Valentine's Day is this Sunday, but that's not the only thing happening this week. Read on for our latest roundup of picks for ways to stay entertained at home, from Brain Chemistry for Lovers Past Event Like List to a Bad Dates Past Event Like List storytelling event hosted by Portland Book of Dates Like List authors Eden Dawn and Ashod Simonian, and from HUMP! Past Event Like List to PICA's We Didn't Arrive Here Alone Past Event Like List reading. Plus, check out our StreamLocal events hub, and stay tuned for a roundup of the best socially distanced things to do this weekend. 

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MONDAY

FILM

Collide-O-Scope: Cheap Thrills Past Event Like List
The trippy video series Collide-O-Scope will provide a much-needed jolt to your Monday routine with a trove of recently unearthed treasures.

READINGS & TALKS

Meg Weber Past Event Like List
Portland author Meg Weber recalls, as a queer single parent, her first year reentering the dating world after her divorce in her debut memoir, A Year of Mr. Lucky. 

TUESDAY

COMEDY

The Mads: The Choppers - Live riffing with MST3K's The Mads! Past Event Like List
Join Mystery Science Theater 3000 stars Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff (aka Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV’s Frank) as they riff on the 1961 film The Choppers (about a gang of teenagers who steal and resell car parts) live on the internet. A post-show Q&A will bring on comedian and podcaster Carolina Hidalgo.

FILM

Zoom in on Bollywood Past Event Like List
In three sessions, prolific Bollywood film singer and choir conductor Kavita Baliga (who collaborated on the music for Slumdog Millionaire) will explore Indian cinema from the 20th century to the present, touching on gender roles, Westernized interpretations of the genre, and how music and dance fit into it all. 

READINGS & TALKS

Elizabeth Kolbert in Conversation With Bill McKibben Past Event Like List
After winning a Pulitzer for The Sixth Extinction, an investigation into the unavoidable extinction event in Earth's future (humanity), Elizabeth Kolbert returns with Under a White Sky, which offers a slightly more optimistic take on the steps that need to be taken to save the planet (for now). She'll join Powell's for a virtual reading and discussion.

The Fire is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate over Race in America Past Event Like List
Nicholas Buccola, the author of The Fire Is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate over Race in America, will appear in conversation with Pacific University politics professor Paul Snell. 

WEDNESDAY

GEEK

National Geographic Live—Scientific Exposure Past Event Like List
Molecular biologist-turned-photographer Prasenjeet Yadav highlights natural history and science stories in Asia, while Anand Varma has developed techniques to create captivating images of creatures whose details are otherwise invisible to the naked eye. Join them for a night of stories and conversation on the intersection of science and photography at this National Geographic event.

READINGS & TALKS

David Pogue in Conversation With Maxine Bleiweis Past Event Like List
Climate dread got you down? Turn to Emmy-winning CBS correspondent David Pogue's new book, How to Prepare for Climate Change, which tackles how we should prepare for the years ahead (including tips on managing anxiety). He'll join Powell's for a virtual talk. 

Silent Reading Party Remind Like List
A lot of people are taking the opportunity to turn the online version of The Stranger's super-successful words 'n' vibes experience into a weekly online destination, a respite from (waves hands exasperatedly at basically everything) and an opportunity to simply... slow up, sit down, and just listen to live piano music while sinking into a good book. If you haven't tried it out yet, tonight's the night, and we'll see you at 6pm. If you have tried it out before? Welcome back. It's a damn nice oasis of low-key bliss, isn't it?

THEATER & PERFORMANCE

Brain Chemistry for Lovers Past Event Like List
In partnership with Science on Tap and Grammy-nominated vocalist Valerie Day, the OHSU Brain Awareness Lecture Series and the Portland Chamber Orchestra's multi-media performance "inspired by a National Geographic article about love and the chemicals in the brain" will be revived for the internet, incorporating the discoveries of neuroscientists "who are finally crossing into the territory of the poet, the philosopher, the songwriter, and the comedian to explain the feelings associated with romantic love."

THURSDAY

COMMUNITY

Racism in Oregon History: A Brief Overview Past Event Like List
In case you're fuzzy on the details, Eliza E. Canty-Jones and Kerry Tymchuk of the Oregon Historical Society will freshen your memory of Oregon's history of racism. 

FILM

Movie Madness University: Thin Blue Line Past Event Like List
Hollywood Theatre programmer Matt McCormick will examine how Errol Morris's documentary The Thin Blue Line fits into the history of documentary films, assess Morris's controversial use of reenactments, and consider what the film has to say about the nature of truth.

MUSIC

Trampled By Turtles Livestream Series Past Event Like List
Wonder Ballroom presents four pre-recorded concerts with fast-and-dirty Duluth bluegrass band Trampled By Turtles.

READINGS & TALKS

Book Club with Margaret Atwood Past Event Like List
Acclaimed author Margaret Atwood will join the Guardian Live Book Club to talk about her 2003 novel Oryx and Crake, which is set during a man-made plague and which she describes as a "fun-packed, joke-filled, rollicking adventure tale about the end of the human race."

Rebecca Carroll in Conversation With Desus Nice Past Event Like List
Growing up as the only Black person in her New Hampshire town after getting adopted by "artistic parents who believed in peace, love, and zero population growth," Rebecca Carroll reckons with both the loving and lonely parts of her childhood and how it affected her later in life in her memoir Surviving the White Gaze. She'll appear in conversation this evening with comedian Desus Nice. 

FRIDAY

MUSIC

Bob Marley Birthday Celebration: Junior Marvin with Jah People LIVE at Ardmore Music Hall Past Event Like List
Tune in to a live birthday tribute to the late reggae singer Bob Marley, featuring Junior Marvin with Jah People on the Ardmore Music Hall stage.

SATURDAY

FILM

Free Online Valentine's Roast of Twilight Past Event Like List
If you have sparkly vampires on the brain after secretly devouring Stephanie Meyer's Midnight Sun, flex your heckling skills in this online roast of Twilight, "the movie that taught 14-year-olds to ignore all red flags." 

MUSIC

TEARS DRY ON THEIR OWN: Amy Winehouse Valentine's LIVESTREAM Past Event Like List
The Chicago-based Amy Winehouse tribute Tears Dry on Their Own, which is dedicated to mental health, addiction, and substance abuse awareness, will host a Valentine's Day livestream. 

VISUAL ARTS

We Didn't Arrive Here Alone Past Event Like List
A group of US-based undocumented writers and poets—Yosimar Reyes, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, Jose Antonio Vargas, and Marcelo Hernandez Castillo—will discuss the topic of mental health in this virtual PICA event.

SUNDAY

COMEDY

Stella Artois Presents: Saving Our Jobs Virtual Comedy Festival
Past Event Like List Adam Yenser, Alex Elkin, Justin Rupple, Ralph Porter, Ron Josol, and Tashona Smith fill out the bill of this virtual comedy festival.

COMMUNITY

Oregon's 162nd Birthday Celebration & Anniversary of Statehood Past Event Like List
Gather virtually at the Oregon State Capitol to learn historical facts and watch special videos in honor of the Beaver State's birthday. 

FILM

Bad Dates Past Event Like List
In celebration of their newly published Portland Book of Dates Like List , couple and co-authors Eden Dawn and Ashod Simonian will invite local performers like Poison Waters, Laura Gibson, and Dave Depper to dish on their worst dates ever.

GEEK

Valentine's Day Brunch Trivia Past Event Like List
Study up on rom-coms and love songs for this round of Valentine's Day Stumptown trivia. 

MUSIC

Tell Me! a Special Request & Dedication Valentine’s Event Past Event Like List
DJs Deena Bee and Lamar Leroy will spin lovey-dovey songs, provide love advice, and give special shoutouts in this Valentine's Day Holocene stream. 

THEATER & PERFORMANCE

B&B My Valentine Past Event Like List
Enjoy live music by local duo 23 Window, plus some poetry performances, while you tuck into a "Sips & Sweets" package with a bottle of rosé from D’Anu Wines and treats from Decadent Creations.

Jinkx Monsoon: Leave Loathe Lie Past Event Like List
Not in the mood to throw heart-shaped confetti on Valentine's Day? Neither is Seattle drag legend Jinkx Monsoon. Her virtual Live Laugh Love Leave Loathe Lie performance will cater to happily single or otherwise V-Day-averse people, and will also include a virtual meet-and-greet.

MULTI-DAY

COMEDY

My Funny Valentine: Great Comic Love Songs from Musicals You May Have Missed Past Event Like List
Lakewood’s star performers will lead an evening of funny songs, theatrical mishap stories, and audience participation games this Valentine's Day.
(Friday-Sunday)

COMMUNITY

Douglass Day Past Event Like List
Raise a glass to the famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass on his birthday (which, having no records of an exact date, he chose to celebrate on Valentine's Day) with an educational virtual affair that will include transcribing the papers of Mary Church Terrell, a Black activist who helped to create Douglass Day back in 1897.
(Friday-Sunday)

FILM

31st Annual Cascade Festival of African Films Past Event Like List
This local film festival, which shows African films made by African filmmakers and encourages Western viewers to engage authentically with African cultures, will move online this year. The program, which lasts for over a month, includes buzzy new features like You Will Die at Twenty Remind Like List  (Sudan’s first Oscar submission) and Sam Soko's Softie Remind Like List , about a human-rights activist and provocative photojournalist who decides to run for office in a regional election in his native Kenya.
(All week)

2021 HUMP! Film Festival Past Event Like List
Every year, The Stranger puts out the call to sex-havers everywhere to submit a homegrown amateur porn film depicting whatever they're into (barring poop, kids, and animals, of course). The result is an incredibly diverse representation of human sexuality in all its straight, gay, trans, queer, kinky, funny, pissy, painful, and pretty forms. Let's see what wild spins people put on their submissions that were created during the lockdown, shall we?
(Thursday-Friday & Sunday)

Indigenous Peoples' Film Festival Past Event Like List
Spend Indigenous Peoples' Week watching on-demand documentaries, shorts, and feature films (and sitting in on virtual discussions) that focus on the value of Indigenous food systems and resilience in the face of COVID-19 in this online event hosted by the International Fund For Agricultural Development. It's free!
(Monday-Friday)

MUSIC

Celebrating Black Voices in Classical Music Past Event Like List
Throughout February, All Classical Portland will celebrate Black History Month by highlighting composers and performers of African heritage, including Joseph Bologne (1745-1799), Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), and R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943). To kick off the series, program director John Pitman will give an overview.
(All week)

THEATER & PERFORMANCE

RE: Lilith Lopez Past Event Like List
Described in press materials as "one part augmented reality play and one part scavenger hunt," the Reformers' latest online theatrical experience sends you on a quest to find a missing woman, Lilith Lopez, alongside paranormal investigator Tamsin Walsh.
(All week)