Bend Central District Block Party transforms Second Street into open-air festival

Bend’s Central District transforms into an open-street festival Saturday with circus performances, interactive art, roaming stilt walkers and theatrical performances. The inaugural Block Party will unite local artists, performers and businesses for a full day of art, entertainment and connections.

A portion north of Second Street will be closed to vehicular traffic and replaced with bounce houses, chalk art and artist booths. Central Oregon LandWatch will offer guided walking tours exploring the history, evolution and future of the city’s cultural hub.

While most of the action will take place between Greenwood Avenue and Lafayette Avenue near Somewhere That’s Green, Funky Fauna Artisan Ales and Open Space Event Studios, local businesses throughout the district will be involved in the event.

“We love the idea of having a block party on Second Street,” said Will Nash, who opened Nashwood Gallery on Second Street in March.

The fine art gallery is located next to Olney Avenue but Nash hopes the festivities will attract visitors to his gallery featuring paintings, sculpture, jewelry, photography and furniture by local and regional artists.

“Little by little, we’re finding our way and getting Bend to realize that we’re here. And maybe the block party will really help, so we’re kind of excited about it,” Nash said.

On the day of the festival, Nash, who is a fine wood artist, furniture maker and luthier, will host a sale in his workshop and the gallery’s parking lot.

The gallery is located near Camp Clay, a ceramic studio that will have live music and wheel-based demonstrations on the day of the event.

“It’s pretty cool up here,” Nash said of the district. “We’re just trying to accentuate the coolness.”

Art for a cause

In conjunction with the Lay It Out Events-produced block party, Open Space Event Studios will host NOURISH, a pop-up professional art gallery showcasing the work of 18 Central Oregon artists in partnership with Family Kitchen and FREAK’N ART. There will be a ticketed gallery reception on Friday, followed by a public exhibition and sale Saturday.

Each exhibiting artist has chosen an amount between 30% and 100% of the total sale of their work to donate to the Family Kitchen, a nonprofit that serves free, nutritious meals to anyone who enters its doors.

Anastasia Zielinski, an artist, member of the event’s curatorial team and the owner of FREAK’N ART, said, “Instead of that percentage going to a gallery and a business, it’s going to help feed our community here in Central Oregon. So it felt like a really meaningful and easy way for local creators to give back to their community while still respecting the work that they do.”

For Zielinksi, it felt important to allow participating artists to choose the percentage of the sale to donate. Every spring, her email inbox is inundated with cold requests for her artwork.

“I think there is a pervasive sense in our society that art is fun and so therefore, you shouldn’t be worried about making the income off of it, but art is work. People dedicate their time, their money and their resources to their practices, and it feels really disrespectful when you’re constantly asked to give your work away,” she said.

Zielinski will exhibit three pieces from her portfolio in the show. Her work is rooted in the connection between humans and nature.

“My process starts with walking meditations. As I move, surroundings dissolve into patterns of color and light,” she said in her artist statement. “Through my art, I document the plant life of public spaces, gardens, parks and open lands. Rather than highlight grand vistas and panoramas, I focus on the varieties of vegetation that thrive in the often-overlooked areas along my walks. I am particularly drawn to moments of overgrowth and density, where there is no foreseeable end to the foliage. These mysterious environments inspire dense, detailed compositions that spark wonder and captivate the viewer.”

Behind the canvas

Bend-based artist and designer Kimberley Yaeger created a mixed-media triptych inspired by the exhibition’s theme — nourish. It’s constructed from thousands of individually cut and hand-painted elements reflective of the 12,000 meals Family Kitchen provides to the Central Oregon community each month.

According to Yaeger’s artist statement, the work “transforms repetition into a meditation on nourishment — honoring the unseen labor, consistency and collective care behind every meal served.”

Ashley Dowden, who is also a curator of NOURISH, said she has taken multiple art classes at Zielinski’s art studio.

“I have ADHD and it really helps me get out of my head. All of a sudden, there are no more radio stations playing and I’m just focusing on the project, I’m not doomscrolling political stuff on social media,” Dowden said.

Dowden is also a board member at Family Kitchen, an organization founded in 1986 and relaunched as an independent nonprofit in 2023.

“We are excited to be a part of (the block party) and see the energy in the Central District and get our legacy organization in front of some new faces and get people excited about the next 40 years,” she said.