Dave Knows Portland

Archives for June 2011

Weekend Amusements (June 17-19, 2011)

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Ongoing

Pedalpalooza 2011Pedalpalooza 2011

“Pedalpalooza is 2+ weeks of bikey fun. With 239 events, most organized by individuals, bikers of all persuasions are likely to find many events of interest. Nearly all events are free.”

Runs June 9-26. [more]

All weekend

Pride NorthwestPortland Pride Festival and Parade

Portland’s official LGBTQ Pride Parade and Festival, Portland Pride, takes place Friday, June 17 through 19, 2011. . .

The Portland Pride Parade takes place Sunday, June 19 – kicking off at 11:30pm.

The Waterfront Festival runs Friday though Sunday and features entertainers (schedule here), vendors, and more. [more]

Friday

Offbeat Belly DanceOffbeat Belly Dance

Every third Friday of the month the Blue Monk (3341 SE Belmont) hosts the Offbeat Belly Dance collective, a club rocking, good timing, genre-defying gang of badass belly dancers.

This friday, June 17, 2011, is no exception – the Offbeat Belly Dance collectives invites you to Offbeat Belly Dance! Fun! Fabulous! Freeee Show! ZOMG! [more]

Saturday

SCRAP Carnival 2011SCRAP Carnival

The 2011 SCRAP Carnival takes place Saturday, June 18 from 10am to 2pm at the SCRAP parking lot (2919 NE MLK Jr.).

The carnival features games, activities, prizes and food – kids of all ages are invited and welcome. [more]

Sunday

Portland TimbersPortland Timbers vs New York

The Portland Timbers (5-5-2) aim, once again, to regain form at home Sunday when Eastern Conference leading New York (5-6-2) make their Jeld-Wen field debut at 7pm.

New York leads the league in goals scored (24), lead by French superstar Thierry Henry with 7 in 11 games played. The Timbers have lost the last three matches, but played well last week (unfortunately lost the match in stoppage time). [more]

And for even more weekend events and activities, check out the Dave Knows Calendar, and visit Around the Sun, Blogging Portland on the Cheap, and PDX Pipeline!

June 16, 1879: David P. Thompson Elected Mayor of Portland

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David P ThompsonIn defeating William Strong by a total of 1404 votes to 1358, David P. Thompson was elected mayor of Portland, Oregon on June 16, 1879 (Morning Oregonian, 17-June-1879).

Originally from Ohio, Thompson traveled west to the Oregon Territory as a sheep herder at 19. He worked as a laborer and surveyor until the outbreak of the Civil War. He enlisted and attained the rank of captain (though his First Oregon Calvary never actually saw action during the war). Soon after the war Thompson entered politics.

During his political career he served in the Oregon State Senate (both as a Republican and Democrat), spent time as the governor of the Idaho Territory, and spent two terms as the Portland’s mayor. Briefly he served as the U.S. minister to the Ottoman Empire. In civic affairs he presided over both the Oregon Humane Society and the Portland Public Library as president.

He is most remembered, however, for a donation to the city of Portland: the Thompson Elk fountain, which you can see today in the middle of SW Main between 4th and 5th.

Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 2 #2: Treasures of Oregon – Portland Edition

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Kick Ass Oregon History: Volume 2, Episode 2Kick Ass Oregon History is the latest series of podcasts from the enthusiastic historians behind ORHistory.com.

Volume 2, episode 2 is here:

Treasures of Oregon – Portland Edition, in which it is revealed that there be gold in them thar hills, and parks, and streets, and maybe your own backyard.

The previous episodes:

The brains behind this project are the crack hustlers of Oregon History Doug Kenck-Crispin and Andy Lindberg. Doug is a graduate student studying Public History and Pacific Northwest History at PSU, and Andy, though a Portland native, is currently working as an actor in New York City. Doug does most of the research and writing for the podcasts with input from Andy, who voices the broadcasts with a thespian’s flair.

With the Kick Ass Oregon History podcast they plan to cover just the good stuff: Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll and Earth Shattering, Devastating Destruction.

Ultimately, our goal is to take Oregon History out of the hallowed halls of the academy, get folks excited and enthused about this shared history, and get them out into the state, digging it and experiencing it. Get them to embrace it, and get their boots muddy in the process. It’s all OUR History; nobody owns it.

Visit ORHistory.com and stay tuned to @Oregon_History on Twitter for further details on specific episodes and the series.

June 15, 1925: Battleship Oregon Retires to Oregon

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USS OregonRose Festival Queen Suzanne I and her princesses were conveyed to Portland to officially open Rose Festival festivities upon the storied battleship USS Oregon on June 15, 1925. The next day’s (Morning Oregonian expounded upon the magnitude of the occasion:

Oregon, old Oregon is yours. A queen brought her to your queen of cities yesterday, brought the once great pride of the navy that it might become the glory of a commonwealth.

Enthroned on the mighty battery turret forward, where once thundered the death knell of an enemy armada, Queen Suzanne rode to her realm of Rosaria.

Never a queen, in truth or fancy, made before such regal entry to her domain. Never a warrior, in truth or fany, on a last peaceful journey was so honored as old Oregon.

Commissioned in 1896, the USS Oregon was a 11,688 ton Indiana class battleship most famous for her service in the Spanish-American War. She was decommissioned in 1919 and loaned to the State of Oregon where she served as a museum ship until World War II, when the war effort required her scrap steel.