Culture Features

The Third Act

Possible Futures

Kate Bowler in her book "No Cure for Being Human" says, "Everybody pretends you die only once. But that's not true.

By Ellen Waterston Oct 20, 2021

Oregon Celebrates Its First Official Indigenous Peoples' Day

A bill passed in 2021 makes Oregon the 11th state to designate the day to honor native people

On June 1, Gov. Kate Brown signed HB 2526 into law, making Oregon the 11th state in the union to designate an Indigenous Peoples' Day. The second Monday of October—earlier designated as Columbus Day in many places around the United States—is now officially Indigenous Peoples' Day in Oregon.

By Nicole Vulcan Oct 6, 2021

Awakening Your Inner Hero

The Guy in the Hat

Some things are perfect and perfect basically means as good as it could possibly be. Perfection.

By Burt Gershater Oct 6, 2021

The Beauty of Sisters Folk Festival is Back

Thirty artists to perform at Central Oregon's beloved fest

Seven stages, 30 artists, and family and friends gathering for the love of live music... sounds kind of like a blast from the past, right? After several years of having smoke—or a global pandemic—stop the music, the Sisters Folk Festival gets underway this weekend.

By Nicole Vulcan Sep 29, 2021

New Improv Troupe Hits Open Space

Out of Thin Air produced by pair of TV and stage actors and directors who recently made Bend home

"No show is ever the same," creator Renny Temple says of the new comedy series set to debut Tuesday at Open Space Studios in Bend. Out of Thin Air will perform improvisational comedy, taking suggestions from the audience, every Tuesday through December.

By Elizabeth Warnimont Sep 22, 2021

A Place for Grief

Peaceful Presence Project aims to help people plan for death and change our approach to grief

In the past year and a half, you wouldn't be alone in wishing there was a guidebook for dealing with the loss and grief that can come with living through a global pandemic. Turns out, two locals were working on this well before the pandemic.

By Nicole Vulcan Sep 15, 2021

Awakening Your Inner Hero

I Need You. It's true. Need is the right word. We really do need each other.

Sometimes, we human beings like to believe we are independent. That may be the silliest idea we could ever entertain.

By Burt Gershater Sep 8, 2021

Vax Card Culture

Local venues begin checking vaccination cards, requiring tests, with varying policies

Attending a concert at the Les Schwab Amphitheater already comes with a few more rules than in years past: Bags only of a certain size, and passing through a metal-detecting wand, to name a few. And this week, yet another requirement: showing proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative COVID test.

By Nicole Vulcan Sep 1, 2021

The Third Act

Playing the Fool

An article in the Jan. 18, 2021, issue of The New Yorker addresses one woman's serious pursuit of painting starting in her 60s. Stepping down from an accomplished career as a professor of history at Princeton, and as the author of seven books and the recipient of countless honors, Nell Painter decided to pursue a BFA from Rutgers, followed by an MFA from The Rhode Island School of Design, pursuing both with the same rigor she had approached all else in her life.

By Ellen Waterston Aug 25, 2021

Metal Artists Come to Shine

COMAG's annual show returns to the Oxford Hotel

Over 20 years ago, a handful of local metal artists formed a guild in order to give themselves a formal way to meet and swap information. "The group began as a handful of jewelers who found they spent a fair amount of time sharing a beer, trading vendor, tools and technique information.

By Nicole Vulcan Aug 25, 2021

Farthest Read: Reading the Source, from Kuwait

One former Bend resident tunes in on the regular from his National Guard posting in the Middle East

Ever wonder how far the Source Weekly readership has traveled? As a freelance writer for the Source, I silently inquire to myself about this often—and I have one fun data point to reference: former Bend resident and colleague, Christopher Browning.

By K.M. Collins Aug 11, 2021