Accordion

Portland Weekend Amusements (23-25 September 2016)

September 22, 2016 by Dave Leave a Comment

Oktoberfesting continues – German bier, sausages and schnitzels, wiener dog races and dirndls galore!

All Weekend

Oaks Park Oktoberfest

German bier, sausages and schnitzels, wiener dog races and dirndls galore! A multitude of picnic tables in the festhallen and under the trees means there are plenty of places to sit down with your beers and friends.

I’ve been to every one of these fests since 2008 at least, and the weather is almost always perfect and I always have a fantastic time. Oaks Park is the best spot in Portland to spend the last few summer-like days of the year drinking beer with friends.

Friday-Saturday

Portland Night Market

100 of Portland’s best vendors celebrating local food, culture, music, drinks and retail.

The Portland Night Market showcases the many unique & diverse businesses that call the great City of Portland home. Blending food, culture, music, drinks and retail together for an adventurous evening in the Industrial District. The event allows people to meet some of Portland’s best makers and creators set in the unique venue of a 100+ year old produce row warehouse. The PNM is a free event and open to all ages.

Saturday

Museum Day Live

The Museum Day Live! ticket provides free admission for two people.

Museum Day Live! is an annual celebration of boundless curiosity hosted by Smithsonian magazine. Participating museums and cultural institutions across the country provide entry to anyone presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket.

Where will your curiosity lead you on Museum Day Live!?

Oktoberfest at Occidental Brewery

Are you ready for Occidental’s biggest Oktoberfest yet? You know the drill! Join us Saturday September 24th for our biggest Oktoberfest so far. As many of you know we have recently teamed up with Urban German Grill and opened Occidental Wursthaus. This year’s Oktoberfest will also serve as the grand opening of The Wursthaus so come ready to break it in! Beer (Festbier with a handful of others) will be flowing in multiple places, there will be live music and delicious food.

A Very Stumptown Holiday Extravaganza! (8 December 2015)

December 6, 2015 by Dave Leave a Comment

Join the Stumptown Stories crew this Tuesday, 8 December 2015, for a special Chanukah and Christmas Holiday Special edition of Stumptown Stories at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder) from 7 PM to 9 PM.

It’s going to be an all-star cast:

Heather Arndt Anderson will be discussing the old-timey Portland children’s radio classic, the Cinnamon Bear,

Joe Streckert will tell you all about Meier & Frank’s totally bitchin Santaland,

JB Fisher is talking about What Happened to the Martins? A Christmas Mystery,

Finn John will reveal Portland’s Murderous Melodrama of Christmastime 1907,

and Doug Kenck-Crispin will tell you about the Jewish utopia down by Roseburg! Cause it’s Chanukah!

Additionally there’ll be special guests – including Sober Santa and accordionist Lynn Haldeman!

Visit OrHistory.com and the FB event page for more details.

Stumptown Stories, batshit crazy stories from the murkiest, weirdest, and nuttiest corners of Portland history, takes place the second Tuesday of every month at the Jack London.

Admission is free, but this month there’s a suggested donation of $5. Doors open at 6:30 PM, 21 and over only.

Portland Weekend Amusements (25-27 September 2015)

September 24, 2015 by Dave Leave a Comment

Oktoberfest season continues! This weekend get your bier at Oaks Park, ride your bike at the last Sunday Parkways of the year, watch a film on the river, juggle to your heart’s content, and amazingly – a lot more!

Friday – Sunday

Oaks Park Oktoberfest

The 2015 Oaks Park Oktoberfest takes place Friday through Sunday, September 25 through 27.

Bier!Bier! Main sponsor Paulaner will be offering a festival lineup of Oktoberfest, Hefeweizen, Paulaner Salvator, and their Pilsner. Wine and non-alcoholic beverages will be available too.

Portland Juggling Festival and Vaudeville Extravaganza

The 2015 Portland Juggling Festival takes place 25 September through 27 September at the Reed College (3203 SE Woodstock Blvd) gym. The Juggling and Vaudeville Extravaganza takes place Saturday, 26 September the Reed College Kaul Auditorium.

One of the largest regional juggling festivals in the country, the festival provides a venue for jugglers from around the world to come together to share knowledge and hone skills in workshops and juggling sessions.

Saturday

Museum Day Live

The Museum Day Live! ticket provides free admission for two people.

In the spirit of the Smithsonian Museums, which offer free admission every day, Museum Day Live! is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums across the country open their doors to anyone presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket… for free.

Upriver: Outdoor screening at Sellwood Riverfront Park

The Portland EcoFilm Festival is proud to partner with Portland Parks and Recreation for the Portland premiere of UPRIVER, screening outdoors in the beautiful Sellwood Riverfront Park!

Home to roughly two-thirds of all Oregonians, the Willamette River system has endured a history of human use and abuse similar to most large river systems. UPRIVER, a locally-produced feature-length documentary, explores the recent movement of Oregonians from all walks of life to improve the health of the river and the diverse life it supports and provides a new look at what this river is, where it comes from, and where it’s going.

Sunday

Tilikum Crossing / Sellwood Portland Sunday Parkways

End the Sunday Parkways season big by exploring the new Tilikum Crossing Bridge of the People and the Sellwood area. This new route will include the Tilikum Crossing and circle the Sellwood area introducing participants to the Westmoreland, Sellwood Parks plus Brooklyn School Park where music, food, and fun are waiting.

Harvest Festival

Enjoy the bounty of Oregon while indulging in snacks, sweets, beer and music from the Pacific Northwest region! Learn about Oregon specialty crops from local farms, CSA’s, cooking demonstrations and artisan vendors. There’s fun for the whole family, including kids activities and live entertainment. Come celebrate the harvest season at OMSI!

Ongoing

Chapman Vaux’s Swift Watch 2015

In September thousands of Vaux’s Swifts coalesce into a giant undulating swirl in Northwest Portland near Chapman School after spending the day eating bug. Around sunset the swirl gets more compact, like a ground pepper tornado, and begins disappearing, measure by measure, down the school’s huge old chimney. On the lawn below hundreds of mesmerized and picnic-sated Portlanders stare into the sky from the comfort of lawn chairs and blankets while their oblivious children roll down the grassy hill screaming. Cheers erupt from the crowd when the slippery swifts dodge the opportunistic Peregrine falcons, boos when the predators get lucky.

Oaks Park Oktoberfest (25-27 September 2015)

September 22, 2015 by Dave Leave a Comment

The 2015 Oaks Park Oktoberfest takes place Friday through Sunday, September 25 through 27.

Bier! Main sponsor Paulaner will be offering a festival lineup of Oktoberfest, Hefeweizen, Paulaner Salvator, and their Pilsner. Wine and non-alcoholic beverages will be available too.

Multiple food vendors offer their take on Oktoberfest food, including Taste of Oktoberfest by Scandinavian Cafe, Schnitzel Haus, Edelweiss Deli, Urban German, Eis Hutte, Deutsche Desserts, and more – everything is reasonably priced, and two festhallen and a multitude of outdoor picnic tables means there are plenty of places to sit down with your beers and friends.

If you love accordion music you’re in for a treat (if you don’t love accordion music, I pity you). Performers include Alpine Echoes, Edelweiss Tanz Gruppe, German International School, Joe the Accordion Man, The Kleinstädtlers, Leikarringen of Portland, Polkatones, Rose City Accordion Club, and more. There are three stages – the Main Festhalle, the Family Festhalle, and the Comcast Stage. Visit the fest website for the full performance schedule.

Compete in (or, as I do, watch and guffaw at) the Main Festhalle Games like the pretzel toss, condiment art, and the chicken dance throughout the weekend.

Additionally there’s a Craft and Import Vendors village where you can buy lederhosen and dirndls, and plenty of knick knacks and stuff for the kids.

Admission is $5 for adults 16 to 61, $3 for 62 and over, and kids get in for $2. Friday the fest goes from 3 PM to midnight, Saturday, 11 AM to midnight, and Sunday 11 AM to 7 PM. (Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM is Senior Excitement Night at the fest; guests 55 and older receive FREE admission and discounts at some vendors.)

This is one of Heather‘s favorite Portland festivals, because of the weiner dog races of course.

To give you an idea of what to expect, check out our reviews from past years:

Heather’s:

Mine:

Oaks Park Oktoberfest 2009
Oaks Park Oktoberfest 2010 by me

And here’s a weiner dog race video!

Weiner Dog Race! from Mile73 on Vimeo.

Portland Weekend Amusements (18-20 September 2015)

September 17, 2015 by Dave Leave a Comment

Oktoberfest season – the best season of the year in my book – is in full swing. This weekend get your bier at Stammtisch and Kennedy School, and don’t miss the Polish Festival either!

Friday – Sunday

Stammtisch Oktoberfest

Portland German restaurant Stammtisch (401 NE 28th Ave) knows how to throw a party: A three day Oktoberfest block party (18 Friday through 20 Sunday 2015).

“Bust out your lederhosen and dirndls for what is always the best party of the year!”

Saturday-Sunday

Portland Polish Festival

The 22nd annual Portland Polish Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, 19-20 September 2015, between the Polish Hall (3832 N. Interstate Avenue) and the St. Stanislaus Church (3916 N. Interstate Avenue) on N. Interstate – right at the west end of the famous Failing Street pedestrian bridge.

My favorite Portland festival features non-stop music and dance performances, polka contests, and the can’t-miss Saturday night street dance featuring Chervona! Enjoy Polish food like pierogies, kielbasa, gołąbki (cabbage rolls), placki ziemniaczane (potato pancakes), and other delectable options – and of course delicious Polish beer! In the vendor village, check out the jewelry, clothing, Polish pottery, and sundries for sale.

Sunday

Kennedy School Oktoberfest

When you imagine Oktoberfest, what comes to mind? Beer, live music, more beer, bratwurst and hamburgers, and more—exactly how McMenamins pictures it.

One and all are welcome to participate! Begun as a wedding party for Germany’s Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese in 1810, today Oktoberfest is celebrated all over the world with music, singing, dancing, beer, food and revelry, so join in our fun. Get the cool event stamp for your Passport, too.

Ongoing

Chapman Vaux’s Swift Watch 2015

In September thousands of Vaux’s Swifts coalesce into a giant undulating swirl in Northwest Portland near Chapman School after spending the day eating bug. Around sunset the swirl gets more compact, like a ground pepper tornado, and begins disappearing, measure by measure, down the school’s huge old chimney. On the lawn below hundreds of mesmerized and picnic-sated Portlanders stare into the sky from the comfort of lawn chairs and blankets while their oblivious children roll down the grassy hill screaming. Cheers erupt from the crowd when the slippery swifts dodge the opportunistic Peregrine falcons, boos when the predators get lucky.