The free kick-off party for Pendleton Whisky Music Fest will draw a crowd on July 11, 2025, in downtown Pendleton. The music festival is July 12, 2025, at the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds; some grandstand seats are still available. (Pendleton Whisky Music Fest/Contributed Photo)

Yard sale supports scholarships for women

LA GRANDE — An indoor yard sale to support college scholarships for women is set for Saturday, July 12, from 8 a.m. to noon at the La Grande Zion Lutheran Church at the corner of Fourth and I avenues.

Enter the fellowship room from the parking lot on I Avenue. The sale is sponsored by Chapter I, PEO, of La Grande. Sale includes household items, baked goods, plants and produce. All items are sold by donation unless marked.

Take a tour and support CASA

BAKER CITY — An annual garden tour supporting CASA of Eastern Oregon on Saturday, July 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. features eight gardens — four are in Baker City, and four are out of town.

The tour is self-guided, and can be visited in any order.

Tickets are $15 and free for children under 10. Purchase tickets in advance at Baker Floral and Botanicals or Jubilee Plants and Gathering. On the tour day, tickets and maps will be available at Compass Real Estate. Payment must be by cash or check.

For more information, call 541-519-7227.

Third Tuesday features summertime favorites

UNION — What better way to celebrate summer than cookies, homemade ice cream and crafting?

Join museum patrons, volunteers and board members at the Union County Museum on July 15 for the Third Tuesday event and enjoy these summer favorites. Admission is free to the Summer Crafts, Cookies & Ice Cream Social and the public is welcome. Activities take place in the Union County Museum courtyard, 333 S. Main St., beginning at 7 p.m. and will go until dark.

There will be craft stations for creating different heritage crafts your ancestors may have made. A weaving loom will be available to try a row or two, as well. Volunteer instructors will provide the supplies and show you how to exercise your creativity. Union Carnegie Public Library is partnering with the museum for this event.

Museum members are providing home-baked cookies and ice cream will be made on site. Bring copies of your favorite family cookie recipe to share.

The museum is open through September, Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The museum is owned by the Union County Museum Society, a nonprofit corporation, and operated by a small group of volunteers. For information, visit ucmuseumoregon.com or call 541-562-6003. New members and volunteers are welcome.

Join Summer Fishtrap at evening readings

JOSEPH — The 38th annual Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers returns to Wallowa Lake Lodge, and will again offer evening readings that are open to the public at 7:30 p.m.

Admission is free for the weekday events, and tickets are available for Saturday’s Fishtrap Live Homegrown Showcase — $15 or $12.50 for Fishtrappers at fishtrap.org/sfg25-schedule.

Schedule of evening readings:

• Wednesday, July 9: Novelist Karen Auvinen, Oregon Book Award winner Eric Berry, and award-winning author Joe Wilkins
• Thursday, July 10: Stephanie Elizando-Griest, novelist Nina McConigley, and former Oregon Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani
• Friday, July 11: Keynote address with Beth Piatote and the Fishtrap Fellows
• Saturday, July 12: Fishtrap Live: Homegrown. Purchase tickets at fishtrap.org.

Rustic Truck revs up with comedy night

IRRIGON — Featuring a career of packing comedy clubs and TV appearances on “The Tonight Show” and “Last Comic Standing,” funnyman Claude Stuart is returning to Irrigon.

For an energetic evening of comedy, make plans for Thursday, July 10, and cruise on over to The Rustic Truck Bar & Grill, 100 W. Highway 730, Irrigon. The show starts at 8 p.m.

The former class clown can be recognized from hilarious national commercials for various products, including Honda, Heineken, Jeep, Doritos and even Midol. And get ready, as Stuart engages in explosive audience interaction.

For more information, search www.facebook.com/TheRusticTruck. For questions, call 541-922-4374.

Watch free summer movies at Butte Park in July

HERMISTON — Popcorn, a blanket and a movie under the stars — Hermiston families can enjoy all that and a side of fries this July.

Hermiston Parks and Recreation kicks off its Summer Movies in the Park series on July 11 at Butte Park, 1245 NW Seventh St., next to Funland Playground. Sponsored by Lamb Weston, the free event runs for three Fridays and features outdoor films with complimentary hot fries served during each screening.

This year’s lineup includes big-screen adventures with bears, lost worlds and a stranded robot:

• July 11 – “Brother Bear”
• July 18 – “Journey to the Center of the Earth”
• July 25 – “The Wild Robot”

All movies begin at dusk, around 8:45 p.m., and admission is free. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, snacks and their favorite movie-watching companions.

For updates or more information, visit www.hermiston.gov/parksrec or search Facebook via bit.ly/3SQQ7VT.

Après rodeo fun in Elgin

ELGIN — Get ready to ride into the weekend with twang and flair — 6 String Circus is back at Elgin Station, 52 N. Eighth St., for Stampede Rodeo weekend.

This high-energy band is known for their powerhouse vocals and boot-stomping sets, and they’ll be lighting up the stage Friday, July 11, and Saturday, July 12, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Elgin Station will have its beer garden and outdoor bar in full swing, and guests can grab drink tickets at the gate or inside — $5 each, or get six for $25. (Tickets are good for domestic beer and well drinks only, and are non-refundable.) There’s a $7 cover charge. For more information, call Elgin Station at 541-437-0100 or follow them on Facebook.

Whisky Fest kicks off with free ‘Party in Pendleton’

PENDLETON — The ninth annual Pendleton Whisky Music Fest features headliner Cody Johnson, three-time Grammy winner Nelly, Riley Green, Ian Munsick and Jacquie Roar.

The festival is Saturday, July 12, at the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds. The gates open at 3 p.m. and the music starts at 4 p.m.

While the only remaining seats are high in the grandstands, music lovers can enjoy the “Party in Pendleton” during the free kick-off party on Friday, July 11, 6 p.m. to midnight on Main Street in downtown Pendleton. Performers include Kurt Van Meter, The Chattahoochees and DJ Sovern-T.

To purchase grandstand seats ($119), visit www.pendletonwhiskymusicfest.com/tickets. For questions, email tickets@pendletonroundup.com.

Saturday means live music in Walla Walla

WALLA WALLA — Catch free live music every Saturday in downtown Walla Walla through the summer.

Each evening includes two performances at Heritage Square Park — bring a chair and blanket.

July 12 features the Rod Giles Band (blues and rock) from 5-7 p.m., followed by Late Show (country/rock/blues/pop) from 8-10 p.m.

Musicians interested in performing in 2026 are invited to email cindy@downtownwallawalla.com.

Park concert features Mexican folk music

BOARDMAN — Lively norteñas and soulful rancheras will be featured as Antonio Y Sus Hijos performs on Monday, July 14, at 7 p.m. at Boardman Marina Park, 1 NE Marine Drive.

Translated as Antonio and his sons, the family group promises to present an unforgettable musical experience. Longtime fans of Mexican folk music and those new to the genre are invited to enjoy the band’s heartfelt performance and authentic sound.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket or lawn chair and a picnic to enjoy an evening of music. Come early and shop the farmers market, which runs from 5-8 p.m. at the park.

The free concert series is held on Mondays through Aug. 18, alternating between the marina parks in Boardman and Irrigon. For more information, search www.facebook.com/boardmanirrigon.

Help find the criminal in Walla Walla

WALLA WALLA — Seasoned criminal Orvy Whipstitch Horvath has escaped Walla Walla’s territorial prison and visitors to the Fort Walla Walla Museum are needed to help track him down on July 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Find the criminal on the museum grounds and earn a prize from the museum store.

This family-friendly event is a hide-and-seek puzzle with clues hidden throughout the museum.

While you’re there, catch the living history presentation at 2 p.m. on Lettice Millican Clark Reynolds, whose cabin is now part of the museum’s Pioneer Village. She was the first white woman to live in the Walla Walla Valley after the Whitman tragedy. Reynolds is portrayed by Pam Myers.

The museum, 755 NE Myra Road, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check the schedule at fwwm.org.

Heppner fires up park music

HEPPNER — A pair of Music in the Park concerts are coming up at Heppner City Park, 444 N. Main St.

Brass Fire Band will perform jazz and pop music on Sunday, July 13, and Stone Fall will play original songs and Christian rock covers on Aug. 10. Both concerts run from 5-7 p.m. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy the free music.

Getting around in Northeast Oregon

LA GRANDE — Celebrate the role of rural transit with Northeast Oregon Public Transit at the National Rural Transportation Day event on Wednesday, July 16. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., swing by the Public Transit Hub in La Grande at 2204 E. Penn Ave. and learn about local services from health and housing support to insurance and food resources — plus take guided tours of the city’s transit vehicles.

There’s something for the whole family, including free lunch and cake, interactive information booths and a peek into how NEOPT supports the region with free bus routes in La Grande, medical rides, intercity connections and the Kayak Public Transit system.

For more information, visit ccno.org/public-transit, call 541-963-2877 or follow them on Facebook.

Power House Theatre brings twice the laughter

WALLA WALLA — Back-to-back nights of stand-up comedy will feature a pair of ​​comediennes at Power House Theatre, 111 N. Sixth Ave.

Kira Soltanovich will perform on Friday, July 18, and Susan Rice will take the stage on Saturday, July 19. Both shows start at 7 p.m.

Soltanovich, also an actress and writer, is best known for her nearly nine years of correspondence work on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Her 30-minute stand-up special, “Here Comes Trouble,” aired on Showtime. She has also taken the stage at numerous comedy clubs across the country and won several comedy festivals. Reserved seats are $25-$35 for adults and $20 for students.

A Pacific Northwest favorite, Rice’s 2024 “Don’t Tell Comedy” set garnered more than 1.4 million views on YouTube; her recent set dropped June 13. After cutting her chops during the mid-1980s in the Los Angeles comedy scene, she began touring across the country. Over the last decade, the septuagenarian found her niche in fundraising and organizing charity events, including the St. John Comedy Festival in her north Portland neighborhood. Reserved seats are $25.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.phtww.org or call 509-529-6500.

OK Fest seeks Wallowa County makers

ENTERPRISE — Wallowa County makers and vendors are invited to participate in the Maker’s Market @ OK Fest. The market will take place on Saturday, Aug. 2, noon to 5 p.m. on Main Street.

For more information or to apply, email Alyssa Roberts at LSSRBTS@gmail.com.

Main stage music at Umatilla County Fair

HERMISTON — Main stage shows for the 2025 Umatilla County Fair are Waylon Wyatt (Aug. 6), an up-and-coming folk/country singer from Arkansas; Chase Matthew (Aug. 7), a country singer-songwriter from Nashville; and Better Than Ezra (Aug. 8), an alternative rock band from New Orleans.

The Wednesday through Friday night shows begin at 9 p.m. in the outdoor concert area at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, 1705 E. Airport Road. Also, DJ, dancing and live music are featured in the Barley Barn before and after all concerts.

Limited bleacher seats are provided with fair admission. General concert seating and fan pit admission ranges from $15-$25. VIP tables for eight run from $200-$280. Purchase tickets via links at www.umatillacountyfair.net/entertainment or by searching www.aftontickets.com.

Saturday’s Latino Night (Aug. 9) begins at 7 p.m. The musical acts and ticket sales will be announced.

With the theme Cowbells & Carousels, the Umatilla County Fair is Aug. 6-9. For more information, search www.umatillacountyfair.net or call 541-567-6121.