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Stumptown Stories: Lewis & Clark’s 210th Anniversary Extravaganza! (10 November 2015)

November 8, 2015 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Lewis and ClarkLewis & Clark’s 210th Anniversary Extravaganza! – a special installment of the Stumptown Stories series, begins at 7 PM on Tuesday, November 10 at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder).

Hey Portland! Get ready for a rip-roaring good time with our favorite adventurers, Lewis and Clark! Joe Streckert will regale us with tales of the Lewis & Clark Centennital Expo, and Finn JD John will delve in deep with the story of how the Expo brought us Portland’s favorite heavy metal laxatives!

Stumptown Stories, batshit crazy stories from the murkiest, weirdest, and nuttiest corners of Portland history, takes place the second Tuesday of every month at the Jack London.

Admission is free. Doors open at 6:30 PM, 21 and over only.

Portland Halloween Weekend Amusements 2015

October 29, 2015 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Halloween

I’m not a huge fan of Halloween, but I have kids now, so there you go. Lots of Halloweeny things going on this weekend – a few are highlighted below!

All Weekend

Dia De Los Muertos at Portland Mercado

Portland Mercado Dia De Los MuertosVisit Portland Mercado to experience the important and festive holiday of Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. Dia de los Muertos, a holiday that originated in Mexico, is celebrated throughout Latin America to commemorate the lives of the deceased with activities we all enjoy in life: eating, drinking, music and celebrating with family and friends. We are excited to partner with community groups to honor our heritage throughout the weekend, and we hope you will join us to celebrate yours.

Friday

Squishing of the Squash

Oregon ZooThe Oregon Zoo’s annual Squishing of the Squash, in which some of the world’s largest land animals demolish some of the area’s largest pumpkins, will be held Friday, Oct. 30, at 10:30 a.m.

The Squishing of the Squash is a precursor to the zoo’s Howloween celebration on Saturday, Oct. 31. Events on Saturday include a fun scavenger hunt that directs trick-or-treaters to easily accessible activity stations throughout the zoo where they can collect candy and prizes.

Saturday

The Great Pumpkin Event

The Great Pumpkin EventJoin Portland Farmers Market for the annual Great Pumpkin Event at PSU! An all ages pumpkin carving contest will begin at 9 am, followed by a children’s costume parade starting at Noon. Goody bags will be provided to parade participants and costumes are highly encouraged!

Halloween Family Fun at the Portland Aerial Tram

Portland Aerial Tram CarDon’t be spooked by autumn! Head down to South Waterfront and enjoy some family time at the Portland Aerial Tram. There will be arts and crafts for the kids from noon to 4 pm. Our face painter will be on duty to make your little ones scary or adorable, depending on your trick-or-treat strategy.

And you won’t need a broomstick to fly above the rooftops – take a ride on the Tram and enjoy the views!

Need more Halloweeny events?

  • Horror Calendar – The Shadow over Portland
  • Halloween Events & Activities – PDXPipeline
  • Halloween events in and around Portland – Travel Portland

Photo credit: Tram photo by Wikipedia user Cacophony. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.

Portland Weekend Amusements (2-4 October 2015)

October 1, 2015 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Holy crap there’s lots of stuff to do this weekend: H.P. Lovecraft and the Portland Queer film festivals, Greek Festival, BikePortland’s birthday bash, Fresh Hops, cheese, and more!

All Weekend

Portland Greek Festival

Greek Festival 2015After six decades, The Greek Festival has become one of the largest festivals of its kind, sharing our Greek Orthodox faith and rich culture with over 15,000 guests annually. The festival is an iconic event in the Portland Metropolitan area and has been designated as an Oregon Heritage Tradition by the Oregon Heritage Commission. Each year a portion of proceeds from the festival go toward worthy philanthropic endeavors in the greater Portland community.

H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival

"H. P. Lovecraft, June 1934" by Lucius B. TruesdellThe 20th annual H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival returns to Northeast Portland’s Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy) from Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4, 2015.

This festival of cosmic horror and unnameable fear features author readings, filmmaker discussions, a raffle, and of course lots of films – both shorts and features. The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival is the only festival that understands. Don’t miss the Arkham Bazaar for Lovecraftian Novelties to Other Weird Oddities.

Friday

BikePortland’s 10th Birthday Party

Bike PortlandCan you believe we made it this far? We have so much to celebrate.

19,600 posts, 306,000 comments, countless controversies, triumphs and tragedies, exhilarating rides and boring meetings… what a ride it has been!

Join us for our big 10th birthday bash where we’ll look back at an amazing decade and look forward to an even more amazinger decade to come.

Friday-Saturday

Portland Fresh Hops Beer Fest

Hops!12th Annual PORTLAND FRESH HOPS FEST
10.02.15 – Friday – 5:30-9:00pm
10.03.15 – Saturday – Noon-8pm
Oaks Amusement Park
7805 SE Oaks Park Way-Map
Portland, OR
Free Admission – Must purchase a glass to sample beer. #freshhops
$15/glass + 5 drink tickets.
$20/glass + 10 drink tickets
$40/two glasses + 20 drink tickets
21+ to drink – 1 person per glass – Cash only – Minors permitted on Saturday only till 5pm – Dogs on leashes as long as they behave.

Saturday

An Archives Month Celebration

Oregon Archives Month Celebration 2015Portland may be a foodie town, but it isn’t always food that feeds our hunger. If your head is hungry for some knowledge, let us fill it with Portland history! Do you have a craving to know where you can find maps of the city from the 1890s? Are you hankering to learn about the history of Portland’s Japantown? Do you have an appetite for local oral histories? Or does a sampling of strange, old medical tools interest you?

We have that and more waiting for you as we kick off Oregon Archives Month with a smorgasbord of Portland-area archives. Join us on Saturday, October 3rd from 11 AM to 3 PM at the Portland Archives and Records Center. Take a behind the scenes tour of the City’s archives and see history up close and personal.

The Wedge: Portland Celebrates Cheese

The WedgeTaste and Buy Artisan and Farmstead Cheese Direct from the Cheesemaker

The Wedge is a Farmers Market-style event, featuring cheese and foods/beverages that go well with it. Sample and purchase local, artisan cheese, specialty foods, beer, wine, and cider, take a class, snap a pic with our mascot, and try your hand at cheese wheel bowling!

Ongoing

Portland Queer Film Festival

Portland Queer Film FestivalThe 2015 Portland Queer Film Festival runs from October 2 – 8 at Cinema 21 (616 NW 21st Ave). This annual festival showcases feature, documentary and short queer films from all over the world.

The opening night film is Peter Greenaway’s Eisenstein in Guanajuato …

Walktober

WalktoberWalktober 2015, the greatest walking holiday of the year takes place in Portland throughout October.

“Walk anywhere, everywhere, for any reason, or for no reason at all. This is Walktober: walking fun October 6th through Halloween (the greatest walking holiday of the year).”

Inspired by Pedalpalooza, three weeks of bikey fun in Portland held every June, the Oregon Walks conceived Walktober to promote walking as a fun, healthy, ubiquitous activity in the Portland metro region.

Portland Weekend Amusements (11-13 September 2015)

September 10, 2015 by Dave Knows 1 Comment

Oktoberfest season is officially here with Widmer’s event this Saturday. TriMet celebrates the MAX Orange line – and Tilikum bridge – opening, Belmont throws a street fair, and lots more!

Saturday

MAX Orange Line Grand Opening Celebration

Orange LineIt’s time to celebrate the opening of the new MAX Orange Line and Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People. Join us for a day of adventure and fun, with activities and entertainment at many of the newly opened Orange Line stations!

Come see, ride free! All rides on TriMet buses, MAX trains, Portland Streetcar and the Portland Aerial Tram are FREE all day long.

Belmont Street Fair

Belmont Street Fair 2015The 20th annual* Belmont Street Fair takes place on SE Belmont from 11 AM to 7 PM on Saturday, 12 September 2015.

One of my favorite Portland street fairs, Belmont will be car free between 33rd and 39th.

Aquifer Adventure

Aquifer AdventureBig and little pirates alike are welcome to join us for a family festival all about groundwater! Play fun games and go on a scavenger hunt in search of hidden treasure – not gold, but groundwater, a precious resource that flows beneath your feet! Come dressed in yer finest pirate togs, or else the Cap’n might make ye walk the plank! Free kids T-shirts to the first 300 kids!

Widmer Brothers Brewing 11th Annual Oktoberfest

Widmer Oktoberfest 2015As we move towards the end of summer in the month of September its time to mark our calendars for the various Oktoberfest celebrations that will take place across the region. Now in its 11th year, the Widmer Brothers Brewing Oktoberfest, Portland’s largest and longest-running Oktoberfest celebration will take place on Saturday, September 12 from 3:00 to 11:00pm.

Saturday-Sunday

Serbian Fest

Serbian Fest 2015Please join us for the 9th Annual Serbian Festival on September 12th & 13th. This is a celebration of food, wine, dance and culture of the Serbian Orthodox people.

Delicious Serbian Food: BBQ, Roast Pig and Lamb, Desserts; Live Music, National Dance, Beer and Wine, Kid’s Activities…and much more.

Ongoing

Chapman Vaux’s Swift Watch 2015

Swirling SwiftsIn September thousands of Vaux’s Swifts coalesce into a giant undulating swirl in Northwest Portland near Chapman School after spending the day eating bug. Around sunset the swirl gets more compact, like a ground pepper tornado, and begins disappearing, measure by measure, down the school’s huge old chimney. On the lawn below hundreds of mesmerized and picnic-sated Portlanders stare into the sky from the comfort of lawn chairs and blankets while their oblivious children roll down the grassy hill screaming. Cheers erupt from the crowd when the slippery swifts dodge the opportunistic Peregrine falcons, boos when the predators get lucky.

Movies in ParksMovies in the Park

Friday, September 11

  • Multnomah Arts Center – Big Hero 6

Oregon Symphony Waterfront Concert and Fireworks (3 or 4 September 2015)

September 2, 2015 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Fireworks
“Lacroix display WFC2010” by Fieldington at English Wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Join the Oregon Symphony on Thursday, 3 September 2015 (rain date: Friday, 4 September) for the
Oregon Symphony in the Neighborhoods Waterfront Concert – an afternoon musical festival and concert – at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

The afternoon music festival runs from 1 PM to 6:30 PM where you’ll have an opportunity to see and listen to the OSU Steel Drum Choir, Irish Fiddler Kevin Burke, Hillsboro School District Mariachi Band ‘Una Voz,’ Stephanie Schneiderman and Tony Furtado, and other performers.

The Oregon Symphony concert starts at 7 PM and wraps up about 9:30 PM. 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.

Visit the Oregon Symphony website for more information, including the full schedule, symphony program, and a list of arts partners participating.

The concert is free! No tickets needed. Bring a picnic and low chairs or blankets for the lawn seating.

Fireworks photo credit: “Lacroix display WFC2010” by Fieldington at English Wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.

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