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Jump to: Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Multi-Day

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FRIDAY

COMEDY

Kickstand Comedy In The Park Past Event Like List
Kickstand Comedy's hugely popular Comedy in the Park series in Laurelhurst Park returns again this week, so grab your pals with a sense of humor and spread out your blankets early—the event has been known to draw crowds of 2,000 or more. (The plus side of the crowd is the unmatched dog-watching; I'm a fan of Laurelhurst duck-watching, too.) This Friday, a lineup of much-loved funnybones will include Jeremiah Coughlan, Milan Patel, Neeraj Srinivasan, and others, including out-of-towners Brodie Reid and Blair Dawson. As usual, local laughers Jaren George and Julia Corral will get the crowd going. LC
(Laurelhurst Park, Laurelhurst, free)

COMMUNITY

Asian American Pacific Peoples Community Science Night Past Event Like List
OMSI's Community Science Nights bring together local vendors and guests with science content, and this is their first annual night centered around the AAPI community. Folks of all ages will enjoy science demonstrations, planetarium shows, and interactive demos (we've never been so excited for an educational lecture as we are for "Superpower Dogs"). There will be live music and cultural entertainment, and food and drink from local spots like donut shop HeyDay, Filipinx bakery Kalat House, and Hawaiian patisserie ONAS. SL
(OMSI, Central Eastside, $8-$10)

FILM

The Last Starfighter in 35mm Past Event Like List
As perhaps the greatest of the myriad Star Wars rip-offs, The Last Starfighter has a lot going for it. For starters, it follows an arcade-lovin', trailer park-hangin' teen who discovers his favorite game is actually a training guide for war-fighting space pilots, a premise I'm sure my boyfriend wishes were real. The flick was directed by Nick Castle, a guy who you probably don't know you know—he played Michael Myers in John Carpenter's Halloween. The Last Starfighter's musical score features an 85-piece orchestra, and its use of CGI is surprisingly cool, laying the foundation for sci-fi film innovations for decades to come. The clincher? It features perhaps one of space cinema's top quotes: “I've always wanted to fight a desperate battle against incredible odds!!” LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $8-$10)

FOOD & DRINK

Portland BBQ & Brews Past Event Like List
Savor mouthwatering smoked meats alongside Pacific Northwest craft beers, ciders, spirits, and wine at this all-ages festival. Plus, try your hand at lawn games and a Fire on the Mountain wing eating contest and enjoy live music from Redwood Revue, the Resolectrics, Marcus Angeloni, Left on 10th, Mike Tindall and the Motherlode, Wyrmwood, and Scott Pemberton O Theory. JB
(Washington Monroe Park, Buckman, $10-$25)

LIVE MUSIC

Babytooth Past Event Like List
Combining tinges of "‘90s-inspired melodic rock and twinkly folk experiments," the Portland quartet Babytooth delves into themes of grief, humor, mindfulness, mundanity, and memories with heartfelt lyrics by singer/songwriter Isabel Zacharias, citing influences like Smog and Silver Jews. Join them for the release of their new album at Doug Fir Lounge, with support by bedroom pop solo act Boreen and the dreamy group swinging. JB
(Doug Fir Lounge, Buckman, $15)

Dakota Theim Past Event Like List
Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Dakota Theim will play songs from his 2021 album Tangled Heart, which features classic rock-inspired song experiments written during lockdown. If you're a fan of Tame Impala or Mac Demarco, I bet you'll like Theim just as much! He will be joined by dream pop artist Starover Blue and indie pop singer-songwriter Isabeau Waia'u Walker. AV
(Polaris Hall, Humboldt, $15)

SATURDAY

COMMUNITY

Jade International Night Market Past Event Like List
The Jade Night Market finally returns after a three-year absence, and we're beyond excited to come together again in community. Browse wares from local vendors, nom on delicious multicultural eats, and check out live entertainment ranging from Cambodian traditional dance to Wushu martial arts. There will be a splash pad for kids to cool off in, face painting and balloon art, and free  plants and planter decorating (while supplies last). SL
(Portland Community College, Jade District)

Multnomah Days 2023 Past Event Like List
The third Saturday of August means it's time for Multnomah Days, Multnomah Village's annual open-air, family-friendly street festival with musical acts, street entertainers, over 100 art and vendor booths, a kids' zone, and food carts with outdoor street dining. Between two stages of performers and the return of the community parade after a three-year hiatus, there will be plenty to see and do along the charming neighborhood's main thoroughfare. JW
(Multnomah Village, Multnomah, free)

PDX Adult Soapbox Derby Past Event Like List
Every summer, Portlanders trudge up the side of Mt. Tabor to watch full-grown, costumed adults zoom down the extinct volcano in homemade cars bedecked like a cup of noodles, Mater from Cars, logs, and other aerodynamic (eh, questionable) designs. While crowd favorites earn thunderous cheers, prizes are dished out for categories like best engineering, "shit talker," and lifetime achievement. JW
(Mt. Tabor Park, Southeast Portland, free)

Pet Adoption Event + Train Ride Past Event Like List
Do you like trains? Do you like adorable animals? You're in luck—the Oregon Rail Heritage Center is partnering with Multnomah County Animal Services for a special adoption event. Take a 45-minute scenic train ride along the Willamette River and contemplate the joy a new furry friend would bring to your family, then hop off and choose one to take home! There will be dogs, cats, and other small animals on-site for adoption. Snuggles and pets are free, but adoption fees may apply. SL
(Oregon Rail Heritage Center, Hosford-Abernethy, $10-$14)

FILM

Man With a Movie Camera (1929) Past Event Like List
This experimental 1929 Soviet silent documentary film directed by Dziga Vertov is considered a landmark for pioneering a staggering range of cinematic techniques, including multiple exposure, fast motion, slow motion, freeze frames, match cuts, jump cuts, split screens, Dutch angles, extreme close-ups, tracking shots, reversed footage, stop motion animation, and self-reflexive visuals. The eponymous cameraman (Vertov's brother, the cinematographer Mikhail Kaufman) wanders around Moscow, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Odesa. If you're a fan of HBO's quirky docuseries How To with John Wilson, you'll love how this film transforms the mundanity of everyday human life into something surreal. JB
(Architectural Heritage Center, Buckman, free)

LIVE MUSIC

Tango Alpha Tango, Charts, and Liquid Light Past Event Like List
Portland blues-rock band Tango Alpha Tango was founded by the high school sweethearts-turned-married couple Nathan Trueb and Mirabai Carter. Since their formation, the band has gained fans all over the world from music festival appearances and in-studio performances on KEXP and NPR. They will take the stage the stage after an opening set from fellow local rock 'n' roll bands Charts and Liquid Light. AV
(Doug Fir Lounge, Buckman, $15)

PERFORMANCE

Be Present Art Group presents "THEIR COWRIES" Past Event Like List
At this free all-ages event hosted by Albina Music Trust and Mississippi Records, the band Roman Norfleet & Be Present Art Group will team up with the experimental video artists Spoiler Room to present a special collaboration. Listen to the group's piece "Their Cowries," a "sonic love story poem" telling the story of two beings in love who are separated by misunderstandings and who each convey messages to each other via cowrie seashells, using improvisational music and movement. You'll also be able to gaze upon artwork by Dutch painter Henk Pander; view an exhibit exploring the social life of Vanport, the "nation's largest shipbuilding housing project," with historical images, artifacts, and oral histories; and browse AMT’s Wall To Wall Soul exhibit, a collection of memorabilia and art depicting the legacy of Black music in Portland. JB
(Alberta House, Concordia, free)

SIN MAÍZ NO HAY PAÍS Past Event Like List
Take in this site-specific performance from the Portland-based dance company Heidi Duckler Dance Northwest, hosted in partnership with Hacienda Community CDC on the grounds of the Portland Mercado. Dancers Daniel Giron, Barbara Lima, Antonio Carnell, Colleen Loverde, and Charles Roy will aim to convey the vibrant spirit of the community of the Mercado and its multifaceted cultural roots, accompanied by live music from the local chicha trio Oleada. JB
(Portland Mercado, Mount Scott-Arleta, free)

S P A C E: The Drag Show - The Asteroid Belt (and a Queer Maker's Fair!) Past Event Like List
"S P A C E - The Drag Show" is a 24-month-long cosmic series from the trans and anticapitalist production collective Max & Mars Present, cruising through the universe with a focus on a different celestial body for each sliding-scale event. The Asteroid Belt is the star of the show this time, and performers WolfgangX, Jocelyn Knobs, Tera To Feel Ya, Luciano VeriNotti, and Wanda Anne Cosmos will embody that region of the solar system in the most fabulous way possible. Come early to browse extraterrestrial wares from local queer artists and makers and to learn about the asteroids (and other elements) of your chart via one-on-one readings from local astrologers. JB
(Irving Park, King, free)

SHOPPING

Bookstore Romance Day 2023 Past Event Like List
Isn't it time you were beguiled? Titillated? Hot around the collar?? If your answer falls somewhere between "Ummm, yeah, I guess," and "PLEASE!", I have your solution: Bookstore Romance Day, which Annie Bloom's Books (and its shop cat, Molly) will celebrate on Saturday. You'll get 10% off all the hunky, sweaty, bodice-ripping tomes your heart desires (both adult and YA); you can also take part in the "Blind Dates With an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy)" giveaway and a raffle. Bookstore Romance Day falls on the same Saturday as Multnomah Days, so plan to navigate limited parking. (You can also take part in the fun virtually—romance author panels are planned throughout the weekend.) LC
(Annie Bloom's Books, Multnomah, free)

SUNDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Mangoes & Marigolds Past Event Like List
Celebrating ripe, juicy mangoes and cheerful marigolds in equal measure, this pan-Asian summer night market will feature mango-flavored desserts, henna, tea readings, art, pottery, and plenty of other wares from local AAPI and BIPOC vendors. JB (Shop Halo Halo, Woodstock, free)

Midtown Beer Garden Opening Past Event Like List
Get excited—Portland's oldest food cart pod is hosting its grand (re)opening on Sunday, with over 20 new and returning carts to choose from, including Iron Strike Smash Burgers, Stretch the Noodle, Tito’s Burritos #1, Mr. Taco, Gyro Place, Monster Mac and Wings, Shawarma Station, and way more. Pair your grub with beer specials from Fracture Brewing's new bar cart and enjoy musical performances from the Shivas, Boka Marimba, and The Last Artful, Dodgr. JB
(Midtown Beer Garden, Downtown)

MULTI-DAY

COMMUNITY

A-Meow-zing Cat and Kitten Adoption Special Past Event Like List
The Oregon Humane Society is expecting an influx of animals from the Maui wildfires, so they're hosting a special adoption event to help make room! Now through Sunday, adoption fees will be completely waived for cats over one year old, and half off for kittens. Check out the cats up for adoption here, and find your new cuddle buddy today to help free up resources for rescues from Maui. SL
(Oregon Humane Society, North Portland, Friday-Sunday)

EXHIBITS

Celebrating Birds of the Pacific Northwest Past Event Like List
In 2020, I started birding: I'd been laid off from my previous job due to COVID-19 uncertainty and found myself with an unfamiliar amount of hours to fill. (It's interesting how a brief respite from the binds of capitalism nudges us toward the natural world, but anyway.) If you're "going through it" in any capacity, I highly recommend looking toward the skies—there's a lot going on up there. Or maybe you're a birder already. If so, what's your spark bird?! Mine is the northern flicker...but I digress. This exhibition of works by contemporary wildlife photographers Ken Goldman, Ryan Hooper, Dan Kearl, and Diana Rebman explores the abundance and diversity of our avian friends. You'll catch sight of regional beauts like the lazuli bunting, osprey, and great horned owl. Chances are good that you'll be inspired to pick up some 'nocs afterward. LC
(Oregon Historical Society, South Park Blocks, $0-$10, Friday-Sunday)

FESTIVALS

Dahlia Festival Past Event Like List
Grab your camera and your allergy meds and get ready to experience 40 acres of dahlias and a stunning indoor display of over 370 varieties. Floral novices and aficionados alike can sign up for flower arranging and crafts classes, listen to flower care lectures, take a bunch of flowers home, and more. Check out the farmers market every Sunday, listen to local bands perform on weekends, or grab a bite to eat from a rotating selection of food carts. SL
(Swan Island Dahlias, Canby, free, Friday-Sunday)

FILM

Barbie Past Event Like List
Brought forth from the primordial depths of the mid-'90s, where Barbie remains in perpetuity because that is the last time I played with her, a shiny pink convertible rolls noiselessly into our modern times. It is Barbie's car, and somehow, Barbie is in it. She has roller skates in her purse and she's on a mission. She is played by Margot Robbie, and she's journeying to the human world, or something. Listen, the specifics don't matter. It's the Barbie movie. I will be seated, surrounded by popcorn and Nerds rope, and you will be, too. LC
(Cinema 21, Nob Hill, Friday-Sunday)

Oldboy Past Event Like List
The rise of South Korean cinema in the 21st century, a rise that has resulted in the critical and commercial success of Bong Joon-ho's Parasite in 2019, begins in earnest with Park Chan-wook's 2003 film Oldboy. The moment it stepped on the world stage was the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. True, Bong's Memories of Murder, which was also released in 2003, is a deeper artistic and political work, but Oldboy is much more gripping and sensational and violent. Indeed, the line between Oldboy and the hit TV series Squid Game is unbroken. Both present an improbable plot that is somehow compelling. At the heart of Squid Game is the ugly hunger for money; in Oldboy, it's the insatiable hunger for revenge. And both (the TV series and the movie) imagine a reality that seems to be completely controlled by unknown forces. STRANGER SENIOR WRITER CHARLES MUDEDE
(Cinema 21, Nob Hill, $9-$11, Friday-Sunday)

Oppenheimer Past Event Like List
Whether or not you give a damn about the theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weaponry, Oppenheimer is kind of a must-see—people are going to be yapping about this flick all summer long. You don't want to miss out on the Twitter discourse, do you?! Christopher Nolan's latest stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Emily Blunt as his wife, Communist biologist and botanist Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer. (More info on Kitty, please!!) The film also features Florence Pugh, A24 darling Benny Safdie, and a bunch of other actors that'll make you whisper "Wait, they're in this?!" to your friend in the theater. This 70mm screening will boost the cinematic experience with a greater aspect ratio and higher resolution, and lucky you—the Hollywood is currently the only film venue in Oregon with the capability to screen 70mm. Should make that nuke scene extra nuke-y. LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $13-$15, Friday-Sunday)

Passages Past Event Like List
Ira Sach's "comically brutal" (GQ) new film has many elements working in its favor, not the least of which is its fashion sense; think black raver mesh, brocade blazers, and sheer crop tops straight out of an Eckhaus Latta or Maryam Nassir Zadeh campaign. Rest assured, the central characters in Passages are cool. So cool, in fact, that their gay marriage is put to the test by a passionate affair with a woman. (It's 2023! We do whatever we want now!) The film was recently slapped with an NC-17 rating, and you can probably hazard a few guesses as to why. Go forth and be horny. LC
(Cinema 21, Nob Hill, $9-$11, Friday-Sunday)

Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 35mm Past Event Like List
This 35mm screening of '85 cult flick Pee-wee's Big Adventure honors the memory of Paul Reubens, everyone's favorite nasally, bow-tied, high-camp artiste who passed last month after a private cancer battle. I encourage you to note the similarities between Pee-wee's Big Adventure and a much more recent film, Greta Gerwig's Barbie—both are tinged with a shiny postmodern sarcasm and a half-toy, half-human, kitschy sincerity that seems to suggest Reubens' aesthetic was far more influential than we gave him credit for. If you saw Barbie recently, take Pee-wee for a spin—it's even weirder, and better, than you remember. LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $8-$10, Saturday-Sunday)

Talk To Me Past Event Like List
The latest addition to A24's horror arsenal follows a group of bored teens who—what else?—decide to fuck around with an embalmed hand. Turns out the embalmed hand is SCARY. (I could have told them this, but no one asked me.) If you dug Bodies Bodies Bodies, this should fit the bill as another Gen Z-approved freak fest—it also has a 3.7 score on Letterboxd right now, which is a pretty high rating for a horror film. (One reviewer reports that the film "will gnaw at your soul and consume your spirit." Do your worst, Talk To Me.) LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $8-$10, Friday-Sunday)

The Cramps and The Mutants: The Napa State Tapes Past Event Like List
If you told me that legendary janglers The Cramps and The Mutants had once played a show in a Napa psychiatric hospital, rousing the patients with Carter-era art punk while a Bay Area collective captured the whole thing on one of the first video cameras available to the public, well...I'd believe you, and I'd be desperate to see the footage. Luckily, I'm telling you this, and you can see the footage while everyone else chooses teams between Barbie and Oppenheimer. The Cramps and The Mutants: The Napa State Tapes will screen at the Hollywood for the first time in an unedited, fully remastered edition. Let's get fucked up! LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $8-$10, Friday-Sunday)

SHOPPING

Art Supply Yard Sale Past Event Like List
It's about to get festive on Sandy Boulevard: Outlet PDX will throw a weekend-long art supply yard sale at its vibey New New Crusher Court location. 100% of proceeds will be donated to the Independent Publishing Resource Center, which keeps DIY publishing alive with workshops, readings, and more (seriously—tap into their resources if you haven't). Drop by to sift through piles of art materials, tools, crafts, and more in support of a cool local cause. LC
(Outlet PDX, Kerns, free, Saturday-Sunday)

VISUAL ART

OTHER/SELF Past Event Like List
Dominican-born "creative technologist" Allan Pichardo and nonbinary, multiracial artist Michael Espinoza's OTHER/SELF explores "self, community, embodiment, and inheritance" through their connections to queer and African ancestors, embedded technology, and human-algorithm relationships. I'm intrigued by Espinosa's use of digital collage, instant photography, and textiles to contemplate queer intimacy and futurity. Pichardo's "speculative software-based works," which include an immersive VR experience that "investigates the lost histories of the African diaspora through music," sounds especially cool. LC
(Carnation Contemporary, Kenton, free, Saturday-Sunday)

The Rose Past Event Like List
If you'd asked me to name some subversive feminist acts before reading about The Rose, "collaging" wouldn't have topped my list. But curator Justine Kurland's new group exhibition (housed in lumber room's airy space) has effectively changed my mind—collage is badass, representing all things transformative and revitalizing. So get into it! A lush garden of artists featured in The Rose seems to agree with me. The show features over 40 creators, including local recognizables like Jessica Jackson Hutchins and Bean Gilsdorf alongside major art stars Ruth Asawa, Wendy Red Star, and Francesca Woodman. LC
(lumber room, Pearl District, free, Friday-Saturday)

You belong among the wildflowers Past Event Like List
Staged in its fresh Slabtown location, PDX CONTEMPORARY ART's summer show conjures all things flowery and pretty. Right off the bat, this doesn't sound like the most contemporary theme—but really, there's a lot of variation and thoughtful work here, including Georgina Reskala's photo-textile collages, Kristen Miller's use of Italian glass beads, and (personal fave) Jeffry Mitchell's brilliant sunflower bucket. (Plus, we all know flowers symbolize death and ephemera and cool stuff like that.) Go ahead and smell (or maybe just observe) the roses. LC
(PDX CONTEMPORARY ART, Slabtown, free, Friday-Saturday)