Dave Knows: Portland

Between Timbers games and spending time with Mom on Sunday, there are a few events worth exploring this weekend.
The Portland Vegfest kicks off Friday evening with a keynote address by Howard Lyman, the Mad Cowboy.
The fair Saturday runs from 10am-6pm at Benson High School (546 NE 12th Avenue). The events include food samples, […]

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Food Cart Festival this Saturday!
Jarrett Jack no longer #1
An interview with Portland director Todd Haynes
Democracy Now considers Portland the most bicycle-friendly city in North America
The Oregonian debates one of my favorite topics (and breakfasts): the best biscuits ‘n’ gravy in PDX
LA considers the Portland Streetcar

*Read the inaugural post for a rosebud explanation.

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Heather is new to Portland, so I’ve taken it upon myself to inculcate in her an understanding of Portland’s all-around greatness. One of Portland’s greats is Gus Van Sant. I was shocked to learn not only that his films were not one of her reasons for moving here, but that she’d only seen […]

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Spring has finally arrived, and with it my favorite part of the year: Festival Season.
That’s what I call it anyway.
By late summer every weekend has beautiful weather and copious cultural and neighborhood festivals.
But things start slowly.
Lucky for us beer, as it so often does, saves the day:
Spring Beer and Wine Fest
This is the beer festival […]

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Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho is the film I recommend to all my Portland transplant friends. It provides a glimpse into the city almost two decades ago. The Pearl, for example, didn’t exist; Blitz-Weinhard’s malty steam suffused the area. The loading docks were loading docks by day, prostitute promenades by night. […]

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On Sunday, both the Daily News and The Times featured interviews with the king of the disaffected-youth-in-Portland movie: Gus Van Sant. His most recent contribution to the genre is Paranoid Park.
Gus Van Sant on filmmaking and ‘Paranoid Park’
Van Sant discusses his take on the Hollywood system, and how a low-budget helps him retain artistic […]

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I miss summer and fall in Portland; the fantastic street fairs, festivals (Beer, French, Greek, Mexican, Polish, German, and more), and Timbers matches. When every weekend provides so many opportunities for fun that even the most obsessive festival frequenter can’t contemplate visiting them all. But then we hit November like a wall, and […]

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Portland historian Tom Robinson’s vintage 16mm films will be shown at Mississippi Pizza through February, starting tonight at 9pm (right after the spelling bee).
Tonight’s subject:

January 7, 2008
Beer Commercials a Go-Go!
Tom’s been busy buying even more of those retro liquor ads. See some of the classics you already love, plus reels of never shown ads, certain […]

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Three films with Portland connections are out or coming out soon. Only the Feast of Love actually takes place in Portland, but Portland makes an appearance in Into the Wild, and Todd Haynes, the director of I’m Not There, lives in Portland.
Feast of Love
Feast of Love is receiving mixed to bad […]

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If your idea of a good time is to be possessed of unnameable fear then make your way to the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy) this weekend. Doors open at 6pm Friday for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. The founder of the festival, Andrew Migliore, welcomes fans to the festival:
The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival […]

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