Bend’s downtown streets will once again swell with visitors, white tents, food carts and music stages.

The annual Bend Summer Festival returns this weekend for its 27th year, but with many new faces performing and showcasing their work. The festival features food and drink vendors, kids activities, live music on multiple stages and local goods. But what sets Bend Summer Fest apart from other seasonal events is the extensive list of local and out-of-state arts and crafts vendors at the Fine Artist Promenade.

This year’s Best of Jury winner is Ben Newman of Ben Newman Designs. Newman is a woodworker who creates custom-made wooden furniture to complement people’s homes. His influences include Shaker, Classical French and mid-century modern furniture. Newman got his start in woodworking as a teen, when he moved to Idaho to help friends build a series of yurts. He next apprenticed as a cabinet builder and created a business of building mounts for artifacts. He later spent time in Vermont restoring historical estates, like the Vanderbilt estate or the Robert Cross estate.

His woodworking process begins with negotiations with his clients to determine their aesthetics.

“I love to work back and forth with clients and show them different periods and different styles of furniture, so we can get a general idea of what their taste is like,” Newman said. From there, he sends clients drawings so they can determine the exact piece of furniture they want in his home. Once the design is decided, he starts milling and wood form milling with a mix of machine and hand tools. Newman does 90 percent of the finishing by hand.

For this weekend’s festival, he will showcase a trestle dining table, a floating top mid-century modern coffee table, some benches and wooden-framed mirrors.

After checking out the artwork, take a stroll down the food promenade for a bite to eat, or if little ones are in attendance, take them to the face painting booth. Don’t forget to stop by one of the free concert stages before heading home. (See Page 4 for Bend Summer Festival’s full music schedule.)

What: Bend Summer Festival

Where: downtown Bend

When: 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 
11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, 
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

Cost: Free

Contact: c3events.com