Dave Knows Portland

Cinco de Mayo, Cinco de Lebowski, Timbers, Train Day, Saison Fest, & more! (May 6-8, 2011)

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All Weekend

Cinco de Mayo 2011Cinco De Mayo Fiesta

Celebrate the Mexican army’s 1862 defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla: It’s the 27th annual Portland Cinco de Mayo festival!

This year’s festival also features Lucha Libre bouts on Saturday and Sunday, . . . And per tradition there will be a fireworks demonstration at 10pm on Friday. [more]

Tulip FestTulip Fest 2011

Tulip Fest 2011 at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn kicks off Friday, March 25 and runs through Sunday, May 1 May 8!

On weekdays it’s 40 acres of blooming tulips (and daffodils), a cafe, country store, farm equipment on display, Dutch sausages, and a gift shop. And on weekends you get all that, plus pony rides, . . . beer and wine and . . . [more]

Friday

Portland TimbersPortland Timbers vs. Philadelphia Union

The Portland Timbers (3-3-1) aim to respond positively to Tuesday’s first home loss when they defend home field tonight against the Philadelphia Union (4-1-1).

The Timbers, currently sixth in the West standings, are still undefeated at home in league play, and in fact have not given up a single point at Jeld-Wen Field. Their most impressive win came last Saturday against Real Salt Lake, one of the top teams in the league. [more]

Cinco de Lebowski 2011Cort and Fatboy present Cinco De Lebowski VI

Join Cort and Fatboy this Friday, May 6, 2011 for a special screening of The Big Lebowski: it’s el Cinco De Lebowski VI!

The doors of the Bagdad (3702 SE Hawthorne) open at 9pm (7:30pm for VIP ticket holders!). Here Come Dots perform live, and the film begins at 11pm. Non-VIP admission is only $3, and you have to be 21 or over. [more]

Saturday

National Train Day 2011National Train Day

National Train Day 2011 takes place this Saturday, May 7th from 10am to 4pm – the Portland event is at Union Station (800 NW 6th) . . .

The star attraction again this year is the 110 foot long, 10 foot wide, and 16 foot tall SP 4449. One of three locomotives owned by the city of Portland, the 4449 weighs 433 tons and can reach speeds over 100 mph with its 5,500 horsepower engine. [more]

Saison Fest 2011Saison Festival

Cascade Brewing presents this year’s Saison Festival on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at the Cascade Brewing Barrel House (939 SE Belmont) from noon until 10pm. . . .

Featuring live music by Black Lodge and Left Coast Country, this beer fest is free to enter! [more]

Pine State BiscuitsPine State Biscuits Birthday Blowout

Join the Pine State Fellas at the NE location (2204 NE Alberta) for the Pine State Biscuit Biscuit Birthday Blowout on Saturday, May 7, 2011 starting at 2pm. [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, and PDX Pipeline!

Cort and Fatboy present Cinco De Lebowski VI (6-May-2011)

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Cinco De Lebowski VIJoin Cort and Fatboy this Friday, May 6, 2011 for a special screening of The Big Lebowski: it’s el Cinco De Lebowski VI!

This year’s fest features a VIP section with preferred seating, early admission, a pre-show performance from Here Come Dots, a cocktail, hors d’oeuvres, and door prizes ranging from free passes to future McMenamins events, to an overnight stay for 2 at McMenamin’s Edgefield Hotel. A limited number of VIP tickets are available online for $10 sold out!

$10 too rich for your blood? Enter the coloring contest and you might win free VIP passes! Visit the Bagdad Theater, or the Cinco De Lebowski event page at Cascadia.FM to acquire the poster for Cinco De Lebowski. Jazz it up with color, return it to the Bagdad with your name and phone number on the back, and the poster will be displayed in the Bagdad windows facing Hawthorne. If your artful coloring is deemed worthy, you could win free VIP passes.

The doors of the Bagdad (3702 SE Hawthorne) open at 9pm (7:30pm for VIP ticket holders!). Here Come Dots perform live, and the film begins at 11pm. Non-VIP admission is only $3, and you have to be 21 or over.

National Train Day (7-May-2011)

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National Train Day 2011National Train Day 2011 takes place this Saturday, May 7th from 10am to 4pm – the Portland event is at Union Station (800 NW 6th).

National Train Day marks 142 years of connecting travelers coast to coast and commemorates the day the first transcontinental railroad was created. On May 10, 1869, in Promontory Summit, Utah, the “golden spike” was driven into the final tie that joined 1,776 miles of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways, transforming America by creating the nation’s transcontinental railroad.

The Rose Festival Character Clown Corp and train artist J. Craig Thorpe will be in attendance, along with representatives of organizations dedicated to trains, railroad history, and more. Giveaways will occur all day, including a Grand Prize trip to Vancouver, BC on the Amtrak Cascades with two night stay at the Westin Grand and $125 credit to use on attractions, courtesy of Tourism Vancouver.

The star attraction again this year is the 110 foot long, 10 foot wide, and 16 foot tall SP 4449. One of three locomotives owned by the city of Portland, the 4449 weighs 433 tons and can reach speeds over 100 mph with its 5,500 horsepower engine. In the 1940s and 50s it pulled the Southern Pacific Coast Daylight coaches from LA to Portland. In 1958 it was put on display at Oaks Park, but was restored in 1974 so that it could pull the 1975-1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train. (Visit the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation website for more information about the other locomotives and learn about the foundation’s efforts to build a permanent home for these historical locomotives and other rolling stock.)

This free event is one of my favorites – check out my posts on the 2010, 2009 Train Day events to get a taste of what’s in store!

Cinco De Mayo Fiesta 2011

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Update: 2012 Cinco de Mayo details here!

Cinco De Mayo 2011Join tens of thousands this weekend at Waterfront Park between the Hawthorne and Morrison bridges to celebrate the Mexican army’s 1862 defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla:
It’s the 27th annual Portland Cinco de Mayo festival!

Sponsored by the non-profit Portland Guadalajara Sister City Association, enjoy the rides, music and dance, food and more from Wednesday, el Cinco de Mayo, through Sunday (. . . um, el Ocho de Mayo).

Luchadores! Fireworks!

This year’s festival also features Lucha Libre bouts on Saturday and Sunday, with “El Oriental”, “Hysteria”, “Mascarita Dorada”, “Mini-Alebrije”, California: “El Gato”, “Mega Boy” visiting from Mexico City and six wrestlers from Oregon.

And per tradition there will be a fireworks demonstration at 10pm on Friday.

Festival hours are 11am to 11pm. Admission is $6 if you’re 13 or older, $3 for those 6 to 12, $4 for seniors (62 and over), and kids under 6 get in free. Visit the Cinco De Mayo website for entertainment schedule, special deals, and other event details.

Cinco De Mayo Carnival from Andrew Curtis on Vimeo.

Record Store Day (16-April-2011)

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Record Store Day 2011Support your local record store Saturday, April 16: it’s Record Store Day 2011.

Record Store Day is an international celebration of independent record stores. To participate a store must be a retailer whose main primary business focuses on a physical store location, whose product line consists of at least 50% music retail, whose company is not publicly traded and whose ownership is at least 70% located in the state of operation. In 2011 over two dozen Oregon stores are participating!

One such store is friend of the blog Hall of Records (3342 SE Belmont), which is sweetening the pot with a free beer for anyone who spends $10 or more on records!