Arts & Culture Clips

Stepping Up Sexual Abuse Prevention Measures

click to enlarge With stories of gun violence in schools splashed across the Internet, newspapers and television screens, it is hard to escape the feeling that you are alone in the effort to protect your children-especially when they are not in your care.

On the Ascent

“See a need, fill a need” seems like a common sense approach to starting a new business. Yet Lizzie VanPatten, co-founder of She Moves Mountains, knew it would take more than her belief in the need for better female representation in the climbing world to get her passion project off the ground.

The Best Cozy Cafes In Portland | Domino

Traveling to Portland soon and want to take advantage of the city’s coffee culture? We’ve narrowed down a list of the best cozy cafes in Portland. For more travel tips, head to Domino.

Birth, the Play

hen a woman steps into a birthing environment and does not feel safe, we are letting her down. When a woman steps into a birthing environment and has to fight for her health care practitioners to honor her body’s wisdom, we are letting her down,” says Shanti O’Connor, a local producer bringing “Birth,” a play by BOLD founder and playwright Karen Brody, to Bend beginning Nov.

#MeToo

On Oct. 15, two words dominated social media feeds after actress Alyssa Milano made a simple request. In response to a suggestion from a friend, she tweeted, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” The intention was to give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.

The Wonders of Flight

The Balloons Over Bend Children’s Festival is a time-tested tradition that brings the community together to witness the wonder of hot air balloon flight, all while raising money for its most vulnerable members. This year’s event launches with the colorful orbs at sunrise July 28, and continues through the weekend with the Children’s Festival, the Balloon Blast Kids Race and the awe-inspiring Night Glow.

The Change Makers

Local entrepreneurs are doing big things in the tech world, and some of them are even winning cash awards for their efforts. The 2016 Bend Venture Conference handed out over $3,755,000 in funding-a new record for Oregon angel conferences-and some of Central Oregon’s innovators were among the winners.

The Dreamers

New businesses pop up year-round in Central Oregon. A special few conceptualize and produce their products locally. Even fewer sell their merchandise with the intention of effecting positive change. The following innovators stand out from the crowd with a vision that goes beyond selling goods.

The Art of the Brick Comes to OMSI

LEGOS. They provide your little builders with hours of entertainment while you sneak in some down time. They are also responsible for one of the funniest animated family movies of all time. And now, until May 29 your family will have the opportunity to be inspired by them as appear on display in the form of fantastical sculptures at OMSI’s new The Art of the Brick exhibit.

Achievement Unlocked! Tech Moms Leading the Way

This tech-minded mom started and runs a nonprofit called MotherCoders that helps other mothers get the tech skills they need to thrive in a new economy. Only five years after launching, MotherCoders has run 6 classes and propelled 34 women into technical careers.

Power to the People: Portland Moms Who Slay Every Day

If someone had told Joy that she would become a vocal advocate for the transgender community 10 years ago, she would have responded with, “What does transgender mean?” But over the last eight years, she learned firsthand what it meant while watching her brave child grow and develop her sense of self, which meant transitioning to a new name (Ella) and different pronouns as she became Joy’s daughter.

Let’s Talk it Out

If there’s one thing people can agree on, it’s that the 2016 election revealed a divided nation. With little to no sign of closing anytime soon, many are looking for a way to bridge the chasm that exists between social and political circles.

Combating Violence Against Women with Art

click to enlarge In 1994, playwright Eve Ensler broke new ground with the play, “The Vagina Monologues.” What started out as a piece of art aimed at addressing women’s sexuality and the social stigma surrounding rape and abuse spawned the non-profit organization V-Day-an activist movement that works to end violence against women and girls by raising funds and awareness through benefit productions of “The Vagina Monologues” and other works.

A Tower Christmas: A New Holiday Tradition

If you’ve been looking for a new holiday tradition your family can call its own, the Tower Theatre Foundation is ready to deliver. click to enlarge Dec. 21-23, the foundation will present its annual variety show called, “A Tower Christmas: Holiday Wonderland.”

Should You or Shouldn’t You?

It’s Christmas morning. Your entire extended family-including your parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even cousins whose names you can’t remember- have traveled great distances to come together and celebrate. You have prepared yourself in advance by perfecting the appearance of the natural looking smile and rehearsing the ever-enthusiastic “Thank you!”

Cozy Up with a Good Book: “A Novel Idea” gets everyone on the same page

Need a good read to cuddle up with as the winter weather hits? For the 13th year in a row, the Deschutes Public Library Foundation is offering “A Novel Idea…Read Together,” the program based on a single book, designed to bring residents together for an ongoing cultural learning experience. On Dec.

Local Storytellers Take a Risk “To Tell The Truth…”

Some say variety is the spice of life. In Central Oregon, Two Twisted Sisters Productions is aiming to prove that true-especially when it comes to live theater. Their second installment of “To Tell The Truth-a Gathering of Local Storytellers” hits the stage at the Old Stone Church Nov.

Counting Women In

This past September, for the first time in 20 years, the Women’s Foundation of Oregon released Count Her In-a comprehensive, data-driven report about Oregon’s women and girls. The findings were sobering and revealed inequities that pose immense challenges for girls and women in the state.

Dust off Your Dancing Shoes

The first of six winter dance events in Bend kicked off Oct. 29. The monthly event at the Marcoulier Ballroom features a variety of styles of music performed by a live band. It’s designed to appeal to everyone who has any level of interest in dancing, from those who are curious about dancing to dancers who have been hitting the floor for years.

A New Partnership

The Deschutes Cultural Coalition (DCC), part of the Oregon Cultural Trust, has announced the Arts and Culture Alliance of Central Oregon (ACA) as its new fiscal sponsor. The DCC provides grant opportunities to arts and culture nonprofits located throughout Deschutes County. Up until it closed late last August, Arts Central was in charge of handling fiscal sponsorship.

Counting Her In

According to a recent report from the Women’s Foundation of Oregon, an estimated one million Oregon women and girls have experienced some form of sexual or domestic violence. Meanwhile, working Oregonian women earn between 53 and 83 cents for every dollar men in Oregon earn, making for one of the largest wealth gaps in the nation.

A Picture of What is Possible

For many people, retirement means hunkering down with family and spending long afternoons fishing or traveling to places they’ve always dreamed of seeing. For ReachAnother Foundation’s (RAF) Founder and Board President Marinus H. Koning, MD, FACS, it meant working even harder to improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable citizens.

A Jazz Room with a View

Mt. Bachelor Riverhouse Jazz is on the brink of launching its new seven-month long series, which will feature the likes of Mel Brown, Ravi Coltrane, Benny Green, and the Yellowjackets. Two shows will run one weekend each month from October 2016 to April 2017, giving both visiting and local music lovers the opportunity to experience high-end jazz at the new jazz club inside the recently renovated Riverhouse on the Deschutes.

The Art of Beer

On Sept. 26, Deschutes Brewery’s iconic holiday beer Jubelale went on tap. For locals, it marks the beginning of the holiday season. While most look forward to its arrival for the beer’s signature layered seasonal flavors, the local artwork displayed on its label each year is another part of what makes the brew beloved by so many.

Drink Like a Scientist

Who says our Beer Issue has to be all about drinking beer in a vacuum of nonsense small talk? If you like drinking beer while watching “How It’s Made” or reruns of “Myth Busters,” then you need to attend a local Science Pub.

Sharing the Language of Art

With the sudden closure of Arts Central and art spaces like Armature at The Old Ironworks Arts District, many are concerned about the local community’s ability to sustain the arts in Bend. One local artist is doing her best to address the issue by teaching the language of art to as many people as she can reach.

Filling the Art Education Gap

On August 19, Arts Central closed its doors-leaving a giant gap in Central Oregon’s arts education offerings and services. The Art Station was an Arts Central program-one of many Arts Central programs the community had come to depend on for afterschool and summer options for their children.

Made on Planet Earth, Celebrated in Central Oregon

Now in its 10th year, the annual Festival of Cultures event offers Central Oregonians the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the array of cultures that inhabit the High Desert, and to witness diversity grow. When asked about the goal for the Festival of Cultures, committee chair Margie Gregory says, “Maybe we’re redefining culture.”

Back Again & Better Than Ever

For the last 25 years, Central Oregon residents have been ushering in the arrival of autumn with the Bank of the Cascades Bend Fall Festival. This year it’s back again, and along with this much loved tradition comes three days of free music, fine art, delicious food, and an array of seasonal contests and family activities.

Sewn in Central Oregon: Bryar Wolf

Love makes people do crazy things: move more than halfway across the country, take risks, go after big dreams. That’s exactly what it did to Katie and Ross Lipson, co-owners of Bryar Wolf -a wildly successful startup that began selling hand-made pillows in Bend just five months ago and has recently expanded its sales to several states across the nation.

A History of Music

Imagine convincing professional musicians to audition for an orchestra that offers three major concerts per season, plays them three times each, and does it all for free. Now imagine accomplishing such a feat 50 years in a row. The Central Oregon Symphony (COS) has been doing just that-and aims to continue doing it.

Art on the Walls

If you make it beautiful, they will come. That’s what Douglas Robertson, founder of the High Desert Mural Festival (HDMF), believes. Unfortunately, a quirk in the wording of the Oregon Constitution is restricting where the event can display its art-a hurdle Robertson is hopeful will soon be overcome.

Broadway Revisited

Though it debuted more than 40 years ago, “A Chorus Line” remains both entertaining and relevant to today’s theater-goers. Given the increasingly competitive job market-with application processes that often feel like Broadway tryouts- Shore Thing Productions’ take on the award-winning musical aims to resonate with modern-day audiences.

Into the Dark

Take a look at most prints from before Japan’s introduction to the West and you’ll likely find them quite pale and muted. But with the opening of Japan to the West and the introduction of different dyes, all that changed. If you want to see the contrast for yourself, start at the A6 Studio & Gallery in Bend starting Sept.

Central Oregon Loses Its Home for the Arts

On Friday, Aug. 19, Arts Central -the hub for arts education and advocacy services in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties-closed its doors due to lack of funding. Local art students of all ages and financial means will feel the impact of the loss of the beloved nonprofit that provided hands-on learning opportunities to the community for over 40 years.