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 […]
Culture Features
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 […]
Posted inCulture
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 […]
Posted inCulture
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 […]
Posted inCulture
DD Ranch
Working hard for a dream
Perhaps you’ve seen their beef at the local farmersmarkets, honey at Newport Market or even visited the ranch during their October pumpkin patches, but the true story behind DD Ranch nestled in Terrebonne is one of relentless work and unwavering determination. The Anspach family, owners of DD Ranch, not only manage to somehow maintain a […]
Posted inCulture
In Praise of Getting Off the Couch
Netflix is nice, but human-to-human interaction can change your life
Rather than wax eloquent on the benefits of going to social gatherings, being vulnerable and experiencing life outside of your comfort zone, I actually got off my couch and attended (or attempted to attend) four different group activities in Central Oregon. It sounds cliché to say that these experiences changed my life, and yet they […]
Posted inCulture
Building Connections Through Books
What we read can lead to improved humanity
Last week, in the span of a few days, my daughter and two friends reached out, asking, “What should I read next?” This isn’t the first time I’ve been asked for a book recommendation. I do work in a bookstore, after all, and yet, each time, I get a little thrill. Books are a matter […]
