Every year, BendFilm gives independent filmmakers the exposure they deserve—even if those filmmakers are still in grade school. Now in its 11th year, the Future Filmmaker Festival coincides with the Bend Film Festival and celebrates the talent of young Central Oregon artists. It gives contributors the opportunity to share their talent and receive recognition and […]
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A Rock and Roll Heart
Trampled By Turtles has a bluegrass surface with rock and roll infused in every note. Straight out of Duluth, Minn., the band has released eight albums since 2004 and continues to evolve with each one. The band's most recent record, “Wild Animals” (2014), is more relaxed and haunting than what came before, and easily the […]
Flying Old School
In today’s modern commercial aircraft, flying can be a relatively boring experience. Being cramped in a narrow seat with only a small window to look out of isn’t particularly adventurous. Luckily, Central Oregon thrill-seekers have a chance to fly boldly like the pilots of old. With the Erickson Aircraft Collection at Sunriver Resort, budding aviators […]
This Dog and Pony Show Doesn’t Play on Repeat
Band Of Horses singer/guitarist Ben Bridwell can promise a couple of things to people who come to see the group in concert Aug. 22 in Bend. First off, expect the unexpected. ”One thing that I do like about this band is, I don’t know that we’ve ever played the same set list twice,” Bridwell said in an early August […]
Natural World: Crab Spiders
It’s that time of year, dear ones, for garden lovers to be on the lookout for the local crabs that hang out in your flowers. Well, not real “crabs,” but crab spiders, who are masters at camouflage. Look for it in the photo provided; it’s perched right there among the stamens, a forward pair of […]
Reefer Madness
Even though there is a metaphoric mountain of evidence that cannabis can treat several serious medical conditions, the Obama administration’s Drug Enforcement Administration has again declined to loosen restrictions on the drug. Currently, cannabis is treated the same as heroin and LSD under federal law, which states that cannabis has “no currently accepted medical use […]
Side Notes 8/17-8/24
City Dollars Fill Pothole Funding Gap In March, Bend voters rejected the gas tax that could have paid for pothole repairs—so to fill the gaps, the City is stepping up. According to David Abbas, Director of the Bend Streets & Operations Department, the City is using street preservation dollars from next year’s budget to fill […]
It’s Time to Retire the Wild West Governance Model in Bend
Back in August 1876, Seth Bullock arrived in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, a mere one day before Wild Bill Hickok was killed while playing cards in a saloon. That quintessential Wild-West shooting prompted the local community to appoint Bullock the first Sheriff of Deadwood, right on the spot. No election, no community input. That was just […]
Bringing Back the Floodplain
It’s being touted as one of the most “significant restoration efforts in the American west,” and it’s taking place right in our backyards. Reconstruction efforts got underway this month on a 1.5-mile stretch of Whychus Creek, a part of the Whychus Canyon Preserve owned by the Deschutes Land Trust. The effort is part of a […]
Head in the Clouds
There is this running narrative in Disney films that seems to say that adventure in life is OK, but only for a bit. Then you have to cut your hair, go to school and stop wearing a loincloth all day and get prepared for student loans, mortgages and death. “Pete’s Dragon” isn’t necessarily trying to […]

