Central Oregon is getting ready for WinterFest. LibertyBank Bend, Les Schwab and Seventh Mountain Resort are getting ready to host WinterFest in downtown Bend starting Friday February 8th through Sunday February 10, 2008. The event center will be located in the area extending from Troy Field to the Library with additional events held at the Seventh Mountain Resort. The closest lodging to Mt. Bachelor in Oregon’s premier ski and snowboard area, the resort will also host a special ice skating performance and other winter activities. WinterFest attracted more than 40,000 visitors in 2007, and is expected to attract more residents and visitors this year. Created as a way to celebrate arts, culture and winter sports in Central Oregon. Seventh Mountain has festival packages available, with amenities such as 3 swimming pools, 3 hot tubs, a fitness center, and tennis and basketball courts. For reservations or information call 800-452-6810 or check out the Seventh Mountain website.

Beginning Friday evening, downtown bustles at the Winter Wine Hop with art, music, foods, and wine sampling. A fireworks show will kick off the weekend followed by entertainment in the festival center, cross country ski competition on Louisiana Street as well as the ever popular U.S. Cellular snowboard and ski rail jam competition on Troy Field.

Saturday, the festival is alive with family entertainment, including a fine food marketplace. The festival hub will feature ice carving competitions, more cross country ski racing and demos, art, and vendors. Later that evening is the ski and snowboard rail competition. The festival pavilion will be jammed with concert goers eager to hear a Northwest favorite, The Blakes.  A band based in Seattle, The Blakes have concert dates scheduled this winter throughout the entire west, from L.A. to Bozeman. They have a new CD out, and plans to tour Europe later in the year. They tell people who are new to their music:  “We don’t try to take the cool retro vibe to an extreme degree - we are as influenced by the Everly Brothers as the Kinks.” They recently opened for Blue October to a sold out crowd at Portland’s Crystal Ballroom. 

Sunday, the festival closes with a full day of activities including snow bicycle racing, shopping in the WinterFest Marketplace, delicious food at the food court as well as numerous children and family activities. The festival culminates with closing ceremonies and a drawing for the WinterFest grand prize — a trip to Hawaii. Admission to WinterFest is free. However, everyone is encouraged to buy a $6.00 WinterFest button for discounted admission into certain events. Buttons may be purchased at all LibertyBank and Les Schwab Tire Centers as well as various Bend locations. A portion of all button sales is donated to Girls Go Outside, a non profit organization based in Bend.  For a complete list of activities or more activities call 541-323-0964 or click on the WinterFest website.

Bend Scotch lovers will gather for Scotch Tasting Thursday at McMenamins Old St. Francis School on Jan. 24, 2008 starting at 7:00 PM. It’s a rare opportunity to sample six classic malts of Scotland. Admission is restricted to 21 and over; cost is $40.00. Reservations are required and should be made promptly. These spirited liquors go conspicuously well with cold, rainy and foggy weather. Old St. Francis School welcomes visitors and Bend regulars to warm up with a choice selection of scotches paired with a Scottish-themed menu of hearty appetizers. Scotches include: Glenkinchie, a Lowlands scotch with soft, sweetly aromatic malt from the “Garden of Scotland.” It has a fresh grassy sweetness balanced with a warming, dry finish. Dalwhinnie is a 15-year-old gentle, delicate malt from the wild and windswept Highlands. It is a subtle delicately smoky malt with a heathery honey finish. Cragganmore is a 12- year-old elegant Speyside with the most complex sweet and smoky aroma of any malt. Talisker is a 10-year-old and the only malt produced on the Isle of Skye. The taste of seaweed, smoke and sweet maltiness is complimented by its spicy, long finish. Lagavulin, from Islay, offers a 16-year-old, distinctive and powerful malt that is smoky with a velvety finish. Finally, there is Oban, a Coastal 14-year-old scotch combining the sophistication of the Highlands with a touch of the peaty style of the Islands. It has a mellow fruity finish and is the sweetest of the six scotches. Guests will enjoy munching from the Small Bites Menu, which includes Lobster bisque cappuccino, mini lamb burgers with honey-harissa sauce, smoked salmon cake with watercress crème fraiche, leek & oyster tarts, venison carpaccio with chocolate espresso sauce and ginger brioche bread pudding with butterscotch sauce. For reservations call 541-382-5174 or toll free 877-661-4228. For information visit the Old St. Francis School website.

David MacLay Kidd, named “the hottest architect in golf” by Golf World magazine, has moved his home and the world headquarters of his company, DMK Golf Design, to Bend, a Central Oregon city that’s become the most popular vacation spot in the Pacific Northwest. Situated on a high plateau 160 miles east of Portland, Bend has 300 days of sunshine a year, world class outdoor sports and sophisticated city amenities in a small town atmosphere. Residents are loyal to Bend, and say it’s a fulfilling and enriching community to be a part of. In its 100 years Bend has evolved from a timber town into a cultural hotspot. Tourists from all over the country spend their visits attempting to soak up every bit of it.

The move gives Kidd plenty of time to play on his newest creation, Tetherow Golf Course, which officially opens in June. The resort course is the centerpiece of the 700-acre Tetherow resort community and will offer reciprocal play for members of other top-rated courses throughout the country. Once the planned Hotel Tetherow opens next year, play will also be available to hotel guests.

“Everyone on my staff was happy to move here,” Kidd says. “We are living a wonderful rural lifestyle, with all types of outdoor sports right out the door and downtown Bend just a few minutes away. Tetherow has low density, great amenities and views and lots of open space. From the personal and business point of view, it’s a perfect blend.  We’re a few hours from the coast and the airport lets me make easy connections to see my other clients across the world.” With daily direct flights from San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland, Tetherow residents will return home from their business travels to be rejuvenated by the magic and majesty that is life in Central Oregon. 

Barely out of his 30s, Kidd has been a celebrated architect for more than 16 years. In the U.S., his most well-known course is Bandon Dunes on the southern Oregon Coast. He recently completed the design and construction of the new No. 7 Castle Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, the first new course built at ‘the home of golf” in nearly 100 years.  “I built my business on a reputation for being hands-on, said Kidd. “Even as we have added more people and more projects in more countries one thing that has not — and will not — change is my dedication to delivering the highest level of creative golf course design.”

Last spring, he and his wife purchased the first homesite in Tetherow, and Kidd is on the Tetherow course every day he’s in Oregon. “Above all, the course is fun,” he says.  “It’s an adventure to see what the next hole will bring. As a golfer, I love that.”

Traditional golf course designers lay the fairways down with a knife edge where they meet the unplayable areas, Kidd says. “Here, we blur the edges of the fairways so it seems that the natural landscape is gently taking over. It’s much more in keeping with this type of environment.”

When it’s fully developed, Tetherow will have 589 homes and townhomes. Ownership opportunities include homesites, lodge homes, cabins, townhomes and a variety of custom homes. For more information, visit the Tetherow website or call Brand Director Femke van Velzen, 541-390-2259.

Superbowl Sunday becomes a Super Bloody Mary Extravaganza at The Blacksmith Restaurant in Bend. On Sunday Feb. 3, 2008 Blacksmith will host a Bloody Mary Extravaganza. They invite customers to “build their own” Bloody Marys from a “super selection” of ingredients. The Blacksmith also sports a wide range of custom brews. Other specialties are dishes with a Wild West accent. Flavorful regional recipes and the blending of New World cuisines with Old World techniques has drawn praise from food critics nationwide.  Conde Nast Traveler rated The Blacksmith Restaurant “One of the best new restaurants in the world.” There’s a new bar and lounge with a 62-inch and 54-inch HiDef big screen TVs for Superbowl viewing, and a popular private dining room for parties of up to 45, also with big screen TV. The restaurant sits at the edge of downtown Bend in Oregon’s ranch country at 211 N.W. Greenwood Avenue in the Historic Pearson Blacksmith Shop. Special events are also planned for Valentine’s Day, 2008. For information or reservations call 541/318-0588 or check the Blacksmith Restaurant web site.

What could be more romantic than watching the sunset and enjoy an evening of comfortable waterfront dining? Many couples in Central Oregon choose Anthony’s at Bend for a Valentine’s Day date with romance and fine cuisine.  Located in the Old Mill District, Anthony’s overlooks the Deschutes River. Diners appreciate the breath taking scenery including a spectacular view of the river, Mt. Bachelor and the Three Sisters Mountains. The restaurant will extend the service hours on Thursday, Feb. 14th, Valentine’s Day, with seating until 10 PM. They strongly recommend reservations be made as soon as possible.
The menu features fresh “flown in” Northwest seafood, a house specialty. Perfectly cooked fresh fish, a fresh seafood dinner salad, a well-seasoned grilled steak or delicious pasta offers a treat for any taste. Sunday Brunch is a crowd pleaser, especially on holidays. Anthony’s provides groups of up to 50 a warm, friendly environment with excellent service and a variety of menu choices for any occasion including weddings, rehearsal dinners, birthdays retirement parties, holiday gatherings, business luncheons or special dinner functions. Whether permitting, they can accommodate groups of up to 250 on their lawns and decks. Anthony’s offers complimentary parking throughout the Shops at the Old Mill but the best area to park is located across the river. The additional parking area can be accessed off of Columbia hosts a footbridge to the restaurant. For more information call 541-389-8998 or visit the Anthony’s at Bend website.

Mrs. Bo Kline, owner of Typhoon! Bend Restaurant, brings to Bend fine Asian cuisine with her newest luxury restaurant, Bo Restobar, opening on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008. They are specialists at creating Pan Asian fusion foods with influences from Korea, China, Vietnam, and Thailand. These are Nouvelle dishes faithful to Asian flavors and balance. A wide range of menu choices includes traditional, seasonal, street (peasant food), palace dishes and historic recipes that were once popular but may have gotten lost in time — sometimes exotic but always affordable. Fans of Bo Restobar in Portland say they appreciate such a broad range of Asian dishes, most especially the Thai cuisine. Mrs. Bo has an exceptional range of appreciation for what constitutes Thai food. She says the major factors that distinguish her restaurants are the staff’s passion and pride. Plus, they are freaks for quality control. Mrs. Bo fans claim emphatically that she makes the best fried bananas in the universe. For pisang goreng fanatics, they say, Bo Restobar has a world class recipe. Loyal customers all say, “Be sure to start a meal with the miang kum.” For more information go to the Bo Restobar website.

Mavericks at Sunriver can be found within the premiere resort destination of Sunriver, Oregon. Winter sports are in full swing and Mavericks at Sunriver has vacation packages available with special rates. Offering residents and guests a full spectrum of fitness feature and recreational activities, this unique 30,000 square foot was recently expanded with a new Aquatics Center.  In addition to all the features of the original facility – rock wall, basketball, group classes, and high-end fitness areas – the Aquatics Center offers a one-of-a-kind surfing experience on the Flowrider™ – as well as a children’s’ sprayground, an outdoor spa and the only indoor deep water pool in Sunriver. The Mavericks website includes club videos and a virtual tour.

Mavericks members receive discounted rental rates for select properties managed by Sunriver Vacations. Central Oregon offers a wide array of winter activities from skiing and boarding. If the road is clear snow lovers are only a short drive from the front door straight up Century Drive to Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort. The site of a 9,065-foot volcanic cone famous for its downhill skiing, Mt. Bachelor is the first snowboarding pipe on the West Coast. For more information about vacation packages at the enhanced Mavericks at Sunriver call 800-544-0300 or visit the Discover Sunriver website.

McMenamins Old St. Francis School brings romance to Bend couples with a special Valentine Overnight Package — available throughout the Valentine week starting Friday, February 8 through Sunday, February 17. The cost is $185-$229 per couple per night (21 and over) and includes:
• Lodging for two in a queen European room
• Dinner at McMenamins Pub
• A bottle of Edgefield Winery’s sparkling wine with two keepsake flutes
• Breakfast the following morning
On Wednesday, February 13 McMenamins and opbmusic.org presents Great Northwest Music Tour featuring the live music of The Everybodyfields. The 7:00 PM concert is free and open to all ages.

The Everybodyfields are from Johnson City, Tennessee. They are a band rapidly gaining a reputation as the front-runners of the newest generation of the alt-country movement. They offer melancholic interpretations of universal human stories set to achingly beautiful melodies, put to life with such instrumentation as lap steel, lead guitar, electric bass, piano and acoustic guitar.

The members of The Everybodyfields cite their influences as country, rock and roll, and folk. Sam Quinn and Jill Andrews front the act, sharing instruments and seamlessly merging their wildly different voices. Quinn’s echoing twang reverberates like a long-lost radio broadcast and provides a hard edge to Andrews pure, soothing tones.

For more information about McMenamins Old St. Francis Valentine packages or The Everybodyfields concert, call 541-382-4228 or toll free 877-661-4228 or visit the Old St. Francis website.

Chef Jody Denton works the wood fire grill and rotisserie at Merenda, the restaurant known for its new twists on country French and Italian cuisine and recipient of a Best of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine in 2004. Merenda offers the choicest Happy Hour menu in town. Happy Hour is from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Bill Keal performs live on Sundays at 6:30 PM Jan. 29, Feb. 10, April 20, May 18 and June 9.  At Merenda all menu products are farmed from organic and sustainable resources in Oregon. Merenda specializes in catering for private parties, such as anniversaries, rehearsal dinners and weddings. A host of original wine dinners featuring wine selections matched to seven courses of regional cuisine inspirations featuring Leonetti Cellars, Ken Wright Cellars, Kermit Lynch Importers and Pepperbridge Winery. Merenda is open 7 days a week from 11:30 AM. Dinner is served from 5:00 PM nightly. For information or reservations call 541-330-2304 or click on the Merenda website.

In late October, international golf course architect David McLay Kidd and his wife Jill closed on the sale of the first homesite at Tetherow, a new 700-acre golf resort community near Bend, Ore. They were followed by 21 more buyers in six weeks. The 22 lots have a combined value of more than $14 million.

Kidd, named “the hottest architect in golf” by Golf World magazine, designed Tetherow’s private resort course. He recently completed “the No. 7” Castle Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, the first new course built there in nearly 100 years.  Kidd’s courses include the celebrated Bandon Dunes on the Oregon coast, and others in Hawaii, California, England, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Morocco, Canada, and a private island in Fiji.

The only contemporary golf-course architect whose work has been the subject of two books, Kidd can choose to live and work anywhere on the globe.  In April he moved his company, DMK Golf Design, to Bend and is living there fulltime.  His homesite, like many others at Tetherow, overlooks his course and has sweeping views of the city and the Cascade Mountains.

 “My wife is an Oregonian and has deep ties here,” says Kidd. “Our choice of Bend was based mostly on where we would like to bring up our family. We are living a wonderful rural lifestyle here, with all types of outdoor sports right out the door and downtown Bend just a few minutes away. Tetherow has low density, great amenities and views and lots of open space.”

Since Kidd’s purchase, 21 more Tetherow homesite purchases have closed, with 65% of the buyers coming from Oregon and the balance from California, Washington and throughout the country.  More than 80 sites have been reserved, with an estimated value of $42 million.  Ownership opportunities include homesites, lodge homes, cabins, townhomes and custom homes.

In the past 10 years, Bend, Ore. has become the most sought-after home and vacation spot in the Pacific Northwest. Situated on a high plateau 160 miles east of Portland, Bend has an irresistible combination of 300 days of sunshine a year, superb outdoor sports and sophisticated city amenities.

Located in Oregon’s high desert a few minutes from downtown Bend, Tetherow’s 700 acres will also encompass a golf academy and clubhouse, luxury hotel, spa and wellness center, recreation center and conference center. Tetherow’s hotel guests and owners of the 589 homesites and townhomes will have access to all amenities. The golf course and clubhouse are scheduled to open in June, 2008. For more information call Joe Kearney, Director of Sales, 541-318-1234 or toll free 866-234-4848 or visit the Tetherow website.