FivePine launches Music on the Pond

Steeped in the magic of the towering pines and the tranquility of a flowing stream, the key elements of any Sisters event - good food and pleasurable music - will come together at FivePine Lodge and Conference Center on Thursday evenings this summer.

The new Music on the Pond dinner/concert series will debut on Thursday evening, July 19, and continue through the third week in September.

Each week a gourmet buffet dinner will be served on the lawn behind the conference center accompanied by a gamut of creative musical performances from area artists. In case of rain the event will be moved inside the conference center.

It is the goal of FivePine Lodge and Conference Center Executive Chef David Berger to provide a fine but casual dinner with a completely different menu each week. The themes will vary from week to week, and even a sophisticated barbecue will emerge on occasion. The buffet "will be presented beautifully," said Berger, and everything will be made from fresh ingredients.

"It's going to be casual, family friendly. You can bring blankets and sit on the ground, but we'll have tables and chairs available also," Berger said.

"We're doing this to offer some more food and beverage as we don't have the restaurant available yet,"said Berger, noting that many tourists come to FivePine not realizing that construction of the FivePine restaurant, Pleiades, will not be completed until December. A brew pub is also planned for the FivePine campus; however, that project is still in the design stages.

Flutist Ron Laws is the featured artist this Thursday. Laws is a member of the three-man Central Oregon band COYO (www.coyoden.com).

When Pleiades opens, Berger's plan is to drive to his suppliers and pick-up the products he serves in the restaurant. Long-term, the plan is to build a greenhouse on the FivePine campus and organically grow all of the restaurant's produce in house.

"It's on the list. We'll see. We've got a lot of things on the list - a lot of brainstorms and ideas," said Berger.

Berger plans to use Thursday nights to test what dishes clients like.

"This will give us a little chance to try some new things and see what people like about the food that we are doing here and get used to what we're really trying to be here," he said. "You're going to notice that the food will look nicer and, probably, be fresher. ... That's my ultimate goal."

Sisters Folk Festival's Americana Project executive director Brad Tisdel is scheduled to perform on July 26, and Sisters High School graduate and Americana Project singer/songwriter Monica Offield, who recently received a kidney transplant, will entertain on August 2. Other local favorites slated to appear are Brent Alan, Benji Nagel, David Bowers, Anastacia Scott and Dennis McGregor.

Thursday's dinner will be served starting at 6:30 p.m., with the buffet open throughout the entire evening. Laws will play between 7 and 9 p.m. This week's menu includes: green salad with assorted dressings; baked potato salad; watermelon; corn on the cob; barbecued chicken and baby back ribs; and a selection of cakes and pies.

Tickets are: $20 for adults; $10 for children six to 12; five and under are free.

"You get entertainment and all-you-can-eat food for that," Berger said.