Archives for July 2011

Weekend Amusements (July 15-17, 2011)

July 14, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

There’s something for everyone this weekend. The Cathedral Park Jazz Festival and Sand in the City both go all weekend, for starters. Enjoy the special selection of Dave-Knows-Approved events below:

Ongoing

Movies in the Park

The second 2011 installment of Portland Parks and Recreation movies in the park is in full swing! This weekend’s films are:

Friday, July 15: Megamind at Lents Park
Saturday, July 16: The Karate Kid (2010) at Knott Park
Sunday, July 17: Gulliver’s Travels (2010) at Brentwood Park.

Pre-movie entertainment begins at 6:30pm and movies begin as soon as it’s dark. [more]

All Weekend

Portland International Beerfest

The 2011 Portland International Beerfest (PIB) takes place Friday through Sunday, July 15 through 17 in the North Park Blocks at NW Davis.

Over 150 beers from all over the world will be on tap and poured from bottles. Food purveyors at the fest include Koi Fusion, Violetta, Mt Townsend Creamery, Nut Love, and Bakke Brothers Jerky. [more]

Friday

Offbeat 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, July 15, 2011, is no exception – the Offbeat Belly Dance collectives invites you to Offbeat Belly Dance! Free show! Awesome good times! Come get some! [more]

Saturday

Tour De Coops 2011

Growing Garden‘s 8th annual Tour De Coops takes place Saturday, July 16, 2011 from 10am to 3pm. What, you might be asking, is a tour de coops?

“This is a fun and affordable community event for you, your whole family and all your friends! Chicken owners throughout Portland will open their yards so you can see their coops and meet their chickens.” [more]

Portland Highland Games 2011

Dust off your kilt, the 2011 Portland Highland Games takes place Saturday, July 16 at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham.

Yup, there’s a caber toss! Also a kilted mile, border collie demonstrations, a Regimental Drum Major Competition, and a broadsword demonstration.

Bagpipers, dancers, fiddlers, and drummers will also be competing and performing. [more]

The Big Busk

The Big Busk is back. For background on this unique musical event, read Peter Ames Carlin’s story in The Oregonian last year: Buskers bring melodies to streets of downtown Portland. The second annual busk takes place this Saturday, July 16, 2011 throughout downtown Portland. [more]

Pix Patisserie’s Bastille Day Block Party

The fifth annual Pix Pâtisserie Bastille Day Block Party takes place Saturday, July 16, 2011 on N. Failing between Williams and Vancouver.

Celebrate the storming of the Bastille in 1789 with the Mini Médoc Marathon Fun Run 5K or the Tour de Portland Bicycle Scavenger Hunt. [more]

Sunday

Montavilla Street Fair

The 2011 Montavilla Street Fair takes place Sunday, July 17 from 10am until 5pm in Montavilla (SE 79th between Stark and Pine, and 78th between Washington and Stark).

Two stages await you, as do craft and food vendors, and a beer and wine garden! [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!

July 14, 1811: Explorer David Thompson Arrives at Fort Astoria

July 14, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

English-Canadian explorer David Thompson, representing the North West Company, navigated the entire length of the Columbia River from its source in Canada to the Pacific Ocean, arriving at the partially constructed Fort Astoria on July 14, 1811. He was the first European to travel the entire length of the Columbia.

Between 1784 and 1850, Thompson traveled more than 55,000 miles while exploring about 1.5 million square miles of North America.

The North American Exploration David Thompson Bicentennials were celebrated in 2011 to recognize the accomplishments of possibly the greatest land geographer of all time:

Thompson’s accomplishments helped define North America both geographically and imaginatively. His achievements include the surveying in many of the townships of Ontario and Quebec; the determination of large sections of the boundary between Canada and the United States; the establishment of the Columbia basin fur trade; exploration and mapping of a vast area of western North America and the documentation of the nature, history and culture of much of the continent.

Columbia River map with watershed highlighted was created by Wikimedia Commons user Kmusser, and is used here under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

July 13, 2002: Biscuit Fire Ignited By Lightning Strike

July 13, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The Biscuit Fire, one of the largest forest fire in Oregon history, started on July 13, 2002 when lightning strikes ignited several fires in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.

The boundary of the Biscuit Fire stretches from 10 miles east of the coastal community of Brookings, Oregon; south into northern California; east to the Illinois Valley; and north to within a few miles of the Rogue River.

The fire burned in a mosaic pattern; approximately 20% of the area burned lightly, with less than 25% of the vegetation killed. Another 50% of the area burned very hot, with more than 75% of the vegetation killed. Many acres of critical habitat for wildlife burned, and the late seral and old growth stands that remain are very precious.

[Excerpt from the U.S. Forest Service website.]

Within a month the fires had coalesced into a single huge fire that ultimately burned nearly a half-million acres. Over 7000 fire fighters were engaged in fighting the conflagration, which was finally declared extinguished on December 31.

Portland Highland Games (16-July-2011)

July 12, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Dust off your kilt, the 2011 Portland Highland Games takes place Saturday, July 16 at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham.

Yup, there’s a caber toss! Also a kilted mile, border collie demonstrations, a Regimental Drum Major Competition, and a broadsword demonstration.

Bagpipers, dancers, fiddlers, and drummers will also be competing and performing.

Shopping and food vendors, genealogy tips, and children’s games and activities are also part of the festivities – and of course don’t miss Mac’s Beer Garden!

The games open at 8am and go until 8:30pm. General admission at the gate is $20 for adults (18 and over), and $10 for kid (under 5 get in free!). Advance, discounted, tickets are available online, and at the Scottish Country Shop (1450 SE Powell Blvd). Visit the Portland Highland Games website for more details, including a full event schedule.

The Big Busk (16-July-2011)

July 12, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The Big Busk is back. For background on this unique musical event, read Peter Ames Carlin’s story in The Oregonian last year: Buskers bring melodies to streets of downtown Portland. The second annual busk takes place this Saturday, July 16, 2011 throughout downtown Portland.

These are the ingredients:

a deep and diverse pool of creative and talented musicians

a beautiful, human-friendly downtown that consistently ranks among the most walkable in the nation

a really crappy economy

The idea is, for an entire afternoon, to saturate downtown with music. All kinds of music. Up and down Broadway, the transit mall, the park blocks to the esplanade.

There is no stage, but every corner is a stage. There is no audience, but everyone is the audience. There is no admission fee, but we trust attendees tip generously.

So it’s kind of an experiment. It’s also kind of an art project and a tongue-in-cheek celebration of creative defiance. Good music for tough times.

Visit the Big Busk website and Facebook page for information on locations, times, and the over two dozen bands and performers that plan to take part. You’re invited, too, to the after party at The White Eagle (836 N Russell).

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