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.