We’re already a third of the way through 2026 and the movies that have made big money have been the usual suspects (“Super Mario Galaxy” and “Scream 7”) with some word-of-mouth crowdpleasers (“Project Hail Mary” and “Send Help”) and a viral micro-budget horror movie with a massive YouTube fanbase (“Iron Lung”). But several pretty great […]
Under the Radar Picks for 2026
Posted inCulture Features
Celebrate the Power of Books and Bookstores on Independent Bookstore Day2
I travelled to Phoenix last week and my seven-year-old niece was so excited to tell me about the book she’s reading in school: “The Trumpet of the Swan.” Then she sat down and read a book with me, swapping pages back and forth. The last time I saw her she wasn’t reading fluently, yet there […]
Posted inRestaurant Guide
Food Cart of the Year: NorthFresh Sushi
You’d be forgiven for assuming that local sushi chef Jeff Berneski has it all figured out. Source readers, after all, voting in the 2021 Best Of Central Oregon contest, elected Berneski’s NorthFresh Sushi Best Rookie Food Cart. And Berneski had only just relocated to Central Oregon the year before. And this year, NorthFresh is also […]
Posted inRestaurant Guide
What It Takes to Run a Restaurant Right Now in Central Oregon
Running a restaurant in Central Oregon in 2026 is not for the faint of heart; by nearly every account, it’s harder than it has ever been. But the ones who make it work are rewriting the rules in real time. “Hands down the most difficult challenge in operating restaurants right now is trying to make […]
Posted inRestaurant Guide
Rookie Restaurant of the Year: Ken’s Artisan Pizza
I’ve been dreaming about the next time I can go to Ken’s Artisan Pizza for at least the last 15 years, so it feels odd now to be naming it the Rookie of the Year. But many will already know that those two things can co-exist, because Ken’s has been a world-renowned pizzeria in east […]
Posted inRestaurant Guide
Rookie Food Cart of the Year: The Dominican
Robert De Los Santos’ love language is serving someone up a delicious plate of food. He’s been that way since his days growing up in the countryside of the Dominican Republic, where it’s customary for people to have a meal ready for anyone who might happen to walk in the door. The love behind the […]
Posted inRestaurant Guide
Restaurant of the Year: Sen Thai Noodles & Hot Pot
Several things make Sen a remarkable dining experience, but it’s the combination of all of them that solidifies it as the Source’s restaurant of the year. First among everything, as delicious and groundbreaking as the food is, the hospitality is what is immediately apparent. There is a genuine warmth to the staff that makes Sen not just a destination location in Bend, but reminds […]
Posted inLocal News
Bend Compiles Traffic Crash Data for New Safety Plan
Bend is in the process of compiling five years of traffic crash data to help inform future safety plans and wants the public to help point out problem areas. The City of Bend launched a new survey and an interactive comment map for people to say which areas they think need safety improvements and share challenges of traveling around Bend. More than 800 people have already […]
Posted inCulture
Free Will Astrology, Week of April 23
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’re finished with energy-draining indulgences. No more seductive perils or cute ailments, either. Once you wriggle free from the tangles that have been hobbling your style, I suspect you will also renounce anything that resembles joyless restraint, naive certainties, pointless cravings, numbing comforts or misplaced bravery. May it be so! Abracadabra! […]
Posted inMusic
Fern Spores Tours the Pacific Northwest
After leaving her partner, homestead and job in Idaho and moving to Olympia, Washington, Alyssa Nunke desired only one thing: start an explicitly all-female band. The strategy was simple. Host an open mic night. Listen for potential members. Rinse. Repeat. And it worked, perfectly. On just her fourth night she struck gold in the form of Jade Kovatz, the other frontrunner of the band. The rest of the femme-folk-rock band Fern Spores members […]