Dave Knows Portland

September 10-12: Muddy Boots, Widmer Oktoberfest, and the Belmont Street Fair

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Friday-Sunday

Muddy Boots 2010Muddy Boots Organic Festival 2010

The 5th Annual Muddy Boots Organic Festival, a soulful celebration of sustainable living, takes place Friday through Sunday, September 10-12 2010 at St. Philip Neri Church (2408 SE 16th).

The keynote speakers are filmmakers Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney.

This year’s theme is Nourishing Spirit: City to Farm [more]

Widmer OktoberfestSaturday

Widmer Oktoberfest 2010

The 6th Annual Widmer Brothers Oktoberfest kicks off at 3pm on Saturday, September 11th in the gated lot adjacent to the brewery at 929 N. Russell Street.

Widmer’s beers, brats, chicken schnitzel wraps, sauerkraut, and pretzels are available, but that’s where the similarities to most Oktoberfests ends. [more]

Sunday

Belmont Street Fair 2010Belmont Street Fair 2010

The 14th Annual Belmont Street Fair takes place Sunday, September 12 from 10am until 5pm. The fair extends from 20th to 48th on Southeast Belmont, with car free blocks from 34th to 37th.

This is one of my favorite Portland street fairs. Car free streets make it more pleasant than the Hawthorne Street Fair. Most of the fair activities take place within a few car free blocks between SE 34th and 37th, so it’s easy to take in the whole thing. And the Belmont Street Fair is not nearly as crowded as the Mississippi Street Fair. [more]

For more, visit these other fine local resources: PDX Pipeline, Neighborhood Notes, Around The Sun, and Blogging Portland on the Cheap.

September 11: Widmer Oktoberfest 2010

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Widmer OktoberfestThe 6th Annual Widmer Brothers Oktoberfest kicks off at 3pm on Saturday, September 11th in the gated lot adjacent to the brewery at 929 N. Russell Street.

Widmer’s beers, brats, chicken schnitzel wraps, sauerkraut, and pretzels are available, but that’s where the similarities to most Oktoberfests ends.

Bands playing throughout the day include the Those Darn Accordions, Amadan, Hillstomp, Sassparilla, Chris Margolin & The Dregs, and more – not a whole lot of oom-pah, and I dare say no chicken dancing. Good beer though.

Admission is free to this 21 and over, cash only, event (but a $5 commemorative mug purchase is required if you want beer).

February 12-14: BAM, Wurstfest, Zwickelmania, and Mardis Gras

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Wow, what weekend. I declare, if I were going to be in town I would, I would be sampling a bit of each and every one of the festivals listed below. Heather and I will be in Astoria, however, celebrating the second anniversary of the day we met (Valentines day 2008 – seriously!); a Zwickelmania visit to Fort George is on the agenda.

Oh, and Valentine’s Day is also Oregon’s 151st birthday!

BAMBeer and Movie Fest February 10-26

Taking place at theater pubs around town from February 10 through the 26, including The Academy Theater, Bagdad Theater, Cinema 21, and Mission Theater, the goal of BAM is to integrate two thriving industries, craft beer and Hollywood entertainment.

WurstfestWurstfest 2010 February 12-14

Dust off your Lederhosen, starch up your Dirndl and join the happy folk in Mount Angel for three fun days of celebration in honor of the WURST!

Wurstfest: A Celebration of German Sausage (pdf) returns to Mount Angel for a second year.

Wurstfest was dreamed up last year by the Bavarian-philes in Mount Angel, Oregon, home of Oregon’s largest Oktoberfest celebration every fall. Last year’s inaugural festival was so successful, they have brought it back again this year.


ZwickelmaniaZwickelmania February 13

President’s Day weekend means one thing in Oregon: Zwickelmania.

In the same spirit as Memorial Day Weekend winery open houses, breweries across the state open their doors for tours and samples on Saturday, February 13th from 11am to 4pm.

Mardi GrasMardi Gras on Historic Mississippi February 13, 16

Why wait until Tuesday? Celebrate Mardi Gras on Historic Mississippi Avenue, Saturday, February 13. . .

So yeah, Saturday’s Mardi Gras celebration on Saturday, is decidedly “family-friendly”.

But return, sans children, to the Boise neighborhood on the real Fat Tuesday, February 16th for more fun . . .

February 12-14: Wurstfest 2010

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UPDATE: 2011 Wurstfest is February 12-13!

WurstfestDust off your Lederhosen, starch up your Dirndl and join the happy folk in Mount Angel for three fun days of celebration in honor of the WURST!

Wurstfest: A Celebration of German Sausage (pdf) returns to Mount Angel for a second year.

Wurstfest was dreamed up last year by the Bavarian-philes in Mount Angel, Oregon, home of Oregon’s largest Oktoberfest celebration every fall. Last year’s inaugural festival was so successful, they have brought it back again this year.

It’s just like Oktoberfest, but in the winter. Mount Angel area sausage makers present their best wursts at the fest, Spaten and Franziskaner beers from Munich are on tap, and regional wines and Bavarian glühwein are also available. Entertainment includes Z Musikmakers Family Band, the Greg Meier Bavarian Quartet, and Jäegermeister Volksmusik.

The fest takes place at the Mount Angel Community Building (500 S Wilco Highway) over from February 12 through the 14th. Hours Friday are 5pm to 11pm, Saturday noon until 11pm, and Sunday noon to 6pm. Included in the $10.00 adult admission fee is a souvenir glass Bavarian beer mug, and a special gift for the Ladies on Valentines Day. Kids get in free with an adult until 9pm.

Last year we visited Wurstfest on Valentines Day, which coincidentally is Oregon’s Birthday. Read Heather’s review of last year’s festival, I Went To A Sausage Fest, and check out the festival’s rendition of Happy Birthday Dear Oregon:

Happy Birthday Dear Oregon from Mile73 on Vimeo.

Oaks Park Oktoberfest 2009

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festhallen

The Oktoberfest crowd was thin and subdued when Diane and I arrived at Oaks Park Friday afternoon. The Oaks Park train circled slowly carrying not a single passenger, and only one of the beer stands was open. But the band wore lederhosen and people kept trickling in. While the rest of our friends fought traffic, we enjoyed our first beers (Diane an Optimator, and I Oktoberfest) and browsed the vendors’ wares. Soon more friends arrived and we ensconced ourselves at the end of a long table in the big festhallen, conveniently close to the food, beer, and the stage.

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