Dave Knows Portland

Portland Sucks RIP 2008-2010

by 5 Comments

PDX SucksSadly, Portland Sucks, has nearly run its course. The final show airs Friday, May 7th 2010 (live at 8am on PDX.fm!)

Portland Sucks debuted as a blog back in 2008. On January 29th, 2009 a weekly internet radio show was launched under the moniker, hosted by Robert Wagner and Sabrina Miller. The show drew enough interest after only two weeks that they decided to make it a daily show, and since then it has aired almost every weekday morning at 8am.

There are tons of great shows on PDX.fm and PDX.am, but Portland Sucks is/was my favorite, and has provided some epic rants and entertainment in its year and a half run. The show also holds some special memories for me. Last July the show’s listeners picked my humble blog as their favorite Portland blog! And in February, after literally weeks of polite invites, wrangling, and finally kidnapping threats 😉 from Robert and Sabrina, I made my radio debut second radio appearance ever as a guest on Portland Sucks episode 229.

So on behalf of all Portland Sucks fans, I want to thank Robert and Sabrina for a thoroughly entertaining show and congratulate them on a fantastic run!

Robert is being coy about his future radio presence, but no doubt announcements will be made soon (perhaps during the final show?). You can continue to hear Sabrina on multiple PDX.fm programs: Convention Crashers, the Nerd Report, iPhoneSlutz, and soon, iPadSlutz!

The Portland Sucks archive will remain online at www.pdxsucks.com until June 1st, so get them while you can!

Things to do in Portland on Thanksgiving Day (2009)

by Leave a Comment

Update: Things to do in Portland on Thanksgiving Day (2012)

pdxfmThanksgivingPDX.FM will be broadcasting on Thanksgiving Day.

Robert Wagner and Sabrina Miller will be doing a Turkey Day Portland Sucks podcast, starting at 8am. In Sabrina’s twitter words, we’ll go probably until we get bored or until no one is listening anymore.

Robert promises that PDX.FM will half ass pretend to be a real radio station on Thursday, even going so far as to put a couple Fisher Price turntables to good use!

littleredbikecafe100In North Portland the Little Red Bike Cafe (4823 N Lombard) will be open on Turkey Day (8am-2pm), for a good cause. Bring in winter clothes for donation, buy a cup of coffee or something off the special Thanksgiving (TBA) menu.

There’s more coffee and good causes at Coffeehouse Northwest (1951 W Burnside). According to Portland Octopus, A nice warm cup of free!:

For the third year in a row, this local coffee shop will be brewing, baking, and giving to it’s customers and community. From 8:00am – 12:00pm, this Thursday, November 26th, Coffeehouse Northwest will be giving out coffee, fresh pastries, and homemade eggnog – all on the house. This equals free Stumptown Coffee!

There will be a tip jar available, with all proceeds donated to the charity(ies) of the baristas choice. Previous charities have included theater groups and Sisters of the Road.

The Portland Coffeehouse Journal is maintaining a list of local coffeehouses open on the holiday, and their special hours.

Powell's BooksDown the street a few blocks, avoid the holiday crowds at Powell’s Books (1005 W Burnside location) by visiting on Thanksgiving day. The store is open from 10am to 6pm.

rialto200After your visit to Powell’s, wander around downtown. Though seemingly deserted, many hotel restaurants and bars are open on Turkey Day too.

Also downtown, the Rialto (529 SW 4th) stays open 365 days a year. Play some pinball or pool while enjoying your beer. Watch football on the ginormous TVs.

The Cheerful Tortoise (1939 SW 6th) is also open, with a FREE Turkey Dinner from 11:00am to 5:00pm.

prost100Prost! Portland opens at 6pm on Turkey Day. From the Facebook page:

For those of you that won’t get enough turkey during the day, I bought over 25lbs of bird, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry chutney, green bean casserole, and ample amounts of cold bier to warm your bellies. One keg of Spaten Bock left and then it i…s on to Hacker Pschorr Munich Alt Dunkel. Prost!

BarflyBlog has a fairly comprehensive list of bars open in Portland on Thanksgiving Day.

Other neighborhood pubs and taverns that cater to real drinkers have a better than average chance of being open too. Take a walk through your neighborhood business district; you might be pleasantly surprised.

Many bowling alleys and movie theaters are open too.

It’s probably too late to make reservations at most restaurants serving up Thanksgiving Day feasts, but if you’re still looking, try your luck with the list at Portland Food and Drink: Thanksgiving Dinner Roundup 2009

OregonZooThe Oregon Zoo is open on Thanksgiving day, with special Beast Feasts for the animals.

On Thanksgiving weekend, come watch your favorite zoo residents dive into “dinner.” Animals receive a cornucopia of enrichment treats Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 26-29, at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Great photo opportunities — bring your camera!

TriMet buses and Max will run on Sunday schedules, the streetcar on it’s own special holiday schedule.

July 17-19: Beer, Woodstock Parade, the Big Busk, and a Sunday Parkway

by 2 Comments

Updates for 2010:

This weekend sports quite the line up.

There’s a beer fest, of course – the Portland International Beer Festival, which runs all weekend (Friday 4pm-10pm, Saturday 12pm-10pm, Sunday 12pm-7pm) up in the North Park blocks between Davis and Everett. This is the expensive one: $20 for 10 beer tickets and official glass (don’t confuse this one with the big one, which is next weekend).

woodstock09150Head out to southeast Portland for the the annual Woodstock Festival and Parade Saturday. It runs from 11am to 4pm, in the Woodstock Neighborhood of course.

You’ll find live music on two stages (one at 43rd and Woodstock, one at 46th), food vendors, a raffle, and of course the parade. Check the website for details.

thebigbusk09Also Saturday The Big Busk takes place. What’s the Big Busk? It’s a downtown Portland musical festival unlike any other:

The idea is, for an entire afternoon, to saturate downtown with music. All kinds of music. Up and down Broadway, the transit mall, the park blocks to the esplanade.

There is no stage, but every corner is a stage. There is no audience, but everyone is the audience. There is no admission fee, but we

Make a trip downtown between 2pm and 8pm Saturday to see, and hear, what it’s all about. Check out the website for a list of performers and stages, or just wander about and follow your ear.

I know you listen to the Portland Sucks podcast, so you already know Robert Wagner and Sabrina Miller are putting together a team of commandoes to roam the festival to record music and gather interviews for an upcoming podcast.

Sunday ParkwayThe second Sunday Parkway of the summer takes place Sunday from 9am to 4pm. This one is in Northeast Portland. (The last one is August 16 in Southeast Portland.)

The 7-mile Northeast Sunday Parkways two-way route will showcase portions of the Vernon, Concordia, Cully, Alameda, Sabin, and Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhoods. The route will also feature the Ainsworth parkway, Alameda bluff and will cross the Alberta, Beaumont and 42 Avenue business districts. There is no start or finish line – join the fun where ever you want!

Other noteworthy events are the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, under the St. John’s Bridge, Friday through Sunday, and the Portland Highland Games out at Mt. Hood Community College on Saturday. And of course the Timbers play twice this weekend, on the road.

Around the Sun and PDX Pipeline, as usual, have comprehensive lists of other events this weekend, and OurPDX enters the fray with Shit to do this weekend.