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About The Redmond spokesman. (Redmond, Crook County, Or.) 1910-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2022)
The SpokeSman • WedneSday, January 26, 2022 P5 Submitted photos Redmond is huge draw for equestrian-related events and horse vacations. Tourism Continued from P1 They often grab up the best seats, clog shopping districts or don’t fit in with local customs. Visitors on the other hand are not so easily tarnished as we are taught from childhood to be welcoming of guests. Other side of the same coin. You wouldn’t be rude to a visitor now would you? In fact the Redmond Cham- ber of Commerce is also the home of Visit Redmond. Both are headed by Executive Direc- tor Eric Sande. “Redmond sells itself,” he says, elaborating: “With what we have to offer, Redmond is growing as the gateway to Cen- tral Oregon tourism.” Sande points out that if you are coming to any part of cen- tral Oregon by air, then it all begins and often ends at Rob- erts Field. He cites the airport and the Deschutes County Expo Center as the key drivers of visitors from literally around the world making their way here. Visit Redmond is about to launch a new, more robust website in a week or two — visitredmondoregon.com — that is supplemented with the annual Visitor Guide, a 156 page, full color, full-size mag- azine. About 18,000 copies are printed and distributed in stra- tegic locations statewide. A major traffic builder is Smith Rock State Park, one of the most visited sites in all of Oregon. Last year, the hiking and rock-climbing mecca saw more than 800,000 visitors. Crater Lake, by comparison, came in under 700,000. Almost 25,000 of those at Smith Rock overnighted, some camping on the grounds. The majority, though, stayed in motels and hotels. There being none in Hundreds of out of state riders and spectators expected for April BMX National Event in Redmond. near by Terrebonne, Redmond was the beneficiary, officials said. Smith Rock draws climbers from 27 countries, many of whom are non-English speak- ing so in warmer weather it is not uncommon to be in Redmond and hear German, Austrian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, French and Asian speakers. Sande says he gets a steady stream of walk-ins who come to climb or attend Expo events. They leave with armloads of available maps, pamphlets, and brochures extolling the virtues and opportunities for visitors to Redmond. “A good number of the climbers are captivated by the Maple Street Bridge arches.” He explained how the climbers can practice right in town dan- gling from the 70-foot high, 780-foot long span over Dry Canyon. Geoff Hinds, Executive Di- rector of Deschutes County & Expo Center, told The Spokes- man that most Redmond res- idents think events held there are local in nature. Some are. Most are not. The most visible — two rodeos — have a sur- prising number of out-of-town spectators who are generally from a five-state region. The cowboys and cowgirls come from as far as Canada, Mexico and Florida. The list of region-wide events held at the Expo is lengthy. “Redmond has developed a unique brand of Americana tourism,” Hinds said, adding: “Redmond is a destination onto itself. Even if Redmond is not the starting point for central Oregon visitors, many wind up here as they explore the many outdoor options that make Redmond the center point.” Indeed, Redmond finds it- self right in the middle of desti- nation resorts such as Brasada Ranch, Eagle Crest and Crooked River Ranch. Eques- trians also come literally from around the globe for horse- manship near Redmond. Cas- cades Futurity in September is a typical event featuring some of the best cutting horses in the country. The Central Oregon Ag Show will open its inaugu- ral event March 26-27 at the fairgrounds. It is part of the Northwest Agricultural show organization. It is a free and family-friendly event. Overland Expo has just added Redmond as its fourth venue for 2022. Last year, it drew 59,000 attendees and 855 exhibitors for their shows in SOLUTION Sudoku on Page 2 Arizona, Colorado and Virginia. Event Marketing VP Jessica Kirchner explained Redmond and the Expo as their choice for the Pacific Northwest. “With 340 acres and more than 300,000 square feet of flexible event space and state- of-the-art amenities, Deschutes County Fairgrounds and Expo Center is the premier event fa- cility in the Pacific Northwest. The venue is conveniently lo- cated less than a mile from Redmond Municipal Airport.” “The facility is surrounded on virtually all sides by beau- tiful National Forests too, in- cluding the Mt. Hood National Forest to the north, Ochoco National Forest to the east, De- schutes National Forest to the west, and Fremont-Winema National Forest to the south. Each of these has hundreds of trails to explore and campsites to visit.” “Redmond is a destination onto itself. Even if Redmond is not the starting point for central Oregon visitors, many wind up here as they explore the many outdoor options that make Redmond the center point.” — Geoff Hinds, Expo Center director Similar sentiments were ex- pressed by organizers of ABA- USA BMX who will hold their Great Northwest Nationals in Redmond April 8th to 10th with riders and spectators ex- pected from Washington, Cal- ifornia, Idaho and possibly as far as Montana and Colorado. So, yes, tourism in Redmond is thriving. SOLUTION Crossword on Page 2