If you've ever wanted to participate in BendFilm but just didn't have the time or money (or whatever) to attend the annual local film festival, they're kicking off a new monthly series at McMenamins Old St. Francis School that will let you catch up.

(I missed posting this yesterday, it was the first day for this, sorry about that. Look for it again next month though.)

BendFilm is kicking off a new film series at McMenamins Old St. Frances School. It is called "Reel Indies". Doors open at 6:00 and films begin screening at 6:30 pm. Tickets cost $6.00 for BendFilm members and $7.00 for the general public. This will be a monthly series screening in both Sisters (at the Sisters Movie House) and in Bend. For more information, please contact BendFilm at 541.388.FEST or email info@bendfilm.org

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Data Delete of Oregon are collaborating March 20, to provide residents the opportunity to safely destroy personal documents and learn identity theft prevention tips. At the event, the Sheriff’s Office will also have a deputy available to collect outdated or unwanted prescription medication or over-the-counter drugs.

Data Delete of Oregon will be offering on-site document destruction at no cost to the public Saturday March 20. The event will take place at the Bend Sheriff’s Office parking lot, 63333 W Hwy 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

NEW this year: The Sheriff’s Office is asking event participants to consider bringing a donation of non-perishable food to benefit Neighbor Impact (www.neighborimpact.org). A Neighbor Impact representative will be at the event to collect food items and to answer questions about the organization.

The drug disposal program is designed to keep unwanted or unused medications away from abusers, children and animals. The program is also intended to reduce negative environmental impact by using proper disposal practices.

“We want to make Deschutes County citizens aware of the risks of improper document and drug disposal while helping local families at need in the community,” said Sheriff Larry Blanton.

The event is intended for private residential document shredding and drug disposal, not for business or company disposal. At the event, the Sheriff’s Office will also have an information booth to provide citizens with the information on how to avoid becoming an identity theft victim and what to do if you believe your identity has already been stolen.

No advance document sorting is necessary as shredding equipment can destroy paperwork with paper clips or staples attached. File folders and binders may also be shredded.

The Sheriff’s Office will continue its efforts of providing this service on a quarterly basis at Sheriff’s Offices in Sisters, Terrebonne and La Pine.

As of yesterday, KOHD news is no more.

The first story I saw about it was this one Thursday evening, twittered by KTVZ's Nina Mehlhaf.

Employees at the ABC affiliate were informed this morning [Thursday] that the station will become a Bend bureau for KEZI, Chambers Communications' sister station in Eugene. Bend employees will then create local packages for KEZI-produced Bend cut-ins.

Their last locally-produced newscast was last night at 11pm.

Yesterday morning KOHD posted their official notice/letter on their Facebook page:

Unfortunately, KOHD News viewer’s habits are not reflected positively in Nielson ratings. Factor in the dramatic impact of the economic conditions since The Great Depression, we now are taking the next logical step and changing our news product that better matches the current trend of how people get their news.

The result, after careful thought and review, KOHD-TV has made the decision to discontinue the station’s current schedule of news programming. KOHD will air its last regularly scheduled newscast in its current form at 11 PM on March 5th.. However, a news team will remain at KOHD, providing solid local coverage for the Bend market with news and weather updates – both on-air and online – throughout the day. These updates will air more frequently than the current long form shows, including reports every half hour in the morning, weather updates every hour during the day, and news updates again in the evening at 5, 6 and 7pm. At 11pm there will be a 10 minute broadcast that will give viewers all the day's local news, weather and sports.

It's unfortunate that this (once again) gives KTVZ a virtual monopoly on local TV. I think KTVZ upped their quality when they had serious competition, despite the sometimes painful-to-watch efforts of their newcomers, but I remember back before KOHD (and Fox) offered any alternatives, KTVZ was really frustrating: such is the quality of the lone TV station in a small market.

Is Bend/Central Oregon large enough to support more than one local TV station/news program? Obviously three years ago we all thought so, but now the answer apparently appears to be "no." Which sucks.

It's the first Friday of March, so downtown Bend, the Old Mill District, and Northwest Crossing are hosting their monthly First Friday Art Walk. Art galleries and businesses will be open from 5 until 9pm (or later), many offering music and refreshments also. Here's the details I have on the calendar:

The streets of Bend fill with art patrons on the first Friday of every month as art galleries in Downtown Bend, the Old Mill District, and Northwest Crossing 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.

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.

The Downtown Bend site has a good guide for the various businesses that are participating tonight—check it out and plan your night around it.

Season runs from March 20th through October

The High Desert BMX is a local non-profit organization located in Bend, Oregon at Big Sky Park. BMX racing is an all age family oriented sport that competes on local, state, and national levels. Training and race events are held several times per week. Our goal is to provide a safe, structured and positive place for families and community to learn and compete in BMX athletics.
One day free trial memberships are offered and loaner gear is available.
Annual membership in the American Bicycle Association is required thereafter.
For more information, please check out our web site www.highdesertbmx.org

WHEN:
Opening day Saturday March 20th registration and practice 12:00-2:00. Races begin ASAP
Mondays and Wednesdays beginning March 22nd- August; registration and practice 5:30-6:30. Races begin ASAP
September and October times TBA

WHERE:
Big Sky Park and Sports Complex located at 21690 Neff Rd Bend , Oregon 97701

ABOUT:
HDBMX is a non profit organization run entirely by volunteers. The organization is creating partnerships with other local groups to promote this healthy and enriching hobby. Our efforts reflect what is happening in many communities. The number of BMX racers around the world has steadily grown and the hobbyists and professionals have created an exciting culture. BMX racing has even become the newest Olympic sport. Anyone interested in learning more is invited to contact High Desert BMX

ACTIVISM:
High Desert BMX participates annually in local community coat drive, canned food drive and Toy drive fundraisers. Also HDBMX raises funds for the Leukemia research in a “Race for Life” event.

Silver Moon kicks off their March music calendar with tonight's non-musical show: the Volcanic Theatre presentation of David Mamet's "Bobby Gould in Hell", a one-act play. The doors open for that show at 7pm tonight, and unless you pre-bought tickets for the $7 price (via bendticket.com), the cost is $10 at the door.

Here's their full March calendar:

Kohl's is opening this week to much fanfare—actually, they opened yesterday, but their Grand Opening celebration is this Wednesday, the 3rd, according to the Bulletin. (According to the Kohl's website, the Bend Grand Opening is the 24th.)

This is one of those places, like Olive Garden, that a lot of people are excited about; certainly the construction over the past few months behind the Bend River Promenade (right next to the Parkway) has been highly visible and kept it fresh in people's minds.

But I can't help but think about Gottschalks all over again; and we all saw how that turned out. (The Bulletin mentions this too, and points out that Kohl's has actually been profitable during this recession.)

What do you all think? Excited, or blasé?

If you go, Kohl's hours are 8am to 10pm Monday through Saturday, and 9 to 9 Sunday.

I almost missed this by my wife spotted the news on the Downtown Bend site: Bend Brewing Company is turning 15 this month and this Saturday (February 27th) they're having their 15th anniversary party!

Here's the skinny from the Downtowners:

Saturday, February 27th marks the fifteenth anniversary of the BBC. The anniversary party will last all day, beginning at 11:30 a.m. with half-priced appetizers and $2.50 pints of beer, both of which will be served until closing time that evening.

From 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., visit the BBC Garage Sale. Miscellaneous merchandise, including shirts, hats, pint glasses and more, will be offered at very good prices. Guests will also have the opportunity to win tons of great raffle prizes from 5 to 10 p.m.

From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., enjoy live music on the patio from The Buck Rodgers Band, known far and wide for their progressive alt rock with a twist of psycho-billy and infused psychedelic jams. Fire pits will keep revelers warm as they boogie, and a server will be on hand to ensure crowds are adequately fed and watered.

I bolded the best parts. It's gonna be epic. Who's going to be there?

Congrats BBC!

Depending on when you are reading this, either tomorrow or today is Ignite Bend 4. I don't know how this slipped completely under my radar, but Ignite is definitely something cool you'll want to see—either in person at the Tower Theatre or via live webcast.

Here's the meat of the press release:

Tower Theatre ‐ Bend, OR
February 25, 2010 ‐ 7pm (Doors open at 6:30pm)

Ignite Bend 4 will be webcast live thanks to our multimedia partner, Pinnacle Media. Presentations may also be selected for inclusion in the O’Reilly “Ignite Show” which highlights a different talk from Ignite events around the world for weekly broadcast at their site.

ABOUT 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. Visit the Ignite Bend website to find out more about local events.

And here's the schedule of speakers:

Kevin Smyth – What is Ignite?
Michelle Goodin – 143 Species in 4 Days (or something like that)
Ethan Maffey – 100 Live in 2009
Meri Glade – Stories from the Camera Phone of a Technomad
Nick Reese – “Try Not To Die”: Advice on Completing Your First Triathlon

Intermission: 30 minutes (Kousefly)

Jeff Browning – Ultramarathons
Janette Sherman – I wish my life was a musical
Paul Arney – 6 months in 901 words, a poem.
Shannon Hinderberger – Vacationing Nebraska Style
Justin Iverson – Dr. Strangecoop or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Egg
Paul Evers – Conviction

Admission is free but: "Tickets are still available here: http://ib4.eventbrite.com. Reserving an advance ticket is the best way to guarantee admission to what we hope will be a full house."

Couple of beer-related items kicking off today.

First, McMenamins is having their last-Wednesday-of-the-month Limited Release beer tasting tonight, starting at 5pm:

Bring all your beer-minded friends out to try a specially released beer, with pints selling at Happy Hour prices all night long (or 'til the keg is kicked!).

"Admission" is free though you'll still pay for the beer, of course.

Also today is the grand opening of 10 Barrel Brewing's new westside brewpub, over on Galveston. The Bulletin has a short writeup today, with a few details:

The pub will open at 11 a.m. daily and will serve 10 different 10 Barrel beers, plus a full menu of pizzas, burgers, salads and more. The 3,000-square-foot building has an 80-person capacity, as well as four large garage doors that will be opened when the weather permits, said co-partner Garrett Wales.

The new pub's address is 1135 NW Galveston, in the former DiLusso Bakery building.

I was browsing the Bend page on Wikitravel (ever checked out Wikitravel? It's basically Wikipedia for travel guides) and though I was expecting something pretty sparse, there's actually more detail there that touches on some decent points.

(Though it could really use a good editorial hand going over it.)

But I will give credit to the fact that it revealed something that I don't think I already knew (or if I did, I didn't blog about it): Shoji's is closed. The Japanese flair restaurant that was over by Shopko closed last summer (confirmation from the Bulletin).

Odd place to get restaurant news; you'd think if something was closed it wouldn't still be on the wiki page.

Even though the upcoming Cascade Winds Symphonic Band's winter concert sounds like a James Bond movie, in reality it "will feature important literature either about Russia, or from famous Russia composers." Don't be dissuaded by that, though; the (always) free concert is coming up on Sunday, March 7th, at the Summit High School Auditorium.

The Cascade Winds Symphonic Band will present the second concert of their 2009-2010 season, From Russia With Love, under the baton of music director Dan Judd, March 7, 2:00 p.m. at Summit High School auditorium. Featured soloist is Dr. Mark Babbitt, trombone professor at Central Washington University. The concert is free, although donations are gratefully accepted, open to the public and suitable for all ages. For more information visit www.cascadewinds.org or call 593-1635. Summit High School is located at 2855 NW Clearwater Drive, Bend.

Of course, now I have the theme song to that Bond movie stuck in my head.

Hat tip to Jake.

Every Wednesday McMenamins offers up free music starting at 7pm; tonight they are featuring Blue Turtle Seduction as part of their "Great Northwest Music Tour."

This five-piece rock / bluegrass / reggae / hip-hop hybrid from South Lake Tahoe, CA, captures the upbeat party vibe and jovial ambiance of their hometown, and hits the Pacific NW in support of their latest work, 13 Floors.

It's all ages as well, so you don't have to worry about leaving the kids with a sitter if you're heading down to check it out.

Over at Silver Moon, they are featuring Wayne Newcome and Problem Stick, starting tonight at 8pm. Cover is $5 and the show starts at 8pm. Unless they otherwise specify (and they haven't), assume the Silver Moon shows are not all ages.

Silver Moon Brewing is not only one of the music hotspots of Bend, they're even moving into theater now. I got this email about it, which I think is interesting:

I'm excited to announce that Volcanic Theatre and The Actors Realm will be launching its first production, “Bobby Gould in Hell” by David Mamet at Silver Moon Brewing on Tuesday, March 2nd at 8pm.

Beer Theatre is an exciting new concept that brings live theatre to audiences and alcohol induced revelers. The short one-act plays are often thought provoking and always funny. The first show Bobby Gould in Hell begins when a misogynistic narcissist wakes up in Hell to be interrogated by the Devil himself. The Devil, who would rather be fishing, attempts to convince Bobby that he has been indeed a ‘Bad Man.’ The lunacy continues when The Devil and his Assistant bring a woman ‘down’ as an eye witness to attest to Bobby’s ‘acts of a bad man.’ Mamet’s razor sharp dialogue is blazingly original and on occasion profane, but ultimately is exactly what you’d expect from the Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright: Very Smart. Bobby Gould in Hell is the ideal play to begin Volcanic Theatre’s quest to thrill audiences all over Oregon and bring live intimate theatre to bar patrons and audiences alike.

Pre-sale tickets $7 at www.bendticket.com. $10 at the door. Doors open at 7PM.

Small-cast, one-act plays could work well in their more intimate venue, I think.

A bunch of stuff going on this holiday weekend.

Saturday

• WinterFest of course continues at the Old Mill District, from 11am until 10pm with a schedule full of events:
  • 11:30am: High School Cross Country Ski Sprint Races
  • 2pm: Cross Country Ski and Snowshoe demos
  • 5pm: The U.S. Cellular Rail Jam – Snowboard Competition
  • 5:30pm: The Dirty Words live on stage
  • 7pm: Brynna Dean and Her Sympathetic Strings live on stage
  • 8:30pm: Hell's Belles live on stage
• Ruff Wear is holding a Demo (Sample) Sale from 2 to 4pm: "Ruff Wear Demo and Used Gear Sale - Get your Ruff Wear gear for up to 70% off.  We will be selling used, sample and returned gear at major discount.  Proceeds to benefit COTA (Central Oregon Trail Alliance)." Cash only sale, and all sales are final.
• Also starting at 2pm is the Central Oregon Symphony Children's Concert being held at the Bend High School Auditorium—this show is completely free and will be fun and interactive for kids (recommended for ages 5 and older).
• Silver Moon Brewing is hosting a WinterFest afterparty starting at 9pm, featuring Brynna Dean and her Sympathetic Strings (who also plays WF at 7pm). Cost is $3 to get in if you have a WinterFest button, $5 otherwise.
• Saturday is also Zwickelmania, a free Oregon beer celebration hosted by the Oregon Brewers Guild. Our local breweries are participating with free tours (roughly scheduled from 11 to 4) and have some specials planned:
  • Deschutes Brewery will have samples of 2009 Super Jubel available in the tasting room (along with tours).
  • Bend Brewing is featuring a special tour of the brewhouse and they should have their award-winning HopHead and Outback X on tap.
  • McMenamins Old St. Francis School is featuring their "1000 Mile Journey Baltic Porter, the 1000th batch brewed on site at St. Francis".
  • Silver Moon Brewing will be holding tours and I just got an email saying, "To celebrate Valentine's Day, [the brewers] have put together a half barrel of Chocolate Snake Bite Porter, and it is due to be tapped around 12 noon today."
  • 10 Barrel, Cascade Lakes, and Three Creeks will all be doing tours, as well.

Sunday

• More WinterFest from 11am to 6pm, including:
  • 1 to 2pm: The Sled Dawg Races (for humans)
  • 1, 3, and 5pm: Metal Mulisha (motocross)
• Valentine's Day at the Blacksmith, mixing up aphrodisiac cocktails with Columbine starting at 1pm. ($25)
• Montana Slim String Band plays Silver Moon Brewing at 7pm. Cover is $8, or 2 for $15.

Valentine's Day is Sunday, and The Blacksmith has something special in mind for you:

Spend the afternoon in the cozy environs of the Blacksmith learning how to make aphrodisiac cocktails with Columbine Quillen, considered one of the nation’s top mixologists.

Space is limited.
Reservations are required.
This Sunday February 14 at 1 p.m.
$25 includes appetizers.

Aphrodisiac cocktails! How well do you suppose they'd pair with the erotic pastries from the Sparrow Bakery?

It's Free, It's Fun, It's Fabulous!
Come to the Grand Opening and Find Out What the Buzz is All About.
Mark Your Calendar - February 11, 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

The Storefront Project is a new program that provides free drop-in creative writing workshops and one-on-one writing and language arts tutoring for middle- and high-schoolers. The Bend Bulletin recently reported on the Storefront Project. Click here to read all about it.

Conveniently located in downtown Bend in Dudley's Bookshop Cafe at 135 NW Minnesota Ave. (thank you Terri Cumbie!), the Storefront Project aims to appeal to all segments of young writers, including traditional and alternative school students, home schoolers, homeless students, and everyone who is interested in developing creative writing skills.

Students can drop in any time and participate in a workshop on Mondays or Thursdays between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. Individual tutoring is available after the workshops.

Interested in supporting the Storefront Project and other valuable programs of The Nature of Words? We need your help to keep this program going, as well as our Creative-Writing-in-the-Schools program, Rising Star Creative Writing Competition for young writers, and scholarships for our annual November literary festival. We welcome your donation via mail to The Nature of Words, P.O. Box 56, Bend, OR 97709. Or use the convenient PayPal link on our website. Join us at the Storefront Project Grand Opening on February 11 to learn more and meet some of the young writers participating in the workshops. Have questions or can't make it to the grand opening? Call The Nature of Words at 541.330.4381 or email info@thenatureofwords.org. Or visit us at www.thenatureofwords.org.

We look forward to hosting you at the Storefront Project and demonstrating how The Nature of Words is nurturing the creative writing skills of young writers in our area.

Remember: Storefront Project Grand Opening, Thursday, February 11th, 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

I'm totally stealing this from Bend Oregon Restaurants:

This week Baldy's BBQ is celebrating their 5th Anniversary with $5 specials all week long. From what I've heard, they're doing $5 full racks, smothered fries, dozen wings, 2 pulled pork or chicken sandwiches, and more + drink specials.

**Update**
After lunch at Baldy's today (Monday) I have the $5 specials:
- Full Rack of ribs (these are the Danish ribs, little smaller than their normal but well worth $5)
- 2 pulled pork sandwiches
- 2 pulled chicken sandwiches
- Dozen smoked wings (had them for Super Bowl and they are gooood)
- Smothered fries
$5 drink specials as well
**/Update**

Then Saturday they have a FREE pig roast in the parking lot, with live music (the boxcar string band), raffle prizes, Ski/snowboard equipment, Sunriver weekend for two, and Baldy's gift cards.

Saw something about this the other day, I think, but the Bulletin has an article today: Ciao Mambo in downtown Bend closed its doors.

Local eatery Ciao Mambo closed its doors last week after serving Italian cuisine to Bend for more than a year.

Owner Gary Sather cited the down economy as the primary reason for shutting down. He said he has been planning to close Ciao Mambo, which employed 17 people, for months.

“The economy is just real bad in Bend,” Sather said. “Our business model didn’t fly under the conditions.”

I thought it was probably doing all right, so I'm a bit surprised to read that the owner planned the closing for so long.

And news comes out today that McGrath's Fish House (over by the Bend River Mall Promenade) is filing for bankruptcy; there are no plans for closing—yet—but it sure seems like an ominous sign. If they do end up closing this year, I wouldn't be surprised in light of the Chapter 11.

This Friday (the 5th) is Deschutes Brewery's Release Party for Jubel 2010, their latest big beer bottling for their "Super Jubel"—a 10% alcohol "double" version of their seasonal Jubelale. This is only the second time they've ever bottled it (the first being in 2000), so the Release Party should be fun:

Jubel 2010 beer on tap with special menu items. Bottles for sale (6 bottle limit). First 100 guests will receive a Jubel 2010 commemorative goblet.
For more information, please call the Bend Pub at 541-382-9242.

The party officially kicks off at 6pm, and you'll probably want to get there early.

Jake forwarded this to me:

If you are receiving this, then I know you to have a love of classical music. We are very happy to be presenting a children’s concert on Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 2 pm. For all of us at COS this concert is in loving memory of our cellist Virginia Riggs. Virginia Riggs passed away in December. She had been with us for 39 years. Virginia led a life that we all admired. And we miss her. She believed strongly in supporting musical education for children and taught many Central Oregon students how to play the cello.

Click here to view the flier graphic that was attached. Additional details: it's free, and should last about one hour, at the Bend High School auditorium.

It's that time of year again already: Bend WinterFest is just around the corner. Billed as "Central Oregon's Premier Winter Festival" (well, it's also the only winter festival), it takes over the Old Mill District during Valentine's Day weekend, from Friday the 12th through Sunday the 14th.

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 and ice skating, Bend WinterFest will feature an expanded Winter Wine Walk, winter light show, a larger WinterFest Marketplace, and the exciting cross country ski sprint races.

A few other details to note: the Winter Wine Walk will cost $20 and you'll need to have your packet with you to participate; live music is on Friday and Saturday nights; and I think there will be fireworks in the evening as well.

This from the Source Weekly this evening:

Capture the Flag, the young up-and-coming pop punk band from Bend, are shooting their first music video on Saturday (Jan. 30) and want you to be part of it.

The band's guitarist, John Davis, who many know from the concerts he promotes in town, is asking any and all folks who want to be in the video to be at the Rise Up warehouse (corner of 1st and Penn) around noon. Ever the nice guys, the bands will provide you with coffee and hot chocolate...not to mention the chance to be in a friggin music video.

No idea what they're looking for or intending the video to look like, but sounds like it could be fun anyway.

I'm dumb, teaches me to blog without checking: yesterday's post about Deschutes Brewery's Crabfest missed one very important point: they are also featuring the crab feed on Friday, the 29th, because Saturday is sold out.

But Friday is still available, still for $75 per person. Call 541-385-8606 for reservations and talk to Winter.

Deschutes Brewery is hosting their 8th Annual Crabfest this weekend up at their Mountain Room: the all-you-can-eat crab feed paired with Deschutes beers and live music from Bill Keale.

Menu:
Passed appetizer:
- Dungeness Crab Stuffed cucumber
- Dungess crab stuffed jalapeno poppers wrapped with bacon
Seated appetizer:
- Free form Pasta Salad with Dungeness Crab, Cherry Tomatoes, Avacados, and Pistachos tossed in a buttermilk herb dressing
Soup:
- Dungenesss Crab Bisque
Entrée:
- All you can eat Crab with Andouille sausage and corn on the cob.

The cost is $75 per person and it starts at 6pm Saturday, the 30th. To make reservations, call 541-385-8606 (and talk to Winter).

A few more things happening this weekend, making it a bit busier than the rest of the month.

Friday

• McMenamins Old St. Francis School is hosting their Winter Scotch Tasting at 7pm. Reservations are required, $50 per person. Nice list of appetizers and five different scotches to taste.
• The Ascetic Junkies is having their EP Release Party at Silver Moon Brewing starting at 9pm. Cover is $7.

Saturday

• The High Desert Museum has their Family Free Saturday going on from 10am until 4pm. There is even a free shuttle all day long, from Morning Star Christian School, just off 97 at Baker exit.
• The Deschutes Public Library is having their Friends of the Bend Library Winter Book Sale, from 10am until 4pm. I'm a big fan of these sales as always; the books are incredibly cheap and you can find some real treasures.
• Eleven Eyes is playing at Silver Moon Brewing starting at 9pm. Cover is $10.

Sunday

• The Library Book Sale continues, from 1pm until 4pm, where they will be selling books for $3 a bag—I'm guessing these are the leftover books from Saturday's sale, but if the bag is a full-sized grocery bag, then that's a really good deal.

I may be too late on blogging this one, but McMenamins is hosting a Winter Scotch Tasting on Friday the 23rd; for $50 you'll get to try five different scotches and enjoy a gourmet-ish appetizer menu:

Bacon-wrapped quail eggs
Scallops gratin
Duck wontons with orange sauce
Vension chop with single-malt demi-glace
Gingerbread pudding with Drambuie cream

It's at 7pm and you can find out more by giving McMenamins a call—reservations are required.

Haven't seen news from the Renegade Rollergirls for awhile; nice to know they're still going strong.

WHAT: January 30th, 2010 Will host another co-ed no holds-barred roller derby bout in Bend! Oregon Renegade Roller Derby; Bend's only non-profit Roller Derby League, will hold their second 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 Washington and Portland. 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 7 p.m., action begins at 8 p.m. Admission is $10.00 and kids 10 and younger are free. There will be an after party with live music from Yenn at Players on Century Drive. Presale tickets are available at Aspect Board Shop, Riverside Market, Mum’s Tattoos or from your favorite rollergirl. Tickets are also available for purchase at the door beginning at 2pm the day of the event.

WHEN: January 30, 2010. Doors open at 7 p.m., actions starts at 8 p.m. $10 for general admission, 10 and under are free. Presale tickets are available at Aspect Board Shop, Riverside Market, Mum’s Tattoos or from your favorite rollergirl. Tickets are also available for purchase at the door beginning at 2pm the day of the event.

WHERE: The event will be played at Midtown Music Hall, located at 51 NW Greenwood Ave, downtown Bend, Oregon. After party to follow at Players located at 25 SW Century Drive, Bend, Oregon.

Silver Moon Brewing is hosting a free show tomorrow, the 21st (Thursday):

David Clemmer, frontman of local indie rock band The Dirty Words, will be playing a free show at the Moon this Thursday, January 21st. He's an incredibly talented songwriter, and is beginning to play with his own band to showcase his solo talents. Show starts at 8 p.m., no cover.

Incidentally, I see that Silver Moon's new website has (finally!) been launched. Looking good, but the live music calendar needs to be updated and I'd love to see an up-to-date list of what's on tap.

I mentioned the Phoenix Cafe opening yesterday but somehow missed the Olive Garden opening. (For shame!) It made a blurb in the Bulletin, and I can only imagine how busy it is, people were apparently "lined up outside the door when the restaurant opened for business at 4 p.m."

This week, the Garden opens at 4pm, and next Monday starts opening regularly at 11am for their lunch menu.

The Phoenix Cafe is now open in the old Kayo's Roadhouse location: I don't know how long exactly, but there was an ad in this weekend's Bulletin, and their website does in fact say "Now Open."

The new hours of operation are seven days a week: 11:30am to close Monday through Saturday (lunch and dinner), and 9am to close on Sundays (brunch included). The menus don't look bad at all.

In case you didn't know where the old Kayo's was located, it's on the eastside, across 27th street from the Forum shopping center (Safeway, Costco, Barns & Noble). The address is 594 NE Bellevue.

“Make it a day on, not a day off!”
Join Central Oregon in a national day of service on Martin Luther King Jr., Day 2010

To make Martin Luther King Day a "day on, not a day off," Volunteer Connect has organized service projects in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties. Volunteers of all ages are encouraged to participate in this event and connect with their community on January 18th, 2010.

In 1994, Congress initiated Martin Luther King, Jr. day as a national day of service. Last year, in 2009, over 13,000 community service projects took place across the country on the King Day of Service. For more general information about the King Day of Service you can visit www.mlkday.gov.

This year Volunteer Connect has organized over 20 half-day projects for volunteers to participate in, spanning Bend, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters.

Volunteer Connect MLK Day organizer, Jessica Knight, is excited about this event’s potential, “Our goal is to support Dr. King’s message that ‘everybody can be great because anybody can serve’ by engaging a wide variety of volunteers. We will have youth and student groups, corporate staff, families and individuals coming together”.

Projects are primarily in the morning, and include cooking, cleaning, organizing, painting, building, sewing and even bicycle repair. In Redmond, there will also be a special afternoon literary workshop hosted by Deschutes County RSVP.

To view a list of projects with more details, please visit www.volunteerconnectnow.org

Schedule:
Projects will be from 9:30am-12:30pm, followed by a light complimentary lunch and reflection session in each community.

About Volunteer Connect
Slated to launch its full volunteer referral program in February 2010, Volunteer Connect will work to link interested volunteers with meaningful opportunities to meet community needs in Central Oregon. The Volunteer Connect website will serve as a resource for students, businesses, families or individuals who are looking for one-time or ongoing community service opportunities. To date, over 70 agencies throughout the tri-counties have signed on. Interested agencies and volunteers are encouraged to visit www.volunteerconnectnow.org or call (541) 385-8977.

[Disclaimer: I worked on the Volunteer Connect website.]

There's a few things going on this weekend, but in general January (winter!) seems to be a slower time for weekends.

Friday

• Deadly Gallows, Larry and His Flask, and Bo Deens are all playing at Silver Moon Brewing tonight, starting at 8:30pm. Cover is only $5 and as Silver Moon posted on Twitter: "Are you ready for some ruckus?"

Saturday

• Tracorum is playing Silver Moon Brewing at 9pm. $5 cover.

Sunday

• The Crescent Lake Challenge cross-country ski race is going on from 10am until 2pm. It kicks off at Crescent Lake snow park and goes for 22 kilometers. There's a $45 entry fee at the start of the race.
• Silver Moon is featuring a Bellydance Showcase starting at 6pm—and it's completely free.

China Sun Buffet is closed, at least for now. On their website is the message about it:

WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF RELOCATING DUE TO LOSS OF LEASE. CURRENTLY WE STILL HAVE NOT FOUND ANY SUITABLE LOCATION YET.

They're refunding gift certificates, so it's up in the air whether they'll re-open anytime soon.

(China Sun was up next to Shopko, north end of town.)

The Bulletin ran an article about the Oxford Suites hotel on Monday, including their new restaurant, 10 Below: so named because it's located below ground level. It seats "about 75" and they're open now, I believe; a copy of their menu (faxed to us) showed reasonably-priced dishes with a wide variety of cuisine styles (Asian, Italian, Middle Eastern, American, and more).

And BOR over on Bend Oregon Restaurants has a review of 5 Spice, the new sushi restaurant that took over the former Deep space. BOR gives it good marks for being delicious, well-paced, and reasonably priced.

Central Oregon is a long way from warm, sunny Hawaii, especially in January, but Hawaiian singer songwriter John Cruz is gladly making the trip to celebrate his debut as a Breedlove artist, with a show at Silver Moon Brewing Wednesday January 27th, at 8pm.

John, who has never played in Bend, is one of Hawaii's most popular artists.  He is a Grammy winner and 3 time Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner, which is Hawaii's equivalent to the Grammy.  His first album, Acoustic Soul, sold over 100,000 copies in Hawaii alone and produced the hit song "Island Style," which has become an anthem known around the world. His second album, One of These Days, was recorded at Jackson Browne's studio in Los Angeles, with some of the most respected musicians in the business, and produced 2 number one songs.

Some other recent career highlights include playing at Barack Obama's inauguration with Jack Johnson and being featured at the prestigious South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

John is known as a world class acoustic guitar player, so his association with Breedlove makes perfect sense. Breedlove Guitars, manufactured in Bend, are known in musician's circles as classy, exotic, finely crafted instruments of extraordinary quality.  The sound and feel are sought after by artists ranging from Madonna to Joe Craven to Sugarland.

John will be featuring his Breedloves at Silver Moon Brewing.  He takes the stage at 8pm for a solo acoustic performance and will headline the entire evening.

Silver Moon Brewing
24 NW Greenwood Ave.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 388-8331
www.silvermoonbrewing.com
8:00 p.m. showtime/ 7:00 p.m. doors
21 and over only
$10 advance/ $12 at the door
Tickets available soon at www.bendticket.com

My first "Weekend happenings" post of the new year! (We were out of town with limited access last weekend.)

I don't actually have much to list, from the calendar: just two things:

• Tonight, Silver Moon Brewing is hosting Unkle Nancy and the Family Jewels, starting at 9pm. Cover is only $5.
• Saturday, another Silver Moon show: The JZ Band, starting at 9pm and also $5.

Of course, the Source's music calendar covers everything (perhaps I should start integrating everything into one?)

Overall, things just seem slow—everyone's hunkering down for the post-holiday winter.

Feel free to list any other happenings in the comments!

Sisters is having their very first Wine and Brew Festival, coming up in June. This came through as a press release, and it's not for another five months, but sounds pretty cool to me!

One question (so far): will it be kid friendly?

Sisters Wine & Brew Festival Announces First Annual Event

Announcing the first annual Sisters Wine & Brew Festival. Come celebrate the wonderful wines and brews of the Pacific Northwest! The weekend will also include live music, wine and beer pairing classes, cooking demos, art vendors and fantastic food. Entrance to the festival is free.

When:
Saturday, June 19, 2010
11am-6pm
Where:
The Village Green in downtown Sisters.
More Info: www.sisterswineandbrew.com, 541-385-7988, info@specialzied-events.com.

What Takes Place at the Event?

Wineries and Breweries
25 wineries and breweries will be in attendance to serve, sell and discuss their products.

Other Vendors
An array of other vendors will be on hand selling their products and services at the festival to round out participants’ experiences. These will include arts and crafts, food, specialty products and an extension of the retail already available throughout Sisters.

Music and Cooking Demos
Live music will add to the atmosphere and what is wine and beer without great food? Local chefs will be on hand to demonstrate their special recipes on our cooking stage.

VIP Area
Guests in this exclusive part of the Sisters Wine and Brew Festival will enjoy an array of all the wines on hand for hosted tasting at the event as well as delicious appetizers. VIP tickets are available for $60 (hosted wines, brews and cuisine).

Additional Events
In order to round out the guest experience, local restaurants will host a wine and brew makers’ dinner Friday evening. On Saturday, there will be an after party and a variety of local establishments will be staying open late.

Haven't run a straight-up press release in awhile, and this one caught my eye because it seems... odd for Bend Memorial Clinic to offer an alternative treatment like acupuncture. It's just not something I think you'd ordinarily see at such a place...

Bend Memorial Clinic (BMC), the largest provider of quality, comprehensive and convenient physician healthcare in Central Oregon, has launched a new acupuncture service as part of its broad scope of practices. Dr. Greg Borstad, MD, and Dr. Charlotte Lin, MD, will lead the department.

Read full press release

The organizers of the Crescent Lake Challenge sent in this info about this up-and-coming cross-country ski race:

On Sunday Jan 17 my wife Cary and I are hosting the Crescent Lake Challenge inaugural xc ski race. We hope that it will grow over time and that part of the proceeds (once profitable) can be donated to High School xc skiing. If you are a HS team member you can enter for free. If you are a parent or would like to support the effort you can join the 22 kilometer (13.5 miles) race at www.crescentlakechallenge.com or volunteer by sending me a e mail or calling me at 541-345-9623 work, or 345-2180 home. Sign ups are starting to come in and we've sent posters to about 120 ski shops around the Northwest. It starts at the Crescent Lake snow park and ends right at Crescent Lake Resort. We'd love any help or support that can be offered. Trails will be groomed for freestyle, all abilities welcome.

Capsule details: it takes place Sunday, January 15th at 10am, and you can register in advance on their website up through the 14th for $35; after that, you can register at the race itself for $45.

Tomorrow night, Tuesday the 5th, Deschutes Brewery is holding their "Cinder Cone Red Farewell Party" down at their pub. That's kind of a big deal for local beer geeks; Cinder Cone is (was) one of Deschutes' most popular seasonals.

Here's the details on the party:

That's right, we are toasting a fond farewell to Cinder Cone Red this year, and making way for Red Chair NWPA. Are you clutching your hair and screaming "WHY!" Well, we'd love to bottle and distribute every beer we come up with, but if we tried that our team would be the ones screaming. Come give us your own words of farewell on our "Memorial Wall" and enter to win a Cinder Cone Red Farewell Bend Package that includes a Mt. Bachelor Lift Ticket, Lodging at Mt. Bachelor Village, Snowshoe Rental from Sunnyside Sports and a $25 Deschutes Brewery Gift Certificate and VIP Brewery Tour. Cinder Cone Red Koozies will also be handed out to those who want to pretend that they are drinking Cinder Cone Red all of the time.

They kick off the Farewell Party at 6pm and go until closing; I don't know when they'll do the raffle for prizes, but I'd imagine not too late.

A fan of Lola's in the Breezeway (the restaurant that filled in the space that the Downtowner vacated) writes in to say:

Did you hear that the Chef from Soupcon has stepped into the Exec Chef shoes at Lola's In the Breezeway? He's brought his soups (from his little vending cart location), and has changed the Lola's menu to include...drumroll...Jerk Pork Pressed Cubans, House-made Pastrami on Rye, and even a Doggie Style Pastrami Dog. This, and lots more, like house made sausage plates, a house made meatloaf that rivals The Blacksmith, and comfort foods like Mac 'N Cheese.

Lola's In the Breezeway
New hours:
Monday 11am-4pm
Tuesday-Saturday 11am-Close

Not sure when "Close" happens on Tuesdays through Saturdays but a Doggie Style Pastrami Dog sounds pretty good.

No, these blog predictions aren't mine, but that's okay 'cause they're better. From acloudtree: Top 5 Bend blog predictions for 2010:

HackBend
Jon Abernathy surprisingly rues the day “The Brew Site” was able to supply him with an all-you-can-drink alcoholic beverage buffet. In a drunken haze some time during June and while trying to sober up, he will access his HackBend blog over an unencrypted wireless network at one of the many coffee shops around Bend. The packet containing his username and password will be garnished by a 15 year old taking a break from an eighteen hour WoW marathon. The teen will then proceed to hack “HackBend” leaving the message “You’ve been h@x0r’d!!! All your base are belong to us!” on the index page of HackBend’s site. Oh the irony!

That's pure awesome.

Hat tip to Jake for finding that before I did.

 Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a safe holiday and are ready for 2010.