October 27th is American Beer Day. October is also the month when folks start to consider activities that may keep them indoors a bit more. With that in mind, we want to tell you about the Bend Ale Trail Beer Tour.
Here’s What You Need to Know About the Bend Ale Trail
Explore Breweries in Central Oregon
This is a fantastic way for visitors and locals alike to get to know the breweries in Central Oregon, so grab a Bend Ale Trail Atlas and Passport and start your adventure! You can pick these items up at participating breweries, at the Bend Visitors Center downtown, at the ticket mill in the Old Mill District, or at any Central Oregon brochure rack. We carry them in our office in the Sunriver Business Park as well. For those that are more digitally inclined, you can print yours here or download the free app for your iPhone or Android to get your passport virtually stamped.
Bend Ale Trail Beer Tour Prizes
In Bend, November is considered Bend Ale Trail month! If you get all 16 stamps and bring your completed passport to the Bend Visitor Center within the month of November, you’ll even receive a trophy!
If you can make it through 10 breweries, stop by or send your completed passport to the Bend Visitor Center (please note their hours of operation) to receive your souvenir, a commemorative Bend Silipint! If you’re able to grab a stamp from all of our local breweries we’ll also give you a nifty Bend Ale Trail bottle opener.
Keep in mind that it is not required (nor wise) to complete the entire Bend Ale Trail in one day. Grab a growler or two of your favorite beers to take to your cozy Village Properties home each afternoon and plan your group of breweries for the next day.
Bend Brew Bus
Another fun and safe option to explore the Central Oregon breweries is to take advantage of the Bend Brew Bus, offering daily guided brewery tours. The Bend Brew Bus will take you to up to 4 breweries per day. The cost for pickup in Sunriver is $80 per person. This includes beer samples at each brewery you visit, an appetizer at one of those breweries, an expert guide with knowledge to share about the history of the brew culture in Central Oregon as well as a behind-the-scenes peek in at least 2 of the breweries you get to visit.
If you’d like to have dinner in Bend, the Brew Bus can arrange to drop you at a location of your choice and you can set up a ride back to your Sunriver home after your day. As a guest of Village Properties at Sunriver, you will receive a 10% discount to the Bend Brew Bus tours!
Enjoy our area, the brews and the fun that comes along with this activity.
Fun fact: To date, Central Oregon has 28 breweries! There are 22 in Bend, 3 in Redmond and 1 in Sisters, Prineville and Sunriver. Cheers!
One of our favorite October events in Central Oregon is the Fall Festival. As the light slants and softens, bringing the harvest in its wake, our thoughts turn to the coziness of the fall season. Celebrate with the delights of The First Interstate Bank Bend Fall Festival 2017. All the traditions that you love about this event will be there – pumpkin carving, gourmet food and wine, a harvest market, and outstanding music. New this year is the Fall Into Fashion Area, highlighting a carefully selected group of creators, retailers, and reps for both clothing and accessories which will be featured in street fashion shows.
Join the Sunriver Nature Center for a fascinating introduction to the origins and travels of three Pacific Flyway Sandhill Crane subspecies that breed and migrate through Oregon. For over 20 years, Dr. Gary Ivey of the International Crane Foundation has been actively involved in ecological research, habitat management, and conservation efforts aimed at Sandhill Cranes. Dr. Ivey will provide an intimate look at the unique natural history of this bird and its status throughout Oregon.
Project Ponderosa was founded in 2005 by Sunriver resident Lee Stevenson to promote student environmental engagement and Ponderosa Pine restoration in Sunriver, Oregon and the upper-Deschutes River ecosystem. Since the project’s inception, over 8,000 seedlings have been potted and maintained by students at Three Rivers School and La Pine High School and more than $10,000 has been raised to support non-profit organizations both locally and internationally.
The Central Oregon Mushroom Club will lead a field trip in search of wild and edible mushrooms in the local area. On this field trip, participants will receive an introduction to fungi diversity and learn to identify different types of mushrooms in the forest. Instruction will also be provided on how to ‘hunt’ and collect mushrooms as well as how to identify mushrooms that are safe for eating.
Join Sunriver Nature Center and the Central Oregon Mushroom Club for a special day dedicated to appreciating and understanding fungi! Mushroom fun for the whole family includes:
Lee Stevenson, founder of Project Ponderosa, will lead a hands-on workshop at the Sunriver Nature Center. Participants will learn how to identify and transplant a variety of native forest seedlings, including Grand Fir, White Fir, Mountain Hemlock, Snowbush, Manzanita, Mahala Mat, Kinnikinnick, Indian Paintbrush, and more. Information will also be shared about where to find these native species locally and how to successfully collect and transplant them into your own yard.
Sunriver Stars is an all-volunteer Community Theater group with several October events in Central Oregon. All positions from the Artistic Director on down are non-paid positions and, as such, require a strong commitment to the work at hand.
