One of my favorite Bend summertime events (after the 4th of July) is taking place this weekend, the annual Bend Summer Festival (aka Summerfest), featuring free live music, arts and crafts vendors, street food, beer and wine, and more, going on all weekend long. Much of downtown Bend will be closed for the event, starting Friday evening (as the Fest technically starts at 5pm on Friday).

It’s a lot of fun, great for meeting friends, bumping into people you haven’t seen in awhile, or good old-fashioned people watching. And since it’s downtown, if you get tired of walking around and/or fighting for somewhere to sit, you can pop into any of the other restaurants and places nearby.

Even though much of it is free, there’s still money to spend, of course, so keep that in mind. Hours run 5 to 11pm on Friday, 11am until 10pm Saturday, and 11 to 5 on Sunday.