Monday, October 11, 2010

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? :-)


Friday, October 8, 2010

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.