Santa has sent us letters and drawings from local 2nd and 3rd graders to help us rekindle the magic of this holiday season through these innocent and hopeful writings. Santa has quite a group of pen pals from The Dalles, Dufur, Mosier and Lyle. Check them out here.

With a major uptick in flu cases, the U.S. Center for Disease Control has sent out a Health Advisory to healthcare providers regarding the importance of prescribing antiviral medications for patients with the flu this year. Flu shots are available. Click here to find out more.

All that shopping and sweating the little stuff needs to take a break. Find a live show or a movie in this week’s roundup of Gorge Entertainment. Jim Drake also offers a little New Year’s Eve Planner to get you thinking.

Grants are available to individuals and organizations for projects in the arts, humanities and heritage. Applications and guidelines can be found on the website. The deadline for applications is February 17, 2023. Click here for the link and more information.

Entertainment in the Gorge is hitting a fevered pitch in the next couple of days as opportunities for live music, entertainment, comedy and local concerts are coming down the chimney like a bag of toys. Check out the offerings and opportunities for holiday fun here.

Like most foster children, Christopher arrived at the Klahre House, one of The Next Door's two alternative schools, with severe trauma, a challenging family life, and drug addictions. He needed treatment, support, and a place he felt he belonged. The Klahre House Alternative School was that place.

A bunch of energetic Colonel Wright Elementary students - 20 to be exact - were caroling throughout the community last week in The Dalles. It was a cool 10-show, city-wide tour as they performed for different groups, ranging from retirement homes to service groups to public locations. Another public performance is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 15.

North Wasco County Schools will be closed today, Friday, 12/9/22, due to inclement winter weather.

We’re coming into a manic weekend as the days count down to Christmas. And the presents are already dropping as art, music and entertainment are piling up like packages at the post office. This weekend brings us Brewer’s Grade, Anna Veimeister and Aaron Myer to name just a few. Check our latest here and stuff your stocking with some good times.

Oregon Tradeswomen is now enrolling for our Laborer-focused pre-apprenticeship training for women and transgender individuals in The Dalles on Jan. 24th. The introductory class provides insight into the trades and students can elect to enroll in a 5-week course that could lead to an apprenticeship and good money.

North Wasco County Schools will be operating on a 2-hour delay, Monday, December 5th.

Moe Dixon and Tess and Patrik Barr will play a free show at Riverside Community Church in Hood River on Friday, Dec. 2nd at noon. Dixon will also play The Pines in HR starting at 6 p.m. Miles From Nowhere, a four-piece band from Central Oregon will bring a set filled with Classic Rock, Blues, Country and Alternative to Zim’s in TD on Saturday, Dec. 3, starting at 7 p.m.

The Snow Sisters and Goldendale Reindeer Farm are creating a ton of holiday magic for local youths this Christmas Season as they offer events around the Gorge. Tegan Shermikas takes along for the ride as the Sisters work their magic. Sounds pretty fun. We wish we were 5 again.

It’s a gobble-gobble throwdown as local venues stuff the holiday weekend with shows, entertainment, art and music.
Al Hare is kicking it off with a Wild Turkey Party on Wednesday at the Bargeway Pub. Keep it neat, Al. No ice.

Twenty-three-year-old Gabe Eldredge said the halls were a bit lonely when he moved into the new dormitory on the Columbia Gorge Community College campus in The Dalles last year. Not anymore.

Columbia Gorge Community College celebrated Native American Heritage Month with eight-time Grammy Award nominees the Black Lodge Singers at the Fort Dalles Readiness Center, in The Dalles, OR on November 17th. Plus other ways to celebrate Native American Heritage in the Gorge this month.

It’s that plush time of year - holidays on the horizon and great music to be had everywhere. Check out this week’s listing of great arts and entertainment throughout the Gorge. Carrell, Johnson on tap for Saturday, Nov. 19 at Bargeway

Turkey Trot in The Dalles on Thanksgiving could bring a lot of gravy to The Dalles Backpack Program. Columbia Gorge Motors will match all proceeds dollar for dollar this year and give it to the volunteer program that sends backpacks of food home with local students each week.

I believe it is the first time I have attended any sort of Veteran’s Day celebration and it is hard to imagine a program being better organized and meaningful than the one I witnessed on Thursday. - JIm Dunnigan on the Dufur School‘s assembly to honor Veterans.

Mid-Columbia Community Concert Association presents The Four C Notes on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at The Dalles Civic Auditorium in The Dalles. Doors open at 6 p.m., show begins at 7 p.m. Lectures, art, music, comedy and entertainment are in good supply during the next few weeks. Check it all out here.