Dave Knows Portland

Stumptown Stories Presents: Burnside Vice (11 August 2015)

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Stumptown Stories: Burnside Vide

Join Kick Ass Oregon History’s Resident Historian Doug Kenck-Crispin and JB Fisher, co-author of Portland on the Take as they present the next edition of Stumptown Stories Presents: Burnside Vice – 7 PM on Tuesday, August 11, 2015 at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder).

JB Fisher will take you on a virtual walking tour of Burnside’s vice-ridden past in the 1940s and 50s. He’ll tell you about the card rooms and taverns, the whorehouses, the bad hotels, and he’ll throw in some juicy stories about the crooked dealings that went down in the district back in the day.

Doug Kenck-Crispin has been working on the public art project in the new Innovative Housing project at the old Erickson’s Saloon building. With the help of others, he has archived more photos (many from private collections) of this storied establishment than have been gathered in at least a generation. He’ll show them ALL to you – many never before publicly presented – as well as photos of the project, and a few “new” stories that he was able to drag up.

Stumptown Stories, batshit crazy stories from the murkiest, weirdest, and nuttiest corners of Portland history, takes place the second Tuesday of every month at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder).

Admission is usually (including this month) free. Doors open at 7 PM, 21 an over only.

Portland Weekend Amusements (August 1-2, 2015)

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Saturday

Fremont Fest

Fremont Fest 2015

The day opens with the lively Kid’s Bike & Pet Parade at 10 am led by a Portland fire truck and a marching band; followed by vintage cars. Children should gather for the parade at the parking lot of Beaumont Middle School, NE 42nd & Fremont, starting at 9:30 am. The festival will be closed to vehicle traffic between NE 42nd and 49th stages for live music, food, street vendors and entertainment and attractions for children and adults.

2015 Iranian Festival

2015 Iranian Festival

  • Live music
  • Food, Dessert and Beverages
  • Activities for Children and Adults
  • Live Dance Performances
  • Traditional Arts and Crafts
  • Showcasing of Traditional Outfits
  • Iran-related Book Fair
  • Vendor and Business Booths

11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
South Park Blocks by Portland State University
Between College Street and PSU Library next to Farmers’ market

Portland Opera’s 50th Anniversary Street Fair Celebration

Portland Opera

Portland Opera’s 50th anniversary season concludes with a community-wide celebration featuring a Street Fair and free simulcast on August 1, 2015.

To coincide with its last performance of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love taking place in the Newmark Theatre, Portland Opera is hosting a day-long Street Fair on SW Main Street between the Antoinette Hatfield Hall and the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Festivities will include family-friendly activities, Portland Opera To Go performances, a live band, and a free simulcast. The Elixir of Love will be sung in Italian with supertitles projected in English.

Obon Festival 2015

Obon Festival 2015

This year’s Obon will be on Saturday, August 1st from 3 PM to 9 PM. The festival is held to honor family and friends who have passed away, remembering the many contributions they made to help make our life what it is today.

There will be entertainment by the Portland Taiko among others, a variety of tasty foods such as yakisoba and takitori, omiyage (gift) sales, Temple talks and booths run by community groups and outside vendors.

Sunday

Mahrajan – Oregon Arab Festival 2015

Arab Festival 2015

Ahlan wa sahlan to the 2015 Mahrajan! We are so excited for new location for the Arab Festival! This year, the festival will be held on August 2nd, from 11am to 7pm, at Alpenrose Dairy. This is a wonderful venue and the location allows us to have a bigger event and parking is plentiful.

Join the Oregon Arab American community for a day of fun at Alpenrose Dairy on August 2nd. Everyone is welcome at this summer festival! The Mahrajan is a fun, family-friendly day filled with games, dancing, music, and food and crafts from around the Arab world. Come enjoy delicious food, live music, fashion, poetry, and games for all ages! Learn how to Dabke! Get a Henna Tattoo!

Montavilla Street Fair

Montavilla Street Fair 2015

Montavillains: Spread the word and mark your calendars for the Montavilla Summer Street Fair!
When: Sunday, August 2nd, 11am-6pm
Where: Downtown Montavilla, between 76th and 82nd on Stark St.

For the first time, the City has granted us permission to CLOSE STARK!

Live music
Street performers
Kids activities
Farmer’s Market
100+ vendors
Dunk booth

Saturday-Sunday

Movies in the Park

Movies in Parks

Saturday, August 1

Sunday, August 2

Concerts in the Park

Concerts in the Park 2015

Saturday, August 1

Sunday, August 2

Know Your City – New Projects in 2016

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Updated: They did it!

Know Your CityKnow Your City does great things – they lead fascinating walking tours, create thought-provoking and informative publications, and organize creative placemaking projects. All of their programs are built around scholarship and art, and emphasize social justice.

And they have three days left on their kickstarter campaign, Know Your City: Sustain our new projects into 2016! Give them a few dollars (check out the most extensive selection of kickstarter donor rewards I have ever seen!), and consider a membership too!

History Pub: Stories from our Native Ancestors (27 July 2015)

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Stories from Our Native Ancestors: Killing Bigfoot, The Giant Beaver, The Coast Range Goblin and How Clam Got His EyesStories from Our Native Ancestors: Killing Bigfoot, The Giant Beaver, The Coast Range Goblin and How Clam Got His Eyes is the latest History Pub, on Monday, 27 July 2015 at the Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd).

Presenters Dr. Jason T. Younker, Associate Professor of Anthropology and assistant vice president and advisor to the president on sovereignty and government-to-government relations at the University of Oregon, is a member of the Coquille Indian Tribe. Dr. David G. Lewis, an educator, author, and anthropologist, is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.

For most western Oregon tribes, their generation is the last to have lived part o their life as a terminated Indian. Despite great cultural loss, many things endured. Stories about their existence and landscape are but a few. In the presentation, they will share stories about the creatures of western Oregon that have lived on land and in culture for generations stretching far back into the past.

History Pub is free, and open to all ages. Doors open at 6 PM, and the talk begins at 7 PM.

A Hootenany Windig Art Unveiling at Erickson’s Saloon (23 July 2015)

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Hootenany Windig Art Unveiling at Erickson’s Saloon

A Hootenany Windig Art Unveiling at Erickson’s Saloon (NW 2nd between Burnside & Couch) takes place on Thursday, 23 July 2015 from 4 PM to 7 PM – with the unveiling at precisely 4:47 PM.

Join the artist team of James Harrison, David Laubenthal, and Evan Holt – with historian Doug Kenck Crispin and guest artist Natalie M. Ball – to celebrate a grand unveiling of Works of Art for the newly renovated Erickson Fritz Apartments.

Erickson’s Workingman’s Club, also known as Erickson’s Saloon, was a Portland landmark opened in the 1880’s by August “Gus” Erickson. Taking up most of the block between Burnside/Couch and Second/Third Avenues, Erickson’s was legendary for its 684-foot bar and free smorgasbord lunches with a five cent beer. It boasted five elegant entrances, a grand pipe organ, and 50 bartenders. When the river rose in 1894, Erickson’s served patrons from a barge at NW 2nd and Burnside. Fred Fritz operated several of his own establishments in Old Town, including Fritz’s Theater and Saloon, a grand theater known for its cabaret performances. Fritz was an early investor/partner of August Erickson and eventually took over ownership of Erickson’s in 1907.

Innovative Housing (IHI) has transformed the historic saloon and hotel into 62 mixed-income apartment homes.

After the unveiling and grand opening, IHI will hold its 2015 FriendRaiser from 5 PM to 7 PM – guaranteed to be the best progressive party in Portland this year! Join us as we celebrate IHI’s friends and supporters, the future of two historic buildings, and the vibrancy of present-day Old Town.

The combined event is all ages, free, and open to the public.