Archives for August 2012

Match Day: Portland Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids (31-August-2012)

August 31, 2012 by Dave Leave a Comment

The Portland Timbers (6-13-6) host the Colorado Rapids (8-16-2) tonight at Jeld-Wen Field. Kick off is at 7:51 p.m.

The match will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network, 750 AM The Game, and La Pantera 940 AM.

Portland aims to maintain form in this battle of the Western Conference cellar dwellers. After an inspiring Cascadia Cup victory over Vancouver last weekend, do the Timbers have enough in them to beat the second worst team this Friday?

Portland was embarrassed by Colorado 3-0 back in June, but neither team has been very successful this year. The Timbers, with 24 points, find themselves at the very bottom of the standings. Colorado has 26 points, and are only one spot higher. The Timbers are, however, coming off an entertaining and crucial Cascadia Cup win over Vancouver, and could string together a couple bright spots this season if they get a win tonight.

Match previews and intrigue

Timbers Versus Colorado: Rapid Revolution by Brenaldo at Timberlandia
Frustrated Colorado Rapids Will Look to Avoid Falling Further by Andrew Wheeler at Stumptown Footy
Some Thoughts on Plan B at The Axe
Portland Timbers try to achieve a first with their second consecutive victory by Geoffrey C. Arnold at The Oregonian
Portland Timbers stand in way of desperate Colorado Rapids by Nick Groke at the Denver Post

Portland Labor Day Weekend Amusements (2012)

August 30, 2012 by Dave Leave a Comment

Summer sure was fine, but now it’s Fall – happy Labor Day weekend!

Ongoing

Portland Movies in the Park

Portland Parks and Recreation has released the 2012 summer schedule of Movies in the Park. From June 29 through September 18 sprawl out at one of Portland’s fine municipal parks several times a week for an evening of free entertainment.

Friday 8/31: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (71) @ Dawson Park
Friday 8/31: The Adventures of Tintin @ Mt Scott Park
Saturday 9/1: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 @ Wellington Park
[more]

Chapman Vaux’s Swift Watch 2012

Every September thousands of Vaux’s Swifts come to Portland. After spending their day eating bugs, the Swifts coalesce in Northwest Portland, flying in a giant undulating swirl in the sky above the school. Around sunset the swirl gets more compact, like a ground pepper tornado, and begins disappearing, measure by measure, down the chimney. On the lawn below hundreds of Portlanders stare mesmerized at the sky, from the comfort of lawn chairs and blankets. Boos erupt when opportunistic Peregrine falcons get lucky. [more]

All Weekend

Art In The Pearl

Art In The Pearl®, Portland Oregon’s annual Fine Arts & Crafts Festival, occurs every year on Labor Day weekend. The 16th annual festival will occur on Sept. 1-3, 2012 in the Pearl District’s North Park Blocks. Art In The Pearl has been named one of the top 10 Arts and Crafts Festivals in the country (source: Art Fair Source Book). Our festival fills the Northwest Portland Park blocks with art, theater, music, and hands-on activities for people of all ages. [more]

Friday

Portland Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids

The Portland Timbers (6-13-6) host Colorado Rapids (8-16-2) Friday at Jeld-Wen Field. Kick off is at 7:30 p.m.

Portland aims to maintain form in this battle of the Western Conference cellar dwellers. After an inspiring Cascadia Cup victory over Vancouver last weekend, do the Timbers have enough in them to beat the second worst team this Friday? [more]

Saturday-Sunday

Portland Pirate Festival 2012

The seventh annual Portland Pirate Festival invades Historic St. Helens, Oregon again year, on Saturday and Sunday, September 1 and 2, 2012. . . .

The fest features pirate-themed and non-pirate-themed music, dance and performance, tall ships, stuff for kids, the marauders market, and of course there is grub and grog! [more]

Monday

Labor Day Picnic at Oaks Park

Oregon was the first state to officially recognize the Labor Day holiday in 1887, so it’s only fitting that to this day we throw huge Labor Day picnics throughout the state.

The largest local union picnic, which an estimated 20,000 people attended last year, is the Northwest Oregon Labor Council‘s Labor Day Picnic held Monday, September 5 at Oaks Amusement Park from 10am until 5pm. [more]

Authors in Pubs

Authors in Pubs takes place tonight, Monday, June 4, 2012, at the Jack London Bar (529 SW 4th – in the basement of the Rialto Pool Room).

Created by local writer Don Van Kirk last September, Authors in Pubs is a First Monday event that aims to give local writers a chance to share their work, and receive feedback. The shows run about two hours, but visitors are encouraged to arrive early and stay late to talk with authors and peruse their books. [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 Oregon Events at OregonLive.com.

Oregon Symphony Waterfront Concert – And Fireworks! (30-August-2012)

August 30, 2012 by Dave 1 Comment

The Oregon Symphony 2012 Waterfront Concert takes place Thursday, August 30, 2012 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

At 5 p.m. the Portland Youth Philharmonic performs, followed by the Oregon Symphony at 7 p.m.

The traditional grand finale is a performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with an elaborate fireworks show, which includes shots from military cannons from the Oregon Army National Guard 218th Field Artillery.

The concert is free, and no tickets are required. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets to Tom McCall Waterfront Park and enjoy the show. Visit the Oregon Symphony event page and read the press release for more details.

Chapman Vaux’s Swift Watch 2012

August 29, 2012 by Dave Leave a Comment

The 2012 Swift Watch takes place on the lawn of Chapman School (1445 NW 26th) through the month of September.

Every September thousands of Vaux’s Swifts come to Portland. After spending their day eating bugs, the Swifts coalesce in Northwest Portland, flying in a giant undulating swirl in the sky above the school. Around sunset the swirl gets more compact, like a ground pepper tornado, and begins disappearing, measure by measure, down the chimney. On the lawn below hundreds of Portlanders stare mesmerized at the sky, from the comfort of lawn chairs and blankets. Boos erupt when opportunistic Peregrine falcons get lucky. The crowd cheers, however, when the predators are thwarted. Meanwhile unruly and oblivious children [are there any other kind?] scream and roll down the grassy hill.

Seriously, though, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Read Heather’s excellent account of our first visit in 2008, and mine from 2009. Here’s a quick video Heather captured of the birds in action in 2009:

The Audobon Society of Portland maintains the Swift Watch webpage, which includes details on the best times to show up, explanations of the phenomena, and FAQs answering all your questions on the natural history of the phenomena, the bird counts, and sundry. Oregon Field Guide did a segment on the Vaux Swifts a decade ago, and there’s even a movie, called On The Wing.

The Portland Loo Gets Some LA Times Love

August 29, 2012 by Dave Leave a Comment

The Portland Loo continues to impress, this time in the LA Times: Portland Loo, a public toilet that skips to the head of its class

Pity the lowly public toilet, a redolent reminder of the failure of the best minds in urban planning to address the most fundamental of daily necessities.

Millions have been invested in the facilities for collective relief. Often, they have become targets for graffiti, trash-can fires, furtive needle activity, commercial lovemaking, emergency baths, laundries for the homeless, and repositories of castoff diapers.

Go to any city in America and ask whether it has fixed the public toilet problem, and most any city in America will hold its nose.

Except Portland.

Read the rest to find out how other cities are importing Randy Leonard’s vision. For more on the Portland Loo, visit the website, Facebook page, and follow @PortlandLoo on Twitter!