Secular Holiday

Portland Labor Day Weekend Amusements 2016

September 1, 2016 by Dave Leave a Comment

A nice long weekend of Art in the Pearl, Romanian Festival, Swift Watch, Portland Film Festival – and Labor Day Picnics!

Saturday and Sunday

Romanian Folk and Food Festival

ROMANIAN COMMUNITY CELEBRATES ITS HERITAGE AND CULTURE IN ITS GENUINE WAY

BBQ, traditional foods, pastries, beer, wine, live music, dance, kids activities, and much more!

The fest takes place at Saint Marys Romanian Orthodox Church (135th and SE Stark)

Saturday-Monday

Art In The Pearl

Art In The Pearl® is a wonderful community event. Over one hundred artists show and sell work ranging from fine wooden furniture to beautiful paintings to photography, glass, clay, metal, jewelry, and much more! Our 19th Annual Festival will take place September 3-5th, 2016.

Monday

2015 Labor Day Picnics

The region’s largest Labor Day picnic takes place at Oaks Amusement Park in Southeast Portland, sponsored by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Members and their families from dozens of unions – up to 20,000 people – turn out for barbecue, games, carnival rides, raffle drawings, music, and a chance to hear from local politicians.

Ongoing

Chapman Vaux’s Swift Watch 2016

Every year in late August, one of Portland’s most spectacular natural events begins: Thousands of Vaux’s Swifts gather in the city as they prepare to migrate to Central America and Venezuela. Migrating swifts often use chimneys as roosts (places to sleep), and they are likely to return to the same roost year after year. One population has been returning to Chapman since the 1980s, and it is one of the largest known roosting sites of migrating Vaux’s Swifts.

Portland Film Festival 2016

The festival focuses on the people, ideas, technology, skills and artistry behind filmmaking and provides both entertaining and educational opportunities to the public. The festival is anchored with outdoor screenings, offering its filmmakers one of the largest audiences available on the West Coast.

The festival is spread across seven theater and education venues including some of the oldest historic theaters in Oregon

Ongoing – in the Parks

Movies in the Park

Fri, September 2 – Director Park (815 SW Park Avenue) – To Catch A Thief
Sunday, September 4 – Overlook Park (1599 N Fremont St) – The Wizard of Oz

Portland Weekend Amusements (8-10 July 2016)

July 7, 2016 by Dave Leave a Comment

Now the real summer kicks in: concerts, movies, and theater in the park; the always fabulous Mississippi Street Fair, Bastille Day, and more!

Ongoing – in the Parks

Movies in the Park

Fri, July 8 – Wilshire Park (NE 33rd Ave & Skidmore St) – Minions (2015)
Sat, July 9 – Dickinson Park (SW 55th & Alfred Ct) – Shaun the Sheep (2015)
Sun, July 10 – Woodlawn Park (NE 13th Ave & Dekum St) – The Sandlot (1993) PG

Concerts in the Park

Friday, July 8 – Fernhill Park (NE 37th, North of Ainsworth St) – Tony Starlight

Original Practice Shakespeare Festival

OPS Fest brings a new style of Shakespearean performance to the Portland area by reviving the old.

This weekend’s performances at Irving Park (NE 9th & Fremont):

Romeo & Juliet – July 8 @ 7PM
The Tempest – July 9 @ 2PM
Hamlet – July 9 @ 7PM

Saturday

Mississippi Street Fair

The 15th annual Mississippi Avenue Street Fair takes place Saturday, July 9, 2016 from 10 am until 9 pm on Mississippi Avenue from Skidmore to Fremont.

One of the most festive and well-attended street fairs in town, the Mississippi Street Fair features five car-free blocks (plus the adjacent side streets), multiple stages of music and dance, hundreds of fantastic craft and food vendors, a Kids Zone, Grandfather’s Rib Off competition, and more!

This year’s fair beneficiary is the Boise Business Youth Unity Project – Fosterinq a stronqer & community throuqh internships for teens.

Bastille Day Festival

The Alliance’s 14th annual Bastille Day Festival takes place on Saturday, July 9, 2016, from noon-6 pm. The Portland festival is one of the largest Bastille celebrations on the West Coast. This year’s festival is celebrated for the second year outdoors at the Portland Art Museum across from the SW Park Blocks. And of course the Bastille Festival is free and open to the public!

Look for fun activities for the whole family, including music, a photo booth, street performers, le marché (the marketplace), French cuisine, and the Spirit of Bastille Costume Contest.

Sunday

Songbook PDX – A Literary Mixtape

Songbook is a reading series comprised of reactions to writers and their own interpretations of songs whether horrid or ethereal. We hear the reader read the piece then we hear the piece of music played at the venue. It’s the literary mixtape you always wanted.

July’s lineup includes: Liz Prato, Shannon Brazil, Shawn Levy, RV Branham, Hobie Anthony, Stephen O’Donnell, and Daniel Elder at Post 134, Alberta Street.

Portland 4th of July Weekend Amusements 2016

June 30, 2016 by Dave Leave a Comment

Monday – Portland Area 4th of July FIREWORKS!

Waterfront Blues Festival – Largest fireworks display in Oregon to fill horizon with color and effects
Oaks Park Fireworks Spectacular – Portland’s best fireworks at dusk
Fort Vancouver Fireworks Spectacular

Blues, beers, and fireworks.

Ongoing

Pedalpalooza 2016 – final weekend!

Pedalpalooza is 3+ weeks of bikey fun. With 280 different events, most organized by individuals, bikers of all persuasions are likely to find many events of interest. Nearly all events are free.

Friday-Sunday

Portland Craft Beer Festival

The Portland Craft Beer Festival (PCBF) is an annual opportunity for patrons of legal-drinking age to sample a substantial representation of beers originating from every brewery in Portland. What makes the PCBF unique is the fact that only beers brewed within the city limits of Portland will be featured at the PCBF – this is different from the other beer festivals that occur in the city. Aside from beer, there will be selections of Portland’s crafted ciders and wines, as well as locally based food vendors.

Record Store Day (16 April 2016)

April 13, 2016 by Dave Leave a Comment

The 2016 Record Store Day falls on Saturday, 16 April: support your local record store!

This is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store—the staff, the customers, and the artists—to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role these independently owned stores play in their communities. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, DJs spinning records, and on and on. In 2008 a small list of titles was released on Record Store Day and that list has grown to include artists and labels both large and small, in every genre and price point. In 2015, 60% of the Record Store Day Official Release List came from independent labels and distributors. The list continues to include a wide range of artists, covering the diverse taste of record stores and their customers.

Dozens of Oregon record stores are participating in the celebration, including Jackpot Records, Music Millennium, 2nd Avenue Records, Everyday Music, and more. Find participating venues at RecordStoreDay.com.

Portland Weekend Amusements (12-14 February 2016)

February 11, 2016 by Dave Leave a Comment

Fun weekend ahead – with or without a sweetheart: Beer, science, Oregon’s 157th birthday – and more!

Friday

Darwin Day – A celebration of Darwin’s Birthday featuring Dr. Kiki Sanford, host of the This Week in Science Podcast

Dr. Kiki Sanford is a neurophysiologist by training and currently runs the This Week in Science radio program. Join Biology Investigation & Outreach to hear Dr. Kiki speak about genetics, evolution, and the future in celebration of Darwin’s 207th birthday!

5:30pm Science Communication Panel

6:00pm Keynote Address with Dr. Kiki

7:00pm Q&A Session

Location: Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom

Tickets are FREE and everyone is welcome!

Friday-Saturday

Portland Night Market

The Portland Night Market showcases 75+ 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.

To kick off 2016, PNM is partnering with some of Portland’s sexier businesses for a special edition market, dubbed, “The Love Train.” We’ve brought on entertainment showcasing live music, aerialists, not to mention an aphrodisiac alley complete with chocolate, tastings, an oyster bar and loads of other goodies!

Saturday

Zwickelmania

Zwickelmania, the annual one-day event in Oregon when breweries open their doors to the casual and hardcore beer fans, lands on Feb. 13th this year — from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. More than 120 breweries, both big and small, are planning on participating with meet-the-brewer events and beer samples. For those who are planning a special Valentine’s Day trip to a place in Oregon, make sure to carve out some time to stop by a brewery or two while you are here. Visitors are invited to click on one of the six regions of Oregon on the Zwickelmania event page to see which breweries are participating.

Last year, more than 32,500 people toured 115 participating breweries statewide and the Oregon Brewers Guild is expecting that number to increase in 2016.

Sunday

Oregon Statehood Day

The Oregon Historical Society invites one and all to a special Oregon Statehood Day celebration on Sunday, 14 February 2016 at the museum (1200 SW Park Ave).

“Celebrate Oregon’s birthday in style at the Oregon Historical Society! The one and only Thomas Lauderdale will be at the piano as former Governors Ted Kulongoski and Barbara Roberts lead the singing of “Happy Birthday.” Feast on cake from Gerry Frank’s Konditeri, and meet Gerry himself as he signs copies of the latest edition of Gerry Frank’s Oregon.”