The Try Zone

The Fireman and The Dance

What better way to celebrate the hottest day of the year so far but with a new episode and even a new season of the podcast! We've been missing for a few months, but that doesn't mean we haven't been thinking of you all. We have been busy living life and doing all the things, which gives us lots to talk about! For our return to the air, we brought in our pal Bryan Fey for Episode 58: The Fireman and The Dance. We asked Bryan to join us and share about his experience being a volunteer firefighter in McMinnville for 21 years, some of his memories of that experience and attending the infamous Fireman's Dance. We've been working hard to bring back this fun event and we share a bit about why we are doing that and we hope to see you all there! We're ready to get back into the swing of things with the podcast and we hope you're still with us.

The Try Zone

That's what we're all doing anyways right...trying? We loved this week's Episode 57: The Try Zone because not only did we learn about a sport we weren't super familiar with, rugby, but we also learned a lot of fun new sports terms. We had a great time talking and learning with John Mead and Christine Bader, two local youth rugby coaches. This is a fun and intriguing sport and our community and these two leaders are really offering our kids a great opportunity. From the unique rugby culture, to the skills and values the kids are learning through this sport, there's a lot to love here. Have fun with this one!

Townie Talk - 2

What do you expect from us when the sun comes out? We are distracted, outside, just being busy bees! So we think this light episode with two of our friends perfectly fits the season. On this week's Episode 56: Townie Talk - 2 we chat with our good friends, Tara Rich and Shannon Dunn. This is a very comfortable conversation with lots of memories and connecting about our home town. We hope you find something to enjoy in this episode and that we hit you with a bit of townie nostalgia.

You Want It Or Not?

That is ultimately the question, right? Do we want and value locally owned, high quality restaurants to enjoy, or do we get distracted and not realize that if we don't show up they may not always be there? We are lucky to talk to two of our friends on Episode 55: You Want It Or Not? Ricardo Antunez from Pura Vida Cocina and Patrick Bruce from Thistle about the struggles they have faced in the restaurant business the last few years. We know some of this story, but it is good to check in to make sure we are doing what we can to help these amazing local institutions stay alive and stable. What would our downtown, and town, be without restaurants and business owners like theirs? Change is inevitable, and these guys have been weathering a pandemic, rising costs, change in dining behaviors, wage increases and more without raising their prices as much as they need to. We hope this episode inspires you to spend your dollars eating out locally and remember that we need to be there for the businesses we want to have in our community.

Townie Talk

It's always a good time when you get to spend an hour chatting with fellow locals. It's even more fun when you're chatting with townies, and sharing memories about growing up in Mac. On this week's Episode 54: Townie Talk, we had a chance to catch up with our friends Dan Davison and Todd Godfrey. We talk about our favorite memories, how we feel about change in town, things that we love and things that we don't. Essentially the same conversations you are probably having with your friends as well. Things aren't always easy in a small town, and our growing pains can be uncomfortable. But every time we sit down and connect on what's working and what we would like to see improved, we grow. And as long as we are growing together we will be fine.