Author: Kitri McGuire

A man stands in front of a display of cds, a wall of records and his record store in the background.

Celebrating Record Store Day at The Vortex

McMinnville is more suited than most Oregon towns to celebrate Record Store Day on April 23, because we’ve The Vortex. Years of curating an eclectic inventory and seeing a new audience for vinyl emerge has taught LaVerne that any day can be a record store day that keeps him and his staff busy. Or at least six days a week.

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A large group of band members sit in concert formation with their instruments.

Second Winds Community Band harnesses springtime energy

Humans’ creative cycles are like plants moving through the seasons: there is a time for blooming, and a time for reserving energy, staying dormant within the soil, in preparation for future growth. For some musicians, those periods of rest might take years or even decades before they feel called again to play music.

That is often the case for new members of Second Winds Community Band, and whether it’s been months or years since you’ve last picked up an instrument, you’re welcome to join.

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Tiny figurines sit on a map with a tiny Spruce Goose.

Tiny Travels: Top 5 Things to Do at Evergreen Over Spring Break

The best Spring Break trips take you out of this world for an experience like no other. In McMinnville, the best place to find this level of fun, facts, and fabulosity reside at the Evergreen complex just outside of town, site of the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum and the Wings & Waves Waterpark.

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Actors Eli Jakob and Joseph Cannon stand in front of a cocktail bar, singing. Photo by Emily Matsuda.

Gallery Theater shakes up a cocktail of romance and nostalgia

For the next three weeks, the best of crooner Frank Sinatra’s music will fill Gallery Theater’s large auditorium in downtown McMinnville. My Way: A Tribute to the Music of Frank Sinatra is a 2-hour celebration of all things Ol’ Blue Eyes, with a live band and quartet of musicians singing and dancing their way through Sinatra songs while cleverly dropping biographical winks and nods.

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Two figurines are place in front of a halved chocolate with pink filling.

Tiny Travels: Visit this monastery tasting room for love and chocolate

Life can be like a box of chocolates – and it can also be a highway. You and your paramour don’t have to squabble over ‘90s pop culture analogies this Valentine’s Day if you take a drive south of McMinnville to visit the tasting room of the Brigittine Monks, whose award-winning truffles, chocolates and fudge are best enjoyed à deux.

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Two tiny figurines are placed on fabric that displays a robin and tree branches.

Tiny Travels: Follow Your New Birding Obsession to McMinnville

In McMinnville, birding destinations abound, from city parks tucked away near major thoroughfares to vineyard stops to state recreation sites to a national wildlife refuge. And now – the winter months – is the time to pick a fair-weather day and explore, since so many migrating species use the Willamette Valley for their seasonal sojourn.

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Meg Ordaz smiles and stands in front of s wine wall with a bottle and glass of wine in front of her.

Troon Winery: Southern Oregon Tastes in McMinnville

Troon Winery is one of the newest additions to Third Street, McMinnville’s downtown culinary walk of fame. On a street dotted with great restaurants, local winery tasting rooms, shops, and taprooms, Troon brings something new to the sidewalk landscape. In this region famous for its Pinot Noir wines, Troon introduces wines reflecting the classic styles of Southern France – Grenache, Syrah, Viognier, Roussane, and more –produced from biodynamically farmed grapes from Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley.

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