Wine — Page 10

Festa Italiana 2011

August 22, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The 20th Festa Italiana turns Pioneer Courthouse Square into a piazza Thursday through Saturday, August 25 through 27, 2011.

This is one of my favorite Portland festivals, and not just because of the strolling accordionists. Arrive early to secure a table in the beer and wine garden! You’ll have an excellent view of the stage in the middle of the square. Wine is available by the bottle or the glass; and you’ll find the Festa Italiana drink prices to be more reasonable than at most festivals. Beer is available too.

Festa favorite, Ray Massa’s Eurorythms will be back by popular demand. This year we are adding a second full band, Diamanti (Diamond in Italian), a great band from Chicago. Tenor Moreno Fruzzetti, a native of Pisa, Italy will entertain with a selection of Italian and American classics. John English, “The Voice” will sing Sinatra in a super smooth performance. And there is nothing like a little opera on a summer night. The Portland State University Opera Group will perform on Thursday night.

Visit the festa website for the full entertainment schedule. In addition to musical entertainment, enjoy the pizza toss, grape stomp, face painting, and The Carter Family Marionettes!

Fantastic food, mostly Italian, will be available from Ristorante Roma, Bastas Trattoria, a Cena and The People’s Pig. And of course gelato, dolce and Italian ice treats will also be available.

The fest runs from 11am to 11pm each day, and entry is free! Visit the Festa Italiana website or Facebook page for more details.

Offbeat Belly Dance (19-August-2011)

August 16, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

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, August 19, 2011, is no exception – the Offbeat Belly Dance collectives invites you to Offbeat Belly Dance! Awesome August Action! Fun! Fabulous! Freeee Show!

We have an amazing lineup this month, featuring:

The sunny, sensational, and saucy – VEE!

The dazzling, dextrous, and dashing – JASMINE!

The wonderful, winsome, and wildly awesome – KALILAH!

The tiny, the talented, the all around terrific – LANA!

The fiercely fun fusion of – MANDALA!

The gorgeous, the glamorous, the gifted – GWEN!

The incisive, inspiring, and illustrious – ELISE! (Remember that supercrazy awesome Jamballah event? Yeah. She was one of the masterminds behind all that. Also I believe she was on one of their posters lookin’ all cool and stuff. Oh and Belly Dance Uncorked? Yeah that’s her too. Come see her in action!)

And of course the chipper, loquacious, and exhausted from all the awesomely alliterative advertising above – KARISSA!

Do join us, Sassy Portlandian! The show will be a true delight, and do you know what will make it even better? You. Yes you. I’m talkin’ to you. Ain’t nobody else in here, so I guess I must be talking to you…

Join Karissa, the Ringleader of Offbeat Belly Dance (pictured to the right), and the other fabulous dancers at the show Friday night.

Individually, the members of the Offbeat Belly Dance collective perform at shows throughout the Portland area, but on the 3rd Friday of the month they come together at the Blue Monk to perform in a rollicking belly dance revue. One of the things that makes it offbeat, is that the dancers choose whatever kind of music they like. Karissa tells me this has included traditional Middle Eastern music, zydeco, AC/DC, Strauss, The Pogues, hip hop, jazz, blues, Old Crow Medicine Show, the Spice Girls, and just about everything else.

The shows are free, and go from about 7pm until 9:30pm.

Visit OffbeatBellyDance.com for more information. You can also become a fan on Facebook, and follow the genre-defying, good timing gang of belly dancers in Portland OR, w/Karissa as ringmaster/carnival barker/propagandiston on Twitter at @OffbeatBelly

Photo credit: Offbeat Belly Dance

Multnomah Days 2011

August 15, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The 2011 Multnomah Days festival takes place Saturday, August 20 between SW 33rd and 39th on Capitol Highway in Multnomah Village. The fest runs from from 10am to 4pm.

Kick the morning off with the Kiwanis Pancake and Sausage Breakfast at the Key Bank, from 8:30 until 11am – proceeds benefit the Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp for Children and Adults with Disabilities. The breakfast includes juice and fresh Starbucks coffee too.

At 10am the ‘Biggest Little’ Parade begins – featuring musicians, street performers, cars, pets, and more.

From 9am until 4pm let the kids have free reign in the Kids Zone at the Multnomah Art Center. The second annual Kids’ Zone is bigger and better and includes plenty of hands-on arts activities for the kids to go with a bounce house, a rock wall, and more.

The adults will surely enjoy the two beer and wine gardens – one hosted by Renner’s and one hosted by Sip D’Vine. Beer, wine, food, and live music are on tap.

The Get a Life Marching Band will be featured on the Main Stage, and of course there will be plenty of vendors and food booths to browse.

OMSI After Dark: Jocks and Geniuses (27-July-2011)

July 25, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

OMSI After Dark presents Jocks and Geniuses: The Science of Sports this Wednesday, July 27, 2011.

Treat yourself to childfree, brain-building science fun at OMSI After Dark! Check out live demos, new featured exhibitions, and old favorites. Sample tasty snacks and sweets along with beer and wine, and talk to regional food and beverage artisans about the science behind them. The OMSI Cafe will be open with a special dinner menu and cash bars will be available for those who want more than just a taste! It’s geeks gone wild!

Visit the OMSI Cafe for special menu items, and bring cash (only!) for the beer and wine at the bars set up throughout the museum.

Featured science demonstrations and activities include Nintendo Olympics, Thirsty Sports Drinks, and Last Gasp – What’s your lunch capacity? The Wanderlust Circus will be on hand presenting Kazum – an act which cleverly combines acrobalance and cheerleading stunts to create high-flying, jaw-dropping spectacles, and Blake Hicks will be performing bicycle tricks.

Hours are 7pm to 11pm. Admission is $12 for nonmembers (free for members). You can buy tickets online, or at the door (no reservations necessary). 21 and over only!

Pickle Throwdown (23-July-2011)

July 19, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The first annual Kenny & Zuke’s Pickle Throwdown takes place Saturday, July 23, 2011 at Sandwichworks (2376 NW Thurman).

From noon until 5pm taste pickles, enjoy BBQ and beer and wine – all for a good cause – your $5 at the door goes to the Oregon Food Bank.

Providing pickles for this event are local restaurants and pickle purveyors Kenny & Zuke’s, Metrovino, Ned Ludd, Olympic Provisions, Grüner, Garden State, Picklopolis, Spints Alehouse, Biwa, Toro Bravo, and the Sunshine Tavern.

Attendees and celebrity judges, including Storm Large and Allison Jones, will pick apart the entries in four categories: Sweet Pickles, Classic Cucumber, Not Involving a Cucumber, and Portland Weird.

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