We met a lot of great people on our trip to Pendleton, but Verne Marr was one of our favorites. A tall, soft-spoken retired wildlife biologist, he now makes a limited number of custom banjos every year. We loved his nature-inspired designs, and his endlessly patient approach to his work. Take a listen.

Dakota Brown's got a lot on his plate right now: school, gigs, a new record in the works. We caught him before a recent gig at Hamley's to find out where the songwriting is taking him these days.

The one & only James Kindle is preparing for a week-long residency at Al's Den in Portland. We caught up to talk about his band's recent record, and other happenings.

Who better to be snowed in with than the cats & kittens of Pendleton? We spent six wintery days smack in the middle of Umatilla County's amazing creative community. Here are some of the people we met.

00:22Oregon East Symphony
08:44Your Questions re: classical
09:22JD Kindle & the Eastern Oregon Playboys
17:28Banjo maker Verne Marr
24:57Jenny Morgan's paper cuts
30:37Rivoli Theater Restoration
39:00Hamley's Art
42:25Dakota Brown
48:00painter Arlen Clark
51:30Crow's Shadow preview

Scott Palmer and actors from Hillsboro's Bag & Baggage Theater discuss their adaptation of Shakespeare's classic. Watch for an update on this story. The show's lead, Kevin Connell, was found Monday to have suffered a massive stroke.

Commissioners meet to get an update on the executive hiring process, and other matters.

The radio show Fusionarte's film series screening 50's and 60's era Lucha libre films has become a surprise hit. The final installation in the series is coming up Thursday night, March 20th. Listen up!

Disjecta's biennial project, Portland2014 is on view, with a massive, multi-gallery celebration of the regional art scene. Curator Amanda Hunt of LAXART has chosen 15 artists from Western Oregon. She sat down with April to talk about her process, and highlight a few of the works in the show. Hunt says she knew nearly nothing about Oregon artists when she took on the project, and completely immersed herself.

01:25 Disjecta's Portland2014 with curator Amanda Hunt
19:00 North Portland hip hop
25:40 XRAY FM to launch today
32:15 GIF art explosion
37:24 Cinescopio
43:15 Bag & Baggage reimagines Lear
48:15 OAC meeting in Ashland
51:45 Poetry Out Loud

April sat down with Oregon's Cultural Advocacy Coalition's Chris Coleman and Christine Drazan to discuss their upcoming "Big Think" about arts and culture policy and funding in Oregon in the coming years.

This is the full length interview.