Support for Bend

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2026 · ISSUE NO. 26

The Trail Blazers kick off their 2026/2027 NBA season tonight at the Moda Center against the Phoenix Suns. This will be a nice distraction from an offseason that was filled with discussions around seemingly everything except the actual basketball team. (More)

Wheat farmers and bread bakers around the NW will soon have a new option for selling their wheat and buying locally made flour as Cairnspring Mills has opened a new craft flour mill on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. (More)

Registered voters across the state should have received (or will be receiving shortly) their ballots for the November election. Wondering where yours is? This site lets you check your registration, track your ballot, find a ballot drop box and more.

Oregon’s abnormally dry October (more on that in a second) means that fire season is lasting a little longer than normal. A 32-acre wildfire broke out near Three Fingered Jack in Central Oregon on Friday. (More)

If you’ve been thinking that the weather this month has been pretty nice, you’re not alone, as the state has seen above-average temps and below-average precipitation in October. So far, Portland has recorded the 7th driest and 5th warmest month-to-date on record. With that said, it looks like the weather is starting to shift a bit as we get into the last week of the month (More)

🐻 Howloween

Halloween comes to the Oregon Zoo with their annual Howloween celebration. Dress the kids up in their costumes and enjoy special activities like spooky lawn games, spooktacular crafts, trick-or-treating, and pumpkin playtimes for the animals.

🍄 Mount Pisgah Mushroom Festival

Another weekend, another mushroom festival. This time it’s happening at the Mount Pisgah Arboretum in Eugene.

⭕ Circles in the Sand

Circles in the Sand takes their sand art show on the road to Florence and the sand next to Driftwood Shores Resort. The artists will begin their work at 3 PM, and spectators can enjoy the sand art from 5 PM til sunset.

🍏 Thompson’s Mills Cider Pressing

Thompson’s Mills is opening up for their last cider pressing day of the season. So come lend a hand and see how the juice is squeezed.

🧑‍🎨 Philomath Open Studios

Artists in Philomath will be opening the doors to their studios. This self-guided tour gives you a chance to get a peek behind the scenes and see how local art is made.

⚽ Timbers & Thorns

Both the Thorns (Friday) and Timbers (Saturday) will be squaring off on the pitch at Providence Park. Their seasons will be coming to an end soon, so catch a match while you still can!

I want to give a huge shoutout to the Bend community for stepping up and supporting the Silver Rail families and community as a whole this past week.

Seeing businesses open their doors to provide a calming place for community, locals helping out with food drives and collecting donations, and restaurants offering up free meals and childcare for Bend’s kids has been heartwarming and provides a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark hour.

If you’d like to donate to the families impacted by this tragedy, here are a few links to active fundraisers.