Some things are perfect and perfect basically means as good as it could possibly be. Perfection. How many things in our lives meet this highest standard? I recently asked my wife, Wendy, “Are trees perfect?” Pretty quickly she answered, “Yes, trees are perfect.” She didn’t know where I was going with this and to tell […]
Culture Features
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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. Originally taking place each August, festival organizers moved it to October […]
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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. “You help create your own show with suggestions for the players to create […]
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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. Co-founded by an oncology and hospice-care nurse who spent years […]
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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. A few years ago, my wife Wendy and I bought a new, used car—a 2014 Nissan Murano. We loved it from the moment it backed off the truck and landed in our ever-grateful possession. Smooth […]
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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. Central Oregon’s largest […]
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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 […]
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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. In 1999 this […]
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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. Our paths crossed a decade ago for several years, after which Browning joined the military […]
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Awakening Your Inner Hero
Bike Ride Wisdom: A crash. A change of plans. Life at its best.
A few weeks ago, I drove west on the Cascade Lakes Highway toward Mt. Bachelor to scout out some mountain bike trails. Something new would be great and there are uncountable beautiful places to bike when you are fortunate enough to live in or visit Central Oregon. My new biking partner is Natalie, our cool, athletic, […]