FYI: Oaks Amusement Park rides open for the 2015 season on Saturday, 21 March.
Only have to get through the rest of today, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and then guess what happens… RIDES OPEN!!!!
— Oaks Amusement Park (@Oaks_Park) March 17, 2015
Archives for March 2015
Enchanted Forest Opening Day (20 March 2015)
The happiest place just south of Salem off I-5 opens for the 2015 season on Friday, March 20.
The Enchanted Forest (8462 Enchanted Way SE, Turner, OR 97392) is a gem of an amusement park. The Storybook Trail was created by Roger Tofte and opened in 1971. Countless children and parents every year since then have been entertained and amused. It’s still run by Roger Tofte and his family.
My several childhood pilgrimages to the Enchanted Forest left me with fond but vague memories of fanciful colorful concrete characters and delightfully goofy architecture. So to refresh my memory in 2010 I dragged my lovely wife Heather down I-5 from Portland for her birthday – we had a magical day. After the visit Heather declared:
If you live in Oregon and you haven’t been to Enchanted Forest, you need to go. If you haven’t been in a long time, go back. And if you have kids, Enchanted Forest will rock their world. You’d be a total ass not to bring your kids here as soon as possible.
The park opens Friday at 10 AM, and rides open at 10:30. Make sure to check the park schedule on the website; closing time varies and the park isn’t open seven days a week until mid-May. Ticket prices vary with age and ride options. There are food vendors but the Enchanted Forest welcomes picnics (no BBQs or alcohol though).
Protips:
- The Enchanted Forest really is in a forest – on hot summer days it’s delightfully cool.
- Young kids don’t know they’re not at Disneyland – save thousands of dollars on your next vacation!
OMSI Science Pub: Clinical Genetics and DNA Testing (17 March 2015)
OMSI presents Clinical Genetics and DNA Testing: It is Good to Know as part of the Science Pub Portland series, on Tuesday, 17 March 2015 at the Empirical Theater (1945 SE Water Ave).
Do you know that we already live in a world where it is affordable and commonplace to choose to have your DNA analyzed in order to make informed medical decisions? That isn’t to imply that everything about a person’s health can be derived from DNA. What it does mean is that there are many aspects of your health, your children’s health, or other loved one’s health that a doctor and genetic counselor can determine confidently based on DNA analysis. You can also choose to order such analyses today. Wouldn’t it be good to know what exists and is real, documented, and likely affordable?
The presenter is Jayson Falkner, PhD, a bioinformatician and software engineer at Counsyl.
The Portland Science Pub takes place monthly at the Empirical Theater at OMSI. Check in at the theater entrance (doors open at 5 PM) – there’s a $5 suggested admission. OMSI’s restaurant Theory, and the Empirical Cafe are open and you can take food and drinks into the theater with you.
Parking is free for the event, but consider taking the streetcar or any of the multitude of buses that cross the Hawthorne Bridge (eastbound/westbound).
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (15 March 2015)
Portland Geek Council and Interesting Times present Monty Python and the Holy Grail at the Clinton Street Theater (2522 SE Clinton) on Sunday, 15 March 2015 at 2 PM.
Revisit the classic comedy you quoted incessantly during high school! Bunnies! Coconuts! Swamp castles! Just a little bit of peril! See it all again on the big screen at the historic Clinton Street Theater.
Before the screening Interesting Times host Joe Streckert will briefly expound on King Arthur’s provenance for the amusement of the crowd.
The presentation is all ages, and advance tickets are available ($8.00 for adults, $6.00 for kids).
Stumptown Stories: Mighty Celilo Falls! (9 March 2015)
Mighty Celilo Falls! on Monday, 9 March 2015, is the latest installment of the venerable Stumptown Stories series. Sellwood Public House (8132 SE 13th) is the host.
On March 10, 1957, the nation’s oldest and most important Native American fishing grounds were eliminated by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Join Stumptown Stories as we discuss the silencing of the “echo of falling water.”
Presenter JB Fisher will regale us with the story of Alzamon Ira Lucas, a psychic, healer, and psychologist in early 20th-century Portland who reappeared in the 1950s as Chief Rising Sun and single-handedly spearheaded an effort to save Celilo Falls from the dam. Heather Arndt Anderson will share her research on the foodways of the Indians of the mid-Columbia, their salmon-lore, and the way they ate in the City of Roses before Lewis and Clark poked their noses into everything.
The presentation begins at 7:30 PM – admission is free!