The Bite of Bend: This weekend, June 19-21

The annual Bite of Bend, “Central Oregon’s Largest Food Festival,” kicks off this Friday, June 19 to run through Sunday the 21st. It’s once again taking over Downtown Bend, and as always is completely free to attend (though the individual food and drink aren’t entirely free of course). Their recent … Continue reading

First Friday and video games!

It’s beautiful weather for the First Friday of May kicking off tonight at 5pm downtown—are you going out? You know the routine: Sensational local & national art at dozens of businesses on the first Friday of every month. Shops are matched with artists, musicians, and performers. Many businesses stay open … Continue reading

Bontá Natural Artisan Gelato opens shop downtown

Starting today the popular Bontá Natural Artisan Gelato expands from being a mobile gelato cart to a brick-and-mortar “Scoop Shop” in downtown Bend, and they are celebrating today with a grand opening featuring $2 cones! Here’s from the press release that was sent out: Things will be getting a whole lot sweeter … Continue reading

Bend Brewing celebrates 20 years this Friday

Bend’s second-oldest brewery, Bend Brewing Company, is enjoying two decades in business this year, and this Friday the 20th they are celebrating 20 years in style, with a block party, live music, 20 taps of beer, and more! The theme will be “20 beers for 20 years” and yes, there will be … Continue reading

Dudley’s Bookshop downtown, remodeled

Have you been into Dudley’s Bookshop Café downtown lately? They’ve recently completed a remodel of their upstairs space to revitalize the shop for the holiday season and are carrying both new and used books now. The upstairs loft space received a new coat of paint and new flooring as well … Continue reading

First Friday and a plug for my book event

It’s the first Friday of November which means tonight is the First Friday Art Walk taking place in downtown Bend, taking place from 5 to 9pm: dozens of businesses will be open the later hours, featuring special art exhibits, and many will have refreshments and live music. (Refreshments often include … Continue reading

Historical Haunts is back, in its fifth year

You have to love the Halloween season, not just for the pumpkins and candy and trick-or-treating, but for the ghost stories and hauntings and creepy/scary fun—and starting today, the Deschutes Historical Society’s “Historical Haunts of Downtown Bend” walking tour is again taking place! Stories of mystery, love, loss and the … Continue reading

Fall in Bend kicks off this weekend

Even though one week ago was the first official day of autumn, this first weekend of October can be said to mark the real start of the fall season in Bend, with several events going on that should help kick off the season—starting with the Bend Fall Festival. The annual Bend … Continue reading

Alpenglow and baked. Have Closed Their Doors

A couple of closures came to my attention recently… I heard about baked. closing at The Night Light Show on Monday. (Have you been to The Night Light Show? It’s fantastic. But that’s a topic for a different post.) Confirmation on their FB page: The rumors are true. Baked will … Continue reading

Bend Summer Festival, July 11-13

Tomorrow kicks off the biggest (and best in my opinion) of the Bend seasonal festivals: the Bend Summer Festival! (Additional details here.) Summerfest is going from 5 to 10pm Friday, 11am to 10pm Saturday, and 11am to 5pm Sunday, and takes over downtown with closures on Wall Street, Oregon Avenue, … Continue reading