The Sterling Savings Bank Bite of Bend, held on June 21st and 22nd in Downtown Bend is Central Oregon’s most exciting and fastest-growing charity event/festival. Created as a way to raise additional funds for local charities; The Bite exceeded everyone's expectations last year with an estimated 20,000 attendee's; we expect that number to grow in 2008 Due to the great attendance, we were able to raise a substantial amount of money for local charities. The mission of The Bite of Bend is to celebrate our local culture and create an event that accurately reflects the food of our region. New this year will be the Oregon Marketplace, showcasing food and farm ggrown produce from around Oregon. The majority of our entertainment is also local. In this way, businesses that support our event benefit from the network of goodwill associated with The Bite of Bend. This event is free to the public and includes a wide array of activities such as a children’s area, performance stage, beer garden, fine food and wine as well as a live Iron Chef competition; not to mention local food booths offering “bites” of their locally created provisions.