Culture Features

Once students reach their junior year, they seem to cross a very important threshold—they are no longer just high school students; it is time to plan for the future. Whether it be questions from well-meaning adults, discussions with older friends or the constant flow of college mail into students’ inboxes, the thought of college becomes […]

Did comedian Jamie Shriner ever tell you about the time she put gum in her older sister’s hair, right before the pair were set to audition for a production of “Beauty and the Beast”? And the crazy part? By the end of this funny-ass anecdote, Shriner, astoundingly, isn’t the villain. “That’s another one of those […]

Born to dance, Elise Porter, a Bend resident and local movement aficionado, pursues her life’s purpose by helping “humans get unstuck and release into the full joy of movement expression.” Propelling herself into as many styles of dance as possible, from high-school belly dancing classes and ballet-modern fusion in college, she’d jumped at every dance […]

In my half-filled baby book, my mother wrote several entries about my appetite such as, “Loves bananas, crackers, and cookies” or “Loves to eat all the time.” Was this an early indication of my affair with food? I use that word quite seriously because it’s something I keep quiet about unless I’m around other food-smitten […]

“I can’t believe I saw a llama.” That’s a phrase often repeated as folks encounter Jeff Wagner and his llama, Yogi. Wagner hauls Yogi in a trailer, from La Pine to the Old Mill District, on a regular basis so they can take a stroll. He started doing this during the pandemic because he thought it […]

A little-known piece of Bend history, nearly lost in oblivion, has been recovered and pieced together. The project was inspired by one tiny newspaper article from 1925 titled, “Colored Men Form Club for Betterment of Race.” “I have no idea how long ago I found that story and printed a clipping of it for future research,” […]

Story is a part of life in how we exist and make meaning. Lucky for us, Central Oregon is home to a number of museums that hold history, science, and nature in deepening our understanding of the world and our experience of wonder. Spring is a great time to delve into some of the regional […]

More than any other time in Roundabout Books’ eight-year history, our customers are asking us to match the prices of books they see on Amazon. It may surprise you that I am heartened by these requests, as I think it is a sign of greater general awareness of the damage monopolistic companies like Amazon have […]

Trivia games are alive and thriving in Central Oregon. There’s a game to be played somewhere most every night of the week. Check out the Source calendar for a complete listing every week. I managed to hit four over the past fortnight. First on my list was JC’s because it adds a physical challenge to […]