Ray Randall, Author at The Source

Veteran Rapper Wax Brings LA Sound to Bend

Michael Jones, 47, has been in the music sphere for almost two decades

by Ray Randall June 17, 2026June 26, 2026

I was surprised to hear Michael Jones say he’s never felt like he made it, considering the 17 years and dozen studio albums under his belt, not to mention the numerous national tours he’s gone on. He explained that success is an ongoing process, and every development always felt like a stepping stone toward something bigger. Part of that sentiment is tied to […]

Local News

Juneteenth Celebration Returns to Bend This Year

The event will feature a variety of local businesses, foods, and services

by Ray Randall June 10, 2026June 15, 2026

It goes by many names: Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, but Juneteenth, a portmanteau of June 19, is its best-known name. A celebrated date since 1865, which initially marked the liberation for those still enslaved. The Confederacy surrendered to the Union in the spring of that year, ending the Civil War, but they still controlled […]

Local News

The Longstanding Intersection of Queer Culture and Black Culture

An investigation into the centuries-back connection between two communities

by Ray Randall May 27, 2026May 27, 2026

Two global communities have an intersecting history of discrimination, criminalization and prejudice; their plights not equivalent, but still exist in solidarity with one another. To be Black and to be queer aren’t two mutually exclusive things; the first known drag queen, William Doresey Swan, was born into slavery in Maryland. The issue, among many, is […]

Culture

The Realities of Being a Full-Time Bus Rider in Central Oregon

A frequent rider offers experience and insight into the public transportation system

by Ray Randall May 26, 2026May 22, 2026

My Timberland boots crunched against the highway gravel as I marched to the Riverhouse Lodge bus stop, my breath visible. I checked my watch: 15 minutes early. I was up an hour earlier in efforts to get a jump on the North Bend route 4 bus — my veritable ghost ship. I’d missed it almost as many times as I’d caught it, and to my horror I saw it barreling down the highway, moments from passing […]

Culture

Theater in the Park Debuts “The Producers” this August

A musical comedy held in Drake Park’s amphitheater

by Ray Randall May 20, 2026May 5, 2026

For more than a decade theater has been held in Bend’s Drake Park. Aug 14 and 15 will see the production company, Theater in the Park, put on the Tony Award-winning show, “The Producers,” a Mel Brooks Broadway musical comedy. The show follows two characters: a theater producer and an accountant doubling as an aspiring theater producer. […]

Culture Features

Community Leader Set to Open Brick-and-Mortar Witchcraft Store

Josie Stanfield ports a connection to nature into a store in downtown Redmond

by Ray Randall May 12, 2026May 13, 2026

It started with making mud potions in the forests of Northern Idaho, and now Josie Stanfield, activist, community leader and self-proclaimed witch, shared her story inside her Redmond store — WitchCrafting with Josie — just weeks from opening. Growing up in a predominately white family — and state — as a Black woman, Stanfield often wandered the outdoors alone, feeling a deep spiritual connection to nature. And that extended to witchcraft, too. […]

Music

Fern Spores Tours the Pacific Northwest

The femme-folk-rock band brings a Washington sound to Silver Moon Brewing

by Ray Randall April 21, 2026April 21, 2026

After leaving her partner, homestead and job in Idaho and moving to Olympia, Washington, Alyssa Nunke desired only one thing: start an explicitly all-female band. The strategy was simple. Host an open mic night. Listen for potential members. Rinse. Repeat. And it worked, perfectly. On just her fourth night she struck gold in the form of Jade Kovatz, the other frontrunner of the band. The rest of the femme-folk-rock band Fern Spores members […]

Local News

Visit Bend Becomes Newest Central Oregon Partner of KultureCity

The initiative features sensory-inclusive resources, at no additional cost

by Ray Randall April 8, 2026April 8, 2026

Invisible disabilities can be described as physical, mental or neurological conditions, not easily perceived by others, that in some way inhibit personal or social functioning. They also account for 70-80% of all disabilities, according to an article in Science Direct. Both Visit Bend and the nonprofit organization KultureCity aim to uplift this specific community. KultureCity, […]

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