A reliable harbinger of spring is the annual opening of Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market, popular destination for all things homegrown and handmade. The market will launch its 2025 season in Ashland on Tuesday, March 4, at ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum, 1500 E. Main St., and in Medford on Thursday, March 6, at Hawthorne Park, 501 E. Main St.
This spring, Josh Dorcak, the creator of MÄS and Nama, will unveil Kandō, an exclusive, members-only lounge perched in a sleek penthouse above the two high-end restaurants.
Ashland’s Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, with a succession of previous owners and operations across multiple locations, may have reached its final destination after being acquired last year by 1-800-Flowers.Com, Inc., parent company of Harry & David. Joseph Rowland, group president of Gourmet Foods & Gift Baskets, Harry & David, said the company has no plans to move Scharffen Berger’s production into the Harry & David campus in Medford.
Attention, chocoholics: Your favorite time of year is back, and your sweet tooth is about to be very busy. The 21st annual Oregon Chocolate Festival returns to Ashland Hills Hotel and Suites March 7-9, featuring a chocolate brunch, a chocolate product competition, a costume contest, family activities and demos and presentations from world-renowned chocolatiers, sommeliers and chefs.
A crowd gathered outside the psychedelic entrance of the Shrooms Cafe in downtown Ashland Friday night, Feb. 7. They were among the first visitors to climb the long flight of stairs that lead to a large open room filled with music and colored lights. It was opening night at Shrooms Cafe at 139 E. Main Street, next door to O’Ryans Irish Pub.
Phoenix is about to bubble over with excitement with a weekend extravaganza celebrating all things fermented. Fermentopia takes center stage Saturday and Sunday at the Phoenix Civic Center. Featuring such products as sauerkraut, sourdough, kombucha and kimchi, the event promises a feast of flavors designed to leave taste buds cultured and curiosity stirred.
The receipt of a $4,000 grant will support the Ashland Community Food Bank in four programs designed to alleviate food insecurity for children and families in Ashland, according to Amey Broeker, executive director of the food bank.
Talent-based eatery Pump House 2.0 will close next week, bidding farewell to the community after some starts and stops at a busy downtown corner. Announced Jan. 2, Pump House 2.0 will be open for its final day Saturday, Jan. 18.
Ashland’s popular Pie + Vine restaurant has ceased operations, and a new owner is taking over the premises to offer a different culinary option in the downtown restaurant scene.
More than 200 people turned out Thursday for the ninth Community Peace Meal and Thanksgiving Celebration at the First Presbyterian Church of Ashland, according to organizers Jason and Vanessa Houk of Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice, which does the Peace Meal every Thursday and Friday in Lithia Park near the bandshell at 3:30 p.m., rain or shine.
The curtain will rise once more in Ashland as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival launches its milestone 90th anniversary season this weekend. The 2025 lineup of nine productions on three stages includes Shakespearean classics, timeless dramas, comedies, new works and even a Sondheim musical.
Citing higher-than-anticipated caseloads in the state’s Medicaid program and the agency that provides services to seniors and people with disabilities, Oregon’s budget writers plan to spend nearly $426 million more than they initially budgeted before the end of the fiscal year in June.
In a 4-1 vote Tuesday, Ashland City Council served as the final say and the next step toward development for Kestral Park, a multi-family housing development slated for North Mountain Avenue. The 53-acre development would create mixed forms of housing, including studio spaces with less than 500 square feet of floor space, and larger apartments between Interstate 5 and Bear Creek and the west of North Mountain Avenue.
For a Ukrainian family who fled their war-torn nation to settle in Ashland, the Trump administration’s decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine is more than just a foreign policy decision. It is a question of national survival.
On Tuesday night in front of a packed-in Lithia Motors Pavilion crowd, the SOU Raiders women’s basketball team stamped their historic run through the circuit by defeating No. 25 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), 56-49, in the title game of the CCC Championships for the third time in four seasons. At 31-0, they’ll be the first team in CCC history to enter the NAIA National Tournament with an unbeaten record.
In a state known for protests, the recent demonstrations around Oregon feel different. People are protesting the administration almost every week, and the political frustrations seem to be growing. No single cause unites the protesters, not war, police brutality or climate change. Instead, people of all ages are rising up against a wide range of the Trump administration’s policies.
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