Dave Knows Portland

Things to do in Portland on Thanksgiving Day (2011)

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Update: Things to do in Portland on Thanksgiving Day (2012)

Coffee

Anna Bannanas (8716 N Lombard & 1214 NW 21st) is opening at 8:30am and closing when it slows down, probably early evening.

Cloud Seven Cafe (901 NW 10th) – is open 8am to 1pm on Thanksgiving Day.

The worker-owned Red & Black Cafe is open 10am to 7pm on Thanksgiving Day.

Beer and Booze

Barfly Magazine maintains a respectable list of bars open 365 days a year.

rialto200And here are some more picks:

Rialto (529 SW 4th) stays open 365 days a year, 9am to 2:30am. While drinking beer play some pinball and pool, watch football on the ginormous TVs, or place some off-track bets.

The Hop & Vine (1914 N Killingsworth) is open from 10am to 1pm Thanksgiving Day for last minute needs!

McMenaminsMany downtown hotel restaurants and bars will be open on Turkey Day.

Quite a few McMenamins will be open on Thanksgiving day. Check the calendar for holiday buffets and movie showings.

Bottles NW (5115 NE Fremont) opens at 6pm on Thanksgiving Day!

You can also place bets at the track: Portland Meadows is open on Thanksgiving Day, and is offering a special traditional breakfast for only $5 (free fo Portland Meadows Rewards Members).

ProstAnd Prost (4237 N Mississippi) opens the doors on Thanksgiving Day at 6pm for their 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Dinner, featuring, in addition to bier, booze, and hot cocktails for sale, a complimentary turkey dinner!

Henry’s Tavern (10 NW 12th) is open noon until 8pm, offering a special holiday menu.

The Radio Room (1101 NE Alberta) will be opening for Thanksgiving at 5pm to 2am, and will be featuring a turkey dinner special,and many drink specials.

Saraveza (1004 N Killingsworth) is open 9am to 1pm-ish on Thanksgiving Day for Packers Fans and last-minute holiday beer!

Restaurants

The Oregonian‘s Michael Russell has the roundup of Portland Restaurants Serving Thanksgiving Dinner.

Eater PDX also has some suggestions as to Where to Eat Out Turkey Day.

And PortlandFoodAndDrink.com‘s annual Thanksgiving Roundup is now live too!

Shopping

Powell's BooksAvoid the holiday crowds that will ensue on Black Friday by visiting Powell’s Books (1005 W Burnside location) on Black Friday Eve (aka Thanksgiving Day). The store will be open from 10am to 6pm.

Groceries

Though not likely to be open all day, many grocery and convenience stores will be open for limited Holiday hours. Usually from late morning until early afternoon.

Activities

OregonZooThe Oregon Zoo is open on Thanksgiving day, with special Beast Feasts for the animals.

Watch Oregon Zoo animals enjoy special snacks and Thanksgiving-themed enrichment items like papier-mâché turkeys stuffed with yummy treats.

In West Linn, you might consider participating in the Turkey Trot. If you’re into that sort of thing.

Many bowling alleys and movie theaters are open Thanksgiving Day!

Transit

TriMet buses and MAX, as well as the Portland Streetcar, will run on Sunday schedules.

Small Press Love Fest (8-November-2011)

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Small Press Love FestThe Small Press Love Fest this Tuesday, November 8, 2011 is a great opportunity for readers to meet local small press publishers and authors.

Join us for an evening social with your favorite presses. Talk to local publishers to find out what’s hot that they’ve got to get a head start on your holiday shopping. There will be food, raffles, door prizes, and free gift wrapping provided by SCRAP.

Small press publishers participating include Dark Horse Comics, The Dill Pickle Club, Future Tense Publishing, Hawthorne Books, Oni Press, Reading Frenzy, Sparkplug Books, Timber Press, Tin House Books, Top Shelf Productions.

This free event runs from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the U.S. Bank Room at the Central Library (801 SW 10th).

Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women (5-November-2011)

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Louisa May AlcottJoin Century of Action and the Multnomah County Library this Saturday, November 5, 2011 for a special presentation of Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women.

Louisa May Alcott supported equal rights for women and organized them to vote 40 years before the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. While Alcott was working hard on the east coast, Oregon women began a 42-year campaign for full voting rights, which they won 8 years before the rest of the nation. Join Kimberly Jensen and the Oregon Suffrage Players in exploring the fascinating history of woman suffrage in Oregon. Turn-of-the-century attire strongly encouraged. Refreshments will be served.

The free presentation begins at 3pm at the U.S. Bank Room in the Central Library (801 SW 10th). Turn-of-the-century attire is encouraged, and refreshments will be served.

Visit the Multnomah County Library website for more information on this, and other Louisa May Alcott programs this month.

Sex at Dawn (2-November-2011)

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Christopher Ryan, author of Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships, will be appearing at the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthorne) on Wednesday, November 2, 2011.

Join us for an evening sure to titillate the most cerebral among you, featuring a humorous and fact-filled lecture and Q&A that will blow away centuries of misconceptions about why we mate, why we stray and what it means for modern relationship.

Hosted by Eleanor O’Brien of Inviting Desire fame and Gabriella Cordova of ErosFestNW (two women oozing with biology).

Find out lots of things you should have learned in high school but didn’t. Science class was never this much fun!

Christopher Ryan, PhD, co-author of Sex at Dawn, has lived and worked all over the world. His research draws upon his multi-cultural experience . . . and focuses on trying to distinguish the human from the cultural. Dan Savage has called Sex at Dawn the single most important book about human sexuality since Alfred Kinsey unleashed Sexual Behavior in the Human Male on the American public in 1948.

This event is Sex, Love, & Spirit.

Doors open at 6pm and the event start at 7pm. This show is 21 and over (minor w/ adult allowed). Visit the McMenamins’ website for ticket information.

Kick Ass Oregon History Presents: DB Cooper Night (20-November-2011)

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Kick Ass Oregon History DB Cooper NightJoin the geeked-out history folks of Kick Ass Oregon History for D.B. Cooper Night at Mississippi Studios (3939 N. Mississippi) on Sunday, November 20, 2011. The edifying fun, co-sponsored by Lost Oregon, Jennifer Wells Design Glass Studio, and Dave Knows Portland [that’s me!] begins at 7:30pm!

DB Cooper Nite will (honor? celebrate? recognise? condemn?) note the 40th anniversary of the only unsolved skyjacking in United States Aviation History. On November 24, 1971, a man in a dark suit and sunglasses hijacked a big ol’ jet airliner leaving Portland, drank a few bourbon and 7s, chain smoked some Raleigh cigarettes, obtained $200,000 in twenty dollar bills, and parachuted out of the rear of the plane at 10,000 feet… never to be heard from again. Rock and Roll!

Admission is a mere $5!

Setting the scene of one of the Pacific Northwest’s most memorable and iconic crimes will be historians Katy Barber, Matt Love, OrHistory.com‘s Doug Kenck Crispin, and twitter legend @ancientportland! Enjoy DB Cooper drink specials while listening to live musical performances by Jarad Miles and Oh Darling.

And there’s a Kick Ass Raffle! Portland haberdashery John Helmer has donated a DB Cooperesque skinny black tie. Portland Luggage is offering a black attache case, and one lucky winner will take home the DB Cooper themed fused glass platter created especially for this event by Jennifer Wells Design Studios.

The raffle also includes two Dave Knows Portland T-Shirts, and OrHistory.com will be selling a limited number of DB Cooper Nite t-shirts as well!

AND… In support of this extraordinary, once every forty years event, Kick Ass Oregon History will feature TWO podcasts on the DB Cooper story. Episode 1 will be released on November 1st, and Episode 2 will appear on the 15th.

Visit ORHistory.com, the Kick Ass Orregon History Facebook page, and stay tuned to @Oregon_History on Twitter for podcast info and further details, including possible special guests.