Dave Knows Portland

Weekend Amusements (November 25-27, 2011)

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There is no shortage of events and spectacles this Thanksgiving weekend, including the Macy’s parade, several tree lightings, and of course frenzied shopping. But what you’re really after is Canadian football and booze, right?! My picks are below, and make sure to visit our friends at Around the Sun, Blogging Portland on the Cheap, PDX Pipeline, and Oregon Events at OregonLive.com for even more!

Ongoing

Pittock MansionPittock Mansion Holiday Season 2011

Once again Portland’s historic Pittock Mansion is going all out for the holiday season. This year, from November 21 through January 2, the theme is Christmas Around The World.
“Every year, starting more than 40 years ago, dozens of volunteer decorators, designers, and local organizations donate their time and talents to transform Pittock Mansion into a Christmas wonderland for approximately 17,000 delighted visitors during the holiday season.” [more]

Tannenbaum MadnessTannenbaum Madness 2011

Alberta Main Street‘s Tannenbaum Madness is a walking window tour of whimsical, wacky and artistic trees.
“Tannenbaum Madness is an event, inviting families and art lovers to bundle up and take a stroll up Alberta Street this holiday season. Businesses up and down NE Alberta Street create a walking tour of whimsical, artistic, and unique holiday trees on display it in their front windows.” [more]

Zoolights!ZooLights 2011

The 2011 ZooLights ignite for the first time on Friday, November 25. The sparkling lights and brilliant hues will be cast each evening (except Christmas Eve and Day) through January 1, 2012.
“More than a million lights transform the Oregon Zoo into a luminous winter wonderland filled with moving sculptures, forests of lighted trees and animal silhouettes.” [more]

Friday

Portland Art MuseumPortland Art Museum Free Day

Though the Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park) is closed on Thanksgiving Day, enjoy free admission on Friday, November 25, 2011 from 5pm until 8pm.
The museum offers free admission ever fourth Friday (5pm-8pm) of the month, so if you can’t make it this week, mark December 23, 2011 on your calendar! [more]

Friday-Saturday

BoozeClear Creek Distillery Thanksgiving Weekend Open House

Portland artisan spirits pioneer, Clear Creek Distillery (2389 NW Wilson), will be hosting their annual Thanksgiving Weekend Open House this Friday and Saturday, November 25 and 26, 2011.
“We will be hosting guests in our production area, which is usually closed to the public, explaining our production process and providing tastings. Visitors can see the stills, fermentation tanks, etc., and see what we are currently making, as well as talk with the people who actually make our spirits.” [more]

Saturday

D.B. CooperD.B. Cooper Symposium

Thanksgiving Day this year marks the 40th anniversary of the infamous D.B. Cooper hijacking, so it’s only appropriate that Portland will be playing host to a D.B. Cooper Symposium this weekend, on Saturday, November 26, 2011 at the Portland Hilton (921 SW 6th) to be exact. [more]

Sunday

Grey Cup 2011Grey Cup in Portland (2011)

The 99th Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League‘s championship game, takes place this Sunday, November 27, 2011.

This year BC Place Stadium will host the game. Unfortunately the half time entertainment is provide by Nickelback. The home-town BC Lions will be facing the Winnepeg Blue Bombers! [more]

Portland Art Museum Free Day (25-November-2011)

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Portland Art MuseumThough the Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park) is closed on Thanksgiving Day, enjoy free admission on Friday, November 25, 2011 from 5pm until 8pm.

The museum offers free admission ever fourth Friday (5pm-8pm) of the month, so if you can’t make it this week, mark December 23, 2011 on your calendar!

Regular adult admission is $12 ($9 for seniors 55 and up and college students, 18 and up, with ID; free admission for children up to 17).

Pittock Mansion Holiday Season 2011

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Pittock Mansion Ready for the HolidaysOnce again Portland’s historic Pittock Mansion is going all out for the holiday season. This year, from November 21 through January 2, the theme is Christmas Around The World.

Every year, starting more than 40 years ago, dozens of volunteer decorators, designers, and local organizations donate their time and talents to transform Pittock Mansion into a Christmas wonderland for approximately 17,000 delighted visitors during the holiday season. This year’s bedecking of the Mansion’s hallways, grand marble staircase, and 23 treasure-filled rooms will feature multi-cultural Christmas customs and traditions as we celebrate Christmas Around the World.

Visitors are invited to enjoy the special exhibit and decorations, including over two dozen Christmas trees. Musicians will be performing regularly in the Music Room, and of course there are plenty of shopping options in the Museum Store.

Admission is free for members, $9 for adults, $8 for seniors (65+), $6 for youth (ages 6 – 18), and free for children ages 5 and younger.

The holiday display stays up until January 2nd. The mansion is open every day from November 22 until January 2nd 2011, except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Hours daily are 11am until 4pm.

Lots of people are enthusiastic about the holidays, so the Mansion can get pretty crazy. To help alleviate the crowding the park offers a free shuttle from December 17 through January 1. Park your car by PSU (or take the train or bus downtown) and head over to PSU Parking Garage #3 (entrance on SW 12th or 13 just south of Market Street).

October 24, 1992: OMSI Opens on the Eastside

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OMSIThe new Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) opened to the general public on Saturday, October 24, 1992 (The Oregonian, 25 October 1992).

The $40 million, 210,000 square-foot museum on the east banks of the Willamette River between the Marquam and Hawthorne Bridges is three times larger than its predecessor. Portland General Electric donated the 18.5 acre lot, the former location of a sawdust-fired power plant, to the museum. The smokestack and turbine building of the old plant are incorporated into the new museum complex.

Two years under constructions, the new OMSI, complete with 315-seat OMNIMAX Theater and 200-seat planetarium, replaced the then 35-year-old complex near the Zoo.

In 1994 OMSI took possession of the submarine USS Blueback, and began offering tours that spring.