CCCNews’ Jim Drake interviews Erin and David from the world-traveling classical crossover group Empire Trio, coming to The Dalles Civic Auditorium on March 7. Drake talks with the band about the show, what it’s like making your way in the classical music world, and what opera you should be listening to!

The annual Northwest Cherry Festival is set to take place in The Dalles, Oregon, from Friday, April 21st through Sunday, April 23rd, 2023 This year's festival, is themed "Homegrown Happiness."

Kids participating in SMART Reading programs have the opportunity to read each book and cast their vote in person. This year, for the first time ever, SMART is opening up the contest to all children in Oregon. Kids can read the selected titles and cast their votes at https://bit.ly/BookAward2023 until midnight on Sunday, Feb. 26. 

The flakes outside are real. Don’t become one. Take a moment to look at all the live entertainment and opportunities to grab a libation, see friends and hear some music or even get into writing your own book. It’s all here in this week’s most-inclusive guide to all things musical and artful in the gorge.

Jim Drake takes us on an interview with Cody Johnson, a young composer featured in award-winning video games. His collaboration piece “Vanitas” embraces the social turmoil that many experienced in the last five years. He will be live in concert with three other composers of note this Sunday, Feb. 19 at Wyeast Middle School at 2 p.m. Find out what the younger generation has to say with Jim Drake’s interview here.

The menu was small but deep offering a host of different sandwiches, two soups, chips and cookies. Modestly priced between $8 and $10 a sandwich these bad boys delivered up some satisfaction without breaking the bank.   All four of us salivated over differing items, and we took off our gloves and knocked out a sandwich superfecta to make a New York deli person salivate.

“Her Name Was Eleanor:  Teacher, Dancer, Equestrian, Activist” is the title of the February 18 program at the Original Wasco County Courthouse, 410 West 2nd Place in The Dalles.  Saturday’s program begins at 1:30 p.m. and is third in a month-long series of presentations.  

This Week in Gorge Entertainment: Musician Tony Furtado and Comedian Adam Pasi give locals two great picks this weekend in TD. Furtado plays multiple instruments including some phenomenal slide guitar and banjo hits The Dalles Art Center on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. And just down the street, comedian Adam Pasi will bring his unique flavor of humor to The Granada on the same night. Check out this week’s most comprehensive listing of local entertainment here.

Knock at the Cabin is a tense thriller about—maybe?—the end of the world, where four strangers invade the vacation rental of a gay couple and their daughter. What follows is a muddled, pseudo-philosophical exploration on the nature of belief and what one would do—or wouldn’t do—to stop the world from ending. 

Show love to your loved ones and your community by celebrating love locally this Valentine’s Day.

This Saturday night, Feb. 11th celebrates the return of Tommy and Saundra O’Sullivan to Old St. Peter’s Landmark. Currently, on a west coast US tour, the O’Sullivans bring songs and stories from the west coast of Ireland. 

Pearls abound in this week’s most inclusive listing of music, entertainment, comedy and literature in the Mid-Columbia as more shows have been announced and a bevy of Cupid-inspired activities are on tap.

Travis Fox of Springfield, Oregon, is just one of the dozens of workers brought into The Dalles to work indirectly or directly on projects related to Google’s new data center. The site at 3500 River Road is being prepped for construction and City Planning says they are expecting a building permit any day now.

My predictions for Best Picture? It’s a tough call. While Everything Everywhere All at Once leads the pack in the number of nominations (11 in total), this is, historically, an uneven indicator as to whether it will win, and in the last few years, results have actually gone the other direction. So we can’t count out Banshees of Inisherin, The Fabelmans, Triangle of Sadness, or even Tár for that matter–though.

Take your pick. From Pink Martini to Nerve Damage. From Lord of the Rings to Saturday Night Fever. Fun facts, bad movie jokes and secret salsa are all part of the gamut this week in the Gorge’s most inclusive listing of entertainment options, including country and western. You can’t go if you don’t know. Check it all out here.

Pattie Blagg said that the Dancing with the Gorge Stars had “its best crowd ever” on Friday January 13th, 2023. Now in its 9th season this production from Mid-Columbia Community Concert Association has really mastered that art of putting the ‘fun’ in fun-draising with an opening dance routine by The Dalles Dazzling Dancers, seven competitors of varying levels of skill, and professional dance performances from the Utah Ballroom Dance Company. 

CCCNew’s Jim Drake interviews Irish Roots Band Kalos. The trio goes deep into how they make their music and what influences them and most importantly who gets to carry the accordion.

Poker Tournament and Silent Auction on tap at Bargeway Pub as locals pull together to fundraise for Luis Flores who has been stricken with debilitating medical issues. The event is set for Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Bargeway event site on the west side of the restaurant and pub. Read here for more details.

Games abound in this week’s round-up of local social events, music offerings and local shows. Scrabble, pool and poker options sit along side productions such as Dancing with the Gorge Stars at The Dalles High School Auditorium or “Ripchord” at the Bingen Theater.

At its best, M3gan embodies the unhinged gleefulness of 80’s horror movies like Child’s Play, while keeping it fresh by inverting old tropes and subtly infusing the movie with a critique of our dependence on technology for our emotional needs. And while, for me, there could have been a little more gore, to its credit the movie actually manages to still create thrills while maintaining a PG-13 rating.