Bend 2030 Hosts Transportation Forum
Bend is growing whether you like it or not, and with more people comes more traffic. If the city grows to 110,000 by 2030, as population models predict, how will they all get around town? This is the question the Bend 2030 Transportation Forum seeks to address. “How we respond today to Bend’s future needs…
That Song From That Movie
By: Josh Gross We’ve all been there, watching a movie and thinking, “Damn Geena, this is a great song.” That’s why for this week’s Mixtape, we gathered songs with iconic placement in films. Everything from Bond themes to Dolly Parton vehicles to the song that introduced the world to Bill Haley and the Comets, “Rock Around…
Random Acts of Netflix: The Retrieval
Hey folks! Jared here. Every Thursday I’m going to go on Netflixroulette.com, and then watch whatever the damn thing tells me to. In case you haven’t heard of Netflix Roulette, it’s basically a silly website that allows you to SPIN a virtual wheel which then chooses a film or TV show at random out of…
Inside the Mind of an “Emerging Artist”
One of First Friday’s biggest draws, for me, is the opportunity to engage with the artists whose works hang in our local galleries and shops. I’m especially excited to meet some of the talented young high schoolers whose art is on display this month at Red Chair Gallery’s “Emerging Artists” show. For one, their work…
Editor’s Note: In this week’s issue
Depending on the angle from which you view it, the differences between the rural and urban areas in Central Oregon are either a yin-yang balance, or a divide as wide as a canyon. Yes, there are working cowboys here, and yes there also are computer programmers who sip their lattes and jawbone about their beers…
Michael Franti Returns to Bend August 23
He’s baaack. Or, at least, he will be. Michael Franti returns to Bend with Spearhead on August 23 at the Les Schwab Ampitheater. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, April 1 for $39 plus service fees. According to LSA: Musician, filmmaker, humanitarian, Michael Franti, is recognized as a pioneering force using music as a vehicle for…
State of the Market Case Study
That college campuses have an economic impact on their neighboring communities is undeniable. But while that impact is most frequently measured in terms of expenditures—an increase, for example, in the quantity of coffees or school supplies purchased—the effects begin to be felt even before the first student arrives. That’s because building a college campus is…
Source Suggests 3/25-4/1
Tom VandenAvond & Woebegone With a raspy voice and an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder, Tom VandenAvond tells contemporary stories of a life well lived. From his midwest roots, to Texas, to recording an album with Bend’s own Larry and His Flask boys, VandenAvond is deeply Americana. When VandenAvond sings, you listen. Blending country,…
Magic Little Moments
Marrying a vibrant pop sound full of sparkling synths, and celebratory harmonies with emotional thought-provoking songwriting, Lost Lander songs can feel a lot like having a life-altering realization while driving down a sunny coastline on a beautiful summer day. “You can make a decision to dress your child in whatever clothes you want to,” says…
Spitting Fire
Central Oregon music more commonly means cowboy guitars and bluegrass mandolins than mics and two turntables. But, if Jaime Scott and Anthony Anderson have their say Bend will become a springboard for hip-hop talent. Anderson, who is the CEO for M.T.C. Promotions, and Scott, who owns F5Entertainment, are consistently being asked by up-and-coming rappers for…
Film Events 3/25-4/1
The Breakfast Club 30th Anniversary Don’t you…forget about The Breakfast Club. While some of the fashion might be dated, the themes of alienation and class struggles in high school are still as important and topical today as they ever were. Bend’s own Thomas Del Ruth was the cinematographer on this modern classic and shared a…
Side Notes 3/25-4/1
Gov. Kate Brown is coming to Bend Friday to celebrate last week’s signing of agreements in Deschutes and other Oregon counties to protect sage grouse habitats. The bird, which roams across the Western United States, is being considered for the endangered species list. But in the meantime, conservationists are working with landowners to conserve habitats…
Reap What You Sow
Never mind those recent snow flurries—spring has officially arrived. And as branches begin to bud, and birds to sing, it’s time to start thinking about gardening. Now, Central Oregon isn’t the Willamette Valley. One does not simply toss seeds over one’s shoulder and return a few weeks later to find verdant greens emerging from the…
From the School of Mom
I first fell in love with curry when I was 25 years old, and living in Singapore. It wasn’t any place special—really, little more than a dining hall with bins full of chicken masala and potatoes soaked in orange curry that I would sop up with deep-fried naan bread. But that place opened up an…
Pipe Dreams
For the past few years, the City of Bend has been trying to push forward a plan to replace the two pipelines that draw water from Bridge Creek and carry it 10 miles to a treatment center before entering into the pipes in town. One of the pipes was installed in the 1920s and the…
Growing in a Hurry
Following in the footsteps of places like Boneyard, 10 Barrel, Sunriver and Three Creeks, Silver Moon Brewing; which, just a couple years back, was much more known for its disco ball, pool table, and flimsy ’50s soda-fountain stools than its beer—is the latest Central Oregon brewery to rapidly expand. According to co-owner James Watts, work…
Whatever, Mom
When I was eight years old, I published my first book, well, 20 pages of “published” material assembled using a confidence-boosting book-making kit called IlluStory. An aspiring author, indeed, I continued my pursuit for the big leagues, trying my hand at fiction a few years later with some lengthy, The-Baby-Sitters-Club-meets-Goosebumps narrative detailing a day in…
Different Strokes
Bend isn’t the first place that comes to mind as home-base for an outrigger canoe paddle maker—after all, the high desert is a far cry from the shores of Waikiki. But those geographic differences haven’t stopped Dave Chun from setting up shop for Bend’s only outrigger canoe club, and bringing one of the country’s largest…
An Old Building, New Idea
If the US Census—instead of counting things like household income and marital status— had a matrix for features such as collaboration, artistic production, and creativity, then the Ironworks Art District would be a hotspot on Bend’s city map. Constructed in 1912 to support the then-booming timber industry of turn-of-the-century Bend, the Old Ironworks is a…
Taking The Economy’s Temperature
Like predicting the weather in Central Oregon during the finicky spring months, economic forecasts are tricky; sunny afternoons do not necessarily promise warm and dry evenings. Likewise, in the mid-2000s, thousands in Central Oregon were basking in a booming housing market. By 2006, construction and real estate employment was effortlessly adding jobs, and quickly had…
Out of Town 3/25-4/1
portland friday 27 – sunday 29 Shen Yun 2015 Aside from an actual trip to China, the Shen Yun performance is the best way to experience the East in our Western backyard. Shen Yun is classical Chinese dance born from 5,000 years of tradition—in full color. Live orchestra and beautifully exquisite backdrops set the stage…
Doing the Dam Thing
When the Mirror Pond Ad-Hoc Committee first presented its hybrid proposal for addressing the failing Newport Avenue dam last November, the plan was well received. For a time, it seemed as if the committee had accomplished the impossible—bridging the chasm of public opinion between those who want to repair the dam and save Mirror Pond…
Picks 3/25-4/1
friday 27 Soft White Sixties MUSIC—Hugely popular at last year’s SXSW, and even labeled the “best touring band you probably missed,” the Soft White Sixties aren’t perhaps groundbreaking—with a certain strain of Jack White and a dose of Vampire Weekend pretty boy vocals—but there is certainly something fun and addictive. 8 pm. The Annex, 51…
By The Numbers
Bend’s population in 1990: 20,469 Bend’s population in 2010: 52,029 In 2007, Bend’s population was estimated by 2015 to grow to: 91,158 Bend’s current population: 78,280 Median age of Bend’s current population: 37.7 years Median age of Sisters’ current population: 46.6 years Bend’s rank in June 2006 Money magazine as most overpriced real estate market in the United…
Art Watch 3/25-4/1
Now in its eighth year, Art in the High Desert (AHD) has become a popular destination for art buyers, making it one of the many local organizations whose efforts are putting Bend on the art tourism map. Ranked 12th in the nation for sales by Art Fair Sourcebook, AHD is surpassing many of the area’s…
