The annual KBOO Book and Record Sale takes place Saturday, September 10, 2011 at the Eagle’s Lode (SE 50th & Hawthorne) from 2pm to 9pm.
Some of KBOO’s finest DJs will be on hand spinning some of the great records we have available.
This is a benefit for KBOO and all proceeds will go to supporting the great local programming you love to hear.
The sale is members only from 2-3pm, but the public is invited the rest of the afternoon and evening.
The Oregon Symphony 2011 Waterfront Concert takes place Thursday, September 1, 2011 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
At 5pm the Portland Youth Philharmonic performs, followed by the Oregon Symphony at 7pm.
The traditional grand finale is a performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with an elaborate fireworks show, which includes shots from military cannons from the Oregon Army National Guard 218th Field Artillery.
The concert is free, and no tickets are required. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets to Tom McCall Waterfront Park and enjoy the show. Visit the Oregon Symphony event page for more details and program notes.
The end of summer may be nigh, but the summery events aren’t over yet. This Portland weekend has something for everyone: the Pirate Festival, the State Fair, Movies in the Park, a big ol’ union picnic, and much more!
Ongoing
The 2011 Oregon State Fair runs from Friday, August 26 through September 5, at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem. Heather and I had a blast at last year’s fair.
Competitions this year include 4-H of course, along with categories such as fine art, farm and garden, photography, floral, creative living, and grill offs. And of course there will be horse shows, and exhibits of livestock and the best part: small animals. [more]
Movies in the park this weekend:
Thursday: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 @ Columbia Park
Friday: Roman Holiday @ Director Park
Saturday: Gulliver’s Travels @ Wallace Park [more]
Chapman Vaux’s Swift Watch 2011
So here’s the deal. 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]
Soccer City USA: The Portland Timbers and the NASL Years, 1975-1982
The Oregon Historical Society‘s newest exhibit, Soccer City USA: The Portland Timbers and the NASL Years, 1975-1982, kicked off the day after the Timber’s home opener, and runs through Sunday, September 4, 2011.
The exhibit curators have assembled an exhibit which focuses on the years the Timbers played in the original North American Soccer League, and is the largest collection of Timbers artifacts in one place at one time. [more]
Friday-Sunday
Our 15th annual festival will be held this coming September 3th to September 5th, 2011 and hopes to be one of our best ever. Our festival fills the Northwest Portland Park blocks with art, theater, music, and hands-on activities for people of all ages …
Art In The Pearl® is a wonderful community event. Over one hundred artists show and sell work ranging from fine wooden furniture to beautiful paintings to photography, glass, clay, metal, jewelry, and much more! Art In The Pearl is ranked in the TOP 25 Fine Art events nationwide by the Art Fair Sourcebook. [more]
OMSI Reptile and Amphibian Show
Crawl, creep, and slither your way to one of the largest gatherings of reptiles and amphibians in the Pacific Northwest when OMSI presents the Reptile and Amphibian Show, Labor Day weekend, Sept. 3-5, 2011. Over 100 exotic animals will be on display at this popular event, including a large variety of captive-bred snakes, lizards, turtles, alligators, and more. [more]
Friday
Cort and Fatboy’s Midnight Movie: Who Framed Roger Rabbit
This is the original 35mm film, filling the Bagdad’s screen with Bob Zemeckis’ genius, Bob Hoskins’ grumpiness, Roger’s ridiculousness and Jessica’s allure, with Bugs, Mickey, Donald, Daffy, Betty Boop, Droopy Dog and about a hundred other classic cartoons sharing the screen for the first and likely only time together. [more]
Saturday-Sunday
The sixth annual Portland Pirate Festival invades Historic St. Helens, Oregon this Saturday and Sunday, September 3 and 4, 2011.
I have never made it to this event (for one thing I have no swashbuckling outfit), so all I can vouch for is what they say on the website – looks like fun! The fest features pirate-themed and non-pirate-themed music, dance and performance, historical reenactments (with cannons!), stuff for kids, and of course there grub and grog! [more]
Monday
Oregon was the first state to officially recognize the Labor Day holiday in 1887, so it’s only fitting that to this day we throw huge Labor Day picnics throughout the state.
The largest local union picnic, which an estimated 20,000 people attended last year, is the Northwest Oregon Labor Council‘s Labor Day Picnic held Monday, September 5 at Oaks Amusement Park from 10am until 5pm. [more]
And for even more weekend events and activities, check out the Dave Knows Calendar, and visit Blogging Portland on the Cheap, PDX Pipeline, and Oregon Events at OregonLive.com.
The 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, August 30, 2011, the topic is Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? Wildlife Migrations of the Pacific Northwest.
Every fall the days shorten, the weather cools and many different animal species begin their annual migration south. Portland is stopover for some, and a destination for others. Steve Engel of the Portland Audubon Society will illuminate some of the mysteries of migration while focusing on famous and not so famous Portland migrants, from the Vaux’s Swifts to Birds of Prey to dragonflies and more.
Presenter Steve Engel has been the Adult Programs Coordinator at the Audubon Society since 2006, and has worked in the environmental education field since 1982.
Doors open at 5pm, presentation begins at 7:30pm. Go to the presentation, and then throughout the month of September check out the Chapman Vaux’s Swift Watch in NW Portland!
2012 Vaux’s Swift Watch details here!
The 2011 Swift Watch takes place on the lawn of Chapman School (1445 NW 26th) through the month of September.
So here’s the deal. 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.
Seriously, though, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Read Heather’s excellent account of our first visit in 2008, and mine from 2009. Here’s a quick video Heather captured of the birds in action in 2009:
The Audobon Society of Portland maintains the Swift Watch webpage, which includes details on the best times to show up, explanations of the phenomena, and an FAQ answering all your questions on the natural history of the phenomena, the bird counts, and sundry. Oregon Field Guide did a segment on the Vaux Swifts a decade ago, and there’s even a movie, called On The Wing.
