☄️ Did you see the comet?

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Bend! Here’s a refreshing breeze of cool events and news from around the high desert.

In today’s Bend Buzz:

• 📽️ Bend Film Fest winners announced

• 💻️ Bend Venture Conference kicks off

• ☘️ A whole host of plant-themed events

Let’s get to it.

— Derek Carlson

SPONSORED BY CRICKET FIXES!

The Sober Curious Path: Discover the Magic of Alcohol-Free Living

October is here, and that means that, in addition to it being spooky season, it is also #soberoctober. In recent newsletters, we have highlighted the openings of two new mocktail bars catering to the growing number of Central Oregonians who are choosing to live an alcohol-free life.

If you’ve been curious about cutting alcohol from your life, Cricket Fixes is hosting an open, shame-free, and supportive workshop designed to help you understand the reasons behind why we drink and provide support on how to navigate an alcohol-free life. 

The workshop takes place on Thursday, October 24th, from 6:30 - 8:30 PM, and Cricket has generously offered a 39% off discount code for the first ten people who sign up.

Sign up here to take the first steps in your alcohol-free journey, and use the code BUZZ to get that 39% off discount.

SNAPSHOTS

📽️ Bend Film Fest Winners

The 21st annual Bend Film Festival came to a close on Sunday with a final sendoff and announcement of this year’s winners. Here is a list of the awards, with full writeups on the films available on the Bend Film Fest website.

• Best Narrative Feature: Goodbye Julia

• Special Jury Award for a Narrative Feature: 4PM

• Best Director for a Narrative Feature: Kelsey Taylor, To Kill A Wolf

• Best Cinematography for a Narrative Feature: Juan Pablo Ramirez, La Cocina

• Best Documentary Feature: Mediha

• Best Director of a Documentary Feature: Hasan Oswald, Mediha

• Best Environmental/Outdoor Feature: !AITSA

• Best Editing for a Documentary Feature: Editor Katrina Taylor, director Alix Blair, and the entire team behind Helen and the Bear

• Best Indigenous Feature: Sugarcane

• Best Indigenous Short: Lea Tupu’anga / Mother Tongue

• Best Narrative Short: The Voice of Others

• Best Animated Short: On the 8th Day

• Best Documentary Short: I Am Ready Warden

• Special Jury Award for Personal Storytelling (Documentary Short): Bad Hostage

• Best Northwest Short: Dream Creep

• Best Student Short: Bug Diner

• Best Music Video: Careful

🧑‍🎤 Sing your heart out

Voices Rising Community Choir is kicking off their fall season with an open call for community members who want to sing in a non-auditioning, non-performing, and friendly environment. Open sessions will be taking place on October 17th, 20th, and 24th and then regular sessions will continue into December on Thursdays and Sundays (you don’t have to attend both).

BUSINESS HAPPENINGS

🍔 A new bar and grill takes over the old Cabin 22 spot

Cassity’s Bar and Grill, a new venture by the owners of Hook and Plow, quietly opened up over the weekend in the space along Century Drive previously occupied by Cabin 22. Expect a limited menu as they work through their soft opening and push toward a grand opening date sometime in November.

@THEBENDBUZZ

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LOCAL LOWDOWN

Tuesday

🪴 Happy hour in the garden: Somehow, it is already the 3rd Tuesday of the month, which means this is THE LAST happy hour in the garden of the year 😢 But fear not, as you can make this the best one yet by getting the garden ready for its long winter nap and for another season of growing next year! 4 - 6 PM 16 NW Kansas Ave

🚿 Soil & water conservation open house: The Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District is holding an open house at Worthy Brewing to discuss how they are making a difference in the community. 5 - 8 PM 495 NE Bellevue Dr

🧑‍🌾 Bingo amongst the plants: In continuing on with our plant-themed event day, how about an evening of plant bingo in the greenhouse at Moonfire and Sun Garden Center? At only $5 a round and plant-themed prizes, this is a bingo event that will get the chlorophyll pumping. 6 - 8 PM 61944 SE 27th St

🖌️ Open house and art night in the forest room: The Hanai Foundation is hosting an open house at their East Bend center. The event is open to the public for an evening of yoga, meditation, art, or any other relaxing community activity of your choice. On top of that, a community art meetup will also take place alongside the open house, where you can work on art and connect with other local artists. Bring your own supplies for the art night. 4 - 7 PM (open house) 5 - 7 PM (art meetup) 62430 Eagle Rd

Wednesday

🍸️ Mixing up the dating scene: Bend’s newest alcohol-free cocktail bar, The Dez Lounge, is hosting a singles trivia night. So, if you’re ready to show off those trivia chops in front of your future Mr. or Mrs. Right, then don’t miss this event. 7 PM 643 NW Colorado Ave

📚️ Literary man of mystery: Now that summer is gone, it is time to curl up with some books, and what better way is there to share your enthusiasm for the latest mystery thriller than at the Mystery book club at Roundabout Books!? This month’s book du jour is The Conjure-Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher. 6 - 7 PM 900 NW Mt Washington Dr

🧑‍💼 Expand your professional network: The Bend Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Biz & Bevs night at RE/MAX Key Properties. Network, gather, and hear from the host and non-profit speakers. The event is free to Chamber members and $10 for everyone else. 6 PM 42 NW Greenwood Ave

😂 Comedy night at Jia: Jia Street Kitchen (which, if you haven’t tried it yet, is delicious) is bringing back their comedy night for an evening of laughs. The doors open at 7:30, but we’d recommend showing up early for dinner and then sticking around for the show. 7:30 - 9:30 PM 19570 Amber Meadow Dr

Thursday

💻️ Find the next great startup: The Bend Venture Conference is kicking off as hundreds of angel investors and entrepreneurs descend on the high desert. The event features live presentations, competitions, and plenty of networking opportunities. 10 AM - 7:30 PM

🧛 Dracula preview night: The Cascade Theatrical Company, in conjunction with the Deschutes Library, is offering a free preview night of their performance, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors. Seats are first come, first served, so get there early if you want in on this bone-chillingly good time. 7:30 - 10 PM 148 NW Greenwood Ave

🙋 Trivia night at Bridge 99: Head over to the north side of town to Bridge 99 Brewing for a night of trivia with Useless Knowledge Bowl Trivia. There is no fee to play, and prizes are awarded to the top teams. 6:30 PM 63063 Layton Ave

LIVE MUSIC

Tuesday

The Domino Room | Jade Bird | 8 PM | Tickets

Wednesday

Crosscut Warming Hut | Alex Winters | 6 - 8 PM
Silver Moon Brewing | Dirt Russell | 7- 10 PM | Tickets

Thursday

The Domino Room | Overtime | 8 PM | Tickets
River’s Place | Kurt Silva & Grace Cooper | 6 - 8 PM
McMenamins | Tony Smiley | 6 - 8 PM
The Lot | Skinny Dennis | 6 - 8 PM
Cascade Lakes Brewpub | Eric Leadbetter | 5:30 PM
The Cellar | The Ballybogs & Friends | 6 - 8 PM

BEND OUTDOOR REPORT

⛷️ These trails don’t maintain themselves

Don’t look now, but there is snow in the forecast for Dutchman Flats later this week. That means it's time to pull the skis out of storage and start thinking about those days on the slopes or, for fans of skinny skis, the trails.

We are blessed in Central Oregon to have an incredible network of cross-country ski trails right in our backyard, but maintaining them is a community effort. Every fall, volunteers put in hundreds of hours clearing brush, stacking firewood, and getting the trails ready for that first coating of snow.

If you’d like to get involved and help out with these volunteer efforts, there are numerous dates coming up to work on the trails alongside the fine folks at the Meissner Nordic Ski Club.

• 10/19 @ 9 AM - Trail Maintenance

• 10/24 @ 9 AM - Trail Maintenance

• 10/26 @ 9 AM - Trail Maintenance

• 11/2 @ 9 AM - Firewood Splitting & Stacking

Information about the volunteer opportunities and signups can be found here.

THANKS!

Stay cool, and thank you again for reading!

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