One of my favorite Bend events, SummerFest, is this weekend! (Yes, I know it’s technically the "Bend Summer Festival" but "SummerFest" is what it’s really known as. Ask anybody.) It takes place Downtown from 11am to 11pm on Saturday (the 11th), and from 11am to 6pm on Sunday (the 12th). Here’s their marketing:

Central Oregon’s signature artist event of the summer, the Bend Summer Festival, draws artists and street performers from all over the Northwest. The event features a wide array of performing arts including dance, children’s activities, and the best regional and national jazz, blues, rock and international musicians. Additionally there is a food court with more than 20 restaurants, beer and wine.

There’s lots to like. Three stages of (free) music, several blocks worth of artists and craft vendors, lots of beer and wine, a great (free) kids activity venue provided by Working Wonders, and plenty of food. Here’s their PDF event map.

Weather should be perfect on Saturday—84° according to the latest forecast I’m looking at right now. We’ll be going on Saturday, of course.

A quick note about the alcohol: OLCC doesn’t permit them to start serving until noon. So don’t get there at 11 expecting a drink yet.

And, according to their website there will be something like 20 beers there: four at the Deschutes Brewery beer garden by the main stage, and "roughly 16 different beers in the Oregon Street Beer Garden"—I don’t remember any past SummerFests that had anywhere near this number of different beers. If that’s accurate, I’ll be way happy!