The Bend Area
Bend is at the center of one of the
fastest-growing regions in Oregon. The main draw is the unchangeable
natural beauty of mountains, pines, rivers, and lakes in this high desert
community. You want to play? Try fishing, hiking, biking, boating, rock
climbing, skiing, horseback riding, rafting, kayaking, snowshoeing,
golfing, camping—name your hobby and it’s probably within a 40-minute drive or less. Winter or summer, Bend’s location on the eastern
side of the Cascades makes for mostly sunny days and an active, outdoor
population.
“Bend is a great place to raise kids” is a recurrent phrase of Bend
residents. The Bend-La Pine public schools offer excellent
educational programs in traditional and alternative formats through
their magnet schools. Private schools and home schools have a wide and
growing community base as well. Higher educational institutions in Bend
include Central Oregon Community College and the Oregon State
University—Cascades Campus. Other colleges also have extension programs
available at these facilities. Both Redmond and Bend have diverse
park and recreation programs with strong volunteer participation and
community support for adult and children's programs.
 At a population of
more than 75,000, Bend residents enjoy numerous community and cultural
events year-round. The Cascade Festival of Music, the Sisters
Folk Festival, the Sunriver Music Festival offer classical, jazz, pop, ethnic, and folk music. Local theater groups
regularly perform traditional and innovative plays, and local artists
display their works in studios and art walks. Big-name concerts, monster
trucks, and rodeos are a typical mix of events held at the Deschutes
County Fair and Expo Center in Redmond. The
Wells Fargo Bend Summer
Concert Series attracts top-name performers to the Les Schwab
Amphitheater for outdoor concerts, featuring such stars as Ben Harper,
Jack Johnson, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Lyle Lovett, and Pink Martini.
Each fall, the internationally acclaimed
BendFilm Festival transforms the
town. In 2005, BendFilm featured more than 60 films on four screens, filmmaking
lectures, parties, and special events for an audience of more than 11,000
patrons of alternative cinema. |
