Prineville’s High Desert Moonfest celebrates region with a wide variety of events, activities and programs

(Update: Adding video, comments)

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – An inaugural festival featuring a wide variety of fun events took place Saturday in Prineville, called the High Desert Moonfest, a celebration of the community’s heritage, beauty and culture.

Events took place across Prineville throughout the day and into the night, from a 5K/10K to a festival at Pioneer Park featuring live music (Cheyenne West and Dry Canyon Stampede), Native storytellers, food vendors and craft booths.

"It means a lot, because we want to grow this," said Kim Molnar, director of tourism for Explore Prineville/the Prineville-Crook County Chamber of Commerce.

"We want to have an event this specific to Prineville," she said. "When we talked about what can we do, we didn't want to recreate anything else that's happening in the region. This is something that's special to us and to our community, so we're hoping it gets bigger and better every year."

The Bowman Museum held special programs such as a session on the history of the Pioneer Queens, while Wine Down Ranch offered a logging tour. There's also a guided walk at the Crooked River Wetlands, a rockhounding field trip in the Ochocos, a downtown street fair and a Prineville Airport event featuring their murals, World War II planes and history.

Also, being the weekend before Halloween – or as some now call it, “Halloweekend” – people could finish off the day by visiting Ghost Town at Crooked River Park, to enjoy live music and a haunted house.