Festivals
The Sunriver Resort welcomes the holiday season with a Grand Illumination festival each November.
Grand Illumination at Sunriver
Many of the big resorts in Central Oregon celebrate the holidays with sleigh rides, Santa visits and more. But Sunriver’s Grand Illumination is a particularly sparkly way to start the season, with fireworks, train rides, sleigh rides, a grand tree lighting and live music. The Oregon Observatory will have its telescopes on hand for viewing after dark. And, of course, Kris Kringle will put in an appearance.
DETAILS » The free fun runs from noon to 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at Sunriver Resort, 17600 Center Drive, Sunriver; sunriverresort.com.
Winterfest
This fire and ice extravaganza is a winter tradition in Bend. Ice carvers transform 600-pound blocks of ice into art before your eyes, and the banks of the Deschutes River are illuminated by fire pits and light sculptures.
A wine walk ($25) kicks things off on Friday evening. And all weekend, food and drink pavilions offer up some of the best of Bend. Last year’s lineup included suds from the Deschutes
Brewery, sips from Avid Cider and Crater Lake cocktails, and bites from Scout Post, Dump City Dumplings and more.
Enjoy live music, sled on the 10 Barrel Rail Jam Truck and explore the family play zone, where OMSI — the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry — mans a science tent. Don’t miss the 5K and 10K Royal Run, billed as an “adventure obstacle course,” and the Kids Hot Cocoa Run, which sends little ones dashing from station to station to scoop up ingredients for the perfect cup of cocoa.
DETAILS » Winterfest runs Feb. 15-17. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the gate — and they’re included when you purchase wine walk, 5K, 10K or Hot Cocoa Run passes, which run $15$35. Old Mill District, Bend; oregonwinterfest.com.
But wait, there’s more ...
First Friday Art Walk: 5:30-10 p.m. Friday and Dec. 7, downtown Bend. Stroll the streets, browse galleries and artist events, enjoy live music and pop into the bustling cafes and bars. www. downtownbend.org
Bend Ale Festival: Nov. 10, Northwest Crossing, Bend. Leave it to Bend to combine a half-marathon and 10K event, which starts at 10 a.m., with a race-ending beer festival that runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and features 20 local craft breweries. $20 tasting
package includes 10 tasting tokens. bendalefestival.com
Old Fashioned Christmas Market: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 12, Deschutes County Fairgrounds, 3800 S.W. Airport Way, Redmond. Browse the arts, crafts, food and gift booths at this nostalgic, indoor holiday market. Enjoy live entertainment, holiday movie screenings and a candy land maze that leads to Santa. $5 plus a canned good donation for the Redmond Food Bank, Salem’s Marion Polk Food Share and a food bank in Lodi. www. centraloregonshows.com
Jazz at the Oxford: Nov. 16-March 16, Oxford Hotel, 10 N.W. Minnesota Ave., Bend. The ninth annual BendBroadband jazz series brings artists such as Kat Edmonson and Paul Taylor to the hotel’s intimate stage. $47$50. www.oxfordhotelbend.com Bend Christmas Parade: Noon Dec. 1, downtown Bend. Kick off the holiday season with a parade of marching bands, floats and, of course, Santa sightings. Blacklight Blast: 6-8 p.m. on six Saturday evenings from Nov. 24-Feb. 16, Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic and Recreation Center, 57250 Overlook Road, Sunriver. Sunriver’s illuminated tubing hill is the venue for this crazy-fun blacklight and glow stick event, held regardless of weather. The tubing run is made with a plastic NevPlast that creates downhill thrills with or without snow. $12. www.sunriversharc.com/ wintertubing