Dave Knows Portland

Enchanted Forest 2012

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Enchanted Forest MapThe 2012 Enchanted Forest season officially begins on Friday, March 23.

Two years ago I took my wife Heather on her first visit to Storybook Lane – I hadn’t been since the early 80s. Heather had never stumbled through the crooked house nor witnessed the giant warts on the concrete witch’s nose, so as a birthday treat we spent a magical day at the happiest place on the I-5 corridor just south of Salem, Oregon. Afterward she declared:

If you live in Oregon and you haven’t been to Enchanted Forest, you need to go. If you haven’t been in a long time, go back. And if you have kids, Enchanted Forest will rock their world. You’d be a total ass not to bring your kids here as soon as possible.

The park opens at 10am, and rides and the Haunted House open at 10:30. Closing time varies, and for part of the season the park is only open on weekends, so before you jump in the car make sure to check the park schedule on the website. Ticket prices vary with age and ride options. There are food vendors but the Enchanted Forest welcomes picnics (no BBQs or alcohol though).

Hillsdale Brewfest and Battle of the Belt (25-February-2012)

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McMenaminsThe 19th annual Hillsdale Brewfest and Battle of the Belt takes place this Saturday, February 25, 2012 from 11am until late at the Hillsdale Brewery and Public House (1505 SW Sunset Blvd).

Twenty-two brewers from the vast McMenamins empire bring specially brewed beers to the festival Saturday to be judged (and enjoyed) by festival patrons. Order trays of beers, try them all (remember to eat!), then vote for your top 3. The top vote getter wins the belt and earns the coveted honor of representing McMenamins at the 2012 Oregon Brewers Festival this summer.

Visit the McMenamins website for more details and the list of beers!

Stumptown Stories: The Eggs! (21-February-2012)

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Kick Ass Oregon History #2The Stumptown Stories series, geared to everyone who loves this city we live in, takes place most Tuesdays at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder). Free to get in, but must be 21 or over – there’s a full bar!

This Tuesday night, February 21, 2012, Kick Ass Oregon History‘s inimitable resident historian, Doug Kenck-Crispin, will be talking about the sad legacy of the Oregon State Hospital, and a big ol’ batch of bad, bad eggs…

For a preview, listen to Kick Ass Oregon History Volume 1, #2: The Eggs!, and read my This Day in History blog post on the tragic event:

On the evening of November 18, 1942, hundreds of patients and staff members at Salem’s Oregon State Hospital for the insane sat down for a dinner that included scrambled eggs. Now normally breakfast for dinner is a special treat, but on this particular evening the eggs tasted funny. In one ward, as a matter of fact, an attendant who found the taste peculiar ordered her patients not to eat them. Everyone in that ward survived. [more]

Doors open at 5pm for this free event (21 and over only). Presentation begins at 7:30pm.

Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 4 #2: ORe-Gasm

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Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 4 #2: ORe-GasmKick Ass Oregon History is the latest series of podcasts from the enthusiastic historians behind ORHistory.com.

Volume 4 #2 dropped yesterday – ORe-Gasm:

In which we celebrate Oregon’s birthday by drenching our self in hot, wet, sticky history.

The brains behind this Kick Ass project are the crack hustlers of Oregon History Doug Kenck-Crispin and Andy Lindberg. Doug is a graduate student studying Public History and Pacific Northwest History at PSU, and Andy, though a Portland native, is currently working as an actor in New York City. Doug does most of the research and writing for the podcasts with input from Andy, who voices the broadcasts with a thespian’s flair.

With the Kick Ass Oregon History podcast they plan to cover just the good stuff: Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll and Earth Shattering, Devastating Destruction.

Ultimately, our goal is to take Oregon History out of the hallowed halls of the academy, get folks excited and enthused about this shared history, and get them out into the state, digging it and experiencing it. Get them to embrace it, and get their boots muddy in the process. It’s all OUR History; nobody owns it.

Visit ORHistory.com and stay tuned to @Oregon_History on Twitter for further details on specific episodes and the series. Catch up on missed episodes at the Kick Ass Oregon History archives.

Zwickelmania (18-February-2012)

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ZwickelmaniaThe Oregon Brewers Guild‘s fourth annual Zwickelmania takes place this Saturday, February 18, 2012 at dozens of breweries and brewpubs state wide.

Zwickelmania, held every President’s Day weekend, is a free statewide event that offers beer drinkers a chance to tour Oregon breweries, meet the brewers, and sample beers.

Over thirty Portland-area breweries are taking part. The Oregon Brewers Guild has some suggested itineraries:

N/NE Portland
Fire on the Mountain Brewing, 3443 NE 57th Ave
Laurelwood Public House and Brewery, 5115 NE Sandy Blvd
Columbia River Brewing, 1728 NE 40th Ave
Upright Brewing Co. 240 N Broadway
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., 924 N. Russell St
Amnesia Brewing Company, 832 N Beech
Lompoc Brewing Co. – 5th Quadrant, 3901-B N Williams
Breakside Brewery, 820 NE Dekum
Alameda Brewhouse, 4765 NE Fremont

SW to NW Portland to St. Johns
Full Sail Brewing at Riverplace to MacTarnahan’s Taproom
Full Sail at Riverplace, 0307 SW Montgomery
Rock Bottom Brewery, 206 SW Morrison
Rogue Hall, 1717 SW Park Ave
McMenamins Crystal Brewery, 1332 W. Burnside St.
Deschutes Brewery-Portland Pub, 210 NW 11th Ave
Rogue Distillery+Public House, 1339 NW Flanders St
BridgePort Brewing Co., 1313 NW Marshall
Lucky Labrador Beer Hall, 1945 NW Quimby
Lompoc Brewing – New Old Lompoc Brewery, 1616 NW 23rd
Pyramid Breweries Mac Tarnahan’s Taproom, 2730 NW 31st Ave
Occidental Brewing, 6635 N. Baltimore Ave

SE/Inner NE Portland
Portland U-Brew + Pub, 6237 SE Milwaukie Ave
Philadelphia’s Steaks & Hoagies, 6410 SE Milwaukee Ave
Gigantic Brewing, 5224 SE 26th Ave
Hopworks Urban Brewery, 2944 SE Powell Blvd
The Commons Brewing, 1810 SE 10th
Hair of the Dog Brewing Co., 61 SE Yamhill St.
Lucky Lab Brewpub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Green Dragon, 928 SE 9th Ave
Cascade Brewing Barrel House, 939 SE Belmont St.
Burnside Brewing, 701 E. Burnside
Coalition Brewing, 2724 SE Ankenny St.
Migration Brewing, 2828 NE Glisan Street

Visit the Zwickelmania website for more itineraries, a full list of participating breweries in the Portland area and statewide, and several shuttlebus options.