Bend, Oregon Holiday Fun Continues

As school winds down for Christmas break, there are still plenty of wonderful things to do in Bend, Oregon to celebrate the season. We wanted to share a few of our "picks" for fun in the coming days.

Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"

A perfect retelling of the Olde England story, with its ghosts and timeless message of kindness, by the talented youth and adults of Central Oregon A stellar community cast of youth and adults again bring to life the classic story of redemption and the trueholiday spirit, produced by Bend Experimental Art Theatre (B.E.A.T.). Rick Jenkins returns as Scrooge in this original adaptation by Howard Schor, directed by Mary Kilpatrick. Runs Friday 12/17 through Monday 12/20 at the Tower Theatre.

Saxons Fine Jeweler's On a Clear Winter's Night Jazz Christmas

CLEAR 101. 7 proudly welcomes... Peter White on Guitar, Mindi Abair on Sax and Vocals, and Rick Braun on Trumpet, lead an 6 piece allstar, touring jazz ensemble of musicians, performing interesting covers of traditional holiday tunes! The show starts with the brilliant vocal stylings of SONOS, also performing Christmas tunes, accapella! This event is the perfect way to move into the holidays as the Riverhouse Convention Center is transformed with a dazzling array of Christmas lights, John Hillmer designed Christmas Stage Murals, and a ho-ho-whole variety of other decorations! The Saxons Fine Jeweler's on a Clear Winter's Night Jazz Christmas is presented by Big Country RV's and is hosted by Northwest Brain and Spine, Dr's Yundt and Hadden. The event is produced by C3 Events. Sunday, December 19th

We're so happy to be #inbend on the holidays!

Children’s Holiday Party Scheduled in NorthWest Crossing

NorthWest Crossing and Sage Café and Coffeehouse are teaming up to help families in Central Oregon make some special holiday memories. A holiday party will be held in the NorthWest Crossing neighborhood center that is fun for kids of all ages. Cookie decorating, holiday crafts and an appearance by the one-and-only Santa Claus (from 11 am to 1 pm) are just part of the day’s festivities!

WHEN: Saturday, December 11th from 10am to 2 pm
WHERE: 2755 NW Crossing Dr. #109 (the former Riley's Market space)
COST: $5 per child includes all supplies!

Come make some memories! For more information visit www.nwxevents.com.

NorthWest Crossing Bend, Oregon - Top Place to Retire

Bend, Oregon has long been lauded as a great place to retire. Recently, Where to Retire Magazine narrowed down that assertion by focusing specifically on NorthWest Crossing in their “Discoveries” section. The article, which appeared in the magazine’s November/December 2010 issue, describes NorthWest Crossing as best suited for those who seek “abundant outdoor pursuits near big-city amenities.”

Where to Retire writer Monique Lugo writes, “Residents at this master-planned community get the best of both worlds. They are minutes from trendy downtown Bend...and convenient to the region’s natural wonders.”

The article also covers other amenities in the Bend, Oregon neighborhood, including NorthWest Crossing’s commitment to conservation and sustainability, convenient neighborhood center, many acres of integrated parks and open spaces, and the community garden.

Where to Retire is the only magazine that is specifically designed to help people with retirement relocation decisions.

Community Garden wins local award!

The NorthWest Crossing Community Garden was recognized by the Central Oregon Association of Realtors for "Outstanding 'Green' Enhancement to the Community Award" on Wednesday night at the Building a Better Central Oregon awards ceremony held at the Oxford Hotel. This is a wonderful accomplishment for the garden and an extraordinary way to be recognized for community involvement in Bend, Oregon and NorthWest Crossing!

Forbes Names Bend Top Small City? We're Not Surprised

We love living in Bend, Oregon. It's a recreation mecca, a cultural hub and we get lots and lots of sunshine. Even with the chill of winter in the air, we can't get enough of the smell of pine trees, fresh water and sage. Being able to live here, work here and play here is a dream come true for many Central Oregonians. So, we weren't surprised at all by this news:

Forbes.com recently released an article naming the best small cities in the U.S. for business and careers, and Bend was included! The magazine looked at cities of less than 245,000 population across the country and evaluated them based 12 key factors, including living and business costs, job growth, income growth, educational attainment and projected economic growth. They also factored in quality of life issues, such as crime rates, cultural and recreational opportunities and similar.

And what better place to enjoy all Bend, Oregon has to offer than from NorthWest Crossing? :-)

Finding Fremont in Oregon

You may or may not know that NorthWest Crossing was fashioned after a theme of "exploration" and that's why many of the place and street names are reminiscent of the Lewis and Clark expedition. We also have a street named after John Fremont, and recently the Deschutes County Historical Society premiered a new documentary this historical trailblazer.

The film, entitled Finding Fremont in Oregon, 1843, makes the remarkable story of John C. Fremont's 1843 trek through Oregon come to life. Bend, Oregon local, Loren Irving,teamed up with Sandy Cummings of TVStoryteller and the Deschutes Historical Society to produce the film. This short film was debuted Tuesday night to a full house at McMenamin’s Theatre, and will be part of this weekend’s BendFilm Festival.

Kudos to Loren and the team for their work in tracing the trail of John C. Fremont and his expedition. Next time you visit Shevlin Park, take a stroll down to Fremont Meadow and imagine dozens of men, horses, and livestock camping overnight on their trek through our wonderful Bend, Oregon countryside.

NorthWest Crossing 2010 Farmers Market Ends this Saturday

Second year of popular Saturday Farmers Market wraps up its second year in Bend, Oregon

The NorthWest Crossing Farmers Market began during the summer of 2009, providing a weekend farmers market option to the local community. Founded by West Bend Property Company, the developer of the NorthWest Crossing neighborhood, the NWX Farmers Market features local, organic fresh foods, locally made arts and crafts, specialty foods, and live music each Saturday.

In 2010, the market opened on June 26, after the popular NWX Hullabaloo street fair, and will run through this Saturday, September 25^th. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The focus in 2010 was to bring local produce, meat, flowers and specialty items that are of the highest quality, to the greater community. The market’s definition of local encompasses the state of Oregon. There have been approximately 25 vendors each week.

Throughout the summer, free booth space was offered to select area non-profits for single or multiple Saturdays during the summer. At their booth space, the organizations took donations and disseminated information about their programs and services to attendees. In 2010, Grandma’s House, the Family Access Network and Bethlehem Inn all participated in the non-profit booth opportunity. NWX also donated a portion of its tote bag sales proceeds to participating non-profits.

Come say good-bye to the 2010 NWX Farmers Market this weekend and stock up for fall!

NorthWest Crossing Resident Plans to Start Up New Brewery

According to a recent article published in The Bulletin, Bend will soon be welcoming it's 11th brewery - Below Grade Brewing.

The article follows:

11 breweries and counting: Below Grade plans to start small in Bend
By David Holley / The Bulletin

Published: September 16. 2010 4:00AM PST
Yet another brewer has taken his first steps toward opening Central Oregon’s 11th commercial brewery.

Dean Wise has applied for a brewery-public house permit from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, as well as required federal permits, under the name Below Grade Brewing. Wise’s plan is to keep Below Grade small as he tests the market “to see if people will buy it on a regular basis — to see if it’s worthy.”

Wise has been a home brewer for 18 years.

Below Grade would be Bend’s ninth brewery. The region’s other two breweries are in Redmond and Sisters.

Initially, Wise plans to brew in his NorthWest Crossing home. For the first six to 12 months, he plans to brew three or four batches of beer at a time, bottling the product for retail sale and possibly selling kegs to bars.

He hopes to have his first batch ready for sale about a month after he receives state and federal approval, which is as soon as is legally allowed, he said. Federal approval can take 95 days or longer, Wise said. He has been waiting for five weeks, but has a meeting with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau today.

For Wise, who is a project manager for the J.L. Ward Co., brewing is about quality. He thinks his first retail beers could be two different India Pale Ales and an Old Ale — a dark, full-bodied beer like Deschutes Brewery’s Jubelale.

“I will focus on the craft of brewing beer in small batches, using only the highest-quality ingredients available,” he wrote onhis company website, which is intermittently accessible during construction. “The best ingredients make the best beer.”

The naming of his brewery, Below Grade, was three-pronged. It’s an inside joke among Wise and friends. It refers to his basement, where he brews beer. And it’s meant to be a bit self-deprecating.

“I think, hopefully, it might be an ironic name,” Wise said.

Friday Fun at NorthWest Crossing

NorthWest Crossing is a great place to visit any day of the week, but this Friday (9/3) is extra special. Not only are we hosting the last Munch N Movies showing of the season in Compass Park (with the classic Wizard of Oz), but we are also participating in the wonderful First Friday Art Walk. Two more reasons to visit NorthWest Crossing!

BICA Gallery will have two talented Oregon artists on display:

Scott Conary is an accomplished artist who lives and creates in Portland, Oregon. His paintings explore the realms of landscapes, figurative and still life. For Scott, the

paint is the sub

ject as much as any image that might emerge. Playing within this tension between image and surface, he looks to build a presence, a solidity which shows in his distinct style.

Lisa Copenhagen Wachs is a self-employed graphic designer and fine artist. She has worked

and lived in Portland, Oregon, San Francisco and Taos, New Mexico before settling in Bend, Oregon in 1992. Lisa paints primarily in oils

and works in mixed media collage/assemblage. The surrounding abundance of wildlife and nature around her studio, continue to be an inspiration for her artwork.

Come visit NorthWest Crossing. You never know what surprises await you.

Community Garden Featured in Bend, Oregon Newspaper

Today's Bend Bulletin featured the new NorthWest Crossing Community Garden in its "At Home" section. The garden, which was founded last May, features more than 50 garden plots which are all being "grown" by NWX residents and businesses. Photo is also from the Bulletin.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the article that give a little more information on the garden:

The garden features 59 raised, 5-by-10-foot cedar planting beds with drip irrigation and is enclosed by an 8-foot-high wire fence. The beds have built-in seats around the perimeter, so sitting while weeding and tending the garden is convenient and comfortable. A water feature and a birdhouse, surrounded by blooming flowers, adds to the peaceful atmosphere, and the two picnic tables in the shade invite people to sit and enjoy the setting.

The community garden was built and is owned by West Bend Property Co., the developer of NorthWest Crossing, and is being managed by the Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener program. The NorthWest Crossing garden is one of two community gardens in Bend managed by OSU Master Gardeners. The garden at Hollinshead Park in northeast Bend has operated for more than two decades.

For the full article, visit The Bulletin's Web site.

Munch N Movies Line Up Announced

We proudly host Munch N Movies in Compass Park each summer, and we are excited to announce a great Movie Line-Up for 2010! Family-friendly movies on an impressive 40x20' screen, food vendors, pre-movie entertainment and more! Is there a better way to spend a Central Oregon summer evening?

August 13: Cloudy w/ a Chance of Meatballs

August 20: Monsters vs Aliens

August 27: UP

September 3: Wizard of Oz

See you there!

summer has sprung

One of the things that clearly marks summer for me is the sound of giggles and roars from the neighborhood kids as I sit outside on my patio as the sun sets. It is so reminiscent of my childhood and the fond memories I have of playing Capture the Flag and Kick the Can late into the evenings of July and August. Kids truly have abandon as they run circles around the yard or in the park and squeal as their sibling or friend intercepts them with a friendly tickle or "tag, you're it!" I just love it! Then as quickly as they come out to play, they disappear into their homes to settle into bed, and the calm, serene peacefulness of the beautiful central Oregon nights takes over. Bliss.

BUILDER magazine Features NorthWest Crossing

We were so pleased to be featured in a recent issue of BUILDER magazine, a national trade publication that provides information to the home building industry. The article, entitled “Tree-Lined Green: NorthWest Crossing in Bend, Ore. Takes sustainability beyond building green”, covered many of the features of the place we call home such as retention of mature trees, community design and more.

BUILDER magazine is a monthly magazine published by Hanley Wood Business Media. It was launched in 1979. It reports on construction industry related technologies, economics, management, business opportunities, architectural design, and sales and marketing. It mainly focuses on builders, contractors and more. www.builderonline.com

One heck of a Hullabaloo!

Hullabaloo week at NorthWest Crossing was fabulous! It started with the neighborhood summer concert series "Twilight Tunes" at Compass Park, then the USA Cycling Junior Road National Crit races, and ended with a rockin' concert by Jonatha Brooke. The NorthWest Crossing residents really provided a warm welcome and rolled out the red carpet for the Junior racers and their families, in addition to 1000s of visitors who descended upon NorthWest Crossing Drive for the third annual street festival that is now an official kick off to summer! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the sunshine, the warm weather, the summer season and the community!

USA Cycling Road Nationals at NorthWest Crossing

It has been so much fun to watch the cyclists ride through NorthWest Crossing practicing for their road races and the crit this week. I stopped by the starting line this afternoon and was lucky enough to see the Women's 15-16 yr age group take off on their race from Summit High and through Tetherow. WOW - it is really spectacular to have USA Cycling here in Bend, and here in NorthWest Crossing. I encourage all of you to step outside tomorrow to watch the juniors whiz through the neighborhood. Come cheer them on....they are our future USA riders that we could be watching in France in a few years! Not bad.

sun and sprouts

Well, Mother Nature has decided to join the summer party and shed some sunlight! Thank you, Mother Nature - we so much appreciate you. The combination of my proscrastination and the cooler weather over the last 6 weeks has not been kind to my community garden plot. But to our surprise, we do have SPROUTS! I feel kinda maternal about it. In fact, I am so proud I took a photo. Not quite as cute as my four month old nephew, but cute in a vegetable type of way.

Food and the good life

Part of Saturday's events included the Food Fight Documentary at Summit High School. It was educational and another good reminder that we have the ability to make a difference with the choices we make when we buy food, plant food, and eat food. I left appreciating Alice Waters and Will Allen, and many others, for their commitment to good, healthy whole foods!

On Sunday I finally ventured over to our plot in the NorthWst Crossing Community Garden. As intimidated as I feel, it was time to just bust out and get those seeds planted! I can't keep complaining about the rain and cool weather, and I can't continue to think that plants will miraculously sprout up in our plot without someone actually planting them there. I have got to say, "GO GARDENERS!" The community garden looks great. I had more fun strolling through the garden peeping and peering into my neighbors' plots to see what is coming up. I am inspired by the commitment of my peer gardeners, and I am impressed by the creativity and pure enjoyment I am witnessing there. I am confident the food that will be produced from the garden bounty will be awesome!

After the gardening adventure, we sauntered over to portello winecafe to toast a break in the clouds and ring in another wonderful week in our cool community. Ah...the good life.

Food Fight Documentary - Revolution Never Tasted So Good!

Saturday, June 5th at Summit High - don't miss this documentary about food in the schools. Showtimes at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.! Visit www.bendeventco.com

NorthWest Crossing Community Garden Grand Opening May 8th!

After months of planning and hard work, the NorthWest Crossing Community Garden Opens tomorrow, May 8, 2010.

The community garden was built by the developer of NorthWest Crossing and is being managed by the OSU Extension Service Master Gardener program. The garden features cedar, raised beds with drip irrigation and is enclosed by an eight-foot tall wire fence. Generous donations and in-kind services from local companies, like Miller Lumber, Botanical Developments, Taylor NW, Ginger’s Kitchen and the NWX Builders’ Guild builders have made the garden possible.

“This is so exciting for our community to create a complete circle of sustenance within blocks of home – plant, grow, eat, compost, grow, eat,” said Romy Mortensen, resident of NorthWest Crossing and vice president of marketing at Brooks Resources Corporation, part of the team developing the garden. “It’s something we always had as part of our plan for NorthWest Crossing as it fits perfectly with our goals of sustainability, environmentally sound practices and creating a sense of community. We are looking forward to seeing this project unfold in 2010.”

Here's some great photos of volunteers helping to build garden boxes and more for this wonderful project.

A great place to be a neighbor...

Welcome to the NorthWest Crossing Blog!

Here, we hope to keep you informed of community events, sales, and current developments within the NorthWest Crossing Community.

Set amidst ponderosa pines and rugged lava outcroppings on the west side of Bend, Oregon is NorthWest Crossing - an award-winning, diverse, residential, mixed-use Bend real estate community. NorthWest Crossing offers a variety of home options, designs and sizes as well as two public schools, shops, cafés, parks, trails and more. The entire community was thoughtfully designed to make it easier for people to get to know each other.

Thank you for visiting, and check back soon.