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🦦 Visit the otters for free

🦦 Visit the otters for free

Free day at the High Desert Museum, Children's Museum pop-up event, and more flights coming between Bend & Portland

Derek Carlson
January 24, 2025

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Bend! We hope you all can get out and enjoy another sunny weekend in Central Oregon.

In today’s Bend Buzz:

🦦 Free day at the High Desert Museum
✈️ More flights to Portland starting this spring
🪀 Children’s Museum pop-up this weekend

Let’s get to it.

— Derek Carlson

SNAPSHOTS

🦫 Free family day at the High Desert Museum

We rarely need an excuse to spend an afternoon at the High Desert Museum, but if you’ve been looking for one, then Saturday is your day. The museum will be open from 10 AM - 4 PM, and entrance is FREE for everyone. Kids get in free. Adults get in free. Everyone gets in for free! So swing by and watch the otters play, check out their latest exhibits, and learn a little about the high desert while you’re at it!

🛫 More flights coming for Bend → Portland

Starting in May, Alaska Airlines is increasing the number of daily flights between Bend & Portland to three. Previously, it had been one or two flights per day, so this should make getting from Bend to far-off destinations a little easier.

Despite the weather feeling downright spring-like lately, we’re still deep in the midst of winter. But that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start thinking about summer camps for the kiddos. One of the area’s most popular summer camp options, the High Desert Museum Kids Camp, is opening up their lottery TODAY for the chance to sign up for one of their coveted spots. The signup period for the lottery runs through February 3rd at midnight.

While we’re on the subject of summer camps, I’ll be rolling out a Central Oregon summer camp guide in the coming weeks so parents can start planning out their summer ahead.

BUSINESS HAPPENINGS

🛝 Children’s Museum pop-up event: If you’re as excited as we are about the opening of a Children’s Museum in Bend, then you won’t want to miss their pop-up event happening this weekend at the Hanai Center. The event runs Saturday & Sunday from 9 AM to 3 PM.

🏬 Victoria’s Secret shutting down their Old Mill location: After a 20-year run at their Old Mill location, it has been confirmed that Victoria’s Secret will be leaving at the end of February. There is no word yet on who will be moving in to take their place.

@THEBENDBUZZ

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TOGETHER WITH APOGEE BEND

🎒A new school for the next generation of leaders

Two weeks ago, we introduced you to Apogee, a new school opening this fall in Bend—and wow, the response was incredible! The excitement for a program that fosters leadership, independence, health, and wellness has been off the charts.

If you’re searching for a school that prioritizes kids over curriculum, where students work together in a collaborative environment, and older students help guide the younger ones toward success, Apogee might just be the perfect fit.

Curious to learn more? Reach out to the founders, Jenna and Sean, or sign up for their next informational session happening in February!

LOCAL LOWDOWN

Friday (1/24)

🎥 Free movie night at the Tower Theatre: The Deschutes Library is bringing a free movie night to the Tower Theatre with a showing of Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban. Reserve your seats and bring the family for an evening at Hogwarts. 6 PM Tower Theatre

🍋 Fresh squeezed trivia: Useless Knowledge Bowl is hosting a special version of fresh squeezed trivia at the Deschutes tasting room. Play to win, and you may go home with some juicy prizes. 5 PM 921 SW Colorado Ave

🐶 Pints and pups: What’s better than heading out with friends on a Friday night? How about knowing that $1 from every beer sold goes to helping Street Dog Hero and getting to hang with some cute, adoptable puppers! 4 - 7 PM Beach Hut Deli

🛹 Game of S.K.A.T.E.: Board House Bend, the group working to bring an indoor skate facility to Central Oregon, is hosting a game of S.K.A.T.E. at Silver Moon Brewing. The bracket is set, so come see who can kickflip their way to the crown. 6 PM Silver Moon Brewing

⛷️ Backcountry Film Festival: Head over to the Volcanic Theatre Pub for the 20th(!!) annual Backcountry Film Festival. The flakes may not be falling at the mountain right now, but there will be plenty on the big screen! 7 PM Volcanic Theatre Pub

🤣 Comedy night at Hosmer Bar: Need an evening of laughs after a long week? Head over to Hosmer Bar for an evening of comedy with Fred Pagliacci and Tylor Jones. 7 PM 1415 NE 3rd St

Saturday (1/25)

📘 Family story time: Need a low-key (and free!) way to get the kids out of the house this weekend? How about a morning of story time at the East Bend Library? Kids ages 0 - 5 are invited for a session of storytelling, songs, and rhymes while parents can finish their morning coffee. 9:30 AM East Bend Library

🌮 Bend foodies meet & greet: Join Jon Jones of Bend Foodies for a meet and greet at Tacos El Manchin. Make sure to bring some non-perishable items as the first five folks who donate will receive a $25 gift card to Bend Pizza Kitchen. 5 - 8 PM 2570 NE Twin Knolls Dr

🐿️ Wildlife tracking snowshoe adventure: Think Wild is hosting a guided snowshoe tour from the Mount Bachelor Nordic Center, where you will learn to track and identify the animals that call this winter wonderland home. 9 AM - 2 PM Mount Bachelor Nordic Center

⚪️ Ball pit comedy show: Want to take part in a comedy show with a twist? Craft Kitchen & Brewing is hosting a ball pit comedy night where the audience can (gently) toss ball pit balls at the comedians as they deliver their punchlines. 8 - 9:30 PM 62988 Layton Ave

👩‍🌾 Get the garden ready: There may still be snow on Black Butte, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start planning for the gardening season ahead. The Central Oregon Master Gardeners are hosting two events focusing on (1) seed sowing & transplanting and (2) growing vegetables in Central Oregon. The classes are currently full, but you can still sign up for the waitlist, and the group will be hosting more of these classes in February (scroll to the bottom of the page at the links above). 10 AM - 12 PM & 1 PM - 3 PM 2051 NW Shevlin Park Rd

🎹 Piano flow at Mt. Bachelor: Did you miss out on the last candlelit ski concert at Meissner? Well, here’s your chance to make amends and listen to the music from pianist Paula Dreyer while gliding along candlelit trails at Mount Bachelor. 5 PM & 7 PM Mount Bachelor Nordic Center

Sunday (1/26)

🤝 Volunteer expo: Looking for volunteer opportunities around town this winter? The Downtown Library is hosting a volunteer expo where you can meet with local organizations looking for individuals who want to make a positive impact on the community. 10 AM - 1 PM Downtown Bend Library

🔢 Not’cho grandma’s bingo: It’s Sunday, which means it’s time for one of Bend’s most popular bingo events. 9:30 AM - 12 PM Silver Moon Brewing

🐇 Rabbit hide tanning workshop: Tap into your wild side by joining Nighthawk Naturalist for a rabbit hide tanning workshop. They will walk you through all the steps to make your own stretched, tanned, and smoked rabbit hide. 9 AM Lucky Six Ranch

🌞 How to make a solar system: Want to get off grid and hit the road but still need to charge those camera batteries so you can document everything on TikTok along the way? School of Ranch is holding a class on building your own solar system for trailers and RVs. 10 AM

🍵 Mom friend speed dating: Want to make some new mom friends but don’t know any good pickup lines? Then the mom-friend “speed dating” event at Bevel Brewing is just the ticket. 2 - 4 PM Bevel Brewing

LIVE MUSIC

Friday (1/24)

Saturday (1/25)

Sunday (1/26)

WEEKEND SNOW REPORT

Here we are with another week gone by, and aside from a short blip today, the forecast is sunny for as far as the eye can see. Not that we can complain too much, as there is nothing wrong with endless bluebird days up on the mountain. A little snowy refresher every now and then would be nice, though!

Bachelor Snow Forecast

Current base: 96”

🌨️ Friday - Chance of snow
☀️ Saturday - Sunny & Cold
☀️ Sunday - Sunny & Cold

Meissner Trail Report

Current report: The grooming crews at Meissner continue to churn out wonderful groom despite the lack of snow over the past few weeks. While this isn’t always welcome news for those who don’t love fast conditions, it’s better than rain!

Wanoga Fat Bike Trail Report

The fat bike trails at Wanoga are in prime condition right now with fast, hard surfaces. There have been a number of reports of folks taking advantage of this hardpacked snow by riding the groomed snow machine (snowmobile for you non-Alaskans) trail well up into the Three Sisters Wilderness!

THANKS!

Stay warm, and thank you again for reading!

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🦦 Visit the otters for free

Free day at the High Desert Museum, Children's Museum pop-up event, and more flights coming between Bend & Portland

SPONSORED BY AUSTIN BUSKOHL REAL ESTATE

SNAPSHOTS

🦫 Free family day at the High Desert Museum

🛫 More flights coming for Bend → Portland

🏕️ Summer camp sign-up season begins

BUSINESS HAPPENINGS

@THEBENDBUZZ

TOGETHER WITH APOGEE BEND

LOCAL LOWDOWN

Friday (1/24)

Saturday (1/25)

Sunday (1/26)

LIVE MUSIC

Friday (1/24)

Saturday (1/25)

Sunday (1/26)

WEEKEND SNOW REPORT

Bachelor Snow Forecast

Meissner Trail Report

Wanoga Fat Bike Trail Report

THANKS!