Dave Knows Portland

June 18-20: Pride Week, Offbeat Belly Dance, Chinatown Walking Tours, and the Timbers

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It’s shaping up to be a great weekend here in Portland, Oregon. Behold below a list of select events I’m going to miss because, of course, Heather and I are off to the 43rd Annual Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival!

And don’t forget, it’s Pride Week in Portland! Visit qPDX‘s special Portland Pride 2010 page for all the events, and follow @qPDX on Twitter for real time updates all weekend.

Friday

Offbeat Belly DanceOffbeat Belly Dance

Every third Friday of the month, from 7 to 9pm, 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 third Friday, June 18th 2010, is no different [more]

Saturday-Sunday

China Town GateSweet Cakes, Long Journey: A Walking Tour of Portland’s Chinatown

The tours offer a unique opportunity to learn about the neighborhood through its architecture, oral history and little-known cultural heritage. A rare lecture by visiting scholar Dr. Marie Rose Wong offers a broader sociological and historical view of the area. [more]

Sunday

TimbersYou Are Timbers History Open Studio #2

You have another chance to make Portland Timbers history, this Sunday, June 20th, at FC Media’s second Open Studio event.

The first Open Studio, earlier this month, was a success. Fans brought Timbers memorabilia of all kinds to the event to be photographed and cataloged for the Timbers visual history project. [more]

June 18-20: Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival 2010

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Coffee and Viking HatThe 43rd annual Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival (aka Astoria Scanfest 2010) takes place this weekend, June 18-20.

Heather and I attended the Scanfest for our first time last summer, [that’s me pictured, preparing for the 2009 fest with strong coffee and appropriate head gear] and we had a blast. Read her account of our adventure:

This year’s festivities begin Friday with the Coronation of Miss Scandinavia, the torchlight procession to the bonfire to burn hexes representing bad luck, and the queen’s ball. And also very importlantly, on Friday from 9-11pm Beer-drinking Music is scheduled for the Beer Garden.

Saturday‘s events include the Optog, a walking parade through downtown Astoria. And the raising of the midsummer pole followed by ring dancing, and an evening open dance.

Music and dancing take place throughout the festival, all days. Entertainers include the Sigtuna Brass Sextet from Sweden, the Karelian Folk Music Ensemble from Finland and Russia, Pekka and Perttu from Finland, and the Ultima Thule Choir from Norway. Vendors will be on hand selling handcrafts and imported items from Scandinavia. And don’t forget the Aebelskiver (Scandinavian donut), Krumkakke (crisp flat cookie rolled into cone shape), Lefse (flat bread with butter, cinnamon and sugar), Riisipuuro (rice pudding with fruit soup), and more!

Sunday the festival wraps up with a Pannukaku Breakfast and more music and fun.

And I’ll leave you with one of the highlights of last year’s festival: Kerry Christensen, Master Yodeler performing the The Norwegian Cow Song!

Kerry Christensen, Master Yodeler, The Norwegian Cow Song from Mile73 on Vimeo.

Portland Pinball Map Conquers our Neighbors to the North

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Portland Pinball Map iPhone App Splash ScreenThe folks behind the Portland Pinball Map (and the highly recommended iPhone application) have expanded their horizons, with two new maps for our neighbors to the North:

Just like the Portland map, the new maps enables a user in Seattle and BC to:

  • Check your favorite locations for their latest line-up
  • Search for machines throughout town
  • Browse the machines in your region
  • Search for locations with four or more machines
  • Comment on a machine’s condition

Also like the Portland map, the BC and Seattle maps are maintained by locals. The BC map is maintained by the folks at the Vancouver Regional Pinball Association (VRPA), and the Seattle map is maintained by unaffiliated volunteers.

At this moment the BC map tracks a respectable 58 locations and 91 machines, and the Seattle map 82 locations and 153 machines (compared to the mature Portland map’s hearty 176 locations and 366 machines).

(There is no accompanying iPhone app for the new regions yet, but I imagine that’s only a matter of time.)

Dave Goes Camping: Silver Falls State Park

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Camp site

Our first camping trip of 2010 took us back to a park we visited a few months ago: Silver Falls State Park. On that mid-March reconnaissance mission we noted that though the campground was not particularly inviting, the park is a quick Friday-after-work drive, has beautiful scenery, and sports showers and flush toilets (the desirability of which is never to be underestimated).

Friday we sneaked out of work early and headed south on I-5. The rain had subsided and the forecast promised actual sun and spring-like temperatures Saturday. We were in denial about Sunday’s forecast of heavy rain . . .

For more (including dutch oven highlights!) read Heather’s account of the trip at Mile73.com: “Summer” Road Trip Season Begins

Biggest Trailblazers Fan in Elko, Nevada?

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My brother Steve and his family moved to Elko, Nevada a few years ago. But despite keepin’ it rural (as the tagline of his blog succinctly puts it), he has stayed true to his Portland roots in at least one way: he’s a huge Trailblazers fan.

As I’ve mentioned before, he secured a personalized license plate as soon as he moved to Nevada: BLZRFAN. Well recently he and his wife bought a second car, so of course they needed to get another personalized license plate declaring their allegiance:

Blazer Fans

Steve is also an entertaining (if infrequent) blogger at the confusingly named blog Dave Knows: Elko. And though he only started Twittering recently, he’s a natural; follow him at @ElkoSteve.