shows. The Midtown Web site has been “under construction” for months. These days, the venues are quiet most nights.

The Midtown’s deterioration over the past couple of years has been a sad thing to watch. Not only has the concert schedule become a ghost town (besides the Random shows), but the physical conditions inside the building have declined. Grime covered many surfaces, junk was piled in corners, the bathrooms were a mess. And that was just from casual observation.

The bottom line is it was an increasingly uncomfortable place to attend a concert, much less enjoy your experience.

That’s why the return of Jones/McCabe is terrific news for local music fans.

Discuss.

Here's the musical press release I'd mentioned yesterday.

Acclaimed Seattle band and local booking agency In The Pocket Artists’ latest signing The Staxx Brothers, will barnstorm the city of Bend for the very first time Thursday August 27 at The Silver Moon Brewery. The band is set to play 2-3 sets spanning their unique discography; a trademark Hard Ass Soul blend of blues infused Rock & Roll, Hip Hop (plus the sweet leaf tinge of Reggae), and even some startlingly authentic forays into straight ahead Country Western. The Staxx Brothers are everything, yet always surprising.

Widely considered Seattle’s most exciting & up and coming live acts (Seattle Weekly has named them among the most outstanding of 09’) the group has also released a pair of sensational full length albums, starting with The 12th Street Blues in late 2007, which the Seattle P.I. called “…something distinct and genuine, a roadmap of a diverse musical odyssey.” The Staxx Brothers most recent effort We are The Blaxstonz, produced by Grammy winning producer Scott Colburn (Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, Mudhoney) is a chain reaction; The voodoo precision of an indie icon’s Midas touch in harnessing a band’s incredible momentum; delivering an album that willfully captures every drop of The Staxx Brothers’ hard to contain (and even harder to explain) napalm in a bottle, yet somehow still balances cut after cut of radio ready performances, within a deceptive concept album format that is a must have for any serious record collector.

The Staxx Brothers promise boost for the Bend economy by infusing capital into local coffers via In the Pocket, fueled by rise to national prominence culminating with a sold out performance at The Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY on May 12, 2012. But even more relevant to the moment at hand, the band will bring pure joy to your community on Thursday August 27 at The Silver Moon Brewery and have you dancing in the Streets.

Yes, the title of this blog post is a pun. I apologize. Just some odds and ends relating to the local music scene.

→ This Thursday, the 27th, the Staxx Brothers are coming to Silver Moon Brewing, and I have a press release in my inbox that claims with baited breath that they will "have you dancing in the streets." (I'll run that press release in full later.) Be there by 9pm. Cover is (as yet) to be determined.

→ In addition to Ghostwriter playing at Silver Moon on Saturday the 29th, "local super rocker kids We Are Brontosaurus will be opening for Ghostwriter this Saturday, August 29th." As always, it's a 9pm show (and the cost is TBD).

→ In September the band "Los Tikkilyches are bringing the latin-surf-funk-rockin’soul-reggae fusion from the south to the north on their summer/fall 2009 tour!" On the 10th they'll be at The Summit Saloon (starting at 9pm, cost TBD) and on the 12th they be at Silver Moon (also at 9pm, with a $5 cover).

→ September 6th, Silver Moon hosts The Courteous Rudeboys at 9pm. That's Labor Day weekend, should be a good "last hurrah" to enjoy beer and live music before school starts.

→ Want more Labor Day music goodness? The Source reports that the second Moon Mountain Festival—the Moon Mountain Ramblers very own music festival—is a two-day event up at Elk Lake Resort and is free. (Camping and lodging is not free, however.) It's hard to beat that.

Friday already! Let's run down a few of the weekend events going on. If you know of something else going on you think readers would like to hear about, let me know.

Friday

• The Bend Farmer's Market is going on from 2 until 6pm at the St. Charles Hospital entrance.
• Munch and Movies starts tonight at Compass Park (in Northwest Crossing). Similar to Munch and Music, with food and drink vendors and live local music. Starts at 6, and the movie starts at dusk. Wall-E is the movie tonight.
• McMenamins Old St. Francis School has a Scotch and Cigar Tasting tonight at 7pm, but I don't know if there are any reservations available this late. If so, it'll cost you $45, and you'll taste five scotches and have a selection of appetizers.
• The band Moonalice will be playing at Silver Moon Brewing tonight, 9pm. $10 cover.

Saturday

• The Central Oregon Saturday Market is from 10 to 4, across from the Bend Public Library.
• The JZ Band (with special guest Timmy Schroeder) shows up at Silver Moon for a 9pm show.
• The Flaming Chicken Adventure Race is taking place. It starts early, and I don't know much about it but the name is great.

Sunday

• The Les Schwab Amphitheater's Free Summer Sundays Concerts continues with the Matt Lewis Band. Gates open at 1, show starts at 2pm.
• Jackie Green is in concert at the Athletic Club of Bend, 6:30pm.

Munch and Movies starts this Friday (August 21st)—the food and free movies in the park event that is a companion to the earlier Munch and Music. Every Friday from August 21st through September 11th in Compass Park (in Northwest Crossing), a different movie will be playing at dusk. Here's their blurb:

The event officially starts at 6:00pm with live performances by local musicians - with each night featuring a different musical guest who will double as the MC for the evening. Movies will begin at dusk and there will be a brief intermission. There will be dinner food, dessert, and kettle korn available from one of many restaurants on site.

Be sure to come early to find a good parking spot, and bring a coat as the nights can get chilly. We also recommend you bring a blanket to sit on or a low-backed chair, so it does not block the view of other moviegoers.

They don't post a schedule of movies on the site for some reason, but you can sign up to have them emailed to you. This is a pain, so I signed up for the schedule just so I could post it here:

Each movie will have a theme with different attire and different activities along with competitions and drawings.

Aug 21
Wall-E
Attire: Green
Activity: A faux garbage scavenger hunt with toys and candy hidden around Compass Park. Free recycling and compost information will also be given out.

Aug 28
The Princess Bride
Attire: Pajamas
Activity: Fairytale book giveaway with local bookstore, Between the Covers.

Sept 4
Twilight
Attire: Vampire
Activity: Dress up in vampire attire and sign up to win Twilight goodies for the Best Vampire. Glow-in-the-dark vampire fangs will be given out to the first 500 people.

Sept 11
Kung Fu Panda
Attire: Ninja
Activity: Show us your best Ninja/Karate moves for prize giveaways.

All the movies are very all-ages-appropriate except "Twilight", which is rated PG-13 (though not bad).

The last Pickin' and Paddlin' event being put on by Alder Creek Kayak is coming up 8/26 (next Wednesday), and is featuring the Moon Mountain Ramblers. It's free with donations to Bend Paddle Trail Alliance appreciated.

There are gear demos from Alder Creek from 4 to 7pm, and the music itself starts at 7.

Full press release is below:

Like the last whitewater splash of a day on the river, the Moon Mountain Ramblers crown the first annual Pickin' & Paddlin' Music Series with an acoustic American slamgrass hoedown. Celebrate the final days of summer with a soulful bang Wednesday, August 26 on the bank of the Deschutes River.

Local favorites for their energetic performances, the Moon Mountain Rambles describe themselves as "high-desert soulgrass."

"Built on more of a jazz and blues, than bluegrass foundation, the combo likes to embark on polyphonic sprees and improvisational interludes,"� wrote Joe Ross for Bluegrass Now.

For more about the Moon Mountain Ramblers, visit moonmountainramblers.com.

Pickin' & Paddlin' features live music from 7:00 to 9:00pm, as well as the chance to try kayaks, canoes, paddles and other gear on the Deschutes River. Admission is free, and the whole family is welcome. Donations to the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance are encouraged, and Silver Moon Brewing's new Epic Trail Ale will be available for adult consumption (proceeds to BPTA).

From 4:00 to 7:00pm, representatives from top paddle sports companies such as Eddyline Kayaks, Esquif Canoes, Swift Paddles, Bending Branches and Aquabound Paddles will will be available for free demos and to answer questions. Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe's fleet of 50 demo boats will also be available, with staff on hand to help.

The Pickin' & Paddlin' Music Series is hosted by Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe, in Bend at 805 SW Industrial Way # 6 (on the Deschutes at the foot of the Colorado Ave. Bridge). Please call 541-317-9407 for details.

It's Friday, the unofficial start of the weekend, so I thought I'd throw out another "Weekend happenings" post to highlight some of the weekend fun. This will likely become a regular feature (depending on how ambitious I can be Friday mornings).

Friday

• Wine by the River starts today; I covered this here already. Friday and Saturday, 1pm to 9pm and noon to 8pm, respectively.
• The Farmer's Market is at the St. Charles Hospital entrance today, from 2 until 6pm.
• Backporch Coffee is hosting free short films and music tonight at 7pm.
• Broken Down Guitars is playing a free show at Cross Creek Cafe in Redmond, tonight at 7pm.
• Silver Moon Brewing is hosting Nershi and Law Duo at 9pm, with a $10 cover.

Saturday

• Wine by the River continues.
• The Central Oregon Saturday Market is from 10 to 4, across from the Bend Public Library.
• The Blacksmith is hosting a Mixology class with bartender Columbine Quillen, starting at 2pm and costing $25. You'll learn how to mix the perfect drink, and the price includes three cocktails and appetizers as well.
• Sunriver Resort is hosting a Brewmaster Dinner featuring Full Sail Brewing; a five-course dinner paired with Full Sail beers, costs $59. Call 593-4609 for info and reservations.
• More live music at Silver Moon: Ten Foot Tall and 80 Proof, starting at 9pm with a $5 cover.

Sunday

• Free Summer Sundays concert at Les Schwab Amphitheater: Kidstock - U.S. School of Rock Allstars. Show starts at 2:30, gates open at 1pm.
• Joan Baez is playing the Athletic Club of Bend, starting at 6:30pm. Tickets might be sold out already—I'm actually not sure—but if not, they're available at Newport Avenue Market for $14.

Tomorrow (Friday, August 14th) at 7pm, Backporch Coffee is hosting a free event:

We have a free event tomorrow (Friday, Aug 14th) at 7pm at Backporch Coffee. We're showing short films by local filmmakers and will have live music by the city bus driver, Dennis Alan.

No further details, but it sounds pretty cool—and free Friday night events are always nice.

The Source's Best of Central Oregon issue came out this week, and Hack Bend was named "Best Blog"! The "Best Of" results were submitted and voted on by the Source readership, and it's a really, really cool feeling to open up the weekly and see the shout-out in print.

Thanks to everyone who voted for Hack Bend—I really appreciate it, and I'll keep on doing my best to bring the best I can to this blog. And thanks to The Source too—you guys rock.

This weekend—starting tomorrow, actually—is Wine by the River, a wine festival featuring "wineries, chocolatiers, restaurants, entertainers and artists" and taking place at Riverbend Park Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th. It's put on by Partners in Care, and the intent is a good one:

Partners In Care Wine by the River’s purpose is to bring awareness to the growing end-of-life needs for children in Central Oregon. Partners In Care Wine by the River’s long range goal is to provide quality end-of-life services, education, and grief counseling care to patients under the age of 25 and their families.

From 1pm until 9pm Friday, and noon until 8pm Saturday, you can drink some great wine, enjoy entertainment, and check out the culinary demonstrations that will be going on.

Ticket details are here; basically it's $20 for one day or $40 for both, and you'll get a commemorative etched wine glass. Looks like tasters (as well as glasses, bottles, and cases) of wine will cost you as well.

The week's Source has an insert for the event, with a schedule and an event layout map included. Worth picking up if you're heading down.

Found over on the blog Jack and Mrs. Elliott Move to Bend: rumors about happenings in the Minnesota building downtown that houses Marz and Astro Lounge, among others.

First, Chocolate e Gateaux has not has his lease renewed. The shop will be shuttered by the end of this coming weekend. The awning is already down.

The rent at Marz is said to have been raised 28%. This in an effort to get them out. I didn't learn what's going on at Astro, but since the owner plans to knock out all the dividing walls and join all three shops into one, Astro probably has been given unpleasant news, too.

Additionally, the owner has made an offer to buy the building which houses Dudley's and Kitchen Complements. Again, to bang down the walls and further open up the space.

Converting what was five small business into one big business.

The speculation as to what the "big business" is: a wine and tasting shop of some sort. Interesting, but is it true? I haven't been downtown lately—is Chocolate et Gateaux's awning down?

This Friday, August 14th, the Broken Down Guitars will be playing the Cross Creek Cafe in Redmond—for free. Show starts at 7pm.

Redmond, Oregon, August 14th. Presenting eclectic soulful originals, along with rock favorites from Janis to Sublime, The Broken Down Guitars will play at Cross Creek Cafe on August 14th at 7 p.m. Acoustic Electric jam rock mixed with original writing make this group a must-see. Must-eat appetizers, 50 beers to choose from and patio seating ensure a good time.

I haven't been there yet, but I understand the Cross Creek Cafe is a pretty decent beer bar.

Good grief, I'm away from the computer for the weekend and stuff falls apart: Community First Bank is no more... closed by the government Friday and then re-opening today under the aegis of Home Federal Bank out of Idaho.

At least people didn't lose any money—according to the Bulletin:

Because the bank was acquired, there won’t be any losses for Community First Bank depositors who have deposits, including those whose deposits exceed the $250,000 FDIC deposit insurance amount, according to the Department of Consumer and Business Services.

According to a department news release, Community First Bank had been experiencing critically low levels of capital, adding, “The bank’s problems resulted primarily from a heavy dependence on residential construction loans, many of which were of poorer quality and were not performing or being repaid when the economy deteriorated.”

“The boards of directors of the bank and the Bancorporation regret that, despite its best effort, the bank could not raise the capital necessary, or find a suitable merger partner or acquirer, to keep the bank operating without the intervention of its regulators,” Community First Bank President and CEO Robin Freeman said in a statement released Friday evening. “The Bank has sustained extensive losses on its loan portfolio as a result of the local economy, which is experiencing high rates of unemployment and significant declines in real estate values.”

Pretty crazy. Makes you wonder if it's time to pull all your money out of the bank and bury it in coffee cans in the yard.

I'm going to be busy without much (if any) internet access for the next few days, so here's a rundown of some things going on this weekend.

Thursday

• Of course there's Munch and Music in Drake Park tonight, from 5:30 until 8:30. Featuring High Street (Swing/Funk/R&B)
• At Silver Moon Brewing, Broken Top is playing live at 9pm. There's a $5 cover.

Friday

• First Friday! That means the Artwalk is going on downtown and in the Old Mill. From 5 until 9pm, "The streets of Bend fill with art patrons on the first Friday of every month as Downtown Bend and Old Mill District art galleries stay open late with receptions for guest artists and special presentations of new exhibits."

Saturday

• Silver Moon has more music, kicking off at 9pm. Rasco (Cali Agents), VERA clique, and more.

Sunday

• Free Summer Sundays concert at Les Schwab Amphitheater, featuring Bob Manning & The Honky Tonk Road Show. Show starts at 2:30 (gates open at 1pm).

Bend Memorial Clinic (BMC) recently began a second round of enrollment for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) demonstration project involving the Health Buddy® System from Robert Bosch Healthcare. The innovative Health Buddy Program is a physician-led model of care that uses home health monitoring technology for patients who are struggling with severe chronic illness – allowing them to live healthier, happier, longer lives and reduce Medicare spending by preventing hospitalizations.

Read more

This is a purely hypothetical post, playing "What if?" with a bunch of the empty, former restaurant spaces around town. The question is, which of those should be re-opened with (new) restaurants occupying them?

I know there are a lot of places around town that qualify, but I'm picking ones that have more character or are more interesting (to me). Here are a few that I would vote for:

• The old Mexicali Rose building. Other people might remember this as the Irish pub, or the first Bella Cucina location in Bend—the stone-walled building on the southeast corner of Third and Franklin. (It was the Mexicali Rose long before either of those, and that's how I always remember it.) Sure, it needs a lot of work and the parking is horrible, but I've always liked the location and the space; it just smacks of Bend history.
• Ernesto's. The old church building on the northwest corner of Third and Lafayette; you know the one. Another "Bend history" building with a lot of ambiance and potential. (Before it was Ernesto's Italian, it was Le Bistro, a French restaurant.) Seems like this one should be a no-brainer.
• Kayo's Roadhouse. This is a big space with decent parking out on the Eastside, in the "Crossroads Plaza" area on the other side of 27th from Barnes & Noble. Maybe the problem is the space is too big (and expensive), I don't know, but it seems like a decent enough location and could be put to good use. Another brewpub?
• Zydeco's former location: Formerly a Skipper's, Zydeco's old restaurant on the south end of Third Street next to Carrera Motors always seemed awkward, but they did great business anyway. They really turned it into a nice space and what it needs is another Zydeco-quality restaurant taking it over.
• Deep: Right, just what downtown Bend needs is another restaurant. But it seems a shame to let all the money spent building the place out go to waste; somebody should take full advantage of that.

What other good picks around town are there?

A friend of mine is very close to opening a new beer bar over on Bend's westside, and this weekend we got a chance to look in on the progress and get some updates to blog about.

Located next to WineStyles, just off of College Way at the base of the hill, the Abbey Pub is the name of the place. As of right now, they are planning on opening up this Wednesday, which is ambitious but doable. You may have seen the build-out going on in the eastern part of the building—while we were there, a guy walked up to find out if they were open yet, and Geoff (the owner) said that since their sign went up, people have been coming by and asking about it.

The Abbey is going be a beer bar, in the spirit of the Bier Stein in Eugene and Belmont Station in Portland: they will have between six and 12 beers on tap, and will be offering something like 150 (to start) specialty bottles for sale in their coolers. The bottled beer isn't just to go; you'll be able to buy the bottle(s) and open them up on-premise to enjoy.

Here's the initial draft beer lineup:

• Laurelwood Free Range Red
• Double Mountain Kolsch
• Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
• Green Flash West Coast IPA
• Walking Man Homo Erectus (Imperial IPA)
• Hopworks Urban Brewery Organic Survival "Seven-Grain" Stout
• Stone Arrogant Bastard
• Lagunitas Lucky 13
• Trumer Pils
• Caldera Dry Hop Orange

There will be a food menu as well, though I don't yet know what it looks like; I would expect appetizers and pub fare, with some desserts being added later.

Hours for the Abbey are going to be 11am to 10pm—though I don't know yet what days they're planning to be open (dumb oversight on my part to not ask).

The location used to be an ice cream shop, but they've put a lot of good work into it and I really like how it's turned out. Check out the additional pictures below—you can see there's still some work to do before Wednesday—like I said, ambitious but doable.

I'll post any updates to the schedule or anything, too, so stay tuned—but right now, plan on visiting the Abbey as of this Wednesday the 5th.

Show of hands: how many people know the Blacksmith Restaurant has absinthe on their drink menu?

They do, and you won't go crazy or have any psychedelic experiences from drinking it. I tried it this past weekend, and I've written up a review on my beer blog. Bottom line, it's definitely worth the experience.

On a side note, I have to say I really like the Blacksmith's happy hour menu—you can get a sizable quality meal for only $10 or 11, not to mention the drink deals. 4:30 to 6:30 (and 9pm to close) every day, I believe. It's a deal that's hard to beat.

Today is the first day of the Deschutes County Fair, which runs through Saturday. Each day the hours for the Fair are 10am until 11pm, and the admission costs are:

• Adults (13+): $9/day
• Children (6-12): $6/day
• Children (5 yrs & under): FREE
• Seniors (62 and over): $6/day (Wed FREE)
• Adult 4-day pass (13yrs+): $17
• Children & Seniors 4-Day Pass: $11

Of course, I previously blogged about Friday being free before 3pm: you will need the coupons from the Bulletin, though, in order to get in. (Though I confess last year I remember they just waved us through without checking the coupons...)

In addition to the normal Fair activities (carnival rides, craft and food displays, livestock judging, etc.), the Deschutes County Rodeo is also going on in the evenings, and there are three concerts:

• Jake Owen: 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29. Listen to The Mountain 99.7 for free tickets.
• Peter Frampton: 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 30. Listen to The Twins 98.3 for free tickets.
• Lady Antebellum: 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 31. Listen to The Mountain 99.7 for free tickets.

Not sure if you can get tickets any other way than listening to the radio though.

It's going to be really hot this week (mid-90s at least), so my advice is to get there early while it's still relatively cool and slather on the sunscreen.

Well, he's not in Bend anymore, but rumor has it (strongly backed up by multiple sources) that actor Orlando Bloom was in Bend over the weekend (perhaps before?) to watch (or, according to some sources, participate in) the Cascade Cycling Classic.

The news broke on Twitter, naturally, and spread to Facebook as well. Some of the "Orlando sightings" sounded genuine, and here's what I can add:

He was at Strictly Organic Coffee, where I think the first sighting was made, and an employee of Strictly Organic later confirmed that he had indeed, been in. (Of course, this employee was at the Old Mill Strictly Organic located in the old Bella Cucina space across from Anthony's, and not at the main SO location.)

And a manager at Phoenix Inn told me in person that Orlando had indeed been there, staying at the Phoenix Inn and checking out Sunday morning.

Was he in town? I think yes. Why not? We have Matthew Fox and Rainn Wilson running around Central Oregon. Would I have even recognized him? No.

So what's your Orlando Bloom sighting story?

This weekend is the Sunriver Sunfest Wine Festival, the two-day event that takes place in the Village Mall at Sunriver's central "courtyard" area (where the restaurants and shops are). It takes place Saturday and Sunday from noon until 9pm and 11am until 3pm, respectively.

(Actually, it started tonight with a $100 four-course wine pairing dinner at Marcello's.)

It's a fun event that we've enjoyed in the past (the kids get bored, though, even though there is a Family Fun Zone), and the weather this weekend looks perfect (if hot).

There's wine and live music, what more do you need to know? You could always finish off your day with dinner at the Trout House...

Today marked the opening day for Fox's Billiard Lounge, the new pool hall on the westside—Newport Avenue, to be exact—that's offering quality pool tables, cheap food, and where "every hour is happy hour." Here's their about us blurb:

Fox's Billiard Lounge is a wonderful place to come and enjoy the sport of billiards in an upscale environment while enjoying a full bar and $5 menu. Owner, Marshall Fox, has enjoyed Bend since his childhood. Being in the service industry for over 15 years combined with a passion for Billiards, Bartending and Eating he has created the next hot spot for Bend. Our philosophy is that every hour should be a happy hour which means everything on our menu is $5 or less. Fox's also entertains while serving guests with some great flair bartenders and friendly cocktail servers. Come on in and enjoy our lounge style seating in one of our beaded curtain areas or enjoy some Billiard play at one of our Portland made Golden West Billiard Tables. We also have a VIP room with its own Billiard Table, TV, WII System and Couch seating area.

Flair bartending? $2.75 beer? I have to admit I'm intrigued—have been since seeing the space under development the few times I've been down Newport lately.

No idea if they allow minors, and playing a table costs $8 per hour (I'm not sure if that's expensive or not—what's a good going rate?). And that flair bartending... I can't help but think of the Tom Cruise movie "Cocktail." Hope it's not that cheesy.

I ran a press release before on the Pickin' and Paddlin' Music Series: the free, live music concert held on select evenings on the bank of the Deschutes River. It all takes place at Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe at 805 SW Industrial Way #6; from 4 to 7pm there are free boat and gear demos on the river, and from 7 to 9pm is the concert—all free to attend.

Of course, donations are encouraged for the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance, but that's not too much to ask for a free concert.

Wednesday the 29th, the Sweet Harlots will be playing. There's a press release after the jump.

Read more

This Friday, July 24th, there is an Open Mic Night (I was to spell it "Open Mike") at PoetHouse Art, in the tbd loft. The events starts at 7pm, and donations will be accepted for Voices for Iran.

Admission is free, and it is an all-ages show. The only question I have is, what sort of Open Mic performances will appear?

The annual Deschutes County Fair is coming up at the end of this month (from July 29 through August 1), and while we can expect the usual—carnival rides, fair food, craft exhibits, livestock exhibits, etc.—the County is also emphasizing the free:

...includes three FREE concerts;  free, award-winning rodeo Wednesday through Saturday....

*Friday's Fair is even more FREE and fabulous this year: Free Lady Antebellum concert, free admission for everyone before 3:00 p.m., free rodeo admission, free Bulletin Kids Fun Zone and free transportation to and from the Fair!*

*FREE Concerts at the Hooker Creek Event Center Include:

• Jake Owen: 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29. Listen to The Mountain 99.7 for free tickets.
• Peter Frampton: 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 30. Listen to The Twins 98.3 for free tickets.
• Lady Antebellum: 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 31. Listen to The Mountain 99.7 for free tickets.

*Fair admission is not included when you receive a free ticket to attend these concerts.

The big one I highlighted is the free Friday admission: anytime before 3pm, you'll get in to the Fair for free. That's a pretty good deal, since regular prices are $9 for adults and $6 for kids ages 6-12 (5 and under are free). Saves you money for the carny rides.

On top of all that, there are free shuttles going to and from the Fair from Bend, Redmond, Sisters, and LaPine. Locations and times for those shuttles can be found on this flier here (PDF).

This Saturday, July 18th, is the 21st annual Saving Grace Children's Festival (also called the Cascade Children's Festival) down in Drake Park. The Festival is presented by Saving Grace (formerly COBRA), with proceeds going to benefit the organization.

The Festival will take place from 10am until 4pm and looks to be a great time for kids; there's a good description of what to expect from True North (though it's for last year's Festival—I don't imagine things have changed much). Lots of activities, games, and music. Tickets will be sold for activities at 50 cents apiece, though attending the Festival itself is free.

I know from friends that their kids have loved past Festivals, so it sounds like a sure bet if you're looking for something to do with the kids this weekend. Weather should be perfect too—84 degrees is forecast at this writing.

The Bulletin's Frequency blog has what looks to be an exclusive first look at Bend's newest nightclub, The Underground. With lots of details, and pictures. Some pulls:

A new nightclub is opening in Bend, in the spot (under the Spotted Mule on Third Street) that used to house Club 97, which has been closed for six or seven years, depending on who you ask.

...they’ve said goodbye to Club 97’s “cowboy bar” look, Costa said, repainting walls and generally sprucing the place up. The team did some remodeling work to create a VIP area that has its own bar, seating area and outdoor/smoking spot. VIPs will pay a fee (that hasn’t yet been determined, McCutcheon said) and that will give them cover-free entrance to the club, a separate door to avoid lines, early notice about concerts and early opportunities to buy tickets, McCutcheon said.

The Underground has four bars and 18,000 square feet, of which about 15,000 is accessible to the public. There’s also about 2,500 square feet of outdoor space that’s open to the public, including an outdoor bar that’s sheltered from the weather. Club 97’s capacity was in the “upper 800s,” McCutcheon said, but the new owners have done some things to try to push that closer to 1,000.

The club’s size makes it one of the largest in Oregon, and comparable in size to the Showbox in Seattle and the Knitting Factory in Boise, McCutcheon said.

They plan to open Friday night featuring "local funk-rockers El Dante" and hope to attract all genres of music, whatever people are willing to pay for.

No word on drinks and menu pricing, other than prices will be "extremely competitive." Although they're talking to the local microbreweries so that's a good sign.

Should be interesting to see how a Club 97 nightclub replacement does in Bend right now. Has anyone caught any advertising? Particularly if they're opening Friday, I'd expect to have heard something before now.

Last month when I blogged about the new Brother Jon's Pub I speculated as to the whereabouts of Le Cakery, since both share the same address.

Rest assured, Le Cakery is still very much alive and well, and they do indeed share building space with Brother Jon's. Ida Gurule writes in to say:

Brother Jon's is actually in the same parking lot but they did not take over our spot. Le Cakery now has 11 cake flavors and 9 frosting flavors. Baked fresh daily.

I apologize if this caused any confusion for anybody. Next time I'll clear it up with a phone call first.

The Fireside Red space (which closed for good at the beginning of May) is getting a new restaurant, according to the Bulletin: River Mill Grill, a steakhouse.

The tentative opening date for River Mill Grill is July 22.

[Axel] Hoch, who previously opened Le Bistro, the Old Bend Blacksmith Shop and Barney Prine’s Steakhouse & Saloon, said the location — with its expansive deck and view of the river, The Old Mill District and Les Schwab Amphitheater — was too good to pass up.

“It’s a great location, great parking and good timing,” said Hoch, adding that the menu will be “value-oriented.”

Sounds like it could be promising, but still iffy; has the restaurant business in town picked up significantly yet?

I've seen some online chat about the movie "Food, Inc." and speculation about if and how long the movie would be in Central Oregon. It's a documentary that "exposes America's industrialized food system and its effect on our environment, health, economy and workers' rights" and it opened today at the Pilot Butte 6 cinemas.

Don't worry, I'm not going to get preachy, but if you've been wanting to see this movie, you have at least a week; how long it will ultimately be showing remains to be seen, but based on Regal Cinemas' website it will be at the Pilot Butte 6 at least through next Thursday, with four screenings a day.

I don't know how many people know this yet—I actually saw something about it in The Source last month I think, and KOHD had a story about it—but this year's Bend Brew Fest has been canceled. Or, rather their website says it's been "postponed for restructuring." Of course, being postponed until 2010 amount to being canceled for this year.

According to the KOHD story:

According to documents obtained by KOHD News from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission or OLCC, the event has had problems, including minors drinking, intoxicated patrons being served drinks, even one case of an intoxicated patron crashing a golf cart into a tent. Prompting the OLCC to ask for changes including banning minors and shorten the hours during that event.

The Brew Fest normally takes place the third weekend in August.

But, something's coming up in September which will help fill the gap: The Little Woody.

Lay It Out Events is proud to present the First Annual Little Woody Specialty and Craft Beer Festival. This event promises to be one of Bend’s tastiest events. The event will feature hand crafted, wood aged beer as well as one specialty brew from each of Central Oregon’s Breweries. Taking place outside on the Deschutes Brewery lawn in the Old Mill District the Little Woody will be the place to be September 12th. Festival goers will enjoy live music, great food, a wood carving exhibition and beer tastings throughout the day and into the night.

Thus far, they're promoting Deschutes Brewery, Cascade Lakes, and 10 Barrel as participating with this Fest. (Hopefully the other breweries will get involved too.)

Barrel-aged beers can be fantastic; this should turn out to be a great event. Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 12th. (No word on pricing yet.)

One of my favorite Bend events, SummerFest, is this weekend! (Yes, I know it's technically the "Bend Summer Festival" but "SummerFest" is what it's really known as. Ask anybody.) It takes place Downtown from 11am to 11pm on Saturday (the 11th), and from 11am to 6pm on Sunday (the 12th). Here's their marketing:

Central Oregon's signature artist event of the summer, the Bend Summer Festival, draws artists and street performers from all over the Northwest. The event features a wide array of performing arts including dance, children’s activities, and the best regional and national jazz, blues, rock and international musicians. Additionally there is a food court with more than 20 restaurants, beer and wine.

There's lots to like. Three stages of (free) music, several blocks worth of artists and craft vendors, lots of beer and wine, a great (free) kids activity venue provided by Working Wonders, and plenty of food. Here's their PDF event map.

Weather should be perfect on Saturday—84° according to the latest forecast I'm looking at right now. We'll be going on Saturday, of course.

A quick note about the alcohol: OLCC doesn't permit them to start serving until noon. So don't get there at 11 expecting a drink yet.

And, according to their website there will be something like 20 beers there: four at the Deschutes Brewery beer garden by the main stage, and "roughly 16 different beers in the Oregon Street Beer Garden"—I don't remember any past SummerFests that had anywhere near this number of different beers. If that's accurate, I'll be way happy!

Munch and Music starts up this Thursday: the free summer concert series that takes place every Thursday through mid-August in Drake Park. (I almost missed it—I knew M&M was coming up, but they only just launched their new website with updated info for 2009.)

M&M is always a summertime favorite—free music in the park, what else do you need to know? Well, there's the food, also (the "Munch" part of the name): a good number of vendors offering a fairly diverse variety of fare, and there's a beer and wine garden too.

There will be kids' activities as well, mostly of the bouncy-house and inflatable playstructure type.

It all takes place from 5:30 until 8:30pm, every Thursday from July 9th through August 13th.

Here's their music schedule:

• July 9 - Fareed Haque and the Flat Earth Ensemble - World/Jam/Funk
  www.fareed.com
• July 16 - Vieux Farke Toure’ - African
  http://www.vieuxfarkatoure.com/
• July 23 - Rhythm Culture - Reggae
  http://www.rhythmculture.org/
• July 30 - Misty River Band - Americana/Bluegrass
  http://www.mistyriverband.com/
• Aug 6 - High Street - Swing/Funk/R&B
  http://www.myspace.com/thehighstreetband
• Aug 13 - Soul Vaccination - R&B/Funk
  http://www.soulvax.com/

Two things to be aware of: dogs are not allowed, and parking is always a pain. You'll probably have to park a ways off and walk to the Park.

This advisory came in from Deschutes County yesterday, and while I don't think there's much likelihood of West Nile showing up, you can never be too careful.

An unusual fluctuation in the river levels around Central Oregon is causing a tremendous spike in mosquito hatches this season in Deschutes County. However, no mosquitoes in Oregon have tested positive for the virus. Due to the increase of mosquitoes in the County, it is more important than ever for residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites this summer.

Contracting West Nile virus can be very serious. Taking a few precautions to avoid mosquito bites can prevent infection.

Read more

The Pet Parade and the 4th of July were fun as always this year. I didn't take too many pictures but I did get a good one of everyone's favorite Parade Pet:

Even though the 4th is on Saturday, there are things happening tomorrow (the 3rd) that I'm including on the list—since it's a long holiday weekend for many of us. Here are a bunch of events happening:

• First Friday Art Walk (July 3rd): Downtown hosts the monthly event where the galleries stay open late and often offer refreshments and music. 5 to 9pm.
• "Independence Day" showing at Tower Theatre (July 3rd): Yes, it's the 1996 alien-blow-em-up movie on the big screen at the Tower, with 9 minutes of "special edition" footage. It's only $5—a great price for a move—and starts at 8pm.
• The Pet Parade: The perennial favorite parade where people bring their favorite pets (no cats or rabbits!) to march through downtown. More details here, including a parade map. I'll definitely be there. 10am.
• Old Fashioned 4th of July in Drake Park: After the Pet Parade, Drake Park hosts the Old Fashioned Celebration for the 4th, from 11am to 4pm. Lots of craft vendors, food booths, games and activities for kids. The Saturday Market vendors will be down in Drake Park for this, too (not at their usual spot across the street from the Library).
• Friends of the Bend Library Book Sale: From 10 until 4pm, the Library always has their Summer Book Sale on the 4th and as always there are great deals to be found. It's at the Library Administration Building, in the basement.
• 10th Annual Firecracker 100 Bicycle Ride with WebCyclery: "It's our metric century ride to Prineville. Maps and good food stops are included for $15 - with proceeds benefiting Partners in Care (formerly HospiceCenter and Central Oregon Home Health & Hospice)."
• Bend Elks Baseball: The Bend Elks are playing the Corvallis Knights at Vince Genna Stadium. Starting at 5:30pm.
• The Freedom Ride: I don't see a specific starting time on their Facebook page, but last year's Freedom Ride started at 2pm from Pioneer Park. Get on your bike and join the Ride through downtown Bend.
• Sound Fourth Community Concert: This free concert starts at 3pm at the Bend High Auditorium, followed by a free barbecue on the First Presbyterian Church lawn.
• Deschutes Historical Society Ice Cream Social and Free Day: The Historical Society Museum opens up free to the public from 10am until 4pm, and they give away free ice cream to all comers.
• Maragas Winery 4th of July Weekend Bash: The 4th and the 5th, from 11am to 5pm, Maragas has their weekend bash and wine tasting going on out at their Culver winery (actually just north of the Crooked River Bridge). Live music, food, and wine for $10.
• Redmond 4th of July: They have a parade starting downtown at 10am, and their fireworks display starting at dusk (9pm-ish) at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds.
• LaPine Frontier Days: Through the weekend, starting on the 3rd, it's the LaPine Independence Day celebration. Arts, a carnival, food, live music—the works. Don't forget the fireworks at 10pm.
• BBQ & Blues at Jake's Diner: The fifth annual BBQ presented by Jake's and the Vietnam Veterans of America (with proceeds going to the VVA) goes from 6 to 8pm. You're welcome to stay and watch the Pilot Butte fireworks, but don't bring any fireworks or alcohol.
• Pilot Butte Fireworks: Of course! This starts at 10pm and lasts about 20 minutes. Find a good view of the Butte and wait for the fires show to start.

A couple of notes about Deschutes Brewery, actually. First is their outdoor seating. Didn't know they had outdoor seating? Today they Twittered:

We now have OUTDOOR seating at the Bend Pub! First time EVER! Come sit outside and enjoy one of our amazing hand-crafted brews in the sun!

My guess is it's sidewalk seating, like you'll find at certain other restaurants around downtown; there's just nowhere else they could go, really. Still cool.

And then this Friday, the 3rd, is "Jubel in July":

Come on down for a Jubel in July Party! It will be like a tropical Christmas with grass skirts and lei's, Jubel specials with tropical influence and a tropical party. Hope to see you there!

It's either a sneak preview of the 2009 Jubelale, or just an excuse to tap some past Jubelale kegs. Either way, it's all good.

We spent the past week or so out of town, and only just got back late last night. With limited internet connectivity (plus really no time), it made for a nice "blog vacation" but now we'll be getting back into the swing of things.

I've updated the calendar with the July shows for Silver Moon Brewing already, and have a few things that were sent in that I'll be posting. Plus, it's the Fourth of July weekend already, just a few days away, and there's tons of good things happening!

Blogging and Twittering will be very light this week; other things are going on and I may or may not have much computer access. (I'll at least try to keep up on Twitter since that's easier.)

In the meantime keep an eye on the calendar and don't forget the Free Activity Guide either. Lots of good things to be found for free or nearly so.

Late mentioning this (since everyone seems to be aware of it already), but the Bite of Bend is this weekend—the festival to "celebrate our local culture and create an event that highlights the food of our region."

Saturday and Sunday there will be food galore, live music, a kids area, and the "Top Chef" (formerly Iron Chef) competition. Except for buying the food and drink (of course), it's free to attend.

It's all in Downtown Bend again this year, too. (In former years it was at the Old Mill District.) As long as there's no more torrential downpours (*cough*underpass*cough*), it should make for a fun weekend.

The NY Times this evening published a doozy: Slump Dashes Oregon Dreams of Californians.

The freefall has made Bend a succinct symbol for the economic perils of “lifestyle destinations” in the so-called New West, recreation-heavy communities where jobs have been heavily tilted toward construction and services and where many of the new residents were self-made exiles from California cashing in on their overpriced real estate.

Now the Californians who contributed to Oregon’s growth are in some cases adding to its economic struggle.... While some other states with high unemployment, including Michigan, have seen their labor forces shrink, Oregon’s labor force has grown. Economists say some of the growth appears to be driven by people who moved here with money they made in California, whether from real estate or stock market investments, and expected to get by but now must look for work.

Overall a good article, succinct in laying out where Bend has largely gone wrong. (Hint: it's not all Californians.)

One interesting tidbit that I did not know: Bend Living, the ultra-glossy local magazine, has folded (a "casualty" in the article's terms). I was wondering why I hadn't seen a new issue lately.

This sounds pretty cool actually, and will make a good addition to the Free Summertime Activity Guide.

Local favorites, rootsy stringband Blackstrap kick off a new live music concert series on the bank of the Deschutes River, the Pickin’ & Paddlin’ Music Series. Beginning Wednesday, June 24 and continuing the last Wednesday of July and August, Pickin’ & Paddlin’ features live music from 7:00 to 9:00pm, as well as the chance to try kayaks, canoes, paddles and other gear on the Deschutes River. Admission is free, and the whole family is welcome. Donations to the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance are encouraged, and Silver Moon Brewing's new Epic Trail Ale will be available for adult consumption (proceeds to BPTA).

From 4:00 to 7:00pm, representatives from top paddle sports companies such as Eddyline Kayaks, Esquif Canoes, Swift Paddles, Bending Branches and Aquabound Paddles will will be available for free demos and to answer questions. Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe’s fleet of 50 demo boats will also be available, with staff on hand to help.

The Pickin’ & Paddlin’ Music Series is hosted by Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe, in Bend at 805 SW Industrial Way # 6 (on the Deschutes at the foot of the Colorado Ave. Bridge). Please call 541-317-9407 for details.

DATES, TIMES, BANDS:
Wednesday, June 24
4:00 pm to 7:00pm - free boat and gear demos on the Deschutes River
7:00pm to 9:00pm - Blackstrap

Wednesday, July 29
4:00 pm to 7:00pm - free boat and gear demos on the Deschutes River
7:00pm to 9:00pm - Sweet Harlots

Wednesday, August 26
4:00 pm to 7:00pm - free boat and gear demos on the Deschutes River
7:00pm to 9:00pm - Moon Mountain Ramblers

COST: Admission is free. Kids welcome. No dogs please. Donations to the Bend Paddle Trail Trail Alliance are encouraged.

Bend Memorial Clinic has their SpecFest coming up this Saturday, June 20th. From 9am until 3pm, you can get 20 to 40% off sunglasses, eyewear, and more. There will also be refreshments, entertainment (not sure what), and a bouncy house and a petting zoo.

Most of this I gleaned from the flier, which you can view after the jump.

Read all

The Bulletin today had some details on the new pub that will be opening over on Galveston on the Westside:

The pub, to be called Brother Jon’s Public House and located at 1227 N.W. Galveston Ave., will be family-friendly and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, Machell said. The menu will feature healthy pub food, soups and salads, with entrees costing no more than $10, he added.

Machell, who is opening the bar with his business partner, Stephen Barnette, said the pub will also show baseball and football games but shouldn’t be considered a sports bar.

The 1227 space was formerly occupied by Le Cakery and (briefly) Makahna's. Or, is Le Cakery still open? It's possible it was a shared building space, since Google tells me Mt. Bachelor Fitness Equipment and Archery Den are currenlty (or used to be?) at that address, too. Along with something called Chit Chat, and Bend Skin Company.

Move over, Bend: Redmond has a summer's worth of free concerts to offer, too. Starting this week and lasting through September 9th, Music on the Green and Music in the Canyon are offering free music every Wednesday (along with food vendors, arts, and crafts).

Music on the Green:

Hosted at Sam Johnson Park, Music on the Green is a FREE, family friendly event featuring gourmet food vendors, arts, crafts, convenient parking and more. This year's series will begin Wednesday, June 24, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. -7:30 p.m. and run every other Wednesday till September 2nd, 2009.

Music in the Canyon:

Located at 850 SW Rimrock Way at the new American Legion Park in Redmond.

This concert series is presented as a complement to "Music on the Green" at Sam Johnson Park.

It takes place every other Wednesday on the non-Music on the Green days—filling in the gaps, as it were.

Definitely worth checking out if you're in Redmond.

And, I've updated the Free Summertime Activity Guide with these two items (in a special "Redmond" section no less).

Monday kicks off Commute Options Week, the annual week-long driving alternative campaign "encouraging the use of sustainable modes of transport and raising awareness on the environmental impacts of citizens’ modal choice." From the 15th through Sunday the 21st there's a whole slew of events people can get involved in, like:

• Ride BAT (Bend Area Transit) all day for free on Monday the 15th
• Bike Repair Clinic at Pine Mountain Sports on Tuesday the 16th
• Spring Fling Fashion Show at Parilla Grill on Friday the 19th

How will you be getting to work?

Summertime in Central Oregon offers a ton of things to do, but unfortunately much of it doesn't come cheap. So for the budget-conscious, I've compiled over the past couple of years a list of free (or nearly free) activities to be found.

Click through for the Free Summertime Activity Guide!

This is a free show at McMenamins.

Special guest opener Shireen Amini

Less than a year after the Sweet Harlots debut at McMenamins Old St. Francis School in Bend, Oregon, the all-girl acoustic/indie/alt/chamber-pop band has a whole new lineup and sound that just might knock you off your feet if you come expecting a sound as soft and saccharine as their name implies.

For the first time ever, the Harlots will be playing with a man on stage. Bassist Patrick Pearsall will join the Harlots at McMenamins for a performance that promises to be more rock than folk. Patrick joins the Harlots at the request of percussionist Shireen Amini, who insisted the band bring in a bass player to lock in her drum kit with Laurel's guitar. Though the Harlots were at first reluctant, they figured if that is what is was going to take to get the girl (Shireen), Patrick was in.

Read all

I noticed there's a new restaurant(ish) place that's opened up on the Eastside: "The East Village" is the new second location of the Village Baker (who still have their main Westside space), located in the old Demetri's space at 425 NE Windy Knolls. (Across from Bend Pet Express and Wells Fargo.)

Essentially they're just a second outlet for the Village Baker: they sell their artisan breads and baked goods, of course, but they also have soups, sandwiches, and coffee available too (and probably salads), with a decent seating space. (If you'd ever been in to Demetri's Greek Cusina back in the day, the layout is still essentially the same.)

Looks to be the same menu as the Westside location: most items are under $10 and sound really good.

All in all, it's another good lunch option on the Eastside, and a convenient place to get some unique baked goods. Right on.

In the next day or three, I'll have this year's "Free (or nearly free) Summertime Activity Guide" posted, similar to the ones I've posted the last couple of years. It's exactly what it says, a guide to free summer activities for the Bend area. Something that's important this year more than ever!

Got any tips? It's going to be a big guide, including (and updating) all the stuff from the past two years, so if you see anything not on those lists that you think should be mentioned, let me know.

And it doesn't have to be completely free; if it only costs a few bucks, that's fine too. It's recession-conscious!

I have to admit, I was lost at first, reading this press release—then it dawned on me that "Beyond the Flames" is a fire prevention magazine. And since we're nearing the start of fire season, it's pretty topical.

The 2009 issue of Beyond the Flames will include two new contests - a kids’ coloring contest and an adult contest! This year’s issue can be found in your Sunday Bend Bulletin and in this week’s issue of The Source Weekly.

Kids’ Contest:

Project Wildfire will award Grand Prize, First Place and Second Place prizes to winners of a coloring contest in three age group categories: under 6 yrs; 7-9 yrs, and 10-12 yrs.

Children 12 and under are encouraged to submit their drawings addressing one of three categories: 1) What can you and your family do to protect your home from a wildfire? 2) Why should people prevent wildfires? 3) How can your family put out a campfire safely?

Artwork completed in response to one of the above three questions can be submitted to the Project Wildfire office at 115 NW Oregon Avenue, Suite 17 - Bend, OR 97701. All entries in the kids’ contest must be received no later than July 15, 2009.

Artwork will be judged and prizes will be awarded at the 2009 Deschutes County Fair! The winning artwork will be displayed on the Project Wildfire and FireFree websites (www.projectwildfire.org and www.firefree.org) and may be used on future fire prevention signs across the county.

Adult contest:

The adult contest requires answers to five simple questions (the answers to which can be found in the publication) that are submitted for a random drawing. Answers to the five questions can be submitted to the Project Wildfire office at 115 NW Oregon Avenue, Suite 17 - Bend, OR 97701. All entries for the adult contest must be received by June 30, 2009.

The Grand Prize winner will receive $600 worth of fire resistant landscaping to his or her property! First Prize is $500 of fire resistant landscaping and a Second Prize of $400 of fire resistant landscaping will also be awarded. All winners will be recognized at the 2009 Deschutes County Fair.

Please refer to the back pages of the Beyond the Flames publication for complete entry details and instructions.

Along with insertion in the Bend Bulletin this Sunday, Beyond the Flames will be circulated the week of June 7-11, 2009 in the Sisters Nugget, Redmond Spokesman, Newberry Eagle, Central Oregonian, and The Source Weekly. For more information or an electronic copy of Beyond the Flames, please visit www.projectwildfire.org.

Human Dignity Coalition is proud to present the fifth annual Bend Pride ’09.
In Central Oregon, there's more to our shared environment than trees, mountains, and stunning rivers. Our environment includes the people with whom we live and work, and the community created by our shared love of where we live. At the forefront of promoting human rights and diversity in Central Oregon is Human Dignity Coalition. This year we are partnering with the LGBT club at COCC to bring you a week’s worth of events that celebrate Gay Pride, Family, Friends and Allies. Please join us in creating a community that celebrates our differences and is stronger because of it.

To get your tickets contact Human Dignity Coalition office@Humandignitycoalition.org 385-3320

June 22- La Cage Aux Folles
Special performance and reception benefiting Human Dignity Coalition.
The evening includes champagne and dessert reception, Q&A with the cast and audience drag costume contest!
7:30PM Greenwood Playhouse. 148 NW Greenwood Ave. $35.

June 24- Open Mic for Rights- Call to artists. Be proud and be heard!
7PM Silver Moon Brewery. 24 NW Greenwood Ave. $5 suggested donation. 21+.

June 25- Gaymes- Bring the family out for an evening of good old fashioned games and see how fun equality can be! Bring your picnic and we’ll provide the fun.
Juniper Park @ Franklin and NE 5th Ave. 5-8PM. Free. All ages.

June 26- Queer Prom! A better Prom for Everyone, supports HDC’s Queer and Allied Youth Program. DJ BabyLove and DJ Lucius. Prom attire a must. Sangria for 21+ by Volcano Vineyards. 8PM. The Environmental Center 16 NW Kansas. $5-20 sliding donation. All ages.

June 27- Pride Festival (hosted by the GLBT Club of COCC) and Pride Ride. Meet up at 1PM for bike decorating across from the festival, and join us for a Pride Ride through downtown Bend. 12-7PM. Troy Field, on Bond St. across from McMenamins. $5. All ages.

Performers at Saturday’s Pride Festival:

Jackie Jones (stand up comedy)
CJ and the Dolls (original music performed by drag queen and 2 backup dancers)
Miss Germany (aerial silks, fire dancing, and burlesque)
The Dirty Words
Relative (Pirate band)
Joey (acoustic/ vocal performance)
plus more TBA

More live music at Silver Moon Brewing tonight, Cicada Omega with David Bowers Colony opening up for them. From the press release below they sound like some sort of weird Southern Fusion Rock, but it definitely sounds interesting.

Cicada Omega is a southern original. The music is a continuation of blues, country, gospel, R&B and rock traditions. It is an other-worldly blend of pounding rhythm, southern evangelism and electrified junk. With two drummers, a home-made upright bass, and electric guitar, mixed with the chants, screams, and preaching of a snake-handling front man, their music takes traditional music, puts it in a blender, and turns it up to the breaking point. They have been described as "southern goth" or "gospel punk," but they defy categories by reinventing musical traditions rather than simply following them.

As strange as it all may sound, it comes from the most honest of places. It is the music of four Kentuckians who have a 15 year history. People have come and gone, band names have changed, and the music has evolved. But the root is still the same. They write songs that get you moving while telling you stories about lost souls, indians, aliens, sex, the Devil, and the mysterious, strange south. It is juke-joint music deeply rooted in blues and gospel, but also takes off into other realms. If asked for influences you would find not only John Lee Hooker, the Staples Singers, and Dr. John, but also Black Sabbath, Prince, and Hank Williams.

ABOUT DAVID BOWERS COLONY: Ghettograss like you READ ABOUT!!!!

WHEN: June 6, 2009
WHERE: Silver Moon Brewery
TICKETS: $5.00 at the door only
TIME: Doors 8:00, Showtime 9:00

This sounds like it's a good complement/alternative to Balloons Over Bend going on tomorrow.

The Bend Airport Day is Saturday, June 6th from 8:00AM until 2:00PM; the same weekend as Balloons Over Bend. It is a thrill to promote general aviation to Central Oregon. We hope you will join us at the Old Mill District bright and early Saturday morning for the Balloon launch, and then to the Bend Airport after that for some amazing fun.

Once again we will have lots to see and plenty to do. Our armed forces will be bringing a Chinook and Dolphin helicopter. We will also have the original plane from the Indiana Jones movie, bi-plane rides, and static displays. Our local manufacturers, Cessna, Epic, and Windward will have their beautiful planes on the ramp, as well as a brand new Stratos Jet mock up. There will also be classic, vintage cars and hot rods, military displays, and vendor booths. Once you are at the airport we will have a $5 pancake breakfast, and later in the day, a barbeque lunch and a fun prize wheel for all of the kids.

The airport is a vital part of the community. In fact, the Bend Municipal Airport is one of the largest private employers of family wage jobs in the city of Bend, and contributing over $500 million annually to the local economy. With more than 415 acres, and just five miles outside of town, the Bend Airport is a great place for a family field trip or fun excursion. There is a wonderful restaurant upstairs, Café 3456’, that is open for breakfast and lunch, and the Professional Air FBO staff is always available to answer any questions and show you around.

The Bend Airport Day is a great way to see some of the many reasons that general aviation is a very active and a needed part of our community. Of course, there will be airplane and helicopter rides, and these are great Father’s Day presents and an amazing way to see the area!

And you won’t want to miss a pair of F-15’s flying over the airport at 9:45AM!

This event is sponsored by: Professional Air, Leading Edge Aviation, Precise Flight, Snowline Manufacturing, Electronics International, American Licorice, Brasada Ranch, Epic Aircraft, Cessna, Air Link, Exxon Mobil Aviation, Western Petroleum, Avis, Regal Aviation Insurance, Oxford Hotels, 99’s, Griffin Interiors, Stratos Jet, X-Air LSA, Aviator’s Coffee Company

It's the first Friday of June, so fittingly enough tonight is First Friday in Downtown Bend and the Old Mill District:

The streets of Bend fill with art patrons on the first Friday of every month as Downtown Bend and Old Mill District art galleries stay open late with receptions for guest artists and special presentations of new exhibits.

Many galleries also offer refreshments (wine!) and live music as well. It's from 5pm until 9pm tonight.

But wait! That's not all! It's also the "First Friday of Music" in Downtown Bend:

In conjunction with Balloons Over Bend, The Source and the Cascade Community School of Music, we will be holding a First Friday of Music on June 5th. Downtown will be filled with musicians playing at many different locations! Music will be everywhere! This is our opportunity to support and celebrate the art of music.

This is above and beyond the "regular" First Friday but definitely works in conjunction with it. For a schedule of tonight's music you can hit the Cascade Community School of Music page.

It all culminates at the Moon Mountain Ramblers show at Silver Moon Brewing at 9pm—it's a benefit for the School of Music and cover is $10.

Sounds like it's going to be quite a night downtown! Hopefully any any of the rain and thunderstorms we've been getting this week will pass on by.

It's been on the calendar for awhile now, but I overlooked the fact that Balloons Over Bend starts tomorrow(!). Well, technically there's only a "media flight" for local media personalities tomorrow (Friday), and the rest of the festivities actually start on Saturday. It's all taking place in the Old Mill District and Les Schwab Amphitheater. Here's a taste:

[Saturday]

6:30am Balloon Launch- Les Schwab Ampitheater, weather dependent. Alternative location is Mt. View High School

10:00am Festival begins in Old Mill District- Powerhouse Dr.

10:00am-10:00pm- Marketplace- Powerhouse Dr.
Arts, Crafts and delicious foods will be available all day long.

10:00am-10:00pm- Street Painting Festival- Pedestrian bridge, Center Plaza

10:00am-9:00pm- Kids area- Across the river from Center Plaza
Pony rides, S&K inflatable adventures, face painting by Willow, balloon animals with Silly Lilly, activities with Kiddoz Play Center, hair wraps and temporary tattoos by Mtn View High School Band.

There's a whole bunch of live music too, as well as food and a beer garden.

This year it seems like it's more of an "festival" than previous years, which enhances the appeal—because I'll be honest, I never really got the concept or why it was a big deal. But with more actual stuff going on, it sounds interesting.

A couple of items regarding our local music scene:

• A song by local indie-alt band KouseFly has been licensed for use in a movie soundtrack. The indie movie is titled "Fifth Form" and is "a dark comedy about a prank war that tears apart a boy's dorm at an elite prep school". Pretty cool.
  (KouseFly will be playing at the KPOV Old Stone Church event next Saturday if you want a chance to hear them live.)
• The Broken Down Guitars will be playing M & J Tavern this Saturday, the 6th. They've been getting around lately and feature "Female fronted original song-writing and jam-rock". The show starts at 9pm, and it looks like the cost is free—a good deal on a Saturday night.

The Cascades Theatrical Company’s (CTC) 2009/2010 year will be unlike any season in the recent past. Join us on June 16 as CTC conducts an open forum “Town Hall” event beginning at 7 p.m. We will share our mission and strategic plans and then open it up for interactive input from the audience.

Members of CTC’s Board of Governors have been meeting multiple times weekly for the past several months to make plans for how to continue operating the Greenwood Playhouse in the difficult economic climate we are all currently experiencing.

If you have ever attended a performance at CTC, you already know the value of community theater. The Board of Governors is seeking input from all individuals interested in the fiscal health and quality of Community Theater in Central Oregon.

Who Should Attend? Past, present, and future actors, board members, volunteers, directors, set crews, etc. In short, we are seeking anyone who loves theater and desires to help CTC transition through the next season and beyond.

What is Cascades Theatrical Company?
CTC is a not-for-profit center for community performances of theatrical arts and the promotion of cultural arts in Central Oregon. Formerly known as Community Theatre of the Cascades, CTC was founded and incorporated in 1978. CTC laid the foundation for theatre groups performing in the region today.

CTC provides opportunities for members of the Central Oregon community to be entertained and enriched by high-quality theatrical productions and events and to participate meaningfully in the creation and support of these productions.

• Tuesday, June 16, Cascades Theatrical Company from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• The Greenwood Playhouse, 148 NW Greenwood Ave, Bend
• Please RSVP to 389-0803 (not required, but it would be nice to know how many to expect)

It's that time of year again—the start of the summertime Bend Farmers Market. From June through mid-October, the Farmers Market is in town twice a week:

• Wednesdays from 3 to 7pm, at the Brooks Street Riverfront Plaza, which is the top of Drake Park next to the public parking lot.
• Fridays from 2 to 6pm, at the main entrance to St. Charles Medical Center—the hospital lawn. This one only runs through September.

I love the Farmers Market, though I don't make it down there very often. And this year (or maybe past years, as well) they have live music—see who's playing when on their Schedule page.

(I also like that they finally have a website of their own. Definitely makes things easier!)

I just noticed on Bend Brewing Company's website that they are offering bottled beer again, but this time there are two different beers available: HopHead Imperial IPA (as before), and Elk Lake IPA.

I'm a bit surprised to see that Elk Lake is available by the bottle, though I suppose I shouldn't be as I've noticed it's on tap around town more and more these days. I guess I would have thought that something more "limited" like the Rocksy stone beer would have made the cut.

Totally a guess, but the bottles are probably selling for $7 or $8 each.

This press release was sent in by local band KouseFly, but applies also to a bunch of other local groups. And overall sounds like a great event.

KPOV Celebrates Fourth Birthday with Beatles Singalong
7 pm, Saturday, June 13, at Bend’s Old Stone Church

KPOV 106.7, Bend Community Radio, is celebrating its fourth birthday and the Beatles are coming to the party. A Beatles Singalong, featuring musicians and singers from across Central Oregon, will be held from 7 to 10 p.m., Saturday, June 13, at the Old Stone Church, 157 NW Franklin Avenue (at the corner of Franklin and Harriman), in Bend.

Local performers who will be on stage at the Beatles Singalong include the David Bowers Colony, Kousefly, Anastacia, Canaan Canaan, the Gospel Choir of the Cascades, All Together Now, Mermaid’s Muse, Sgt. Pepper, and Lovely Rita the meter maid.

“We’ll provide the music and lyrics and you provide the voice,” said KPOV Board President Rick Miller. “Beatles fans of all ages are invited to join us for this community singalong and birthday party. Dress up as a character from your favorite Beatles song or come as John, Paul, George or Ringo. This promises to be a fun night for the whole family.”

KPOV is hosting this birthday party with a little help from their friends at Deschutes Brewery, Plum Cocktails & Merrymaking, Hurricane’s, Ranch Records, Sonic Sound, The Curiosity Shoppe, song sponsors, and gift basket contributors. Beer, wine, refreshments and birthday cake will be available. The party will also include a silent auction and a raffle.

Advance tickets to the Singalong, an all-ages fundraiser for 106.7 KPOV, are on sale at www.kpov.org and at the KPOV studio, 501 NW Bond Street, Bend. General admission tickets are $10 for KPOV members in advance; $12 for non-members in advance; $15 at the door; $5 under 18 at the door.

Click through for the flier

In light of GM's announced bankruptcy and the recent news about Bob Thomas in danger of being closed, a grassroots website has sprung up overnight in response: KeepChevyInBend.com. Its goal:

The goal? Collect, gather, and share information to understand and support the practical business reality that GM must make hard choices. To help communicate that these choices must be fully informed.

How can you help?

• Join up
• Subscribe to the feed
• Write an article (we’ll post both pro and con)
• Add a comment
• Write a letter (details below)
• Tell your story
• Don’t be shy, even just a quick “me too” makes a difference.
• All of the above.

(Read more on the about page.)

Losing Bob Thomas in Bend would mean the nearest Chevy/GM dealership (for service as well as sales) would be in Madras—quite a one-two punch to the local economy. Go check out the site, submit a comment, you never know what could help.

We went down to Silver Moon Brewing this weekend for drinks and found out that they are unable to serve wine anymore. Apparently about six months ago the OLCC informed them of this situation: since they are a defacto production brewery (they brew on-premise but are not licensed as a brewpub) and self-distribute, OLCC regulations state that if they brew more than 1000 barrels of beer per year, then their licensing changes.

Well, Silver Moon brewed just over 1000 barrels last year, so this "production brewery" regulation went into effect; they can serve beer in their taproom, but no other types of alcohol, including wine.

(I'm sure my explanation isn't exact as far as the OLCC regulations go, but this is essentially as I understand it.)

There's some potential legislation that might change this, but for now, if you're heading down to Silver Moon and you don't drink beer for some reason (my wife doesn't), be aware that all you can get instead is water or pop.

Of course, don't let that stop you from visiting them anyway—they have a terrific seasonal Belgian-style rye beer on tap (brewed with heather tips), they still have food, and they've got a consistently busy and great lineup of live music every week.

Tomorrow night (Friday) there debuts the first annual "Bend Bicycle Film Festival" at the Tower Theatre.

Yep, it's a new one to me, too. Here's the press release:

The first annual Bend Bicycle Film Festival debuts at the Tower Theatre Friday night, May 29, celebrating the wonders and joys of riding bikes. The festival, a benefit for the Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) and the Bend Cycling Club, will showcase locally-made film shorts and slideshows followed by a big screen presentation of Freeride Entertainment's New World Disorder 9: Never Enough.

"The format for the locally-made portion of the show will run the gamut of cycling genres," says Paul Lissette, festival organizer. Submissions included cross-country, road, snow, spoof, one-wheel, freeride, urban shredding, desert riding, strange attire, BMX, and Cyclocross footage.

"Several locally well-known film makers and riders will exhibit their skill and creativity at the show," says Lissette. Jonas Tarlen - popular for his humorous backcountry ski films - makes a foray into the backcountry on his mountain bike. Steve Remer of 88 Productions will keep audiences on the edge of their seat with his action-packed footage. And Pro mountain biker Kirt Voreis stars in a Radical Films short clip.

The show will be open to those of all ages. "The top half of Tower Theatre will be a no-alcohol zone to encourage youth and families to attend the event," says Lissette.

Doors will open at 6pm; the show will start at 7pm. Tickets are available for $10 at all local bike shops or online or at the Tower Theatre box office. Bike commuting to the event is encouraged; bicycle parking available outside the Tower Theatre. There will be a raffle of donated prizes by various sponsors at intermission.

News that's both surprising and not so surprising in light of GM's dismal economic condition today: KBND reports that Bob Thomas is in dire straits:

Bob Thomas said they received a letter from officials at GM advising them that their contract will not be renewed in 2010. Thomas says they are astonished and dismayed at the decision.

I always thought Bob Thomas was one of the good ones, so that sucks. They're organizing a campaign to send "e-mails and letters of support" to GM and politicians; if you want to contribute send an email to rthomas@bobthomas.com.

A collection of random bits that have been emailed in:

• Oregon ties for 8th place for the best drivers in the nation. Of course, the person who emailed me the link pointed out that California ranks 4th from the bottom.
• There is a free earthquake talk this Saturday (the 30th) at the COCC Hitchcock Auditorium. It's about earthquake preparedness, and while free, seating is limited; call (541) 382-2142 or info@mounatainriver.redcross.org to find out more.
• In June, Deschutes Brewery is celebrating their 21st birthday on the 27th with a "back lot barbecue" featuring the first keg of Black Butte XXI, the Woody barrel, live music, and a bunch of rare Reserve Series beers being poured. It's all taking place in the parking lot behind their main pub on Bond Street.

Lindsey with Ruff Wear writes in to let us know about an event coming up this Saturday:

To celebrate the opening of the new off-leash dog park at Riverbend Beach in Bend, Oregon, Ruff Wear is hosting a demonstration and fitting event for our Big EddyT and PortageT lifejackets.

Come join us to try out and test the latest in canine water safety.

Date:
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Time:
12:30pm - 3:00pm
Location:
Bend, OR
Street:
Columbia Street and the Old Mill
City/Town:
Bend, OR

Here is more info on our facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=73846369537

Riverbend Beach is apparently the new park just southwest of the Columbia Street bridge in the Old Mill District.

The next Ignite Bend event is just around the corner (June 4), and right now they're in the "selection" phase—picking which of the many submitted presentations will make it to the final event on the Fourth.

To that end, they've posted for a call to crowdsourcing: even if you don't plan on attending, you can vote on which presentations should be selected, and tomorrow (Friday) there's an in-person function you can go to:

Join us for a no-host mixer and cast your ballot at our “Selection Election” at The Wine Shop (55 NW Minnesota Avenue, Bend) on Friday, May 22 at 4:30pm. We’ll be collecting ballots until around 6:30pm but you are welcome to stay and mingle. There will be beer and wine specials and… of course lots of socializing!

After work today we stopped in to the Eastside Longboard Louie's for a drink and appetizer, and I have to blog this: they have $2 pints of beer all day, every day.

No kidding! My wife told me about it some time back, but I thought that meant they had a happy hour, or a locals night or something. No. It's $2 always, as near as I can tell.

(I don't know if they have this at their Westside location also—anyone?)

And we're talking good beer selections, too—nearly all the local microbrewers are represented (at least two each from Deschutes, Bend Brewing, Silver Moon, 10 Barrel, and Cascade Lakes), as well as others.

It may well be the best beer deal in town.

So I got this in email today and even though it's basically a press release, I like its brevity.

Also: local musicians/groups/artists, send me info about your upcoming local shows. I'll definitely put it in the calendar and maybe promote it here on the main blog too.

Bend's newest eclectic jam-rock group Broken Down Guitars to play at Bottoms Up - Sunriver on May 23, 2009 at 9:00

Sunriver, Oregon, May 23, 2009. Bend's newest eclectic jam rock group, The Broken Down Guitars, will play at Bottoms Up Bar and Grill in Sunriver starting at 9:00. Soulful rock vocals, electric guitar riffs mixed with original writing make this group a must-see. With powerhouse lead singer/ rhythm guitar player Stacie Johnson, A.J. Blum on lead electric guitar, Jamie Houghton on bass and David Potter on drums, Broken Down Guitars will perform original songs often inspired by local poet Jamie Houghton's award-winning lyrics. Broken Down Guitars has recently played to packed houses at The Bend Distillery Downtown Martini Bar, The M & J Tavern, and the Silver Moon Brewing Company. Check out the band website at http://www.myspace.com/brokendownguitars.

Not that I've attended in past years, but I completely missed the Pole Pedal Paddle this year, being out of town. It's one of those big events that I've blogged about in the past, but didn't get to this year—it's one of those events that everyone already knows about.

Congrats to everyone who competed and finished, though! A quick look at the overall results is impressive, with almost a thousand teams (or individuals) finishing in under 5 hours. Wow.

Jake  is talking up the free Cascade Winds Symphonic Band concert again: Sunday, May 31st, it's the last concert of the season:

The Cascade Winds Symphonic Band will present the third and final concert of their 2008-2009 season May 31, 2:00 p.m. at Summit High School auditorium. This concert is free of charge, although donations are gratefully accepted.

This third concert of the Winds season includes a variety of band standards, solo features, orchestra transcriptions and marches that demonstrate the excitement and richness of great wind band literature.

You can't beat that price.

Two items from May 1st which got missed the first time around, both dealing with the local news media's economic troubles:

• Oregon Media Insiders reports Major Cuts at KOHD: "Non-renewed contracts, I'm told, include sports reporter Rachel Azevedo, reporter Allison Martin (once the weekend anchor when they had a weekend show) and anchor Jay Frank, who's still got a year on his contract. The 5 pm producer/assignment editor is an outright layoff..."
• And over at The Source, H. Bruce Miller says Bulletin Employees Hit With Pay Cut: "The tough times that have battered newspapers across the country have hit home in Bend: Staffers at The Bulletin and its parent company, Western Communications Inc., were told yesterday that they’ll be taking pay cuts of up to 10%."

Also read the comments; interesting stuff to be found there.

Of course, it's not just the economy hurting the news these days; in this age of the internet (and blogs and twitter and craigslist and social media), traditional media is taking big hits.

Baker City Kina has some interesting comments following up on this too (street cred: she used to work for the Bulletin).

Got the latest press release for the Renegade Rollergirls next bout: The Renegade Rumble on Saturday, May 23rd.

The Renegade Rollergirls; Bend's only non-profit Roller Derby League, will hold their 7th and last bout of their 3rd season at Midtown Music Hall, located on Greenwood Ave. The Renegades will be competing in an co-ed bouting event titled, The Renegade Rumble, including skaters from Medford and Salem. This is a no holds barred bout, full of hardcore skating abilities, wipeouts, bumps, bruises and cat fighting fistfights. This event is sponsored by, Coca Cola, The Source, 92.7FM, Action Typesetting and Printing, THEM! Marketing, Silver Moon Brewery, Long Board Louies, and Midtown Music Hall. Doors open at 7 p.m., Admission is $10.00 and kids 10 and under are free. Presale tickets are available at Riverside Market, Aspect, or from your favorite rollergirl. Tickets are also available for purchased at the door beginning at 2pm the day of the event.

The event will be played at Midtown Music Hall, located at 51 NW Greenwood Ave, downtown Bend, Oregon.

All presell ticket holders will receive a free raffle ticket for the nights raffle prizes.

It's been awhile since I've seen a COWPU notice, but there's one up today:

We are going to have our scheduled meeting (last Wednesday of the month) on the 27th out at Altrec.com. I know what your thinking- you don't want to drive out to Redmond. [T]here will be food at this months meeting! I just wanted to get the work out that COWPU is definitely having an official meeting in May. Here is the tentative schedule (we're going to start things a smidge late so people can make the journey).

5:15 - Arrive and network
5:45 - Announcements / Handout books / Draw for door prize
6:00 - Watch a sweet presentation

An anonymous tipster wrote in to say, "DiLusso on Galveston has a big sign outside that says that location is closed, and folks should visit the downtown shop."

I haven't been down Galveston lately so I haven't seen this; but wasn't the Galveston location where they baked most of their pastries and items? Anyone have a scoop?

The Bulletin has launched their first blog: Frequency, featuring music reviews and news from Bend and Central Oregon. It's written by Ben Salmon, the key player responsible for the Bulletin's Near/Far (the freely-downloadable music compilations), and the "mission statement", as it were, is:

Here at Frequency, I’ll aim to keep you up to date on all things music, period. If a big show is announced for Bend (or a surrounding town), I’ll let you know about it. If something sells out, you’ll read about it here. Did you hear that a concert was canceled? Check out Frequency for the up-to-date info.

You’d better believe, too, that I’ll be covering Central Oregon’s local artists from top to bottom. From new collaborations to break-ups, high-school garage bands to veteran folkies, DJs to jam-grass groups, Frequency will have regular updates about the region’s endlessly inventive musicians.

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in national music news and give you my take on what’s going on and how it could affect the way you consume your favorite sounds.

A cursory glance at the site is revealing, with a Flickr photostream, a Flash plugin radio player, Twitter account and followers, and more.

All in all, looks really promising and if you're into the local music scene you should follow it. I already foresee good Hack Bend fodder from it...

I admit it, I got a kick out of this email, which is otherwise pretty obvious advertising:

Looking for a Luscious Mother's Day Package - Treat that special mama in your life with a unique package from Edible Arrangements and Anjou Spa & Salon. This yummy package includes a signature treatment from Anjou Spa. While she's luxuriating, Edible Arrangements will deliver a delicious arrangement of fresh fruit and chocolate to her home. Cost: $165. Contact Anjou for information at 541-383-8000.

Aren't interested in the package? Edible Arrangements® has a fresh fruit bouquets available, starting at $34. Call 541-585-1082 or visit EdibleArrangements.com. It isn't too late to order for delivery on May 10th.

(The "obvious advertising" refers of course to the second paragraph. With an ® and everything!)

I don't believe I'd heard of Anjou Spa. They bill themselves as the only "Green" spa in Bend and support the Anjou pear market... which in retrospect makes their Mother's Day Package with Edible Arrangements make sense.

The Oregon CrossFit Championships will be held on Saturday, May 30th, 2009, in Bend, OR from 9 am to 6 pm. Participating athletes will test all ten elements of fitness performing bodyweight, weightlifting and endurance movements at stations along a course in the Old Mill District on the Deschutes River Centennial Loop and in Farewell Bend Park. The course will be short, at less than 2 miles, and should take most participants between 15 and 30 minutes, but will be very intense, challenging and fun! The exact course and movements will be posted the week of the event.

This event is open to ALL levels with Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Elite Classes for both men and women. We will award the winner of every category and the top 3 in advanced and elite. The finals event will be held at 5pm that evening. Athletes must place in the top 8 advanced or elite in the first event to qualify for the finals. The public is invited to come down and watch the competition.

The Oregon CrossFit Championships is the largest CrossFit competition in Oregon and the annual event that will determine who the fittest Oregonians are. The top athletes from the other 15 CrossFit Affiliates across the state are expected to compete for the team trophy. Winners from the Men’s and Women’s Advanced categories will be awarded an all expense-paid trip to the 3rd Annual CrossFit Games July 10th-12th in Aromas, CA (see www.crossfitgames.com).

This event is limited to the first 200 athletes. Registration fee is $20.00, which includes an official event t-shirt. The deadline is May 25th at 6pm. To register online go to www.oregoncrossfit.com or register by phone at 541-923-3433. Check-in can be completed between 7am and 8am prior to the event or you can attend the early-bird check in-party at Central Oregon CrossFit at 50 SW Bond #4 at 6pm on May 29, 2009.

A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to benefit Saving Grace (formally COBRA). Saving Grace provides comprehensive family violence and sexual assault services and promotes the value of living life free from violence. Saving Grace works to support healthy families in our community. To learn more about the services of Saving Grace please visit www.saving-grace.org.

For more information on the First Annual Oregon CrossFit Championships, call 541-923-3433 or go on line to www.oregoncrossfit.com. To find out more about CrossFit, the “School of Fitness”, class schedules and fees, call COC at 923-3433 or visit them at www.centraloregoncrossfit.com.

Sunriver Sunfest, Central Oregon’s most prestigious wine festival, will be held this year on July 24-26, 2009 in the Village at Sunriver. The festival will kick off Friday night with a wine pairing dinner at Marcellos. Saturday, the festival is open from 12pm until 9pm and will resume again on Sunday from 11am to 3 pm. Over 30 wineries will attend from throughout the West.

Admittance into the festival is free and wines will be sold by the taste, glass, bottle and case. Signature wine glasses will be for sale at the festival entrance. Also, Saturday guests can participate in the VIP area with appetizers and unlimited tastings for $75 per person or $500 for tables of 8, tickets should be pre-purchased. The local shop retailers in the Village at Sunriver will be open in addition to vendors selling unique and one of a kind hand-crafted items.

And of course, Sunfest enjoys the fact that it is a family-friendly festival. Kids of all ages can enjoy the mini golf, bumper cars, facepainting, and inflatable slide that will be set up for the weekend.

Sunriver Sunfest is a premier wine festival in Central Oregon, offering both locals and visitors to Central Oregon the opportunity to experience wines from throughout the region at the Village at Sunriver for the past 20 years. A portion of the Sunfest profits will be donated to the Newberry Habitat for Humanity. Please visit www.sunriversunfest.com or call 541-385-7988.

Wow, that was fast: following up on my rumor news yesterday that Fireside Red was closed, the Bulletin today had a more detailed article confirming it. The main reasons were economic (no real surprise there).

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum the Bulletin reports (also today) that Jack in the Box will be opening up in the former Denny's location (the building was demolished a month ago). They plan to open up in August.

Interesting but unsurprising trending there.

It's all over Twitter today (but I haven't seen it anywhere else, which is interesting) that Fireside Red—who you might recall just closed and re-opened after retooling or something—is now closed for good. Or will be closing. Or something, I'm not sure of the timeframe here.

The most plausible of the Twitter posts I've seen are from bendeats (AKA Bend Oregon Restaurants). BOR is pretty spot-on about this stuff.

Place any bets if another restaurant will take up shop in that space?

The other day I was updating the calendar with the Silver Moon Brewing schedule and I noticed one of the events is the "Epic Trail Ale release party." Wasn't totally sure what it was until Beer Northwest today ran a post about it.

Silver Moon Brewing Company in cooperation with the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance, the Tumalo Langlauf Club and the Central Oregon Trail Alliance are proud to announce the launch of "Epic Trail Ale" - a joint fundraiser and ongoing program to benefit human powered activities in Central Oregon.

Epic Trail Ale, a delightful, light Scottish ale conceived by the brewers at Silver Moon, will be available in 22 oz. bottles featuring artwork by local graphic artist Dave Caplan and will also be available by the pint at the Silver Moon Brewery.

The release party is this Friday, the 8th, starting at 6pm and lasting until closing. Pints and cases of the beer ($45 per case) will be available for purchase too.

Friday after work we popped in to Deschutes Brewery to try the newly-released Mirror Mirror, and in a shameless bit of self-promotion I'm pointing you to my beer blog to read about it. Suffice to say it is a very worthy beer to get while it's still available on tap.

I also tried a taster of their Gluten Free Golden Ale out of curiosity. It was very different—it's not made from barely but instead from sorghum, brown rice, and roasted chestnuts and is 100% gluten free. I found it to be sour-ish and very light with a different character than "beer" but at some point I will probably order a glass to figure it out.

Bend Brewing Company should have a very interesting beer on tap soon, a "Stein (Stone) Beer" brewed in collaboration with Lost Abbey brewmaster Tomme Arthur. What makes this notable is the "hot rocks" method of brewing by placing glowing-hot rocks into the brew kettle, causing the wort (unfermented beer) to boil rather than by traditionally, you know, heating the kettle with flame underneath.

Stein beers I've tasted elsewhere are quite delicious, so I have high hops for this one. In fact, I believe it's named "Hot Rocks" and may in fact be on tap now—the website hasn't been updated in a while. Call down to see.

I had previously mentioned the Brew Shop stocking specialty beer; I've been in there a few times since and can verify that they have filled their coolers nicely and offer one of the biggest specialty beer selections in town. (Whole Foods and Newport Market are still impressive, too.) They're located at 2524 NE Division, just down the street from the newly opened Rivals.

Just announced this morning on KTVZ.com: Cessna is closing its factory here in Bend.

Due to a continued slump in plane sales, Cessna Aircraft Co. announced Wednesday morning that it will shut its factory at the Bend Airport and lay off the fewer than 200 people still working there, moving assembly of the Corvalis line of planes to its Independence, Kan., facility.

The Bend closure comes as part of an announcement of eliminating 8,200 jobs, or 20 percent, of parent company Textron's global work force as the recession continues tt weaken demand for planes.

Cessna, the world's largest plane-maker, denied the always-persistent rumors that it had planned all along to move the Bend work to its Kansas headquarters.

From the Volcano Vineyards blog today comes the news that the downtown local winery is closing their tasting room, but with good reason: they plan to open a larger space.

We are working on opening a winery facility here in Bend for the production of our Magmita Sangria and our second label, Magna Wines. Because of permitting and licensing issues, we can’t have the tasting room open – the OLCC allows three locations under our winery license: we have our main winery facility in southern Oregon as one, our house is another (from where we ship) and the third is now the tasting room, but that will be transferred to the new winery space.

No word on when—things are taking longer than they thought—but it's certainly refreshing to hear of a local business actually planning on expanding in this economy.

They make good wine, too. Pop in to their tasting room on Brooks Street to try some before they move.

The names in the title refer, of course, to Deschutes Brewery's two latest special-edition beers, and this Wednesday (according to Twitter), the Brewery is hosting the release party for these beers at their pubs.

"Festivities" should start around 5pm, and if previous release parties are any indication, there will be specially-themed menu offerings (made with the beers in question) to accompany the new beers.

The swine flu is all over the news these days, and while it hasn't reached Oregon yet, that hasn't stopped Deschutes County and BMC from issuing notices and information regarding it. The best defense, of course, is to stay informed.

From Deschutes County:

Public health officials in Oregon are stepping up surveillance for a new strain of influenza known as swine flu, after 40 cases have been confirmed in multiple states along with the numerous cases in other countries including Mexico and Canada. No known cases have been confirmed in Central Oregon or the State.

Keep reading

Sorry for the late posting on this one, it slipped by and I was lame. Press release, last minute but there still may be opportunity for those interested.

Jackalope Grill Dinner With St. Innocent Wines

Monday, April 27, 6:00pm, with St. Innocent Winemaker Mark Vlossak

St. Innocent Winery was founded in the mid-Willamette Valley near Salem, Oregon, at the southeast corner of the Eola Hills, in 1988 by Mark Vlossak. Both its wine and winemaker are now considered to be among the best of Oregon. Wine Advocate named Vlossak one of its 2004 “Wine Personalities of the Year,” writing that “Mark Vlossak continues to grace consumers with the finest Pinot noirs Oregon has fashioned to date . . . . Vlossak’s dedication to quality and his commitment to delivering value to his customers is exemplary.”

Dinner With St. Innocent Wines Menu & Pairings

• Grilled Wild Caught Gulf Prawns - Israeli couscous, citrus beurre blanc - 2007 St. Innocent Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Blanc
• Thai Style Mussels - jasmine rice, coconut milk, lemon grass, chilies and cilantro - 2007 St. Innocent Freedom Hill Vineyard Chardonnay
• Pan-Seared Duck Breast - parmesan risotto, roast beets, fresh blueberry sauce - 2007 St. Innocent Villages Cuvee Pinot Noir &  2006 St Innocent Momtazi Vineyard Pinot Noir
• Roast Rack of Venison - truffled potato puree, pinot noir jus - 2006 St. Innocent Anden Vineyard Pinot Noir & 2006 St. Innocent Seven Springs Vineyard Pinot Noir
• Cheese Course - a selection of cheeses and a bit of dark chocolate - Cellar Selection from St. Innocent Winery

For more information about St. Innocent Wines and our presenter, Mark Vlossak, visit stinnocentwine.com.

Cost is $65 per person. Call for reservations 318-8435. Visit jackalopegrill.com for info. The Jackalope Grill is located at 1245 SE Third St. in Bend, Oregon.

Odds and ends that have come across my email that I wanted to blog about.

• Heather Mezzetta sends in: "Bend Yoga is offering 20% off retail just for donating 2 canned food items at the studio. Donations will support NeighborImpact. We carry a nice selection from Jade, Breathe, lululemon and more."
• The All Around Bend book is out; it's currently at "Between the Covers, Paulina Springs Books (both redmond and sisters), the Deschutes Brewery tasting room, and [the] website's store (paypal). It will hopefully be at various outfitters, the visitor bureau, and other stores by May."
• Deschutes County issued a Cascade Lakes Highway road update: "As of April 22, access is limited. The Spring River Road (Forest Road 40) has been cleared to Cascade Lakes Highway (Forest Road 46). Forest Road 4270 has been cleared between Road 40 and 42. South Century Drive (Forest Road 42)has been cleared to Cascade Lakes Highway."

The guys over at 10 Barrel Brewing (formerly Wildfire and primarily served up at JC's) have a neat idea: behind-the-scenes video.

This video is the first in a series that gives a little insight into what we, as a small brewery in Bend, Oregon, go through on a daily basis.

You can view this first video here.

Busy lately, but I was able to post some items to the Twitter account. (Re-post, actually, since I was "retweeting" other people's tweets.) Reproducing here.

• Tomorrow (April 21st), there is a book release party for the new book, B is for Beer, at Between the Covers on the corner of Bond and Delaware. It's a beer-themed party, naturally, so when you buy the book, you get Mirror Pond Pale Ale. Starts at 6:30.
• Also tomorrow is Ben & Jerry's free cone day. From noon until 8pm, swing by the Old Mill District and score some free ice cream!

Here's a neat resource for you baseball fans: an enterprising reader has pulled the entire 2009 Bend Elks game schedule into an online calendar here. Carl says,

I'm planning on buying season tickets to the Bend Elks this season, and I thought I'd share with you an iCalendar file I created with the team's entire 2009 schedule. Anyone can view the calendar, and anyone using iCal, Google Calendar, or another calendar program that supports the .ics format can download or subscribe to it.

I'll see about pulling it into the Hack Bend Calendar, as well. Thanks Carl!

Silver Moon Brewing is the venue to be for live and local music these days. Tomorrow, April 15th, it's "Bend's newest eclectic jam-rock group Broken Down Guitars" will be playing starting at 7pm. Here's a blurb:

With powerhouse lead singer/ rhythm guitar player Stacie Johnson, A.J. Blum on lead electric guitar, Jamie Houghton on bass and David Potter on drums, Broken Down Guitars will perform original songs often inspired by local poet Jamie Houghton's award-winning lyrics. Broken Down Guitars has recently played to packed houses at The Bend Distillery Downtown Martini Bar and The M & J Tavern. Check out the band website at http://www.myspace.com/brokendownguitars.

No word on cost/cover charge. None?

Next week, April 21st, The Smile Ease out of Anchorage, Alaska, will be kicking off a 9pm show with a $5 cover. Their blurb:

We have been compared to The Shins, Broken Social Scene, and The Flaming Lips. In the last couple years, we have shared the stage with CAKE and the Mountain Goats, released our first album and toured the NW. This is our second tour and we are currently working on releasing our second album, which will be out in the fall. (www.thesmileease.com)

And, better late than never, I suppose, I have a calendar of Silver Moon music for the month of April (I know, I know, I'm lame for missing this the beginning of the month):

Submitted details for a workshop at Bend Yoga in a couple of weeks:

What :
Yoga for Peak Performance Workshop
Athletic performance enhanced by yoga and meditation
Cost: $20
When: Saturday, April 25 1:00 - 3:00PM
Where: Bend Yoga 155 NW Century Drive Suite 113
Contact: 541-322-9642 (YOGA) info@bend-yoga.com

Description:
There is much more to athletic performance than fitness level and well-practiced skills. To perform well the athlete must also prepare the mind and nervous system for the rigors of training and competition, as well as deal with the unbalanced musculoskeletal demands of sport-specific training.

Yoga is an ancient practice in calming the mind and opening the body. As a compliment to all other athletic pursuits it prepares the athlete for mental focus and the ability to relax under pressure. On the physical side, yoga better prepares the body to sustain impact and prevent against injury.

Designed for amateur and competitive athletes alike this challenging but restorative workshop presents yoga as a tool for stress management, relaxation, and mental focus, as well as providing an entertaining and engaging yoga workout. It is also perfect for coaches who want to help their athletes reach deeper states of relaxation and flexibility. Previous yoga experience is not necessary.

This came in as a press release but it sounds pretty cool. Sesquicentennial fun!

Westward Oregon! Celebrates Oregon’s 150th Birthday In May with 1859 Stagecoach Rides, Encampment and Dinner

In partnership with the Des Chutes Historical Museum and Bend Parks & Recreation, Deschutes County is proud to sponsor Oregon’s largest 150th birthday event. Westward Oregon! is a living history weekend to be held May 29 and 30 at Tillicum Ranch that includes 1859-era stagecoach rides, an encampment, and a pioneer-style dinner and dance that will take participants clear back to when the state was born!

The two-day celebration is designed to give local residents a flavor of what life was like in 1859 when Oregon became the 33rd state in the Union.

Westward Oregon will give participants exciting, hands-on experience of 1859 Oregon life through three educational and fun activities:

Territorial Express Stagecoach Rides
Traveling along historic roads between Sisters and Bend, participants can ride in a historic replica stagecoach and re-live travel 1859-style. Travel back in time and ride an authentic stagecoach through beautiful Deschutes County. Fares are $100 per passenger, $150 for “shotgun” seats. Seating is limited; please reserve your stagecoach passenger seats now.

Westward Oregon Encampment
For Deschutes County, permanent human settlement was nearly 30 years in the future. On both Friday (10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) and Saturday (10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), historic Tillicum Ranch will be transformed into a tent encampment, complete with re-enactors and demonstrators who will help participants experience what life was like in an 1859 encampment. Admission to the encampment will cost families of four only $15! Mingle with soldiers and townspeople, watch wheelwrights, coopers, blacksmiths, spinners, and tailors practicing their trades. Pet a cavalry horse and visit with the stagecoach drivers and their mules.

The 1859 Evening of Nostalgia
The dinner and dancing benefit event starts at 6:00 p.m. and will feature costumed re-enactors and the music from 1859! Come with your own posse dressed in the styles of the era. Evening of Nostalgia tickets are priced at $70 per person for non-Museum members and $60 for members, please call for table discount rates. Take a scenic wagon ride around the Tillicum Ranch encampment at dusk. A few of the silent auction items include tickets to this year’s Pendleton Round-Up, two tickets to Happy Canyon and the event’s Friday round-up-including RV parking.

Proceeds from Westward Oregon! will help to support the Des Chutes Historical Museum and their efforts to restore and record local history.

For more information about Westward Oregon! please call 389-1813 or visit
www.deschuteshistory.org.

I haven't paid enough attention in the past to see if this has happened before, but this Saturday (the 11th) are two different roller derby bouts—basically both leagues in town have a bout on the same night (different places). Which one to go see?

First up is the Lava City Roller Dolls, whose bout is at the Indoor Sports Center up north:

The Lava City Roller Dolls (LCRD) will be hosting a Home bout with the Smokin Ashes taking on Treasure Valley Roller Girls of Boise, Idaho. The action takes place at The Central Oregon Indoor Sports Center (COISC) on Saturday, April 11th, at 6 p.m. The Ashes are ready to “BURY THE TREASURE OF VICTORY” of those girls from Idaho! Roller Derby fans won’t want to miss a minute of the action!

Saturday, April 11th, 2009 at the Central Oregon Indoor Sports Center located at 20795 High Desert Lane, Bend
Doors open at 5:00 pm. Bout starts promptly at 6:00 p.m.
Advance Tickets for this event will be available on-line at www.brownpapertickets.com.
Price: $10 advanced, $12 at the door, $6 seniors and children under 12, Kids 5 and under get in FREE!

Then, downtown at the Midtown Music Hall, we have the Renegade Rollergirls:

The first co-ed roller derby bout in Bend! The Renegade Rollergirls; Bend's only non-profit Roller Derby League, will hold their 6th bout of their 3rd season at Midtown Music Hall, located on Greenwood Ave. The Renegades all star team will be competing in an co-ed bouting event titled, The Rolling Rodeo, against the Spokane Outlawed Roller Derby travel team. This event will be the first co-ed roller derby bout to be played in Bend.

April 11, 2009. Doors open at 7 p.m., $10 for general admission, 10 and under are free. Presale tickets are available at Riverside Market, Aspect, or from your favorite rollergirl. Tickets are also available for purchased at the door beginning at 2pm the day of the event.

$10 either way, so it sounds like it could be a bit of a toss-up. Though the Renegades are a rougher bunch...

This is one of the more unusual events I've heard of, but it's definitely worth blogging about. If you're unhappy with the way the government has been handling the economy lately (among other things), this might be for you.

You've no doubt heard of the many Tea Party Rallies being held all across the country to protest the bailouts, wasteful spending, the corruption of earmarks, passing a record $700 expenditure bill without reading it, the rapid addition to our national debt (future bankruptcy?), the promised increase in taxes (re: cap & trade, the hidden tax) and the ramifications of all on our economy, job growth and unemployment. In addition, there is government ownership and control of private businesses on the horizon, and the promise of more massive spending and foolish government entitlement programs and amnesty to illegal immigrants, which are now costing the American taxpayer $350 billion a year.

So, a few of us are a little peeved and want Washington to Hear us.

A Tax Day Tea Party is planned for Bend to be held at Troy Park, next to McMenamins, on April 15th from 3:00 to 7:00. We invite all Central Oregonians to attend the rally, bring your tea bags, your signs, and your folding chairs for a good time with grassroots speeches, music, and a march through downtown. If you' like more information, let me know.

A bit more info can be found here.

All in the spirit of the Boston Tea Party, of course.

Yes, I'm behind on posting stuff, apologies. This press release is from two weeks ago, but still relevant.

The United Way of Deschutes County is seeking volunteer teams from area businesses as well as individuals to lend a hand during the 13th annual Days of Caring to be held May 29 & 30.

Days of Caring, the signature event of the United Way of Deschutes County, is a county-wide effort matching local businesses and individuals with non-profit agencies for a day of community service. Projects are scheduled during three different time periods—Friday morning, Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. Volunteers can help repair and paint bicycles, build sandboxes for children, plant flowers and refresh landscaping, erect a swing set for a child care facility or apply a fresh coat of paint—to name a few projects scheduled for this year.

Keep reading

Just in case you missed it, the article ran in Saturday's Bulletin. The Old Mill Martini Bar is closed for the time being, until they can get a new OLCC license.

Apparently a "change of ownership" is the cause of the snafu, pending OLCC investigation. No word on when they'll open up again.

FootZone is organizing the first-ever "Larkspur Lollipop" Kid's Run and 10K coming up April 25th, which sounds like a neat event for a good cause: proceeds from the race are going to Family Access Network (FAN).

April 25th is a Saturday, and the 1.2-mile Kid's Fun Run will start at 8:45am, with the 10K road race beginning at 9, both starting from Larkspur Park. Larkspur is the big park next to the Bend Senior Center on Reed Market.

If you're interested in participating, download the PDF entry form from their website. Sign up by April 16th and fees are $10 for kids and $15 for adults; after that it's $15 and $20, respectively.

It's official: the Bulletin reports that Olive Garden has filed for their building permit for Bend. They plan to be located next to Staples and Michaels on the north side of town, in the big empty lot just southeast of them.

Of course, this only means they're still probably two years out from opening. And I can't remember if Olive Garden is relatively inexpensive or not, but I'll guess that they'll be pretty popular regardless.

I'm sure Johnny Carino's is thrilled.

This Friday, April 3rd, is not only the monthly First Friday "Gallery Walk" where art galleries downtown and in the Old Mill District stay open for wine and festivities—it's also the Spring Art Hop.

Thousand of folks will be downtown to appreciate art, wine and food.

The bi-annual arts event is held on the first Fridays of April and October in downtown. Organized by the Downtown Bend Business Association, the event seeks to bring people downtown while supporting the arts in our community. We encourage EVERY business to participate; it brings lots of people downtown and into your business!

Not just galleries, but businesses of all sorts will be getting in on the festivities. The Art Hop has been going on for over 20 years, and it should be pretty lively downtown.

It starts at 5pm and runs until 9pm.

This Saturday, April 4th, is the "Friends of the Bend Library Spring Book Sale". As usual it takes place downtown at the Library Administration Building at 507 NW Wall (in the basement). Time is 10 until 4.

This is a quarterly favorite of mine (as you regular readers all know). Try to get there early; the deals are great with books typically being 50 cents to a dollar, and children's books are paid by the inch (stacked).

Central Oregon only has one beer brewing supply shop that I'm aware of: The Brew Shop. If you homebrew, you get your stuff there, and for a long time it occupied a small space at 2538 NE Division, a small, industrial-type building, just big enough to have supplies in the front and a small brewing "kitchen" and storage in the back.

(In fact, Silver Moon Brewing got its start in that very space, on a 1-barrel brewing system, if I remember right.)

Well, good news to homebrewers: the Brew Shop has recently moved and expanded—however, "moved" is relative as it's still at the same address: they simply moved into the larger building on the other side of the parking lot.

I was in there last weekend and was very impressed with the extra space, and most interestingly, the entire back wall is a big bank of refrigerators—the big "grocery store style" coolers fronted with glass doors. When I asked after them, they told me they had just received their OLCC liquor license and were planning on stocking them full of beer—becoming, in effect, a boutique beer shop as well as homebrew supply shop.

Their plan is to ramp up with some 300 varieties of beer, and ultimately expand to 900 or more. There will also eventually be some beer on tap and a small tasting room area.

The good news is, they already have beer for sale! (I have an email confirming it.) Bend's beer scene just got even better.

Head down there this weekend and pick up some specialty beer, why dontcha?

Geoffrey from All Around Bend sent this tip along:

Hey man, there is a Deschutes Brewery promo event this Thursday from 4-6pm at the Reed Pub. Pints are $1.75 each and there will be prizes to win!

I can't find anything else online about it, which seems odd because this sounds like a huge wine if you like Deschutes beer.

Reed Pub is at 1141 SE Centennial, just off of Reed Market by the railroad tracks.

Incidentally, I don't know if I've seen the All Around Bend site before (or if I have, it was vastly different). Seems sharp, and I'm most impressed that they've got a book coming out. Nice.

I haven't blogged about COWPU in a while—possibly because there hasn't been a meeting lately, or possibly because, er, it might have slipped my mind—but there's a meeting this Wednesday, the 25th.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 5:30pm
G5 Search Marketing, 906 NW Harriman Street - Bend, OR 97701

Merb + ExtJs = Fun
Presented by Timmy Crawford, G5 Search Marketing

Agenda
5:30pm - Doors open, networking
5:50pm - Announcements and door prizes
6:00pm - Presentation

"Apres Geek" Beverages: Across the street at Blacksmith

COWPU stands for "Central Oregon Web Professionals Usergroup."

This came via email and it seems like a worthwhile event/fundraiser:

Eat Ice Cream & Support
A Free Program for Local Public School Students!

March 24th from 5:30 - 7:30 PM

Cold Stone in the Cascade Village Shopping Center is serving ice cream for two hours……20% of all purchases will go directly to Stop and Think along with any donations that come in during these two hours.

We have been teaching a non-judgmental critical thinking abstinence course in Middle and High schools since 2002. We have presentations scheduled into June; however, our funding has run dry. (Our services are FREE to each and every classroom.)

We are asking our community to dig deep and reach out to thousands of youth in our own communities. Your financial support will ensure that our youth will have the opportunity to engage in discussions about the pros and cons of sexual activity and sexual abstinence, the reality of sexual activity, what true freedom looks like, & how to remain in control of our own lives. Students also learn valuable life tools and refusal skills.

Our program has been successful for one main reason: We are honest, straight forward, and real. Please support this amazing program.

For more information feel free to contact Jennifer Heinze at coprc@hotmail.com or on her cell at 541 788 2697

Today is the first day of spring and school is out for spring break all next week. But now you have to entertain the kids—what to do? The Bulletin has a comprehensive and innovative list of things, particularly for those on a budget (and aren't we all these days).

• Go to the airport
  Kids can watch the planes and helicopters take off and land, especially at smaller airports like the Bend Municipal Airport, 63132 Powell Butte Highway, in Bend. (Construction at the Redmond Airport could make viewing the planes there more difficult).
• Tour a fire department
• Check out a Desert Explorers Pass
  This family pass to the High Desert Museum is available at branches of the Deschutes Public Library system. (Families can check the online catalog in advance to see if passes are available.)
• Check out a discover pack
  Available at the branches of the Deschutes Public Library system, these are backpacks filled with games, books and activities on a particular theme, such as astronomy, nature hikes or the five senses.
• Whittle a stick
• Attend a free clinic for kids at Home Depot

Definitely worth checking out the full article.

I'm sure you've seen the local commercials for "Talk of the Town"—the locally-produced cable-channel "town hall" TV program—and like me, haven't paid them much mind. After all, they're a little goofy in that "public access television" kind of way.

But this Monday's Talk of the Town sounds pretty interesting: it's a "Meet Your Legislators" edition, with State Senator Chris Telfer, State Representatives Gene Whisnant and Judy Stiegler, and Deschutes County Commissioners Dennis Luke, Tammy Baney, and Alan Unger all attending.

Imagine having the chance to go one on one with your state representatives. What if you could ask them anything on your mind, including state budget cutbacks, how that will impact us in Central Oregon, and more? You now have that opportunity!

Join us Monday, March 23rd, 5:30 p.m.
Cascades Theatrical Company
148 NW Greenwood, Bend

FREE TO ATTEND but seating is limited. Please RSVP!
388—5814
talk@bendbroadband.com

The resulting program will be aired on COTV 11 the following Monday, March 23rd at 7pm.

(From backlogged email.) I guess technically this is an upcoming event (singular) and a notice. At any rate, Jackalope Grill is one of those restaurants still open and doing interesting things. From the email:

April Cooking Class
Monday, April 6
Tim will be teaching a cooking class on March 2, the topic will be “Butchering - Stretch your dollar by learning how to cut your own meats." Space is limited, so reserve your spot now!

We will be open on Easter
Sunday, April 12, 4pm - 8pm
(The Jackalope is the Easter Bunny's cousin.)

The Renegade Rollergirls events I blogged about last week has been canceled. It was the bout scheduled for this Saturday, the 21st.

No word on if it will be rescheduled, or if they'll just pick up again next month.

Hard to believe, but everyone's favorite drinking holiday is just around the corner: Tuesday the 17th. Like the last couple of years, it's time for the "official" Pub Hopper's Guide. It's not definitive, but a list of the places that strike me as St. Patty's-appropriate.

And like last time, I'm also noting when a place has a specific St. Patty's thing going on (I've bolded the name and included a blurb).

The next Renegade Rollergirls bout is coming up on Saturday, March 21st, and fittingly it's leprechaun themed.

The Renegades will be competing in a St Patrick’s Day themed event with two local Renegade teams in a no holds barred bout, full of hardcore skating abilities, wipeouts, bumps, bruises and cat fighting fistfights. Doors open at 7 p.m., Admission is $10.00 and kids 10 and under are free. Presale tickets are available at Riverside Market, Aspect, or from your favorite rollergirl. Tickets are also available for purchased at the door beginning at 2pm the day of the event.

And, there will be a special halftime promo; members of the audience are encouraged to participate in "games, races, photos as a roller derby player and more." Participants will receive a prize.

It's all taking place at the Midtown Music Hall, downtown at 51 NW Greenwood.

I blogged back at the end of last year about the Crooked River Dinner Train closing. Well, good news today as KTVZ and a tip from AllAboutBend.com report that the Dinner Train is re-opening this month, under new ownership.

The dinner train will kick-off its season of weekly train operations through the Crooked River Valley in March.

Weekend departures will include the famous Jesse James train robbery, murder mystery performances, an enhanced menu, and more.

New for 2009 is the addition of Cougar Canyon BBQ, featuring the new owner of the dinner train and owner of Cougar Canyon Catering, Jimmy Brundage. Better known in Central Oregon as Jimmy B.

According to their website, it looks like the schedule resumes on March 21st.

Here's a nice chunk of upcoming events from Spice Trader Records—through June. The one that looks most interesting (to me) is the "Bend's Best" event starting in May; a local band showcase.

Most of these are also on the calendar now too.

Pirate Beach Party
The Domino Room, 51 NW Greenwood Ave. Bend
March 20th, 2009. All ages, bar with ID upstairs.
Doors at 7:30, show at 8pm
Tickets: $8 in advance at www.spicetraderrecords.com or $10 at the door.
Spice Trader Records presents a pirate themed beach party to kick-off Spring Break. Music performances by local Pirate Rock band, RELATIVE, as well as Necktie Killer, DJ ISH-U and some Surprise Guest MC's. We will have Pirate Party Favors for sale, with sale proceeds going to The Boys and Girls Club. There will also be a best dressed pirate contest with great prizes.

Dirty Penny
The Domino Room, 51 NW Greenwood Ave. Bend
April 3rd, 2009. All ages, bar with ID upstairs.
Doors at 8, show at 8:30pm
Tickets: $12 in advance at spicetraderrecords.com or $15 at the door
Spice Trader Records presents, for their second return, Slithering out of the gutters of Santa Cruz, California, come four incredibly talented musicians determined to revolutionize the all-but-forgotten genre of 'old-school' classic metal. Their sound is sheer penetration and shivering energy; their live performances explode with screaming guitars, thumping bass and drums, and powerhouse vocals. After playing the main stage at Rocklahoma, on July 13th 2007, Dirty Penny caught the attention of fans and media alike. They were featured in the 2007 Rolling Stone Magazine's year end issue, and returned at Rocklamoma again on July 12th, 2008.
Performing with Dirty Penny will be local group Vengeance Creek, and Portland's Restruct.

Bend's Best
The Domino Room, 51 NW Greenwood Ave. Bend
Tuesday Nights, starting May 2009. All ages, bar with ID upstairs.
Tickets: $5 at the door
Spice Trader Records presents a monthly local band night at the Domino Room. Bands performing would be exclusively from Central Oregon, including bands with high school aged musicians. This monthly show will have rotating programming; each month will be a different style of music, for example, Rock, Metal, Hip-Hop, etc. One month will be a round up of the best group's of the past four shows. These monthly shows are designed to be simple, affordable yet fun local entertainment that benefits our local community and local musicians.

That's So Gay: Bend Pride ExtravaGAYza!
The Domino Room, 51 NW Greenwood Ave. Bend
June 27th, 2009. Ages 18+, bar with ID upstairs.
Spice Trader Records presents the 5th That's So Gay, in a special celebration for Bend's Pride Week. We will have our crowd favorite comedian, Jackie Jones, returning to host the evening. There will also be live music, performance art, and a big gay DJ Dance Party - all featuring local and regional artists. That's So Gay is fun, safe environment for all gay and straight adults. Portion of event proceeds go to the Human Dignity Coalition

Weston Technology Solutions, a computer services and computer consulting company, along with Central Oregon Community College, are helping to host a seminar that will showcase changing mindsets can alter success in today’s challenging economy.  Survive Thrive or Flourish; Tools for a Prosperous Business will be presented Friday, March 13, 2009, at Central Oregon Community College’s Hitchcock Auditorium. Keynote speaker Nigel Henry, president and founder of Mastery Unleashed™, will highlight how accomplishing Better-Faster-Cheaper is attainable in today’s marketplace while still experiencing the “WOW” factor in business.

Read full press release

The MS Walk is coming up on April 18th, and I'm told that Monday night, March 9th, there is a "sign and dine" event at Deschutes Brewery during their Locals Night.

The idea is, you head down to the Brewery for beer and dinner and sign up to participate in the MS Walk. I don't know if there are any specials to be had for doing so, but it's a good cause and there are deals to be had at Locals Night.

Made available on the Deschutes County website is the 2009 State of County presentation, so I snagged it and converted it to PDF for anyone who's interested. You can get it here. It's about 3 MB in size.

Originally it was a PowerPoint presentation, which explains the slideshow format, and the fact that it's summarized and disjointed. But still interesting, if you're into that sort of thing.

The overall message is the poor economy... but pay attention to the last few slides for some unexpected (gallows?) humor.

This is a press release, but what's especially interesting is that Rivals Sports Bar is finally opening up. All I know about it is that it occupies the building on north Division (that No Man's Land just south of the 97/Parkway interchange at the Mall) that formerly housed such restaurants as Pepe's Mexican, a BBQ place, and (way back) the Italian Cottage. Every time I've driven by there over the past year (at least) there's a big banner saying "Opening soon!" with the name "Rivals" on it.

So they're finally opening... wonder how that's going to work out in a) this economy and b) that location?

• March Event: Wednesday, March 18 at Rivals Sports Bar, Grill, & Poker
  2650 NE Division St. from 5 to 7 p.m.
• Exclusive YPN Sneak Peek – Be the First to Discover Bend’s Newest Hot Spot Before it Opens to the Public!

Bend, OR - The Bend Chamber Young Professionals Network (YPN) March event will be hosted by Rivals Sports Bar, Grill & Poker. When your living room just won't do, when you can't make your favorite game, when you want that away-game tailgate spot, RIVALS is the answer! This authentic sports bar atmosphere features flat screen TVs, a full bar, an enticing menu, and more.

This Young Professionals event will give you a sneak peek at one of Bend’s newest restaurants, the ability to meet professionals from all areas of business, and work on your networking skills.

Registration is available on-line at www.bendchamber.org. Prices for advance registration are $7 for members and $12 for non-members. At the door the prices change to $10 for members and $15 for non-members.

Starting March 30, oncology clinical and infusion services will return to Redmond. The Redmond Clinic is located at 1541 NE Canal Blvd in Redmond.

“Patients shouldn’t have to drive when fighting cancer. BMC understands the challenges oncology care places on a family and wants to help provide the best possible cancer care available, close to home and well into the future for patients,” said Marvin J. Lein, Chief Executive Officer at Bend Memorial Clinic.

“We are pleased to bring full time oncology services to Redmond. Bend Memorial Clinic will be the first to offer oncology in Redmond and will continue to meet the community needs as we have for the past 60 years,” states Ted Braich, MD, chair of the oncology department at BMC. “We will have a full time provider and well-trained capable staff in Redmond.”

BMC also provides Anticoagulation, Laboratory, Nephrology, Occupational Medicine, Ophthalmology and Pulmonary services at the Redmond Clinic.

For more information regarding oncology services or to set up an appointment, please call 318-3255.

They've only got the Portland Pub event listed on their page, but Deschutes Brewery is having their Cinder Cone Red release party at the downtown pub this Thursday, the 5th, starting at 5pm.

Cinder Cone Red is their spring seasonal and one of their popular ones. Cinder Cone will be pouring, naturally, on Thursday, and there will be a menu of Cinder Cone-inspired dishes.

And yet another downtown restaurant is closing: Bistro Corlise, the French fine dining restaurant that's been downtown for about a year and a half. BOR broke the news on his blog today, email direct from the owner:

Sadly, this email is not offering another wine dinner or food event. I am writing to announce that I have decided to sell the restaurant. ... Without the community's willingness to at least try what we have to offer, I cannot justify staying in Bend.

We will be open our regular hours through Friday, March 6th. We will be closed the 7th and 8th, as I have been invited to cook for an event at Ken Wright Cellars. I have not yet decided if we will be open the following week.

This was submitted via contact form:

All of March, MYC yoga downtown (at the tbd loft 55 nw minnesota st.) is "March Madness" .. which means all regularly scheduled classes all month at $5.

Seems like a pretty good deal; regularly-priced classes are $12 for drop-in.

From the front page of the Bulletin today, news that Rising Star Stellar Home Furnishings is closing. They're planning a liquidation sale starting Thursday at 10am.

I always kind of thought they were a business that would weather the storm; after all, they've been open for 24 years and always end up on The Source's "Best Of" lists.

But I guess also it's true what someone said about it on Twitter—they've enjoyed the store, but it was always too expensive to buy.

That would be BendNights.com, the online restaurant and events guide. They've launched a series of blogs, which look interesting because they have the potential to get guest bloggers that are local business owners and such.

(Which is the case with their wine blog, which is written by the owner of Volcano Vineyards.)

Not much more to see here. I just like advocating for local blogs along these lines.

Bend Yoga is offering a "Recess from Stress" free community day tomorrow (Saturday). Looks like the whole day is free:

8am to 9am vinyasa flow level one (free class)
9:30am to 11am power vinyasa (free class)
11:30am to noon Self care presentation with Dr. Wendy Weintrob, ND, LAc
Noon to 4:00pm free chair massage!! Several chairs and therapists on-site!
4:30pm to 6pm gentle flow (free class)

please arrive 15 minutes early to the free classes to set up your mat! Thanks!

Bend Yoga is located at 155 SW Century Drive, Suite 113.

Big day at the High Desert Museum this Saturday:

Free shuttle service is available for the Mid Oregon Credit Union Free Family Saturday at the High Desert Museum on Feb. 21. Continuous shuttles will run between the Morning Star Christian School, 19741 Baker Road, Bend, and the Museum from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

More than 4,000 visitors are expected. The Museum has limited parking. The shuttle and carpooling are strongly recommended, and guests should remember that no parking is permitted along highway 97. Museum hours for Saturday are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

On this day only, the Museum is offering annual memberships at 10 percent off.

The shuttle is being donated by Wanderlust Tours.

I think this is the first time I've run a post (press release or not) like this. No idea when the deadline to buy tickets is, but I presume it's a ways out yet.

Tickets are now on sale for the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School’s annual raffle. This year’s prize is a trip to Disneyworld for 4. This includes airfare from Portland, Disney Magical Express airport transfers and baggage handling, accommodations for 4 nights at Caribbean Beach Resort, four-day theme park tickets with Hopper Pass option. All booked through your personal travel agent and upgrades are available to the winner. This package is valued at over $8,000 and tickets are just $25 each! The raffle ticket will be drawn at the school’s Sock Hop and Auction on May 1 (need not be present to win). All proceeds benefit the school. To purchase raffle tickets or tickets to the Sock Hop, please call the school at 541-382-4701.

A friend emailed this evening with a request: tomorrow (February 19th) Tony's Delicatessen is having a benefit for the Pantenberg family and their 14 year old boy with inoperable brain cancer. I don't really have more details than that and until I get express permission I don't want to name the family involved; but if you're over on the westside tomorrow, it sure couldn't hurt to stop in at Tony's for lunch (or for food to go).

Tony's is located at 320 Century Drive, actually in the same lot/area as the westside Safeway and Blockbusters.

Update: I've seen this independently on Twitter, too, so I figure it's good to go.

Bend Brewing Company is celebrating their 14th anniversary this Saturday, February 21st. I noticed this on their website just today and twittered it also.

Celebrate our 14 Year Anniversary on Saturday, February 21 at 4pm with raffle prizes, 1/2 priced appetizers, $3 pints, merchandise clearance sale and a patio party with live music starting at 8pm!

Sounds like fun—I hope the weather holds for the patio party. (Currently it's predicted to be 49°.)

Congrats BBC, and here's to 14 more years!

Today I created a Twitter Hack Bend account to supplement this blog, and to post bits and pieces of Bend-related things to that I may or may not also cover in more detail here.

What (finally) prompted me to do this was this KATU article my wife found about how the Portland (Oregon) Visitor Center is on Twitter, and using a hashtag to monitor questions and post answers about Portland.

So I figured it'd be easy enough to do the same thing, so I'm totally stealing their concept and will tag posts with the hashtag #inbend. And I'll try to be good and monitor that hashtag for questions or chat or whatever.

So follow Hack Bend on Twitter, and let's see where this goes.

Coming up this Saturday, February 21st, the Renegade Rollergirls are having their "Heartbreakers Ball" at the Midtown Music Hall, featuring "two local Renegade teams in a no holds barred bout, full of hardcore skating abilities, wipeouts, bumps, bruises and cat fighting fistfights."

Doors open at 7 p.m., $10 for general admission, 5 and under are free. Presale tickets are available at Riverside Market, Aspect, or from your favorite rollergirl. Tickets are also available for purchased at the door beginning at 2pm the day of the event.

They are also having a special promo: the first 25 people in the door in formal wear (it is a Ball, after all) will receive a limited edition signed poster for free.

If you've never been to a rollerderby bout, my review from a couple of years ago will help give you an idea of what to expect. In fact, I expect it will probably be wilder than what I wrote about.

This list of things going on at the High Desert Museum came in today, which is ironic since I was thinking about blogging their "Oregon's birthday" celebration anyway. (This Saturday, February 14th, is Oregon's 150th birthday—its sesquicentennial.)

Friday, February 13 Exhibit Opening
Rock Art Perspectives: Pictographs and Petroglyphs - Archaeologists, photographers and Native American artists explore the beauty and significance of early Native American art carvings and paintings.

Saturday, Feb. 14: Celebrate Oregon's 150th birthday
10:00 am to 3:00 pm: Families: do modern versions of authentic Native American crafts, and see Native American artifacts and tools up close!

1:00 pm: Enjoy Oregon birthday cake as fourth-grade winners of the sesquicentennial writing contest are honored. Students wrote stories about images from the exhibit Faces of the High Desert Heartland, photography from daily life in rural Oregon from 1895 through 1955.

1:30 p.m: Author Diane Hammond will talk about writing fiction in Oregon, and will sign two of her acclaimed novels set in rural, small-town Oregon.

More information: 541-382-4754, www.highdesertmuseum.org

The Source this week published their "Top 5 Cheap Eats" which is always useful. Taco Stand is the number one place, to no surprise, but the number two pick was a bit surprising for me.

Myself, I'd at least add Costco to the list—when you're not scoring the free samples you can pick up the $1.50 hot dog and drink combo. But I know The Source is always more about the local, non-chain-store angle on things.

I saw a blurb about this during the news tonight and you know I had to blog about it: the Harlem Globetrotters are going to be at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds on February 24th as part of their 2009 World Tour(!).

Ticket prices are ranging from $16 to $61 and they are available from Ticketmaster online, or through one of our local outlets: the Ticket Mill in the Old Mill District, Joe's up north, and the Expo Center itself.

I bet that's going to be a really fun show.

I've long maintained that Zydeco is the best restaurant in Bend, and today the Bulletin breaks the news that Zydeco is moving downtown, to fill the former Volo location.

Zydeco will close its older restaurant April 1 and reopen downtown with a new five-year lease in early spring, said Steve Helt, co-owner with his wife, Cheri Brown Helt. The couple owns another downtown restaurant, 28, on the corner of Minnesota Avenue and Bond Street.

The new Zydeco will be 1,200 square feet larger than the old one, giving it a total of 4,000 square feet, Helt said. The restaurant has 18 employees but may grow over time, he added.

“We hope to put our own Zydeco flair to it,” he said. “I’m bringing my (employees and customers) with me.”

Zydeco’s lease terms were not released, but the deal will be structured to allow the restaurant to succeed during tough economic times, said Jeff Pickhardt, a partner in Hood River-based Cannery LLC, which owns the restaurant space. Pickhardt said the lease will have incentives on the front end and over time, but declined to give more details.

Good news all around, it sounds like. I have to admit, when I first heard about it (my wife had heard something about it on KTVZ one night about a week and a half ago, but I didn't call to confirm), I was a bit ambivalent—they've established themselves solidly at their Third Street location and moving Downtown can only be more expensive—but it sounds like they've got things covered.

As long as they don't change the menu or the service (which John Anderson here says "consistently has the best service of any restaurant in Central Oregon"), I think they'll be hugely successful downtown.

Or at least, I'm crossing my fingers for them!

This has been popping up on the news over the last day or two, and I received an email about it too: the new Central Oregon 2-1-1 phone service that offers non-emergency help and information. From the press release:

What is 2-1-1?

• An easy-to-remember telephone number that connects callers to the health and human services, community resources, and government assistance they need.
• Available 8:00am-8:00pm, Mon.–Fri.
• Easily accessed by any landline or cell phone.
• Calls are free and confidential.
• Multi-lingual translation
• Trained & certified Call Specialists

Where is 2-1-1 Available?

• CO 2-1-1 covers all of Crook, Deschutes & Jefferson Counties
• Central Oregon is first region in Oregon outside of the Portland metro area with 2-1-1
• 80% of the U.S. population has access to 2-1-1

What types of questions can be answered by 2-1-1 Call Specialists?

• Basic Human Needs Resource: food banks, shelters, rent & utility assistance.
• Support for Seniors: Meals on Wheels, respite care, home health care, transportation
• Support for Children, Youth and Families: childcare, after school programs, mentoring
• Health Resources: health clinics, support groups, counseling, drug & alcohol treatment
• Employment Supports: job training, transportation assistance, and education programs.

It's kind of surprising that 80% of the U.S. has access to such a service, yet Central Oregon didn't until now.

(Disclaimer: I worked on the website splash page as part of my current job.)

This came in via email the other day—almost a press release, but not quite. Plus, it's all free.

In ONEYEAR, the athletes find themselves on an incredible journey through deep backcountry powder and vertical free riding. Next, Walking On Water's Bryan Jennings joins two kids as they embark on an experience of a lifetime and an opportunity that most young surfers only dream about. These are stories of faith from today's best athletes.

In-person guests and professional athletes Bryan Jennings, Dave Downing, Andy Finch and more. There will be autograph sessions and awesome give-aways.

Free admission. Seating is first come, first serve, doors open at 5:30pm.

Visit www.futureprojectbend.com to watch movie trailers and for more details.

When: Sunday, Feb 15, 2009
Time: 6pm-5pm
Cost: Free
Venue: The Tower Theater in downtown Bend (835 NW Wall Street)

Tomorrow's that time again:

The streets of Bend fill with art patrons on the first Friday of every month as Downtown Bend and Old Mill District art galleries stay open late with receptions for guest artists and special presentations of new exhibits.

In addition, the First Friday experience also includes musical performances and refreshments at selected galleries. 5-9pm.

Predicted weather is rain/snow and low of 23°, though.

WHAT: February 27-28, 2009. The Renegade Rollergirls; Bend's only non-profit Roller Derby League, will be participating in the 2009 Oregon Sports and Fitness Expo February 27 and 28, 2009 presented by National Fitness and Desert Brawl, at the Deschutes County Expo Center, 3800 SW Airport Way in Redmond, Oregon.

The Renegade Rollergirls will be performing a 30-minute expo scrimmage “Rumble in Redmond” on Friday night at 7:00 P.M. During the Sports and Fitness Expo the Renegade Rollergirls will have season schedule information, membership information and merchandise for distribution. Admission is FREE for this all ages event.

WHEN: February Friday 27, 2009 at 7:00 P.M “Rumble in Redmond Roller Derby expo and Saturday 28, 2009 skating and information.

WHERE: The event will be held at Deschutes County expo Center, 3800 SW Airport Way in Redmond Oregon.

ABOUT: “The Only No Holds Barred Derby In The World”
The Renegade Rollergirls of Oregon are one of the many Renegade roller derby leagues nationwide. Renegade leagues are legendary in the revival of the sport for being the only roller derby organization that competes on banked track and flat track surfaces, with an extreme no holds barred game play. The Central Oregon chapter of the Renegade Rollergirls is comprised of an eclectic group of ambitious and athletic women with a unified goal of providing heart pounding, fast paced, and aggressive roller derby entertainment to our fans, while promoting physical fitness and healthy lifestyles. Renegades have been featured locally in print, radio, and television media, as well as nationally with ESPN, MTV, A&E, and Blood and Thunder, a national roller derby magazine.

Our bouting season runs September- May wherein we will compete locally and nationally in Oregon, Arizona, Washington, California, and Nevada. During our off season our focus is recruitment, community activism through fundraising and volunteer work, and educating children and adults about the benefits of exercise and healthy lifestyles.

Bend Winterfest is coming up—the weekend of the 13th, 14th, and 15th. It takes place down in the Old Mill District, and features:

In addition to the ice carving exhibitions, fireworks, Mojo Music Eruption in the Festival Center, children's activities at Snowflake Village, the  ever popular U.S. Cellular snowboard and ski rail jam, ice skating, and Arts Central LIVE, LibertyBank Bend WinterFest will feature an expanded Winter Wine Walk, winter light show, a larger WinterFest Marketplace, and the ever exciting cross country ski sprint races.

I feel like I should have some pithy commentary about it, but I've got nothin'.

If you're looking for something to do this weekend, Melissa from the High Desert Museum writes:

This is the last weekend to visit the spotted owl babies born in captivity at the High Desert Museum. The Forest Service is sending them off to BC to a breeding facility where they'll get to pick their mates and be placed back in the wild to start new families. Polka and Dot, their parents, will stay at the Museum.

It's also the last weekend for the popular family exhibit "Bugs!" And the "Living with Predators: Bears and Wolves" exhibit just opened.

Lower winter rates til April. Open 10-4 daily.

I noted back in August that Wildfire Brewing had to change its name, and back in December I also noted that they picked their new name: 10 Barrel Brewing.

I'm not a big fan of that name, but I am glad to see they have a proper website now—before all they had was a MySpace page that wasn't up-to-date. Their new site is 1000 times better than the MySpace page and it's much more informative. (I see, though, that they still have a MS page linked from the site, and I think it's even harder to read than the old Wildfire one.)

It's not perfect (copyright 2006? FrontPage?), but it's a good start.

Starting February 18, Bend Memorial Clinic will be expanding anticoagulation services. The anticoagulation clinic will be available by appointment on Wednesdays at the BMC Westside Clinic located at 1080 SW Bachelor Drive in Bend. Patients can check-in at Internal Medicine located on the second floor.

Patients using anticoagulation medications or “blood thinners,” need constant monitoring of their blood levels as even small changes in medications, diet and exercise can dramatically affect anticoagulation therapy.

Bend Memorial Clinic’s full-service anticoagulation clinics in Bend, Redmond and Sisters make it easy for patients to monitor blood thinner levels. Open to everyone, these clinics offer patient education, close supervision of medications, finger-stick technology with instant results, as well as pre- and post-op care for those going to surgery or having invasive dental work that will interfere with medications.

BMC’s anticoagulation services gained national recognition for “Distinguished Patient Care in Anticoagulation Treatment” by Dupont, Inc.

For more information regarding anticoagulation services or to set up an appointment, please call 541-317-4323.

It sure looks like it. A couple of times in the past week or two we've driven by La Costa Azul during what should have been prime dinner hours and the lights were out. And I tried calling them tonight out of curiosity and nobody picked up.

It's strangely sudden since Bend Oregon Restaurants just reviewed them a couple of weeks ago. Not that it was a great review, but still.

Does anyone know for sure? It'd be too bad if they were closed for sure; they were mediocre but they weren't the worst place in town the few times I'd been there.

Tomorrow at the Deschutes Pub they are having a "Wednesday Night Beer Event" featuring a special menu and food pairing with their event theme:

This fourth and final Wednesday Night January Event will feature Sour Beers. Come down to the pub to discover five of our funkiest brews.

Sour beers are something of a specialty/rarity, at least here in Oregon, so it's definitely worth checking out.

The event is marked as started at 5pm and lasting for two hours.

John Gottberg Anderson reports that Fireside Red will be re-opening on February 10th, which is some welcome restaurant news in light of everything closing lately.

I have to admit, I pretty much wrote them off when they announced a multi-month closing. Other prominent restaurants subsequently closing during that time period didn't help matters any, either. So it's kind of gratifying to be wrong in this case.

Not a whole lot on the radar for happenings during the middle of winter, but a couple of things caught my eye that seemed worth mentioning.

This Saturday is Deschutes Brewery's annual Crabfest (their 7th) taking place at their Mountain Room. I don't know if there are any reservations left this late in the week but if you're interested, call 385-8606 and find out. $75 per person.

Also this Saturday, the High Desert Museum is having their Free Day:

Mid Oregon Credit Union Free Family Saturday
Experience this nationally acclaimed treasure for free. 10am -4pm
Sponsored by Mid Oregon Credit Union

Do I even need to point out that on top of everything else closing, now Harry & David is closing their store at the Factory Outlets too?

They'll be closing by the end of next month. And the manager of the Outlets is quick to point out that "there still will be 20 stores remaining at Bend Factory Stores."

For how long?

Spotted in today's Bulletin: Kebanu Gallery in downtown Bend is closing at the end of the month.

The downtown Bend gallery will close its doors Jan. 30, said Keith Null, owner of the gallery, located near the Franklin Crossing building on Bond Street.

Null said construction of Franklin Crossing deterred foot traffic for about 18 months, and then the economic downturn hit Central Oregon in force.

“Once construction was done (in early 2008), we started to recover, but the last three months were disastrous,” he said.

They just seem to keep coming, though the Bulletin article does mention three new galleries that opened or will be opening this year; maybe art galleries aren't as susceptible as, say, restaurants.

At some point soon I'm going to go through and make a list of Bend businesses that have closed over the past year or two; Bend Restaurants ran an update the other day that made me think of it, and looking through the archives reveals quite a few when you put it all together. Maybe even start a "Closing Watch" category or something too.

More music coming up at Silver Moon Brewing. From the email I received:

The modern classic Chris Sand aka Sandman The Rappin Cowboy and local kick ass rock n bloody roll band The Dirty Words will be playing at The Silver Moon Brewery, Tuesday, January 27th
The show starts at 8pm.
$5 at the door

Check Sandman out at http://www.rappincowboy.com/  and http://www.rappincowboy.com/publicity.html and http://www.myspace.com/sandmantherappincowboy
The Dirty Words, as always, are located at www.myspace.com/thedirtywords  and  www.thedirtywords.com (when we get our crap together we will have an actual website, so keep checkin in).

Only $5 for a cover charge is hard to beat.

Silver Moon Brewing has been becoming the place to be for the local music scene in recent years. Coming up next month, "That 1 Guy".

Uniquely talented one-man band, That 1 Guy, debuts his new self-designed 'Magic Pipe' instrument with a 50+ date tour through Canada and the northern and eastern United States starting January 30.

That 1 Guy will be performing at Silver Moon Brewing Co. in Bend, OR on Thursday, February 12, 2009. Show begins at 8:30pm.

Apparently he's just, er, one lone guy on stage with his own, uniquely-designed instrument: the Magic Pipe.

Eventually frustrated by the inability to get all the sounds in his head from the upright bass, he built a system of electronically wired, steel plumbing, shaped somewhat like a harp, with a thick bass string wired from top to bottom and a hole that billows smoke during the climax of his live shows. Adding an electric cowboy boot plugged in and played like an African talking drum and an electrified musical handsaw, Silverman evolved into That 1 Guy, playing everything with his hands and feet while incorporating such disparate influences as Dr. Seuss, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Rube Goldberg and Stanley Kubrick.

Sounds... weird.

The "Matthew Fox" I'm referring to in the title is the actor with the starring role on the TV show "Lost". If you don't know who that is, you can safely ignore this since it's just a celebrity stalker post.

The only reason I (now) know that Fox owns property in Bend is because this story came through my Google News filter for "Central Oregon", wherein it mentions he is building a house on said property, to be ready when "Lost" finishes up in 2010.

So, out of curiosity I looked him up on DIAL and sure enough, he owns property up in Broken Top. Here's the record.

That's all; I really have nothing more to add, other than on Google Maps the area the property is located in is looking pretty sparse.

According to the Bulletin, the new Subway should have opened this morning downtown. In light of the various restaurant closings lately, this is refreshing news. It's also good news for downtown Bend in general, I think; it adds variation and another affordable place to eat that downtown needs.

The article notes that it's "sharing a space with Sisters Coffee Co. cafe", which likely will help them out in the mornings as well.

The address is 939 N.W. Bond St., and they'll be open seven days a week from 6am until 10pm.

This Saturday, January 17, is the (quarterly) Friends of the Bend Library Winter Book Sale. As always, it runs from 10am until 4pm at the Library Administration Building, downtown at 507 NW Wall Street.

Great deals to be had; for under $10 you can walk out with a big stack of books.

Boondocks Bar & Grill—formerly Jokers—is hosting the Rock for Barack Inaugural Ball on Tuesday, January 20th. It starts at 7pm and prices range from $20 to $35.

Please join us for a celebration of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America!!
We've organized the venue, the decorations and the music. You buy a ticket and drinks and well have a party!
REMEMBER: This is a ball, so fancy duds (tuxedos, long dresses, boas, big hair, and general flamboyance) are strongly advised. How often do you get an excuse for dress-up in Bend?
Net proceeds of this event will be donated to the Bethlehem Inn, central Oregon's largest homeless shelter.

Outside of the prom, I don't know that I've heard of a formal ball in Bend before. Surely?

Here's a nugget pulled from the Deschutes Brewery's twitter feed:

6 different fresh hop beers will be pouring at the Bend pub this Wed at 5:30 & will include flights, pairings and a special menu.

Fresh hop beers are awesome. You should go.

Here's a weird phone scam... I don't know what the end goal is, but it's a warning being issued by the County.

Deschutes County has become aware that a man from a company out of Los Angeles has been calling home owners and representing himself as being from the "Internal Control Department" for Deschutes County. He represents that they have been doing "census tracking" and that the person he is calling is subject to a "mandatory risk assessment" of the residence.

The County wants to assure the public that it does not have an Internal Control Department nor does Deschutes County conduct mandatory risk assessments of residences.

If a member of the public receives such a call and has concerns, they may contact the Oregon State Justice Department's Financial Fraud/Consumer Protection office at http://www.doj.state.or.us/finfraud/, 1-877-877-9392, email: consumer.hotline@doj.state.or.us.

The "Deschutes Market Overcrossing" is that overpass on Highway 97 north of Bend where Deschutes Market Road meets Highway 97. There's going to be road construction starting there on January 12 (Monday), says the email that came through today:

The project will consist of extending the first phase of the Deschutes Market Overcrossing project that crossed over Highway 97 east to connect into Deschutes Market Road The project also includes building a structure over the railroad tracks.

The project also includes a temporary bypass road on Deschutes Market Road to divert vehicles from areas of construction. Drivers are urged to use caution when driving this portion of Deschutes Market Road.

Traffic may be impacted during construction and drivers may experience delays up to 20 minutes while traveling within the construction zone.

I don't know if this will affect north-south traffic on Highway 97 itself. It may not, but be aware that if you're on 97, keep a close eye out as you near the Deschutes Market junction.

Construction hours are from 7am until 7pm, and is expected to continue through October(!) 30.

I'm on the mailing list for music events promoted by The Grove (formerly the restaurant downtown), and they sent along these upcoming gigs:

January 9: Portland's NICO LUMINOUS ... lead singer of the band Luminous Fog ... MC ... producer ... musician ... this dude is all things ... known for super conscious positive rhymes and dub inflected beats ... always a great stew of soulful stuff. We'll be taking over the top floor of the OMMB [Old Mill Martini Bar] for the evening ... bringing some warmth and some great music. Check out Nico at www.myspace.com/luminousmusik. For this date he'll be DJing and dropping some of his own work as well as MCing it up. Barisone and Smoke support in soul stew mode. 9PM doors and this one's GRATIS! Get down!

January 23: LA producer and Rootabreaka crew member POM (www.myspace.com/127250442) will be coming through and playing at the Bendistillery Martini Bar (downtown) ... this dude is part of the Cyphertown posse that brings next level hip hop and dubstep from home base in San Francisco. Will be a slick evening of some bassy hotness and bleeding edge composition. 9PM and also FREE!

February 12: That 1 Guy at Silver Moon ... super stoked about that! If you're not in the know, check out www.that1guy.com. He's a sight to behold. One man stand up robo-basscore folk. Wicked cooool. :) Ani DiFranco's label. That's an 8PM show and a $6 ticket. He's always turning out new stuff, come check it out!

February 18: The reschedule of the Jamie Janover / Lynx show ... but with added bonus, HEYOKA from SF ... super deep psy-dub producer ... total master of the low end or as he calls it: psytellgibientglitchdubwhomphop :) Check him out at: www.myspace.com/andreism I have his two EPs frequently on repeat for hours in the studio and I honestly never get sick of it. Check the tunes. Perhaps my favorite of the entire genre right now. And of course, Janover and Lynx ... probably the coolest folk-tronic duo out there ... master hammer dulcimer player and guitar-folk-hop female MC. Total homegrown Colorado hip hop folk.

What: Oregon State Extension is proud to sponsor Ignite Bend (a community event)

What is Ignite Bend?

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 PowerPoint slides and they rotated automatically every 15 seconds. Around the world people have been putting together Ignite nights to share their answers.

Ignite was started in Seattle by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis. Since then hundreds of 5 minute talks have been given across the world. There are thriving Ignite communities in Seattle, Portland, Paris, and NYC. (More information on Ignite Events can be found at http://ignite.oreilly.com/)

Presentation proposals will be accepted through January 16th, 2009 for the first Ignite Bend event. Submission forms are available at the event website, www.ignitebend.com.

Sponsorships are available. Please contact us for more information. We are also looking for volunteers to make our event run smoothly.

Come join us for an incredible community event!

Where: The PoetHouse Art in the tbd Loft - entrance through The Wine Shop at 55 Minnesota Avenue, Bend, Oregon

Day: February 12th, 2009
Time: 7:30 pm to 10pm

Tickets: Admission is free but space is limited. Guarantee yourself a spot in the audience by reserving your ticket at http://ignitebend.eventbrite.com/

Contact: Sarah Cofer, OSU Extension 4-H SET (Science, Engineering, & Technology) Coordinator
Phone: 541-771-1411
e-mail: sarah.cofer@oregonstate.edu
Twitter: sarahcofer

Press Contact: Julie Anderson
Phone: (541) 977-8282
Email: julieanderson@hotmail.com
Twitter: juliejulie

Sponsor Contact: Ryan Di Spaltro
Phone: (503) 931-2330
Email: theneptunegrand@gmail.com
Twitter: neptunegrand

Volunteer Contact: Rachel Wente-Chaney
Phone: (541) 777-0019
Email: rwentechaney@mac.com
Twitter: rwentechaney

Event: That’s So Gay, White Party

When: January 10th, 8pm to 2am. Doors at 7:30

Where: The Shilo Inn Banquet Hall:
3105 O.B. Riley Road
Bend, OR 97701. phone:(541) 389-9600.

Performers:

• Comedian Jackie Jones. Returning to host the evening once again. Website is www.JackieJonesMakesMeLaugh.com, or www.MySpace.com/JackieJones, and www.YouTube.com/user/1Jsquared. She is also featured on AfterEllen.com.
• CJ and the Dolls. Encore performance, new dolls. Synth-Pop from Portland. View him at myspace.com/pollizatto.
• Other Live Music: TBA
• Live DJ: DJ Haras. Local 80’s Night DJ, third-time at That’s So Gay. Myspace.com/purple_nose

Food Buffet and Full Bar courtesy of the Shilo Inn Restaurant.

Who: Attendees must wear white. Ages 18+, 21+ Bar with ID. People of all sexual preferences and genders are welcome.

Tickets: $10 in advance at www.spicetraderrecords.com or $12 at the door.

Discount on hotel rooms at Shilo Inn, Jan.10th only, with TSG wristband or stamp. Type of room discounted will be a double guest room. Contact Spice Trader Records or Shilo Inn for questions.

Presented by: Spice Trader Records.

Other Sponsors: Sideshow Entertainment, Human Dignity Coalition, Shilo Inn

Contact information:
Spice Trader Records
monkey@spietraderrecords.com
(541) 390-3881
www.spicetraderrecords.com
www.myspace.com/spicetraderrecords

A new year and looking back at the January '08 retrospective, it just doesn't seem that long ago somehow (even though it was a full year!). Anyone else feeling the same way?

In 2008:

• "Best of 2007" lists
• The Source started their Light Meter to run community-submitted photos
• Three Creeks Brewing in Sisters broke ground
• Bend WebCon2 was held at the end of the month
• Hints on where to find Deschutes' The Abyss
• The Decoy Bar & Grill opened up, with a review here
• Discovering that the Bend City Council posts MP3s of all their meetings online
• The Bulletin was rumored to open up their E-Edition (but only to subscribers)

Today for lunch we decided to try the new Boston's Gourmet Pizza on the south end of town. You know, the new restaurant that opened up next to the Factory Outlets, in the new shopping center anchored by Gottschalks. (Which is a different post altogether. Maybe.)

I wasn't sure what to expect, because generally my expectations for restaurants on the south side of Bend are pretty low. But I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it.

Now, stop: if you're one of those people that hates chain restaurants like Applebee's, or Johnny Carino's, or Red Robin, then this isn't for you. Boston's is totally a chain restaurant, and they've got the "Restaurant and Sports Bar" concept down for that demographic.

Personally, I don't mind chain restaurants, if the food is good and they're not horrendously expensive. Boston's had good food and we got out of there relatively inexpensively, so all good on that front.

My wife and I split a two-person pizza, half with one of their chicken pizzas (I forget which) and half with their "Bacon Double Cheeseburger" pizza (I kid you not). Both halves were actually very good, but I liked the Cheeseburger pizza better. The kids meals were very good sized, too, and the kids really liked them.

Service was good overall, but I will note that our adult drinks (a beer and a margarita) were slow in arriving to our table. That's only the real service mark I can give against them, because everything else was fine.

I don't know how well they will do both in this economic climate and on the south end of Bend—like I said, expectations for southside restaurants are pretty low once you get past Zydeco on Third Street. But I can recommend them if you're down that way, or just want to try a new place to eat.

Seriously, I didn't plan for these last three posts to be about business closures, but that's what seems to be happening. As reported by the Bulletin yesterday, Westside Video is closed.

Westside Video is (was) located over on Newport Avenue on, er, the west side for the past 24 years—a Bend institution. During its heyday it seemed like quite a popular little store.

According to the article, they plan to "open Friday through Sunday to sell off inventory".

Right on the heels of finding out Deep is closed, it turns out Merenda—Jody Denton's longer-lasted downtown trendy restaurant—is closing for good, as well. A couple of people noted in the comments here on the blog, and the initial announcement in the Bulletin is here, with a longer, more detailed article appearing today.

The Jody Denton era in Bend has come to an end.

Denton said Wednesday that he is leaving Bend — and Merenda Restaurant and Wine Bar, arguably the highest-profile restaurant in the city, will close its doors after dinner on Sunday.

... He had hoped Merenda ... would remain open. But he learned Tuesday morning that its demise, hastened by prevailing economic conditions, was inevitable, he said.

I guess it's not really surprising; rumors have been floating around for awhile about the demise of both restaurants (I'm looking at you, craigslist).

What's interesting is after I blogged the closing of Deep, I followed a link that was sent to me to John Gottberg Anderson's new blog and read this post, which was much more detailed than the original Bulletin article. And it had the foreshadowing of Merenda:

Jody spilled the beans to me in a private conversation this afternoon. He seemed calm and composed, but perhaps a bit nervous, as we sat at a table on Merenda’s mezzanine level and discussed this turn of events....

Rumors about the impending demise of Merenda and Deep have been circulating throughout Central Oregon for months. ... “The rumors have been going on it seems forever, and they’ve never been true,” Jody said, shaking his head. “Not a single rumor that I ever heard was true, not one time.”

Until now.

There is more to this story, by the way. But I’m sworn to secrecy until Thursday morning.

One of the odd things from the article: Denton ran Merenda (and Deep) with a management team of investors, which seems strange to me for running a restaurant. But I'm just ignorant enough about the industry to ask: is that normal? Maybe not, because the story also implies that the management team was a (possibly significant?) source of financial drain. (Or at least, that's how I'm reading it.)