The Bend WinterFest is coming up in a little over a week, from February 5th through the 8th. Just thought I’d give it a mention for anyone looking for something to do in Bend next weekend.
Me? No, I probably won’t attend. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, I know. I think Bend now has festivals for every season plus a few extra thrown in for good measure; the SummerFest used to be pretty decent, when they had a good beer garden and didn’t limit where you could take your beer (or wine), but when they beer garden selection got much more limited and they wouldn’t let you out of the fenced area (which caused much problems for those of us who had young kids who weren’t allowed inside the fence but had already purchased a beer before finding out you couldn’t leave), the SummerFest itself became a lot less attractive.
At any rate, for me it’s just too damn cold to be out wandering around Downtown Bend or the Old Mill District watching ice carving or fireworks. But if you’re interested in going, more power to you.
Summerfest was great — when it was the only one. Now they do have one for every season, and it’s the same crap at all of them. Same vendors, same bands, same food, same everything, minus the snow/ice related stuff at the Winterfest.
They just need a Winterfest and Summerfest. None of this Fall Festival and Spring Festival crap.
/rant
Jon, sounds like you have never actually been to winterfest. My family had a good time. The tents had heaters, and you can take your beer anywhere. My kids loved the magic show on friday night. We didn’t make it Saturday, but our friends said they had a good time.
That’s cool, I’m glad it was a good time. I haven’t been to a recent WinterFest–I don’t honestly remember if I went to any of the early ones–mostly because we got a bit burned out by the other ‘Fests (1 for each season, you know).