Dave Knows Portland

Archives for June 2012

Laughter is the Best Medicine: A Night of Comedy (22-June-2012)

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Laughter is the Best MedicineThe third annual Laughter is the Best Medicine, presented by the Vital Life Foundation, takes place Friday, June 22, 2012 at the Alberta Rose Theater (3000 NE Alberta).

Hosted by Dave “Gruber” Allen (best knowns as the guidance counselor on Freaks and Geeks), this comedy fundraiser benefits the Oregon Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

“Last year we started something new by actually including videos of memory care patients telling jokes,” commented event organizer Jessica DeNardo. “The crowd loved it and it was a meaningful way to remind guests why they were at the show. It’s amazing the power that a little laughter can have.”

After seeing the benefits that laughter could have on patients, The Vital Life Foundation’s sister company, Marquis Companies, piloted a program integrating improv into its activity sessions for patients. They found that patients love the activities and that improv requires little to no recollection of the past with a sincere focus on living in the present moment.

Comedians performing at this year’s event include J. Elvis Weinstein, Frank Conniff, and Ron Lynch.

Oh, and there’s beer and wine, food, a raffle and a silent auction!

Tickets start at only $10. Doors open at 6pm, show begins at 7pm. 21 and over only.

Stumptown Stories: Bigfoots in Oregon (19-June-2012)

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Bigfoots in OregonThe Stumptown Stories: Free Tuesday Lecture Series, geared to anyone who is curious about the world and community in which we live and loves to learn new things, takes place most Tuesdays at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder). Free to get in, but must be 21 or over – there’s a full bar!

This Tuesday, June 19, 2012 join Kick Ass Oregon History‘s resident historian Doug Kenck-Crispin as he presents Bigfoots in Oregon.

You see, June is BigFoot month at OrHistory.com

“So Sasquatch?” you rightfully ask, respectfully skeptical Ass Kicker. “Do we even know if Bigfoot is real, for realz?” And that is a great question to ask. In fact, we THANK YOU for asking such a question. And the answer to that question is, to quote Brandt, “well Dude, we just don’t know…”

If we dig deeper behind the methodology of the question, we might wonder that if something is not real, let’s say a One Eyed, One Horned, Flying Purple People Eater, then can it really be called “History?” And I, the Resident Historian of this learned site, counter with a resounding… “Maybe…”

We don’t know if there are Bigfoots. We do know that Native Americans in the area have disparate oral traditions of things that might be considered Bigfoot-esque. We also know there have been some crazy big prints found, some difficult to identify scat and hair, and almost innumerable sightings reported. But we don’t have a (thank God) Sasquatch in a cage, a body in the woods, or even a portion of the aforementioned to really examine and prove existence definitively. So in a sense, I feel it is a fair statement to proclaim that we don’t have a real history of this beast to present.

But there is NO disputing that there is a phenomenon that is called “Bigfoot.” Thousands of sightings have taken place of this gentle giant of the woods, and he (or the lactating “shes”) have left their imprint on the legacy of Oregon’s History.

The presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. Always free. Always fascinating.

And don’t miss the Bigfoots of Oregon Kick Ass Oregon History podcasts – part 1 and part two are live!