Hey, Tiny, Hey!
In October, Bend is delivering a whole month of “cultural goodness,” as Angela Reid—writer, creative director, and the mind behind the Tiny Hey art project—calls it. The town will host the BendFilm Festival, Bend Venture Conference, Swivel Marketing Conference, Bend Design Conference, and more. Mix in the cyclocross events, the Zombie Run, and Halloween at…
Street Pop Maestro
Matthew Nicolau has a brilliance only an unpredictable life can produce. His work in multimedia confounds the armchair art critic because there is so much to gain from it. There are so many layers to each piece that they become impossible to unpack on the first few viewings. “For me, making art is not an…
A Climb Through Time
Reaching Alan Watts on his cellphone last Friday morning found him about to hike Tumalo Mountain, something he has done 53 times this summer. A native of Madras, Watts is best known for promoting rock climbing at Smith Rock State Park, bringing its almost 1,800 climbing routes to the international stage. “My entire family, especially…
High Desert Heroes
Central Oregon would hardly be the place it is today were it not for the blood, sweat, and acumen of so many engaged residents willing to pull together. This year, the holy trinity of Central Oregon conservation groups are celebrating some pretty big anniversaries with events highlighting their many successes. Central Oregon Land Watch Central…
Moles, Voles, and Gophers
Back in the first week of June, my wife Sue and I went over to the Willamette Valley to take part in a delightful day at the Mother Earth News Fair in Albany (taking our son, Caleb, and his family along with us). Among the hundreds of exhibits and talks given by people who knew…
Take Me Home 9/30-10/7
As we enter the final quarter of 2015, one question is looming for buyers, sellers, and renters alike: What will the next year bring? While Bend is considered by many to be one of the stronger real estate markets nationwide, experts in the field are only cautiously optimistic that the market will continue the rapid-fire…
Riding On Mustangs with Boys
Unbranded is a documentary with a lot on its mind. On the surface level, it is an adventure about a group of young cowboys who train some mustangs and then ride them from the Mexican to the Canadian border. While their journey is an intense and fascinating one, the film also wants to shed light…
Talking Back
Like many creators of iconic portraits, Edward S. Curtis became famous for taking photos of people whose names the average viewer is unlikely to ever know. His prolific work—thousands of striking sepia-tone portraits of Indigenous people living in the American West in the early 1900s—offers a romanticized perspective on Native life shaped by Curtis’ aesthetic…
Life of Crime
Black Mass tells the true-life story of James “Whitey” Bulger as he transforms from a small-time crook to the crime kingpin of South Boston. It also tells the story of one of Bulger’s friends growing up, John Connolly, and his return to South Boston as a mid-level FBI agent. Their relationship makes up the bulk…
The Boot 9/30-10/7
Over the past several months, we’ve noticed a change in the air. No, it’s not the arrival of autumn, but the growing number of Confederate flags billowing in the breeze. From an impromptu summertime demonstration of cars and trucks decked out in the “rebel” flag, to now, local high school students flying it on school…
Film Events 9/30-9/7
Wild and Scenic Film Festival The Oregon Natural Desert Association’s eighth annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival has arrived. The festival presents an evening of short films showcasing the natural wonders we can take for granted in our busy lives. While also having films highlighting athleticism, bravery, courage, and activism, the festival truly has something…
Letters 9/30-10/7
WHITEWATER PROJECT DOESN’T HOLD WATER With all the congratulations and backslapping after the [Bend Whitewater Park] spillway project opened, for many, it was a bit of a disappointment. In every photo of the proposed completed project—including the 6-foot by 8-foot photo at the McKay site—the “floater’s passage” is shown as calm flat water channel, wide…
Hometown Hero
Sometimes, the real gems are buried beneath the headliners. That’s the case at the upcoming Bend Fall Festival, where one of the most interesting acts is slated not for the end-of-evening slot, but instead is opening the main stage on Saturday. Bend native Sara Jackson-Holman—who shot from total unknown to the national spotlight after someone…
Fight for Your Right to Party
As Bend’s oldest neighborhoods continue to grow and adapt, not all of those changes are welcome. One such growing pain is emerging in the Old Bend Neighborhood, where the Riverside Market and Pub’s popular patio scene is rubbing some neighbors the wrong way. Once a corner store of sorts, Riverside Market still has a convenience…
Surrealistic Fellows
Hot Tuna could easily be described as legendary, but the often-overused word hardly contains what Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady have meant to music over the last half-century. As members of Jefferson Airplane, with Kaukonen on lead guitar and Casady on bass, they helped define psychedelic rock—a definition that hasn’t changed much since its inception.…
Side Notes 9/30-9/17
On Monday, October 5, Dr. Walidah Imarisha visits Bend as part of the Oregon Humanities Conversation Project, giving a presentation on the stories and struggles of African-American communities in Oregon. Imarisha has taught Black Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Portland State University and Oregon State University and frequently speaks on the history…
Source Suggests 9/30-10/7
Bond & Bentley Calling all Phish Phans, Dead Heads, and general jam band enthusiasts! Bond & Bentley, who hail all the way from Maryland, bring their indie rock meets soul, funk, and blues jam band sound to the Volcanic Theatre. The band combines a variety of styles to create an accessible and fun sound. Bond…
Picks 9/30-10/7
thursday 1 Author! Author! BOOKS—To begin its fourth year of bringing top-notch authors to Bend, Author! Author! welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Timothy Egan. Egan’s novel, The Worst Hard Time, about survivors of the Dust Bowl, was a National Book Award winner. Egan will discuss his current work, his writing process, and literature in general. 7…
Making sense of what’s legal Oct. 1
There are many paradoxes in cannabis law. The biggest, of course, is the federal government’s policy that cannabis is “dangerous” and “has no medicinal value” and the state’s policy, courtesy of the people, that cannabis may be used as medicine and may be otherwise consumed without substantial harm. Our local paradox, which we discussed last…
Beer Festival of the Gods
It’s seven on a Friday night and the scene around the Deschutes Brewery pub is one of controlled chaos. People from Bend and beyond line up to try some of the new brews off the pilot system, including a smoked gose, a sour Belgian-style quadruple ale, and a variant of Black Butte Porter aged in…
Familiar Faces
Walking into Sargent’s Café is like stepping into a scene from “That ’70s Show.” Wood paneling, amber glass dividers, and burnt orange pleather booths lend a warm but retro feeling. The walls are speckled with photos of wildlife and western scenes on shiny lacquered wood, including a copy of the “Indian Ten Commandments.” Attentive wait…
Art Watch 9/30-9/7
The seasons are changing in Central Oregon, sometimes violently swinging between intense summerlike heat waves and raging winter storms, with moments of calm that resemble the mild autumn season: bluebird skies, warm sunny days, and chilly evenings. At some point during the past few weeks, or perhaps only the past few days, the leaves have…
