Dave Knows Portland

August 13-15: Twilight Criterium, Crawfish Fest, Soapbox Derby, Hawthorne Street Fair & More!

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This weekend is going to be hot, and it’s going to be epic. Check out the featured and recommended events below, and visit Around the Sun and PDX Pipeline for more!

Friday

Twilight Criterium2010 Twilight Criterium

The 2010 Portland Twilight Criterium takes place Friday, August 13 in the North Park Blocks (near NW 9th and Couch).

I recommend watching from the Widmer beer garden. The event opens at 4pm, and racing begins at 6:30pm. [more]

Friday-Saturday

Tualatin Crawfish Festival 2010Tualatin Crawfish Festival 2010

The 60th Tualatin Crawfish Festival takes place this Friday and Saturday, August 13 and 14, 2010.

Did you know that Oregon is the second largest commercial producer of crawfish in the country (with 10%), after Louisiana (90%)? I didn’t know either, but that’s impressive, eh? [more]

Saturday

Soap Box DerbyPDX Adult Soapbox Derby 2010

The 2010 PDX Adult Soapbox Derby takes place Saturday, August 14 at Mount Tabor.

The 2010 roster includes 42 teams, divided into two categories: art, and science.

Watch from one of the designated viewing areas, one option is the BYOB beer garden. [more]


Central Library Block PartyCentral Library Block Party 2010

The 2010 Central Library Block Party takes place Saturday, August 14 from noon until 3pm on SW Taylor between 10th and 11th Avenues.

This event is primarily for the kids. The Lions of Batucada will be on hand to provide some samba-style percussion, and activities include henna craft with Silk and Stone, bug petting with the Oregon Zoo, circus skills with W.E. C.A.R.E., and Seussical bouquets with artist Kathy Karbo. [more]

Sunday

Sunday ParkwaysSoutheast Portland Sunday Parkways

The fourth Sunday Parkways of 2010 takes place Sunday, August 15 in Southeast Portland.

This is an opportunity to spend a pleasant summery Sunday morning and afternoon (10am to 3pm) winding your way on bike or foot through the mostly residential, car free, streets of Southeast Portland. The eight mile route take you from one park to the next, where you can check out the vendors and demonstrations, or just sit down and relax. [more]


Hawthorne Street Fair 2010Hawthorne Street Fair 2010

The 2010 Hawthorne Street Fair takes place Sunday, August 15 from 11am until 5pm. . .

Fair activities can be found all along Hawthorne, but especially between 30th and 43rd. [more]

India FestivalIndia Festival 2010

Come to Pioneer Square to experience the sights and sounds of India and the Subcontinent Sunday August 15 from 11am-9pm at the India Festival 2010. There will be music and dance exhibitions, as well as food! [more]

August 15: Southeast Portland Sunday Parkways

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Sunday ParkwaysThe fourth Sunday Parkways of 2010 takes place Sunday, August 15 in Southeast Portland.

This is an opportunity to spend a pleasant summery Sunday morning and afternoon (10am to 3pm) winding your way on bike or foot through the mostly residential, car free, streets of Southeast Portland. The eight mile route take you from one park to the next, where you can check out the vendors and demonstrations, or just sit down and relax.

The Southeast event, just like last year, coincides with the Hawthorne Street Fair, so make a day of it.

Sunday Parkways Map

Heather and I have participated in several Portland Sunday Parkways – we walked the very first one in North Portland in 2008, and last year we rode bikes in the Southeast Portland event. We highly recommend participating.

Portland Simple Living Advocate Tammy Strobel Featured in New York Times

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Tammy StrobelPortlander Tammy Strobel‘s simple living story is featured in a New York Times article today about the consumer trend towards simplicity – Consumers Find Ways to Spend Less and Find Happiness.

A two-bedroom apartment. Two cars. Enough wedding china to serve two dozen people.

Yet Tammy Strobel wasn’t happy. Working as a project manager with an investment management firm in Davis, Calif., and making about $40,000 a year, she was, as she put it, caught in the “work-spend treadmill.”

So one day she stepped off.

Read the rest of the article to find out how she and her husband, Logan Smith, overhauled their spending habits, got out of debt, and simplified their lives.

Tammy blogs about social change through simple living at RowdyKittens. She’s also a photographer, designer, and author.

Her story has been an inspiration to Heather and me, as we just recently got out of debt and have begun planning a simpler future together. Read my April interview with Tammy to find out more about her work, tiny houses, and the origin of her blog’s quirky name!

August 8: Bridge Pedal 2010

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Update: See the latest route updates and maps at Oregonlive: Portland’s Providence Bridge Pedal includes new twists this year

Bridge PedalSunday morning, August 8th 2010 the 15th annual Bridge Pedal takes place on and around downtown Portland’s bridges. This is the one day each year you can bike across the Marquam or Fremont bridges without breaking your neck or the law.

Register online or at a number of local bike shops. There are several rides to choose from: the 10 bridge, 36 mile ride; the 7 bridge, 23 mile ride; the 5 bridge, 11.5 mile ride, or the 3 mile and two bridge Kids Pedal.

Not much of a cyclists? Then sign up for the Stride, and walk across the Fremont Bridge for some impressive views – no doubt more enjoyable at a walking pace anyway!

(If you’re driving anywhere Sunday, sleep in until after 10am – all the bridges should be reopened to regular car traffic by then.)

July 16-18: Unicorns, Jazz, Beer, Busking, Parkways, Bastille Day, Street Fairs and the Timbers

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Holy shit there’s a lot to do this weekend! Usually I publish this weekend roundup post on Thursday, but I really think we all need some extra time this week to make our weekend plans. We have multiple beer, music, and street fair events, in addition to a Timbers match and the July Sunday Parkways.

Friday

PDX.FM Unicorn Pub CrawlUnicorn Pub Crawl 2010

The first annual PDX.FM Unicorn Pub Crawl takes place Friday, July 16th on North Mississippi Avenue.

“Calling all of the demented, fanciful, whimsical, and unparalleled inhabitants of the ancient unicorn burial ground also known as Portland, Oregon…” [more]

Friday-Sunday

Cathedral Park Jazz Festival2010 Cathedral Park Jazz Festival

The 30th annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival takes place July 16th through 18th at Cathedral Park, under the St. Johns Bridge.

Performers this year include Linda Hornbuckle, Lloyd Jones, Thara Memory, and the Bobby Torres Ensemble. [more]

PIBPortland International Beerfest 2010

It’s a weekend in July, so of course there’s a beer fest: the Portland International Beer Festival starts Friday, July 16th and continues through Sunday, July 18th (Friday 4pm-10pm, Saturday 12pm-10pm, Sunday 12pm-7pm). [more]

Saturday

Big BuskThe Big Busk 2010

The Big Busk 2010 takes place Saturday, July 17th in downtown Portland. What exactly is the Big Busk?

“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.” [more]

Woodstock Festival 2010Woodstock Festival and Parade 2010

The 2010 Woodstock Festival and Parade takes place Saturday, July 17th, and features a day of fun, frivolity and music for the Woodstock neighborhood from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. . . .

The Bee reports that “all the fun is on Woodstock Boulevard from S.E. 41st eastward; the parade forms at Our Lady of Sorrows at S.E. 52nd at Woodstock Boulevard, and travels west to the disband area near All Saints’ Episcopal Church.” [more]

PixPix Patisserie’s 2010 Bastille Day Celebration

The North Portland Pix Patisserie (3901 N Williams) is throwing a Bastille Day Celebration, Saturday, July 17th. . . .

Pix will, of course, be offering french pastries. Next door neighbors Fifth Quardrant will be hosting a beer garden, there will also be ice cream, a 60 pound Carlton Farms roasted pig, and a Champagne and Oyster Bar! [more]

Timbers vs Man CityPortland Timbers vs Manchester City

Our humble Portland Timbers of the USSF division 2 face one of the richest football clubs in the world, Manchester City of the English Premier League this Saturday, July 17th 2010.

The 31 man traveling roster for Manchester City includes three players who represented their countries in the 2010 World Cup finals: Shaun Wright-Phillips (England), Kolo Toure and midfielder Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast). [more]

Sunday

Sunday ParkwaysEast Portland Sunday Parkways

The third Sunday Parkways of 2010 takes place this Sunday, July 18th in East Portland. Take the opportunity to spend a pleasant summery Sunday morning and afternoon (10am to 3pm) winding your way on bike or foot through the mostly residential, car free, streets of East Portland. The routes take you from one park to the next, where you can check out the vendors and demonstrations, or just sit down and relax. [more]

Ramona Street FairRamona Street Fair 2010

The second annual Ramona Street Fair takes place Sunday, July 18th.

“The event features food, music, craft vendors and information booths. It also links the I-205 path — which is open for cyclists and pedestrians — to the Lents International Farmers Market and the Lents Town Center commercial district.” [more]

Whew!