Dave Knows Portland

New Year’s Weekend Amusements (Dec. 30, 2011 – Jan. 1, 2012)

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New Year's EveWhether you’re after fine dining, dance parties, activities with the kids, or fireworks, I’ve got you covered with this post: New Year’s Eve in Portland.

On New Year’s Eve all TriMet buses and trains are free after 8pm, with some routes running until 3am!

And you still have a few options through the weekend if you haven’t yet got your fill of holiday lights and displays:

Peacock LanePeacock Lane 2011

Peacock Lane officially lights up for the 2011 holiday season on December 15 at 6pm.

Peacock Lane is a narrow residential street one block east of Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard (née 39th Ave) between SE Stark and Belmont. Since the 1920s the residents of this stretch of mostly Tudor style houses have gone a little crazy with the Christmas lights [more]

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]

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.

Weekend Amusements (September 23-25, 2011)

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I am not exaggerating when I state that this weekend is my favorite of the year. The Polish Festival is my favorite annual cultural event, and the Oaks Park Oktoberfest, also this weekend, is near the top of the list too. In addition there are several other Oktoberfests this weekend, a Reed College community celebration, Retro Gaming Expo, and more – something for everyone, especially those who love beer!

Ongoing

Swift WatchChapman Vaux’s Swift Watch 2011

Every September thousands of Vaux’s Swifts come to Portland. They spend their days eating lots of bugs. In the late afternoon the Swifts begin flying in a giant undulating swirl in the sky about the school. Around sunset they swirl more tightly, like a ground pepper tornado, and begin disappearing, measure by measure, down the chimney. On the lawn below, hundreds of Portlanders gather on lawn chairs and blankets to stare at the sky, mesmerized. Boos erupt when opportunistic Peregrine falcons occasionally get lucky. The crowd cheers, however, when the predators are thwarted. Meanwhile unruly oblivious children scream and roll down the grassy hill. [more

All Weekend

Zenner's Oktoberfest 2011Oaks Park Oktoberfest 2011

The 2011 Zenner’s Oktoberfest at Oaks Park takes place Friday through Sunday, September 23 through 25.

The authentic German beer and food (e.g. Zenner’s sausages, chicken schnitzel, braised red cabbage, sauerkraut, German Potato Salad, and Tater Tots!) is reasonably priced, and two festhallen and a multitude of outdoor picnic tables means there are plenty of places to sit down with your beers and friends. [more]

Friday-Saturday

Der Rheinlander Oktoberfest 2011Der Rheinlander Oktoberfest

The Rheinlander 2011 Oktoberfest takes place Friday and Saturday, September 23 and 24 at the restaurant (5035 NE Sandy).

The outdoor bier tent features beer directly from Munich, German – including Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier and Paulaner Salvator Dopple Bock. Live music in the evenings is provided by Oktoberfest band Paloma from Chicago, and participate in (or observe with a smirk) the sausage and pretzel eating contest and costume competition. [more]

Saturday

Museum DayMuseum Day

On the Smithsonian magazine website, you can print a free admission ticket to one of a dozen museums in the Portland area (or one of hundreds across the country). The ticket grants you and a guest free admission on Saturday, September 24, Smithsonian‘s annual Museum Day. [more]

Fun on FosterFun on Foster

From 10am to 5pm this Saturday, Sept 24th, Foster Road puts itself on display; an opportunity for the residents of FoPo, Lents and Mt. Scott-Arlete to demonstrate their pride; a show for the rest of Portland to see. Fun on Foster, the annual street festival organized by the Foster Area Business Association (FABA), should be bigger and better this year, just as it was the year prior, and the year before that. [more]

Reed College Centennial Community Day CelebrationReed College Centennial Community Day Celebration

The first classes at Portland’s Reed College started 100 years ago, and to celebrate this auspicious anniversary, Reed is hosting a Centennial Community Day Celebration on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 8am to 3pm, and 7pm to 9pm.

Things start off at 8am with the Reed College 5k Odyssey Run/Walk (7am on-site registration at Eliot Circle) and a pancake breakfast (price included with 5k registration, or $5.95/person) from 8:30am to 11am. [more]

North 45North 45 Oktoberfest

4th Annual OktoberFest party at North 45 will be Saturday, September 24th from 12 noon to late. All the staff will be sporting authentic garb. We’ll have German food & drink specials all day & night. Drinking boots and vessels will be available day of the event. Live Polka/funk band starts at 7pm on the patio. Patio will be open until midnight. Minors permitted until 9:30pm. There will be a Best Dressed contest around 11pm, so pull out your lederhosen. [more]

Saturday-Sunday

Polish FestPortland Polish Festival

The 16th annual Portland Polish Festival, my favorite local cultural event, takes place this year on Saturday and Sunday, September 24 and 25.

The fest features non-stop music (much of it featuring accordions!) and dance performances, polka contests, and a can’t-miss Saturday night street dance. Enjoy Polish food like pierogies, kielbasa, gołąbki (cabbage rolls), placki ziemniaczane (potato pancakes), and other delectable options – and of course delicious Polish beer! In the vendor village, check out the jewelry, clothing, Polish pottery, and sundries for sale. [more]

Retro Gaming ExpoPortland Retro Gaming Expo

The 2011 Portland Retro Gaming Expo takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 24 and 25 at the Doubletree Hotel (1000 NE Multnomah Street).

PRGE is a convention attracting fans of video games and their history. It is made up of three areas: The Freeplay Arcade, the Theater and the Vendor Marketplace. [more]

Sunday

Sunday ParkwaysNortheast Portland Sunday Parkways

This year’s fifth and final Portland Sunday Parkways takes place in Northeast Portland on September 25, 2011.

Spend your Sunday afternoon (noon to 5pm) winding your way on bike or foot through mostly residential streets free of car traffic, from one park to the next. [more]

McMenamins EdgefieldOktoberfest at Edgefield

When you imagine Oktoberfest, what comes to mind? Oom-pah bands, loads of beer, bratwurst and hamburgers and more! One and all are welcome to participate in the German celebration that is Oktoberfest! Begun as a wedding party for Germany’s Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese in 1810, today Oktoberfest is celebrated all over the world with music, singing, dancing, beer, food and revelry. [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.

Reed College Centennial Community Day Celebration (24-September-2011)

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Reed College Centennial Community Day CelebrationThe first classes at Portland’s Reed College started 100 years ago, and to celebrate this auspicious anniversary, Reed is hosting a Centennial Community Day Celebration on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 8am to 3pm, and 7pm to 9pm.

Things start off at 8am with the Reed College 5k Odyssey Run/Walk (7am on-site registration at Eliot Circle) and a pancake breakfast (price included with 5k registration, or $5.95/person) from 8:30am to 11am.

9:30am to 2pm enjoy games, a climbing wall, bouncy castle, juggling, and more on the Great Lawn (on the South side of campus, along Woodstock Boulevard).

Watch a Reed College rugby match in the upper playing field (off Steele on the North side of campus) at 10am, tour the research reactor at 11am, noon, and 1pm, and lots more – visit the celebration website for the full schedule of the dya’s events.

At 7pm watch a Movie in the Quad: See a clip of Harrison Ford roaming around Reed’s Eliot Hall chapel in the 1977 film The Possessed, part of which was shot at Reed, followed by the 1981 feature film Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The day ends, as all great days should, with fireworks at 9pm, on the west lawn.

New Year’s Eve in Portland

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Helping you make plans to ring in 2013 since 2012 – this page will be updated throughout the week leading up to January 31st as more events are identified.

New Year's EveArea New Year’s Eve Events, Parties, and Celebrations

New Year’s Eve Fireworks

FireworksI haven’t found any Portland area New Years Eve fireworks displays. If you head up to the mountain, however, you have a couple options.

  • Brrring in the New Year at Mt. Hood Meadows – Fireworks start around 10 p.m., lifts run until midnight.
  • Mt Hood Skibowl’s 25th Annual New Year’s Eve Extravaganza. Skibowl West will be entertaining all day long with MC Snow Go! in the base area having comps and giving out swag and prizes. Around 11:45, the lights on the hill will be turned off and the countdown festivities will begin starting with the torchlight parade led by the Powder Hounds doing a snow bike demo, then followed by skiers and riders carrying the torches down the slopes featuring members of the Mt. Hood Race Team. Lastly, the New Year will be kicked off with world record Olympic speed skier Petr Kakes launching down the hill into the base area starting the fireworks extravaganza!

New Year’s Eve Travel

After midnight cops and drunks make up the majority of driver – take the train, bus, or a cab!

  • TriMet service is free after 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Buses and streetcar will run on weekday schedules, and MAX will be running extra late.

MAX Blue, Green and Yellow lines
• The last Blue Line trip to Gresham leaves Pioneer Square South at 3:07 a.m. and the last trip to Hillsboro leaves Pioneer Square North at 3:07 a.m.

• The last Yellow Line trip to Expo Center leaves Pioneer Courthouse/SW 6th at 3:02 a.m. and the last trip to Downtown Portland leaves Expo Center at 2:16 a.m. A trip to Rose Quarter Transit Center and Ruby Junction/E 197th leaves Expo Center at 3:41 a.m.

• The last Green Line trip to Clackamas leaves from Pioneer Courthouse/SW 6th at 3:10 a.m. and the last trip to Downtown Portland leaves Clackamas Town Center Transit Center at 1:44 a.m.

MAX Red Line
• The last trip of the night to the Portland International Airport leaves Pioneer Square South at 10:30 p.m. and the last trip of the night to Beaverton Transit Center leaves the airport at 11:49 p.m.