Dave Knows Portland

Soccer City, USA: The Birth and Rise of the Portland Timbers (29-March-2011)

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The Birth and Rise of the Portland TimbersJoin the Oregon Encyclopedia project this Tuesday, March 29 at the McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale (2126 SW Halsey) for a special OE History Night presentation, Soccer City, USA: The Birth and Rise of the Portland Timbers.

Michael Orr takes a look back at the first season of the Timbers team in 1975, a season so successful that it landed the Timbers in the NASL Soccer Bowl and earned Portland the nickname “Soccer City USA.” Learn more about the team that inspired huge crowds and featured stars like Peter Withe and Willie Anderson.

Michael is managing writer and editor at the Portland startup FC Media, which is dedicated to documenting Timbers history. He is currently writing a history of the inaugural 1975 NASL Portland Timbers season. Michael also hosts the radio show mao’s Football, maintains a blog of the same name, and writes for the Timbers blog at The Offside and other publications.

The presentation starts at 6:30pm in the Edgefield Power Station Theater. All ages are welcome and admission is free, but bring a canned good to donate to SnowCap Community Charities.

PortlandWiki Barnraising (5-March-2011)

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Keep Portland Wiki!The PortlandWiki Barnraising event takes place Saturday, March 5, 2011 at the Central Library (801 SW 10th) U.S. Bank Room from 2pm to 5pm.

PortlandWiki’s Barnraising event is where you help decide which improvements to PortlandWiki are most important, and then help make them.
Share your Portland knowledge, and help make PortlandWiki a world-class city wiki!

PortlandWiki was launched in 2009 by volunteers and aims to serve as a knowledge base or information hub for the community.

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served! Check out the PortlandWiki:Barnraising page for more details, including an event schedule, list of speakers, and more background.

History Pub: Inside The Burley World (28-February-2011)

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The topic of History Pub monday at the Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd) on February 28, 2011 is Inside the Burley World.

At its peak in the mid-1990s, Burley Design Cooperative supported 100 member owners and generated close to $10 million in annual sales. Join sociologist Joel Schoening, a Burley scholar who wrote extensively about the cooperative during its waning years, and journalist and former member Patricia Marshall, who is writing a book about the cooperative, as they revisit Burley’s rags-to-riches tale and discuss the forces that lead to the cooperative’s demise. Joel Schoening conducted research at Burley Design Cooperative while completing his Doctorate in Sociology from the University of Oregon. He works as a policy analyst for Portland Metro and teaches at Pacific University. Patricia Marshall was a Burley employee for many years and has been researching and writing the cooperative’s history.

The Burley Design Cooperative was a Eugene, Oregon based manufacturer of bicycles and bicycle gear that was killed in 2006 when co-op members sold the company to a single investor. (For more background before attending the History Pub, read Bike Portland‘s December, 2010 post What killed the Burley Co-op? An historical perspective.)

Join event co-sponsors Oregon Historical Society and Holy Names Heritage Center at 7pm Monday for a beer and history! Admission is free and this event is all ages. Please bring canned food donations for the Oregon Food Bank!

Fix-It Fair (26-February-2011)

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Fix-It FairThe last of the 24th annual series of Fix-It Fairs takes place this Saturday, February 26, 2011 at Jefferson High School (5210 N Kerby Avenue).

Fix-It Fair is a FREE event where you can learn simple and affordable ways to save money and be healthy at home this winter.

From 8:30am to 2pm visit exhibits and attend workshops on water and energy savings, health, food and nutrition, recycling and composting, yard and garden care, transportation, and more.

The fair also features door prizes and other giveaways, free childcare, free lunch, and even free bike tune-ups and flat repairs for students and families.

The Fix-It Fairs are presented by The City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

Belly Dance, Pinball, Zwickelmania, & More! (February 18-20, 2011)

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Friday

Offbeat Belly DanceOffbeat Belly Dance

Every third Friday of the month the Blue Monk (3341 SE Belmont) hosts the Offbeat Belly Dance collective, a club rocking, good timing, genre-defying gang of badass belly dancers.

And this third Friday, February 18, 2011 is no exception – the Offbeat Belly Dance collectives invites you to Offbeat Belly Dance! This Friday! Come share the love! [more]

PortlandiaWhere to Watch Portlandia In Portland

Miss the big premiere event? Don’t have a TV? Don’t have the Independent Film Channel? Watch Portlandia, if you’re into that sort of thing, at the Portland venues listed below. [more]

Friday – Sunday

Showdown at Slabtown IIIShowdown at Slabtown III

The third annual Showdown at Slabtown pinball tournament takes place Friday through Sunday, February 18 through 20. Slabtown (1033 NW 16th), of course, is the place. [more]

Saturday

Architectural Heritage CenterIt’s “Cooch” not “Cowch” – An Insider’s Guide to Portland Architecture and History

Few people learn about Portland’s history or its architecture in a formal way. For the majority of new residents, learning is by happenstance. A building that went unnoticed on the morning commute suddenly emerges from the mist with a nickname and its place in the city’s history is revealed. And learning is often by mistake. Have you ever been corrected for mispronouncing the name of a new or unfamiliar street or building? [more]

ZwickelmaniaZwickelmania 2011

President’s Day weekend means one thing in Oregon: Zwickelmania.

Organized by the Oregon Brewers Guild, Zwickelmania is a free statewide event that offers beer drinkers a chance to tour Oregon breweries, meet the brewers, and sample beers. [more]

Timbers ArmyTimbers Army 3rd Saturday

The last Timbers Army 3rd Saturday of the offseason takes place at the Leisure Public House (8002 N Lombard)

“There is an amazing jukebox, load of games, a large heated patio with ping-pong and Bocce ball, and the possibility of a movie screening. Maybe. Hell this place is so cozy there is even a box of blankets to curl up on the couch with!

The perfect place to try and relax before 28 nail biting days of anticipation!” [more]

And for even more weekend events and activities, visit Around the Sun, Blogging Portland on the Cheap, and PDX Pipeline!