Culture Features

Human experience is the totality of what it means to live — our interactions, our emotions, our thoughts and perceptions as we go through our day-to-day lives. This experience is what shapes how we understand ourselves and the world around us.  Reading is one of many ways we enrich our human experience, just as art […]

On a recent Saturday morning, trained volunteers with the Deschutes Historical Museum led small groups of people through Bend’s historic downtown neighborhoods. The walking tours explore architecture, landmarks and unique stories from the early 1900s, including those of six Bendites who helped transform the early community. Volunteer and tour guide, Staci Louie, has been leading […]

Pride month is just around the corner, observed in June to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising of June 28, 1969, when patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted a police raid, sparking days of protests and riots that ignited the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The first Pride marches were held in June 1970 […]

Each year, Mother’s Day reminds us how lucky we are for the mothers in our lives. Their support, strength, and love help us through the tough days and further brighten the best ones. But what does it take to be the World’s Best Mom? I spoke with three Lava Ridge Elementary students and their mothers […]

I travelled to Phoenix last week and my seven-year-old niece was so excited to tell me about the book she’s reading in school: “The Trumpet of the Swan.” Then she sat down and read a book with me, swapping pages back and forth. The last time I saw her she wasn’t reading fluently, yet there […]

Whether you see yourself as a reader of poetry or not, in honor of National Poetry Month in April, I’d like to challenge you to lean into poetry. As a friend of mine described them, poems are “powerful, silly, introspective, invasive, descriptive, short, long, weird, punctuationally diverse” and so much more. You may discover something […]

Bend artist Michele Guieu takes to heart the quote, “Beauty is everywhere, but the catastrophe is immense,” by French astrophysicist Aurelien Barrau. It’s a paradox about the stunning beauty of nature, art and life while simultaneously acknowledging that humans create situations of crisis. “Enjoy nature. Enjoy the beauty, but be active in your community,” Guieu […]

For over 40 years, Cascade Theatrical Company has been bringing the stage to life in Central Oregon through community theatre, having put on over 350 productions. Its latest venture is sure to leave guests rolling in the aisles. “The 39 Steps,” a play described by director Desi Thrower as a “hilarious and multi-faceted piece of […]