Dave Knows Portland

Hawthorne Street Fair, The Mighty Mites Session Fest (16 August 2015)

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Hawthorne Street Fair

The Hawthorne Street Fair takes place Saturday, 16 August 2015, from 11 AM to 7 PM.

This one hasn’t always been my favorite – they didn’t used to close the street so you still had Hawthorne’s voluminous auto traffic to put up with – I understand this year that Hawthorne Boulevard will be closed, from about 30th to 39th (though I see nothing about the 14 bus line detour this would require on TriMet.com, so stay tuned!).

In any case vendors will populate the street from 31st to 38th, there will be two beer gardens (one at Bazi on 32nd and the other at the Hophouse on 41st), kids activities at 35th, music at the stage at 34th, and more.

Mighty Mites Session Beer FestAnd about that Bazi Bierbrasserie (1522 SE 32nd Ave) beer garden? It’s also the 4th Annual The Mighty Mites Session Fest, an all-ages friendly outdoor beer garden featuring a special cocktail, outdoor games, and food vendors. Find more details, including prices and beer and cider list, at BaziPDX.com.

Might be a fun one! We’re planning on going this year. Heather and I last attended this one in 2009, when the SE Sunday Parkways fell on the same day (as it has a number of years), though it does not this year. It did not suck.

The Beer Bible Book Launch (11 August 2015)

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The Beer Bible

Local author Jeff Alworth, long-time beer blogger at Beervana, has written a fantastic new book: The Beer Bible. Join Jeff for the Beer Bible Book Launch celebration on Tuesday, 11 August 2015 at Belmont Station (4500 SE Stark) from 5 PM to 7 PM.

On Tuesday, August 11, the Beer Bible will officially go on sale. We will celebrate this milestone with a celebration at Belmont Station, where you can buy the book and where I will gladly sign it. I’ll plan to say a few words around 6 pm, but I’ll be signing books from five onward–so come early if you can and pick up a copy of the book. Belmont Station is hosting this event for free (thanks, guys!), so consider enjoying a delicious beer when you come. I suspect there will be some toasting going on sometime a bit after six.

For those of you who have been following this odyssey, you know how much the book has dominated the last four years of my life. It’s been odd to have such a huge presence that is essentially known only to me. Finally, finally, I get to share this thing, and I really hope you consider buying a copy, even if you can’t make it to the launch. Whether you like it or not, at least you will finally see it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts, good, bad, snarky, corrective, thoughtful–all of it will be great.

Visit Beervana for more details. Learn more about The Beer Bible and book tour at JeffAlworth.com.

History Pub: Stories from our Native Ancestors (27 July 2015)

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Stories from Our Native Ancestors: Killing Bigfoot, The Giant Beaver, The Coast Range Goblin and How Clam Got His EyesStories from Our Native Ancestors: Killing Bigfoot, The Giant Beaver, The Coast Range Goblin and How Clam Got His Eyes is the latest History Pub, on Monday, 27 July 2015 at the Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd).

Presenters Dr. Jason T. Younker, Associate Professor of Anthropology and assistant vice president and advisor to the president on sovereignty and government-to-government relations at the University of Oregon, is a member of the Coquille Indian Tribe. Dr. David G. Lewis, an educator, author, and anthropologist, is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.

For most western Oregon tribes, their generation is the last to have lived part o their life as a terminated Indian. Despite great cultural loss, many things endured. Stories about their existence and landscape are but a few. In the presentation, they will share stories about the creatures of western Oregon that have lived on land and in culture for generations stretching far back into the past.

History Pub is free, and open to all ages. Doors open at 6 PM, and the talk begins at 7 PM.

Oregon History 101: Immigration and Ethnicity (1 December 2014)

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History 101: Immigration and EthnicityOregon History 101: “Looks Like a Good Beginning”: Immigration, Ethnicity, and Exclusion in Oregon, 1850-1910. will be presented by Dr. Jacqueline Peterson-Loomis at the Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd Ave) on 1 December 2014 at 7 PM.

Oregon History 101 is a nine-month public history program series designed to give Oregonians a basic understanding of the state’s significant people, places, and events. Each month, historians will present a chapter of Oregon History, beginning with the earliest peoples and ending with the turn of the twenty-first century. The series will emphasize Oregon’s connection to historical themes in American History, including Native history, early exploration, western expansion, race, gender, and social justice, and the post-industrial economy.

The 101 series was designed by Dr. Carl Abbott and Dr. William Lang. Each presentation features images from the Oregon Historical Society archives and will be filmed and made available online (watch September’s presentation on Native Life and Pre-Contact here). The Oregon Encyclopedia and Oregon History Project are also preparing research guides and other digitized material for the project.

Presenter Dr. Jacqueline Peterson-Loomis is Emeritus Professor of History, Washington State University. This all ages event is free and open to the public.

Science Pub Portland: Shaping Light with Folded Surfaces (18 November 2014)

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Omsi Science PubScience Pub Portland presents Shaping Light with Folded Surfaces tonight at the Empirical Theater at OMSI (1945 SE Water Ave.).

Light reveals our visual universe. Light shapes how we perceive form and the boundaries of space. Light gives vitality to immutable form, revealing the familiar in new ways. Small adjustments in light intensity, composition and viewpoint can yield big changes in highlights and shadow patterns.

Nancy Cheng experiments with how sheet materials can be cut, creased, or crimped to generate lighting effects that change with the sun’s movement, while blocking unwanted heat and glare. Her Shaping Light project explores how physical prototyping and digital methods can be combined to foreground material properties in design. She seeks the creative possibilities that stem from a material’s stiffness, shininess, translucence or color. She has used digital modeling for geometric variations, kinetic studies and lighting simulation in both open-ended studies and interior installations.

Presenter Nancy Cheng is Portland Program Director and an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon. The program begins at 7 PM, and there’s a $5.00 suggested cover charge.