Dave Knows Portland

Subscribe to Dave Knows Portland by Email

Archives for December 2015

Things to do in Portland on Christmas Day (2015)

by Leave a Comment

Christmas day doesn’t have to be just about the kids and homebrew eggnog. Get out!

Shop

Powell’s Books (1005 W Burnside). The downtown Powell’s is open 10 AM to 6 PM on Christmas Day (all other locations, save the one at the airport, are closed).

Activities

Bowling. Many (most?) bowling alleys, are open on Xmas day.

Movies. Catch a movie – many movie theaters are also open on the Holiday.

Know Your City is offering a December 25 walking tour! A Secular Portland Christmas People’s History Tour – buy your tickets in advance!

Booze

Bar Fly magazine keeps track of Portland-area bars open 365 days a year!

Eat and Drink

Portland Food and Drink is maintaining the master list of Restaurants Open Christmas in Portland 2015

Coffee

Portland Food and Drink is also maintaining the master list of Portland Coffeehouses Open on Christmas Day.

Transit

TriMet’s Christmas Day schedule: TriMet buses, MAX trains, and the Streetcar will run on Sunday schedules. No WES service!

The information in this post is compiled through a combination of hearsay, website perusals, assumptions, and direct contact – please do not take it as gospel; if you don’t want to make a fruitless trip out, give the place a call first!

Portland Weekend Amusements (18-20 December 2015)

by Leave a Comment

Winter beers, sour beer, and quaint holiday stuff!

Saturday

Wild Stallions II

Wild Stallions 2Pucker Up, Buttercup! Our taps are going wild again with our friends at Crooked Stave and a bevy of the best wild ales Oregon can muster alongside!

Wild/Sour ales on tap from Crooked Stave, Breakside, Upright, Logsdon, pFriem, Block 15, Pelican, Oakshire, Ex Novo, Culmination, and more!

Tap list includes: Crooked Stave Petite Sour Pure Guava, Crooked Stave Motif (belgian strong dark/sour), Crooked Stave 8.11.2014, Block 15 Demon’s Farm 2015 (dark farmhouse ale aged in bourbon & pinot barrels with cherries & brett), Pelican Funky Spot (brett IPA), and more!

All Weekend

Fifth Annual St Johns Winter Beer Fest

Plew's BrewsThe Fifth Annual St Johns Winter Beer Fest will feature Wood Aged Beers, Ciders, and Meads. Glasses will be $10 and Tickets $1. Some beverages will be multiple tickets.

Beerlist includes: Ecliptic Brewing Frosty Leo, Nectar Creek Triple Brett Barrel Aged, Oakshire Brewing Ill Tempered Gnome, Fort George Magnanimous,Ninkasi Cranberry Sour, Veltins Pilsner, Anderson Valley Wild Turkey Stout, Boulder Shake Porter, and about 20 more!

Ongoing

Peacock Lane

Peacock LanePeacock Lane is a narrow residential street one block east of Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard (née 39th Ave) between SE Stark and Belmont. Since the 1920s the residents of this stretch of mostly Tudor-style houses have gone hog wild with the Christmas lights. The collective display has become a Portland tradition, prompting gawker pilgrimages from throughout the area (if you’ve ever hit stop-and-go traffic on SE Stark at 9 PM on a Tuesday night near the holidays, now you know why).

Zoolights

Zoo LightsIt wouldn’t be the holidays in Portland without a visit to the Oregon Zoo’s annual winter festival ZooLights. As you walk around the zoo, you’ll see a dazzling display of a million and half lights, and experience your zoo in a whole new light. ZooLights runs from November 27, 2015 to January 3, 2016.

The Magic of Wintertime – at the Pittock Mansion

Pittock MansionCelebrate the wonders of the holiday season at The Magic of Wintertime, Pittock Mansion’s annual holiday exhibit. This year more than 80 volunteers will transform the museum into a winter wonderland with decorations inspired by skiing and sledding in new-fallen snow, curling up in front of a fireplace with hot cocoa, and celebrating the holidays with family, friends and community. Local musicians will play regularly in the mansion’s Music Room during the exhibit.

Peacock Lane (15-31 December 2015)

by 1 Comment

Peacock Lane

Peacock Lane officially lights up at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, 15 December 2015.

Peacock Lane is a narrow residential street one block east of Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard (née 39th Ave) between SE Stark and Belmont. Since the 1920s the residents of this stretch of mostly Tudor-style houses have gone hog wild with the Christmas lights. The collective display has become a Portland tradition, prompting gawker pilgrimages from throughout the area (if you’ve ever hit stop-and-go traffic on SE Stark at 9 PM on a Tuesday night near the holidays, now you know why).

For a glimpse at what to expect read Heather’s account of our visit a few years ago: Oooooh. Aaaaaah.

Every night from 15 December until New Years Eve the lights are on from 6pm to 11pm (and until midnight on December 24th and 31st). It’s free! And the display is best seen on foot (since the conveyor track idea was rejected). The Pedestrian Only nights this year are Friday, December 18, Saturday, December 19, and Sunday December 20.

Peacock Lane is only a few hundred yards long. Bundle up, grab a hot cocoa (last year residents offered hot drinks at a reasonable price from a small kiosk in a family’s yard ), and take a leisurely stroll. I highly recommend stopping in post-stroll at the Horse Brass Pub, just up Belmont a few blocks for a festive warming beverage in cozy environs. Another excellent option is Good Food Here foodcart pod up on 43rd and Belmont.

Portland Weekend Amusements (11-13 December 2015)

by Leave a Comment

It’s the Holiday Bazaar time of the year.

Saturday

Portland Posada

Portland MercadoPortland Mercado & Hispanicpros are excited to present Portland Posada, our signature holiday event to bring communities together through cultural tradition, holiday foods and economic opportunity.

This special day will also launch a pop-up gift shop “Holiday Bazar”, your reason to shop local this season. The pop-up gift store is presented by People Places Things intercultural communications organization. The Holiday Bazar will be open December 12th–20th featuring diverse local artists and handmade products.

New Deal Seasons EatingsThe Sixth Annual Season’s Eatings

Season’s Eatings brings together of some of Portland’s finest food and beverage artisans to share their artisanal products with the public just in time for holiday shopping, while also helping to feed the hungry with our food + fund drive for the Oregon Food Bank. Get your holiday shopping done while sampling great food and sipping a craft cocktail in our outdoor heated cocktail lounge featuring small bites from AnniePies & craft cocktails, including hot toddies and hot cocoa.

ADX Gifted 2015

ADX Gifted 2015Gifted is ADX and Portland Made’s annual holiday gift fair, featuring a vast array of local goods for you to give to someone you love. Our fifth year running, Gifted is swiftly becoming a Portland Holiday Destination, and a one stop shop for all the best local gifts!

Saturday-Sunday

Crafty Wonderland SUPER COLOSSAL HOLIDAY SALE

Crafty WonderlandBUY AMAZING HANDMADE GOODS from over 250 TALENTED VENDORS!

Mark your calendars because on Saturday and Sunday, December 12th + 13th Crafty Wonderland will fill a 60,000 sq. ft. hall at the Oregon Convention Center with over 250 of the best and brightest handmade vendors from the NW and beyond!

Sunday

Publication Fair 2015

December 13th, noon – 6pm

@ The Cleaners at Ace Hotel 403 SW 10th Ave. Portland, Oregon . . .

Please join us for the seventh annual Publication Fair! Sponsored by Ace Hotel, this year’s fair will be featuring:

Ampersand Gallery & Fine Books
About a Bicycle (AAB)
Anthology Booksellers
and more . . .