Archives for November 2010

Presenting PDX Web Ads: Your Local Blog and Ad Network

November 29, 2010 by Dave 1 Comment

Heather and I have started a business that we hope will help both local businesses and local bloggers: PDX Web Ads.

Heather sums up what we’re up to at Mile73.com:

Dave and I both love writing our blogs. We’ve both been at it now for a number of years. For a long time, we have discussed various ways to try to make a little money from our writing without turning our sites into a patchwork of tacky advertisements. We figured other bloggers must have the same dilemma.

At the same time, we realized we’d much rather support businesses in Portland and in our neighborhood than host ads for teeth whitening or belly flab. We started doing some research on how to start our own online ad network featuring local websites and serving local businesses.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. Our plans were starting to firm up. We had a software solution, and we partnered up with Alley at qPDX to host some of our ads. I blasted through some graphics and finished up the actual website. We started to think of ways to get the word out. In a moment of insanity, I came up with a brilliant idea. Let’s give away free advertising in December! Help small businesses and shops with the final holiday rush! No strings attached! Just a way for us to say “howdy!”

Read the rest: Heather and Dave Start a Business.

And stop by PDX Web Ads to see what we’ve wrought. Whether you’re a blogger or a potential advertiser, we hope you’ll like what you’ll see!

All Aboard the Holiday Express (2010)

November 28, 2010 by Dave Leave a Comment

The 2010 Holiday Express begins boarding on Friday, December 3.

The Oregon Pacific Railroad operated trains depart Oaks Park Station for a 40 minute ride along the river. I don’t know how he finds the time, but Santa Claus will make an appearance on each train. There are six train rides on Fridays, December 3 and 10, and nine rides Saturdays and Sundays, December 4, 5, 11, and 12. For more details, including ticket information, visit the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation website.

The impressive SP 4449 will be pulling the Holiday Express this year. Built in 1941, this Art Deco era streamlined steam locomotive is 110 feet long, 10 feet wide, 16 feet tall and weighs 433 tons. It’s got 5,500 horsepower and can reach speeds over 100 mph (but it won’t be going nearly that fast for these excursions).

In 1958 the SP 4449 was put on display at Oaks Park, but was restored in 1974 so that it could pull the 1975-1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train. It has been the star of the past several National Train Day events at Portland’s Union Station (see my post National Train Day 2009 in Portland with the SP 4449 for more photos of the behemoth).

Proceeds from the tours go to help build a new engine house and Rail Heritage Center in the OMSI District for Portland’s historic steam locomotives.

ScanFair 2010 (December 4-5)

November 28, 2010 by Dave Leave a Comment

The Scandinavian Heritage Foundation’s 26th Annual ScanFair takes place this weekend at PSU.

Come for the Scandinavian food, crafts, and the 55th crowning of Oregon’s Lucia Queen of Light. Stay for the Pickled Herring Eating Contest at noon Saturday.

The fair is on the 3rd floor of the Smith Memorial Center (1825 SW Broadway). Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and children under 12 get in free.

The event raises funds for PSU Nordic language classes and the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation, the mission of which is to preserve, communicate and celebrate Scandinavian heritage and culture.

Though primarily a holiday bazaar, there is an impressive entertainment lineup, including live traditional music and folk dancing performances and classes.

Our favorite part of the fair, however, is the annual pickled herring eating contest! We were out of town last year, but in 2008 we witnessed Nick Capri’s impressive win (see video below!). He took home as a prize a bottle of Krogstad Aquavit, made by Portland’s House Spirits.

Pickled Herring Eating Contest from Dave Knows on Vimeo.

Holiday Cheer: A Celebration of Oregon Authors (5-December-2010)

November 28, 2010 by Dave 3 Comments

The 43 Annual Holiday Cheer: A Celebration of Oregon Authors, takes place Sunday, December 5 2010 from noon until 5pm at the Oregon Historical Society (1200 SW Park).

This celebration of Oregon writers is a popular holiday tradition. Dozens of authors will be on hand displaying, autographing, and of course selling their latest works.

Attendees include Bart King, author of The Big Book of Gross Stuff; Mia Burk and Joe Kurmaskie, authors of Joyride: Pedaling toward a Healthier Planet; Foster Church, author of Discovering Main Street: Travel Adventures in Small Towns of the Northwest; Liz Crain, author of Food Lover’s Guide to Portland; James C. Foster, author of Bong Hits 4 Jesus: A Perfect Constitutional Storm in Alaska’s Capital; Wayne Thompson, author of Blazermania: This Is Our Story – The Official History of Portland Trailblazers; Ursula K. Le Guin and Roger Dorband – author and photographer duo behind Out Here: Poems and Images from Steens Mountain Country, and lots more – visit the Holiday Cheer website for the full list.

Admission is $5 (OHS members and children under 17 get in free). Author signings are available from noon until 4pm.

Holiday Ale Festival 2010 (December 1-5 2010)

November 27, 2010 by Dave Leave a Comment

The 2010 Portland Holiday Ale Festival takes place December 1 through 5 at the usual place – Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Stay warm and dry and claustrophobic under the big tent. Take the Max or bus home after you enjoy too many beers with too high an alcohol content and too much cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg (and then share your drunken transit adventure on TriMet Diaries!).

Actually, there are lots of beer choices besides spiced winter ales, as you can see on the official 2010 Holiday Ale Festival Beer List, but be careful: almost everything is strong. You’re also compelled to drink at least 10 samples (that’s 40oz) because to attend you are required to purchase a [bah humbug!] “tasting package”, instead of a tasting mug and the number of sample tokens you want.

The $25 tasting package ($20 + $2.60 “ticket fee” in advance) includes a mug [bah humbug – previous years’ mugs not permitted], 10 beer tickets and a wristband that you can use to get in “free” for the whole 5 days of the festival [bah humbug – does anyone really do this? – the wristband must be left on “no exceptions”, so no removing it for sleeping or bathing]. Additional tasting tickets are a $1 each. No kids at this festival, must be over 21 to enter the tent.

For more details, including hours, and VIP and brunch ticket information, visit the website and the Facebook event page.

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