I'm totally stealing this from Bend Oregon Restaurants:

This week Baldy's BBQ is celebrating their 5th Anniversary with $5 specials all week long. From what I've heard, they're doing $5 full racks, smothered fries, dozen wings, 2 pulled pork or chicken sandwiches, and more + drink specials.

**Update**
After lunch at Baldy's today (Monday) I have the $5 specials:
- Full Rack of ribs (these are the Danish ribs, little smaller than their normal but well worth $5)
- 2 pulled pork sandwiches
- 2 pulled chicken sandwiches
- Dozen smoked wings (had them for Super Bowl and they are gooood)
- Smothered fries
$5 drink specials as well
**/Update**

Then Saturday they have a FREE pig roast in the parking lot, with live music (the boxcar string band), raffle prizes, Ski/snowboard equipment, Sunriver weekend for two, and Baldy's gift cards.

Saw something about this the other day, I think, but the Bulletin has an article today: Ciao Mambo in downtown Bend closed its doors.

Local eatery Ciao Mambo closed its doors last week after serving Italian cuisine to Bend for more than a year.

Owner Gary Sather cited the down economy as the primary reason for shutting down. He said he has been planning to close Ciao Mambo, which employed 17 people, for months.

“The economy is just real bad in Bend,” Sather said. “Our business model didn’t fly under the conditions.”

I thought it was probably doing all right, so I'm a bit surprised to read that the owner planned the closing for so long.

And news comes out today that McGrath's Fish House (over by the Bend River Mall Promenade) is filing for bankruptcy; there are no plans for closing—yet—but it sure seems like an ominous sign. If they do end up closing this year, I wouldn't be surprised in light of the Chapter 11.

This Friday (the 5th) is Deschutes Brewery's Release Party for Jubel 2010, their latest big beer bottling for their "Super Jubel"—a 10% alcohol "double" version of their seasonal Jubelale. This is only the second time they've ever bottled it (the first being in 2000), so the Release Party should be fun:

Jubel 2010 beer on tap with special menu items. Bottles for sale (6 bottle limit). First 100 guests will receive a Jubel 2010 commemorative goblet.
For more information, please call the Bend Pub at 541-382-9242.

The party officially kicks off at 6pm, and you'll probably want to get there early.

Jake forwarded this to me:

If you are receiving this, then I know you to have a love of classical music. We are very happy to be presenting a children’s concert on Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 2 pm. For all of us at COS this concert is in loving memory of our cellist Virginia Riggs. Virginia Riggs passed away in December. She had been with us for 39 years. Virginia led a life that we all admired. And we miss her. She believed strongly in supporting musical education for children and taught many Central Oregon students how to play the cello.

Click here to view the flier graphic that was attached. Additional details: it's free, and should last about one hour, at the Bend High School auditorium.

It's that time of year again already: Bend WinterFest is just around the corner. Billed as "Central Oregon's Premier Winter Festival" (well, it's also the only winter festival), it takes over the Old Mill District during Valentine's Day weekend, from Friday the 12th through Sunday the 14th.

In addition to the ice carving exhibitions, fireworks, Mojo Music Eruption in the Festival Center, children’s activities at Snowflake Village, the  ever popular U.S. Cellular snowboard and ski rail jam and ice skating, Bend WinterFest will feature an expanded Winter Wine Walk, winter light show, a larger WinterFest Marketplace, and the exciting cross country ski sprint races.

A few other details to note: the Winter Wine Walk will cost $20 and you'll need to have your packet with you to participate; live music is on Friday and Saturday nights; and I think there will be fireworks in the evening as well.

This from the Source Weekly this evening:

Capture the Flag, the young up-and-coming pop punk band from Bend, are shooting their first music video on Saturday (Jan. 30) and want you to be part of it.

The band's guitarist, John Davis, who many know from the concerts he promotes in town, is asking any and all folks who want to be in the video to be at the Rise Up warehouse (corner of 1st and Penn) around noon. Ever the nice guys, the bands will provide you with coffee and hot chocolate...not to mention the chance to be in a friggin music video.

No idea what they're looking for or intending the video to look like, but sounds like it could be fun anyway.

I'm dumb, teaches me to blog without checking: yesterday's post about Deschutes Brewery's Crabfest missed one very important point: they are also featuring the crab feed on Friday, the 29th, because Saturday is sold out.

But Friday is still available, still for $75 per person. Call 541-385-8606 for reservations and talk to Winter.

Deschutes Brewery is hosting their 8th Annual Crabfest this weekend up at their Mountain Room: the all-you-can-eat crab feed paired with Deschutes beers and live music from Bill Keale.

Menu:
Passed appetizer:
- Dungeness Crab Stuffed cucumber
- Dungess crab stuffed jalapeno poppers wrapped with bacon
Seated appetizer:
- Free form Pasta Salad with Dungeness Crab, Cherry Tomatoes, Avacados, and Pistachos tossed in a buttermilk herb dressing
Soup:
- Dungenesss Crab Bisque
Entrée:
- All you can eat Crab with Andouille sausage and corn on the cob.

The cost is $75 per person and it starts at 6pm Saturday, the 30th. To make reservations, call 541-385-8606 (and talk to Winter).

A few more things happening this weekend, making it a bit busier than the rest of the month.

Friday

• McMenamins Old St. Francis School is hosting their Winter Scotch Tasting at 7pm. Reservations are required, $50 per person. Nice list of appetizers and five different scotches to taste.
• The Ascetic Junkies is having their EP Release Party at Silver Moon Brewing starting at 9pm. Cover is $7.

Saturday

• The High Desert Museum has their Family Free Saturday going on from 10am until 4pm. There is even a free shuttle all day long, from Morning Star Christian School, just off 97 at Baker exit.
• The Deschutes Public Library is having their Friends of the Bend Library Winter Book Sale, from 10am until 4pm. I'm a big fan of these sales as always; the books are incredibly cheap and you can find some real treasures.
• Eleven Eyes is playing at Silver Moon Brewing starting at 9pm. Cover is $10.

Sunday

• The Library Book Sale continues, from 1pm until 4pm, where they will be selling books for $3 a bag—I'm guessing these are the leftover books from Saturday's sale, but if the bag is a full-sized grocery bag, then that's a really good deal.

I may be too late on blogging this one, but McMenamins is hosting a Winter Scotch Tasting on Friday the 23rd; for $50 you'll get to try five different scotches and enjoy a gourmet-ish appetizer menu:

Bacon-wrapped quail eggs
Scallops gratin
Duck wontons with orange sauce
Vension chop with single-malt demi-glace
Gingerbread pudding with Drambuie cream

It's at 7pm and you can find out more by giving McMenamins a call—reservations are required.

Haven't seen news from the Renegade Rollergirls for awhile; nice to know they're still going strong.

WHAT: January 30th, 2010 Will host another co-ed no holds-barred roller derby bout in Bend! Oregon Renegade Roller Derby; Bend's only non-profit Roller Derby League, will hold their second bout of their 4th season at Midtown Music Hall, located on Greenwood Ave. The Renegades will be competing in a co-ed bouting event including guest skaters from Washington and Portland. This is a no holds barred bout, full of hardcore skating abilities, wipeouts, bumps, bruises and cat fighting fistfights. This event is sponsored by The Source, 92.7FM, Action Typesetting and Printing, THEM! Marketing, Players Bar and Midtown Music Hall. Doors open at 7 p.m., action begins at 8 p.m. Admission is $10.00 and kids 10 and younger are free. There will be an after party with live music from Yenn at Players on Century Drive. Presale tickets are available at Aspect Board Shop, Riverside Market, Mum’s Tattoos or from your favorite rollergirl. Tickets are also available for purchase at the door beginning at 2pm the day of the event.

WHEN: January 30, 2010. Doors open at 7 p.m., actions starts at 8 p.m. $10 for general admission, 10 and under are free. Presale tickets are available at Aspect Board Shop, Riverside Market, Mum’s Tattoos or from your favorite rollergirl. Tickets are also available for purchase at the door beginning at 2pm the day of the event.

WHERE: The event will be played at Midtown Music Hall, located at 51 NW Greenwood Ave, downtown Bend, Oregon. After party to follow at Players located at 25 SW Century Drive, Bend, Oregon.

Silver Moon Brewing is hosting a free show tomorrow, the 21st (Thursday):

David Clemmer, frontman of local indie rock band The Dirty Words, will be playing a free show at the Moon this Thursday, January 21st. He's an incredibly talented songwriter, and is beginning to play with his own band to showcase his solo talents. Show starts at 8 p.m., no cover.

Incidentally, I see that Silver Moon's new website has (finally!) been launched. Looking good, but the live music calendar needs to be updated and I'd love to see an up-to-date list of what's on tap.

I mentioned the Phoenix Cafe opening yesterday but somehow missed the Olive Garden opening. (For shame!) It made a blurb in the Bulletin, and I can only imagine how busy it is, people were apparently "lined up outside the door when the restaurant opened for business at 4 p.m."

This week, the Garden opens at 4pm, and next Monday starts opening regularly at 11am for their lunch menu.

The Phoenix Cafe is now open in the old Kayo's Roadhouse location: I don't know how long exactly, but there was an ad in this weekend's Bulletin, and their website does in fact say "Now Open."

The new hours of operation are seven days a week: 11:30am to close Monday through Saturday (lunch and dinner), and 9am to close on Sundays (brunch included). The menus don't look bad at all.

In case you didn't know where the old Kayo's was located, it's on the eastside, across 27th street from the Forum shopping center (Safeway, Costco, Barns & Noble). The address is 594 NE Bellevue.

“Make it a day on, not a day off!”
Join Central Oregon in a national day of service on Martin Luther King Jr., Day 2010

To make Martin Luther King Day a "day on, not a day off," Volunteer Connect has organized service projects in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties. Volunteers of all ages are encouraged to participate in this event and connect with their community on January 18th, 2010.

In 1994, Congress initiated Martin Luther King, Jr. day as a national day of service. Last year, in 2009, over 13,000 community service projects took place across the country on the King Day of Service. For more general information about the King Day of Service you can visit www.mlkday.gov.

This year Volunteer Connect has organized over 20 half-day projects for volunteers to participate in, spanning Bend, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters.

Volunteer Connect MLK Day organizer, Jessica Knight, is excited about this event’s potential, “Our goal is to support Dr. King’s message that ‘everybody can be great because anybody can serve’ by engaging a wide variety of volunteers. We will have youth and student groups, corporate staff, families and individuals coming together”.

Projects are primarily in the morning, and include cooking, cleaning, organizing, painting, building, sewing and even bicycle repair. In Redmond, there will also be a special afternoon literary workshop hosted by Deschutes County RSVP.

To view a list of projects with more details, please visit www.volunteerconnectnow.org

Schedule:
Projects will be from 9:30am-12:30pm, followed by a light complimentary lunch and reflection session in each community.

About Volunteer Connect
Slated to launch its full volunteer referral program in February 2010, Volunteer Connect will work to link interested volunteers with meaningful opportunities to meet community needs in Central Oregon. The Volunteer Connect website will serve as a resource for students, businesses, families or individuals who are looking for one-time or ongoing community service opportunities. To date, over 70 agencies throughout the tri-counties have signed on. Interested agencies and volunteers are encouraged to visit www.volunteerconnectnow.org or call (541) 385-8977.

[Disclaimer: I worked on the Volunteer Connect website.]