Day 3 of the county fair is filled with salty food and great times. In its 105th year: An expected tradition, including its big financial impact 

KTVZ on July 31, 2025

Tracee Tuesday

(Update: Adding video from day three at Deschutes County Fair and Rodeo)

REDMOND, Ore. [KTVZ] — The Deschutes County Fair in Redmond is celebrating 105 years. 

The fair, which is governed by Deschutes County, is who benefits from the profits of the fair. 

According to Geoff Hinds, director of the Deschutes County Fairgrounds and Expo Center, the annual fair’s economic impact is over $50 million each year.  

But how is that profit utilized?

Hinds said the profits are invested back into the facility. 

“Now over 25 years old and requires continued investment. Not only in buildings, but also in operating equipment like air conditioners, heaters, light switches, electrical operation, toilets, sewers. But also things as simple as the grass. Just like you have to take care of your grass at home. We have to take care of over 100 acres of grass. So, we have to generate a significant amount of income in order to expend it back on those. And then the other thing we’re able to do is provide some funding to non-profits, either through fee reduction or, for use of the facility or, sometimes we can find causes that are important where we can provide donations to, and we’re, we’re excited to do that this year. If it were to do with Folds of Honor and Wrangler Tough Enough to Wear Pink: Bucking Cancer Together programs.” 

The fair is also an opportunity to highlight local businesses. 

Patrick Gordon, the owner of Hazard the World, said, “That really means a lot to us to have people come back, say hi, get to visit with them, and they come in and get more stuff from us, which we just are so humbled by, and people just are really supportive of our brand here in the Deschutes County. So, it means a lot to us to be here,” said

Each year, thousands come out to enjoy the festivities of the fair, but as Redmond City Councilman John Nielsen points out, it also poses challenges. 

Councilman Nielsen told KTVZ News:  

“As the fair has grown in popularity, our transportation infrastructure hasn’t kept pace. Redmond is actively investing in eastside roadway improvements to meet rising demand, but large-scale events like the fair highlight a critical gap: South Highway 97 is overburdened, and Redmond needs a southern interchange beyond Yew Avenue to support both major events and everyday travel.” 

From many, many months of planning the fair, the ultimate reward is the fairgoers. 

Bend resident Liesl McLendon said, “We live in Bend. This is our first time ever to the fair, because of Brothers Osborne. So the concert actually brought us out here.”

Liesl’s husband, Daniel, added: “We’re really excited to be here. That’s amazing. It’s going to be fun. We’re looking forward to all the things that the fair has to offer.” 

The Deschutes County Fair is open for five days, through Sunday.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the dates and times:  

Wednesday, July 30: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM 

Thursday, July 31: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM 

Friday, August 1: 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM 

Saturday, August 2: 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM 

Sunday, August 3: 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM 

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Palm Springs Symphony holds pre-season performance at Palm Springs Surf Club

KESQ on July 31, 2025

Cynthia White

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The sound of waves may be music to your ears – but imagine experiencing a symphony at a surf park.

The Palm Springs Symphony held a teaser performance on Wednesday night at the Palm Springs Surf Club.

From Mozart to Puccini, the sounds of many favorite classic composers filled the Surf Club.

The performance was a preview before the Symphony’s inaugural season begins this winter at the Plaza Theatre as the Symphony-in-Residence.

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100+ Women Who Care makes $14,000 donation to local Meals on Wheels

KTVZ on July 31, 2025

Triton Notary

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– A group of women came together to make a big difference for our local Meals on Wheels program. The group is called 100 Women Who Care. There are actually more than 100 of them. 4 times each year, each member puts up $100 into a collective fund. That fund is then given to a worthy charity. This week they managed to give more than $14,000 to Meals on Wheels. One of the members gave a heartfelt speech about why they should select that particular charity.

Christi Haynes from 100 Women Who Care told KTVZ News “These people, many of them are isolated, and the only people they see are the Meals on Wheels delivery person who brings them food and it lightens and brightens their day when someone who visits them continually comes.”

100 Women Who Care celebrate their 10th anniversary this year. Since its founding in 2014, the group has raised more than $800,000 for Central Oregon nonprofits.

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City of Palm Desert invites design students to help shape city’s future identity

KESQ on July 31, 2025

Cynthia White

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – The City of Palm Desert is reaching out to currently enrolled or recently graduated graphic design students living in southern California to help with the redesign of the City Seal.

City leaders say the original City Seal, created in 1973, symbolized Palm Desert’s early identity. They’re now seeking a design that reflects the city’s growth, culture, and modern vision.

The “City Seal Design Contest” invites the next generation of designers to create a new emblem that can represent Palm Desert for the next 50 years.

The winner of the contest will be decided by a steering committee along with a community survey, with final approval by the City Council.

The prize is citywide recognition – and $10,000.00.

The deadline to submit Seal designs is August 19th.

For more information on eligibility and submission requirements, visit PalmDesert.gov/CitySeal.

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Tsunami advisory lifted across the Central Coast and all Southern California shorelines

KEYT on July 31, 2025

Dave Alley

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.- A Tsunami Advisory that had been placed across the California coastline for several hours was lifted early Wednesday afternoon for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, as well as the rest of Southern California.

Also on Wednesday afternoon, San Luis Obispo County also cancelled an Evacuation Warning for areas near the bay in Los Osos.

The wide scale Tsunami Advisory was made by the National Tsunami Warning Center on Tuesday following a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck near the far eastern Russia coastline.

In San Luis Obispo County, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was quickly put into action once the Tsunami Advisory went into effect.

“Once we got the notification from the state that they were upgrading the Tsunami Watch to a Tsnuami Advisory, the County EOC was activated,” said Anita Konopa, San Luis Obispo County Emergency Services Coordinator. “It was activated at a fairly low level, but County OES staff was in there, as well as, law enforcement, fire, Public Works and EMS, just watch the situation and ensure that we were up to date on what was going on. The state was holding hourly conference calls with all of the operational partners on the coast, and providing us information on what they were receiving from the National Tsunami Warning Center, as well as the information they were getting from their tsunami playbooks. The tsunami playbooks are basically information that the state has that provides us detailed information based on the size of the tsunami, what the coastal threat might be and areas that need to be evacuated.”

Konopa added the EOC remained in operation until 3 a.m. Wednesday morning and then went into what is referred as “Level Four” or a virtual activation.

“Luckily we did not get the impacts that were forecast to happen,” said Konopa. “We were looking at potential wave heights in Port San Luis, up to 3.2 feet. We only hit about two feet. It did correlate with high tide, but luckily there wasn’t a lot of damage that happened.”

On Wednesday, Port San Luis was business as usual with beachgoers, boaters, fisherman and other visitors all going about their day under normal circumstances.

“Fortunately, we had minimal impacts,” said Matt Ashton, Port San Luis Harbor District Acting Director and Chief Harbor Patrol Officer. “We did see, a 2.7 foot surge come in around 2:14 a.m. and that was the brunt of it. We didn’t see any significant energy coming pushing damaging any of our infrastructure that we found yet. We still are assessing the damage, but so far haven’t found any and aren’t expecting to find a whole lot. We’ve been in coordination with the EOC for the county, the sheriff’s department, the Army Corps of Engineers for damage assessments, and so far, we’ve been able to report that we haven’t found much, so I think we got on this one pretty clean.”

The story was the same in nearby Pismo Beach, which looked like another summer day in July featuring pleasant weather conditions once the morning overcast lifted late in the morning. 

“We did see some additional waves come through,” said Pismo Beach City Manager Jorge Garcia. “We saw the tide rising a little faster than normal conditions would be, but nothing that couldn’t be managed or mitigated, so we’re back to normal operations today.”

Despite have little to no impacts from the waves, Garcia pointed out a Red Flag Warning was in effect on its beaches as a result of the Tsunami Warning.

“We have released a red flag warning here for our ocean conditions,” said Garcia. “That’s just because of the potential of additional surges or currents, so if you’re not anticipating them, it’s something to just be aware of. Our lifeguards are ready. We are staffed here on the beach and ready for the public to enjoy the community. We’ll continue to monitor the situation. We may need to have a red flag going into tomorrow into Thursday, July 31st, but we anticipate hopefully by tomorrow and this weekend to return back to normal operations.”

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Early Risers Secure Best Spots for Fiesta Pequeña at the Old Mission

KEYT on July 31, 2025

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The way to get a good view of Fiesta Pequena at the Old Mission in Santa Barbara is to be up at dawn.

Blankets and chairs went up starting with the mission bells ringing at 6 a.m., although the hard and fast time had a little flexibility this year.

When the time came, those who were already up and on-site were quick to secure their spot. That is 14 hours ahead of the annual show that will be a featured event during Old Spanish Days.

One resident Sue Kwasnick said, “I rarely get up early but for this. I am psyched because this is going to be one of the most amazing shows tonight and one of the most special moments of the weekend. This is my first time here.”

Thousands will come out to view the beautifully presented show with the mission steps serving as the dance floor and colored lights set up for a spectacular back drop to the show.

The asphalt area at the mission will have chairs for VIP’s and specially ticketed guests. The lawn on the mission property is open for viewing from blankets and small chairs. Beyond that there is a viewing area on the grass at the Rose Garden Park.

Thousands are expected for the show. It will also be broadcast on NewsChannel 3-12.

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Show Us Your Garden: Blooms and views dominate this week’s garden highlights

KTVZ on July 31, 2025

John Carroll

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — This week, we serve up three lovely gardens from Central Oregon. One of the gardens gives great joy to the tender, as all the hard work pays off with beautiful flowers and plants. Another is a combination of enjoying the wonderful sunset, as the blooms are all around you. Third is a cool display of poppies and bachelor buttons. These are just a small sample of the gardens across our region. Keep those pictures coming! You can find the entry info and a great garden gallery under the Contests tab.

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Two dancing sea lions at the Deschutes County Fair are also super-friendly to our Lynsey Harris

KTVZ on July 31, 2025

Barney Lerten

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A pair of fun and friendly sea lions featured at the Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo didn’t just flap their flippers and dance in unison Wednesday evening for our Lynsey Harris, but they also nuzzled her like a pet puppy.

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Open Arts Center opens in Bend, bringing a welcoming and creative environment for Central Oregon artists

KTVZ on July 31, 2025

Triton Notary

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– A new hub for creatives in Bend is opening its doors. This was the scene at the open house for the new Open Arts Center on Greenwood Avenue.

The center is going to be a hub for artists and a hangout spot for teens. The center is free for any teen who wants to be part of the program. There, they can practice their existing skills, learn new ones, or even get mentorship from adult artists.

It also marked the realization of a long-held dream for the founders.  

Maija Kellner-Rode and Claire Brislin, co-founders of the Open Arts Center, told KTVZ News: “We met two years ago, and it really felt like a moment of destiny, where two individuals who had been dreaming of this idea individually came together and were ready for it.

“There’s a real gap here in creative community hubs for a larger community, and having a place where people can come to share ideas, create community, create belonging, all in one center.”

It’s the founders’ hope it becomes a place for traditional art, dance and music.

This is only the beginning, when it comes to renovations they have planned for this space. The center will also be looking for donations from the community, when it comes to furniture, instruments, and art supplies.

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Bend Park and Rec opens fall recreation program registration August 4-5

KTVZ on July 31, 2025

Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Bend Park and Recreation District is opening registration for fall recreation programs and sports leagues on Monday, Aug. 4 and Tuesday, Aug. 5 for programs in September through December. The Fall 2025 Online Playlist is available for viewing and download now.

Monday, August 4, 6:00 a.m.: Recreation, enrichment and sports programs, camps and leagues registration opens. This includes no-school day camps, art, crafts, sports, ice skating, technology, fitness, outdoors, cooking and more. Sports leagues include adult curling, adult hockey, youth indoor soccer, youth volleyball, middle school Ultimate and youth/middle school/high school basketball. 

Tuesday, August 5, 6:00 a.m.: Swim lessons and aquatic programs registration opens. This includes lessons for youth and adults.

Registration information night event on July 30

BPRD invites community members to attend its Registration Info Night on Wednesday, July 30 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Larkspur Community Center where staff can assist attendees to get ready for registration.

With English and Spanish services available, staff can set up/update a household account, provide activity details, help build a wish list, learn about youth recreation programs and inclusion services and therapeutic recreation programs for those with disabilities, and assist with the scholarship process as needed. Learn more at bendparksandrec.org/event/registration-info-night/.

How to prepare for registration

For patrons who haven’t logged into their online account in the past 30 days, they are strongly encouraged to do so now to be sure they can successfully log in without issue and register for recreation programs on Aug. 4-5. BPRD staff recommend adding programs to a Wish List in the online registration account and noting the opening dates of the programs.

When registrations open at 6:00 am each morning, patrons are encouraged to register online or in person at any of these locations:

District Office: 799 SW Columbia St. – open at 6:00 a.m. (Aug. 4-5 only)

Juniper Swim & Fitness Center: 800 NE 6th St. – open at 5:30 a.m.

Larkspur Community Center: 1600 SE Reed Market Rd. – open at 6:00 a.m.

If having trouble while registering online, contact Customer Service by phone at (541) 389-7275.

Scholarships are available to those who qualify. BPRD encourages community members to apply early to ensure the application is processed in time for registration. In the last year, approximately 3,300 individuals received financial support to participate in programs that provide enriching activities and contribute to a physically active community

Additionally, please note that any outstanding balances on a household account must be paid in full before registering for any programs.

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