More than 700 people filled The Dalles High School Auditorium for the 12th annual Dancing With the Gorge Stars, turning the high-energy dance competition into the largest single-night fundraiser in town. While Rachel Carter claimed the mirror ball trophy, the real victory belonged to the community, which raised thousands of dollars to support affordable live music, education, and outreach programs across the Mid-Columbia region.

Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) and Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) are preparing for the 2026 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, scheduled for January 28, with surveys being collected between Monday, January 26 and Friday, January 30.

Thanks for checking out the Gorge Giggin’ Guide! We’re highlighting a Great Week of Music including an MLK Day celebration complete with a Community Choir! Enjoy!

From STEAM activities and storytimes to live music, crafts and teen gaming nights, The Dalles Public Library hosts a wide range of free January programs for all ages.

The dance floor will be afire tonight as our friends and neighbors compete for whole ball of mirrors. Get your ticket, take the ride at Dancing with the Gorge Stars at 7 p.m. at TDHS.

Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill, Hood River County District Attorney Matthew Ellis and program staff described the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program as a voluntary alternative to jail for people involved in low-level, nonviolent “livability” crimes such as trespass, shoplifting and minor drug possession.

The Dalles Public Library will host a full slate of January programs, including winter reading, STEAM activities, crafts, storytimes and family events, with offerings for preschoolers through adults throughout the month.

Thanks for checking out the Gorge Giggin’ Guide! What better way to start 2026 than supporting our own “Gorge Stars” in Dancing with the Gorge Stars - a true community effort that dazzles the crowd year after year! There’s A Lot of Music this week - enjoy!

The Dalles Public Library was transformed into a storybook kingdom Friday afternoon during its third annual Prince and Princess Tea Party, drawing families for an afternoon of crafts, dancing and imaginative play.

Kiwanis meetings are held every Thursday at noon at Spooky's, and visitors are welcome.

The Dalles Public Library will host a full slate of family-friendly programs from Dec. 30 through Jan. 3, including craft nights, teen activities, live performances and an adults-only fantasy-themed evening.

It’s the New Year’s Eve Blowout Edition of the Gorge Giggin’ Guide! You’ve made it through 52 weeks of Gorge Entertainment, and we’re celebrating with a Champagne Toast! All of the music and special New Year’s Eve events are here - and we’ll see you soon in 2026! Happy New Year!

On Monday, January 5, 2026, the City of The Dalles Public Works will begin repairs to a catch basin on the 6th Street Bridge. The catch basin is creating a road hazard and must be repaired.

Some of the most fulfilling work doesn’t happen in front of an audience. For Mark, it happens in kitchens, in gardens, and in small, but powerful, everyday moments.  

Just three business days after extensive storm damage closed its largest clinic building, Adventist Health Columbia Gorge reopened about 80% of its affected clinical services on Dec. 22 by relocating them to its other facilities in The Dalles and Hood River.

Six local organizations joined together to donate $20,000 to the Columbia Gorge Food Bank to help address increased need in the community. Chenowith Water PUD, the City of The Dalles, Hood River Electric & Internet Co-op, Northern Wasco County People's Utility District, QLife, and Wasco Electric Cooperative presented the donation on Thursday, December 18.

As 2025 comes to a close, The Next Door Inc. (TNDI) is thrilled to announce our Philanthropists of the Year! With so many people stepping up to support and care for others, we’ve decided to award not one, not two, but three recipients this year: Molly Fauth in Hood River County, Pray Electric of Wasco County, and donors who wish to remain anonymous from Klickitat County.

When I wrote a column on big institutions, government, utilities, and trillion-dollar corporations, I owed readers two things at once: a clear point of view and clean, verifiable facts.

In my recent column about data centers and public costs, I oversimplified a few details, and while they remain true, it’s not the whole picture. This is the clarification: what was missed, and why the core community question still stands.

Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC), in partnership with Mid-Columbia Center for Living (MCCFL), is pleased to announce the conversion of 21 units at The Annex into permanent supportive housing (PSH).

Affordable Housing is a complicated topic, especially in a region like the Columbia River Gorge, where development opportunities are limited.