Contra dance is a form of folk dancing originating in the 17th century from a variety of dance styles in England, Scotland, France and more. It’s a social dance that one can attend without a partner, although the dancers form couples in long lines the length of the dance hall. Couples then progress up and […]
Culture Features
Posted inCulture Features
The Big Re/Think
A movement to secure a future for arts and culture in Oregon
This fall, arts and culture leaders across Oregon will unite to launch a movement to build a more sustainable, resilient cultural arts core. Called The Big Re/Think, the challenge is being led by the Cultural Advocacy Coalition Foundation, which is a nonprofit advocacy organization that lobbies state lawmakers on behalf of arts, culture, history, heritage […]
Posted inCulture Features
Veo: a (Near) Crash Course in Responsible E-Bike Ridesharing
A new rideshare program dropped 227 class-2 e-bikes across Bend. In Veo’s debut month, 3,700 local riders have ridden 35,000 cumulative miles. We were among them.
For a period in July, my relationship with two wheels turned upside down. There, parked in the grass outside the Source office, I spied a new Cosmo-e, one of 227 e-bikes distributed by Veo throughout Bend’s streets since July 10. I was aware that Veo, a micromobility rideshare company, had contracted with the City of […]
Posted inCulture
Books for Reluctant Young Readers
There’s a book out there for every interest
Back-to-school season is almost upon us, and you may have a reluctant young reader in your family. We know reading is not a favorite pastime for everyone, but our booksellers are here to assist. While we can’t force books on people (although I may be guilty of that with my friends and family), we can […]
Posted inGoods and Services
Best Local Farm
Boundless Farmstead
While the “Best Local Farm” category may be new, David and Megan Kellner-Rode’s Boundless Farmstead is going strong in its eighth season of growing food. After about a half-decade of learning the ropes on their 20-acre mixed vegetable farm just north of the Badlands, the Kellner-Rodes seem to be hitting their stride. With more than […]
Posted inGoods and Services
Best Tattoo Artist
Chase Tafoya
Chase Tafoya lived all over California before making Bend his home in 2012. He’d visited his parents, who’d just moved here, loved it and relocated three weeks later. “Bend is such an artist town,” Tafoya says. “From the arts and entertainment, the entrepreneurial spirit, to the recreational sports; the people who live here are all […]
Posted inCulture
Bent Alley Cat Bicycle Races
A former bicycle courier has brought one of the staples of big-city messenger culture — the alley cat race — to Bend
Nope, that’s not a typo; the Bent Alley Cat Races has yowled to life. That the name of this new DIY bicycle race series is spelled “Bent,” and not “Bend,” speaks to the off-kilter, fringe-y place that bicycle messengers — and all their trappings, like fixed-gear bikes and alley cat races — occupy within the […]
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New Leadership Steps into the Tower’s Spotlight
Executive director shares his vision to expand programming and accessibility
Under the prominent “Tower” sign in downtown Bend stands a theatre filled with history. It first opened in 1940 as a luxurious art deco-style movie theater. Over the next several decades, it evolved to include musical performances, fashion shows and other live performances. By the 1980s, however, the Tower was struggling. A drop in attendance […]
Posted inCulture
Beyond the Trip
The quiet rise of psilocybin integration in Bend
Since Oregon became the first state to legalize supported adult psilocybin use in 2020 under Measure 109, most media attention has focused on the so-called “heroic dose”—the 30-40 milligram, four-six hour guided psychedelic trip that promises a mystical, mind-expanding journey. But for the experts working in the field, the real story begins once the trip […]
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Aren’t There Any Books for Teen Boys?
Here are some titles for young male readers
“My son doesn’t read anymore.” “My middle schooler needs more mature books, but I don’t know what to get him.” “Do you have anything that’s not a romance?” The challenge I encounter most often as a bookseller is recommendations for teen boys. As they age out of middle-grade (ages 9-12), it feels like all they […]