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Portland Weekend Amusements (18-20 March 2016)

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You’re the problem if you don’t have fun this weekend: Timbers, St. Patrick’s Day festivities, and more!

All Weekend

St. Patrick’s Day Festivities

Stout and soda breadA collection of collections:

Saturday

CSA Share Fair

CSA Share FairMeet and talk directly to local farmers who grow our food! More than 40 local farmers, ranchers, and fishers will showcase CSA options, including vegetables, fruits, pastured meats, wild fish, eggs, flowers, honey, and more. . .

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a growing movement that connects eaters and farmers. This is a win-win: You get healthy, fresh, farm-direct food every week, and your farmer gets freedom and security. Other benefits of CSA shares include getting to know your farmer, eating more vegetables, supporting a local business, connecting with your food, and investing in low impact farming practices that protect our drinking water, soils, and wildlife habitat.

Timbers Logo

Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake [goddamn that’s a stupid name] visit Providence Park on Saturday, 19 March 2016 to face the Portland Timbers in their second home match of the regular season.

The Timbers look to bounce back from a loss last weekend against an undefeated RSL team coming off a 2-1 victory over Seattle.

Some matchup factoids for you:

The match on Saturday will be the 19th competitive game (regular season, postseason and U.S. Open Cup) between the two teams. This marks the first time that Portland has faced an MLS opponent 19 times since the Timbers first joined the league in 2011.

In 2015, the Timbers led all of MLS with the most shots in both the regular season and the postseason. To start this season, Portland is again getting shots off at an impressive clip with 36, good for second-most in the league. [More]

Ongoing

2016 Tulip Fest

Tulip FestOur favorite time of year is when the tulips bloom!

The Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest is an invitation from our family to yours to enjoy all things that make spring in the Northwest. Stroll through 40 acres of stunning beauty, experience expansive views of vineyards, distant mountains, and a few mud puddles. Fresh flowers, food, and fun for the entire family!

Saint Patrick’s Day Weekend Amusements (March 16-18, 2012)

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It’s a heavy duty weekend in Portland – plenty of beer, of course, and other amusements.

Guinness StoutPortland area Saint Patrick’s Day Celebrations

Friday

Offbeat Belly DanceOffbeat Belly Dance

Every third Friday of the month the Blue Monk (3341 SE Belmont) hosts the Offbeat Belly Dance collective, a club rocking, good timing, genre-defying gang of badass belly dancers.

This Friday, March 16, 2012 is now exception: Offbeat Belly Dance! This Friday! Fun! Fabulous! Free Show! [more]

Friday & Saturday

ExIT ShoesThe Art and Science of Shoemaking

Join shoemaker Jeff Mandel this Friday or Saturday, March 16 or 17, 2012 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. each day, for a free lecture on The Art and Science of Shoemaking at Halo Shoes (938 NW Everett).

“Come learn about the interdisciplinary pursuit that is making shoes by hand.” [more]

Saturday

Farmers MarketPortland Farmers Market Opening Day

The Portland Farmers Market returns to the Portland State University campus this Saturday, March 17, 2012.

“Nothing screams spring quite like the opening of the PSU Market! Come join us as we welcome back your favorite vendors and introduce some new faces.” [more]

Sunday

Attack of the FlixAttack of the Flix

Attack of the Flix, presented by Microflix, is a monthly competition for Portland filmmakers held at the Curious Comedy Theatre (5225 NE MLK). This month’s show takes place Sunday, March 18, 2012.

Submit your film if you are an Oregon or Washington filmmaker! Entries must be 10 minutes or less, and submitted on USB thumb drives encoded as AppleTV. [more]

And for even more weekend events and activities, check out the Dave Knows Calendar, and visit Around the Sun, Blogging Portland on the Cheap, PDX Pipeline, and Oregon Events at OregonLive.com.

Happy Saint Unicorn’s Day! (2011)

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Unicorned BeefIn his research on the topic of this esteemed holiday, filmmaker and scholar Mike Vogel has confirmed there are archeological bones and horns in dirt type of evidence. In addition contemporary observations corroborate that it is not merely legend that the great city of Portland, Oregon was built upon an ancient unicorn burial ground.

The Saint Unicorn’s Day holiday is celebrated in Portland, of course, with copious libations. Mike Vogel reminds us:

On St. Unicorn’s Day, we drink to remember, instead of our usual reason, drinking to forget.

It is also traditional to feast on [uni]corned beef and boiled cabbage and root vegetables on this day (if some of this sounds familiar, it is because, like so many religious holidays, St. Patrick’s Day is actually based on an old pagan celebration: St. Unicorn’s Day).

To all Portlanders everywhere, I wish you a fantastic St. Unicorns Day!

Unicorns

On our wedding day last summer, Heather and I paid homage to our unicorn [Ed: and dork] heritage.

March 17, 1948: Mill Ends Park Dedicated

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Mill Ends ParkMill Ends Park was dedicated on March 17, 1948, and officially became a city park on the same day in 1976.

What’s most remarkable about this park is the story of its origin, oh, and its diminutive size. Mill Ends covers an area of 452 square inches, about 2 feet square. Mill Ends Park is the smallest park in the world.

Oregon Journal columnist Dick Fagan wrote a popular column called Mill Ends, covering whatever whimsy he could conjure up. In 1946, from his office window overlooking Front Avenue (now Naito Parkway), he spotted a 2 square foot hole in a raised bit of concrete in the median. A light pole was, presumably, intended for the spot, but was never installed. Fagan invented stories of leprechaun exploits in the tiny “park.”

One story, described in the Oregon Encyclopedia entry for Mill Ends, addresses the park’s origin:

One day, as Fagan told the story, he looked out his window and saw a leprechaun digging in the hole. Fagan ran downstairs, dashed across the street, and caught the leprechaun. According to Irish lore, if you catch a leprechaun, he has to grant you a wish. Fagan wished for his own park, but he never specified where or how big the park should be. The leprechaun granted his wish and gave Fagan the hole in the traffic median as his own personal park. Fagan named the spot after his column.

Photo credit: park photo by brx0. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Read more about Mill Ends at brx0’s excellent blog, cyclotram: Semi-obligatory Mill Ends post.

September 25: Paddy’s Oysterfest 2010

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Paddy’s 2nd Annual Oysterfest takes place today, September 25 2010 from noon until midnight.

The street in front of Paddy’s (65 SW Yamhill) will be closed off to traffic so that four bands, and of course bagpipers and Irish dancers, can entertain you in the big tent while you consume thousands of oysters and Guinness!

Band schedule:

This year there’s an $8 cover (or $10 – Facebook says former, poster says latter), but it benefits The Fresh Water Trust. Kids under 12 get in for free.