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FRIDAY

PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE

ANDAZ: Bhangra Bollywood Dance Party with DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid Past Event Like List
For over two decades, DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid have been an inimitable force in the Portland dance scene. Since 2002 the power duo has hosted Andaz—their monthly bhangra, Bollywood, and desi bass dance party (the longest-running on the West Coast)—and let me tell you, it is WILD. There were flashing lights and Bollywood movies playing on TVs. The air was thick with moisture, so thick that I'm pretty sure it was condensing on the ceiling. Surrounded by energetic dancers, DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid inundated late-night revelers with rhythms from South Asia and beyond. FORMER PORTLAND MERCURY SENIOR EDITOR CK DOLAN
(Show Bar, Buckman, $12-$15)

VISUAL ART

Mona Huneidi | Targeted: 100+ Kites Remind Like List
Inspired by Refaat Al-Areer’s poem If I Must Die (which I implore you to read before continuing to skim this blurb), this installation pays tribute to the journalists and media workers who have documented the unfolding genocide in Gaza. Refaat Al-Areer was a respected writer and professor who was killed in an airstrike by the Israeli military on December 6, 2023, along with six members of his immediate family. Proceeds from artist Mona Huneidi's Targeted: 100+ Kites, an installation of "more than 100 handmade kites, original projections, and sound," will be donated to Gaza relief efforts (Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, Committee to Protect Journalists, and Anera specifically). LC
(North View Gallery, Southwest Portland, free)

SATURDAY

COMEDY

BackFence Storytelling Pop-Up! Past Event Like List
Storytelling masters BackFence always promise a good time—just ask Portland Mercury editor-in-chief Wm. Steven Humphrey, who describes their show as "a goddamn hoot." Exploring a "neighbors" theme on September 28, BackFence will blend story-sharing and improv elements with local notables like multi-instrumentalist Matt Sheehy, tattoo artist Ciara Linsey, and childless dog mom Sarah Grace McCandless, among several others. LC
(Kickstand Comedy, Ladd's Addition, $5-$15)

HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

Latino Saturday - Free/Noche Latina - Gratis Past Event Like List
This weekend, celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at Portland's oldest food cart pod with an evening of music, dancing, and plenty of food options to keep you nourished. Groove to the salsa, merengue, and bachata beats from the tropical music ensemble Conjunto Alegre. And for those that think "I could do that" while watching Hot Ones, test your taste buds in a hot sauce contest (the winner will get a prize!) AV
(Midtown Beer Garden, Downtown, free)

OUTDOORS

Free Entrance Days in the National Parks Remind Like List
National Public Lands Day is recognized on the fourth Saturday of September to promote the enjoyment and conservation of the outdoors—celebrate its 30th anniversary with an entrance fee-free day to all National Park Service sites. Just remember to leave no trace! Pack up the car and head to the one-and-only Crater Lake, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in adorable Astoria, or Fort Vancouver just across the Washington border. SL
(Various locations, free)

FOOD & DRINK

20 Years of Coffee and Community: Celebrate with Nossa Familia Past Event Like List
Celebrate International Coffee Day early with a party hosted by one of Portland's favorite local roasters. Nossa Familia is marking its milestone of 20 years in the community with an afternoon of art, music, food, and delicious drinks—did I mention free mochas?! Other treats include affogatos made with Tillamook ice cream, cake from La Provence, PNW-inspired Mexican food from Verde Cocina, and alcoholic bevvies from Hopworks Brewery. In a nod to their roots growing coffee in the Brazilian highlands, samba band Bloco Alegria will bring the grooves. SL
(240 SE Clay St, Hosford-Abernethy, free)

Oktoberfest Celebration Past Event Like List
Alpenrausch and Olympia Provisions are hosting an all-ages Oktoberfest celebration with German-style biers from Rosenstadt. Kids can toss around water balloons and get their faces painted; adults can toss around hammers in a game of hammerschlagen and test their strength in stein-holding contests. There's also a pretzel toss, live polka music, and plenty of OP grilled sausages. Bonus: if you or your dog come dressed in lederhosen, you get a free spin of the prize wheel! SL
(Alpenrausch, Richmond, $15)

LIVE MUSIC

Jupiter Hotel's 20th Anniversary Block Party Past Event Like List
The Jupiter Hotel will celebrate 20 years with a free block party offering live music, shopping, and tasty food and drinks (including cocktails from Hey Love). Don't miss performances from local faves including long-running folk rock band Blitzen Trapper, indie rock phenom Maita, singer-songwriter Blossom, Latin funk ensemble, Pura Vida Orquestra, and DJs Anjali and Chaach. AV
(Jupiter Hotel, Buckman, free)

SUNDAY

FILM

Deep Red with The Bavannaires Past Event Like List
Portland supergroup the Bavannaires—featuring Collin Hegna of Federale and the Brian Jonestown Massacre—will perform a selection of European horror score pieces before this screening of Italian madman Dario Argento's lurid, bloody giallo classic Deep Red. Portland Mercury contributor Bobby Roberts once described the film as having "garishly beautiful cinematography, innovative and disturbing kills, and, of course, a synthy, sleazy, serpentine sound of Goblin poured all over the soundtrack." Sleep tight. LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $15)

PDX Recovery Film Festival Past Event Like List
Presented by Portland peer-led recovery support nonprofit Bridges to Change, this annual festival spotlights films centered around homelessness, substance use, mental health, and incarceration, aiming to increase visibility, create space for storytelling, and inspire some much-needed hope. Last year's line-up included Emmy-nominated filmmaker Moni Vargas' Audrey's Poem and activist Mark Horvath's Peer Supervised Drug Consumption Site, so I'm looking forward to this year's thought-provoking flicks. LC
(Revolution Hall, Buckman, $15)

LIVE MUSIC

Sunday Sessions: Shanea with Tipsur Past Event Like List
Mercury contributor Jenni Moore writes: "While Rontoms’ patio shows are absolutely lovely in the summer, the actual best time to go to Sunday Sessions (in this critic’s opinion) is in the cooler months. Take advantage of Rontoms’ big, cozy interior room and the chill, intimate sets that unfold in full view of East Burnside. Concertgoers can cuddle up on couches by the fireplace, order grilled cheese sandwiches, and clutch mugs of mulled wine." This week, the series will continue with local singer-songwriter Shanea, whose folk-tinged indie rock would blend right in on Cat Power's The Greatest. AV
(Rontoms, Buckman, free)

VISUAL ART

Gather Hold Ground Past Event Like List
The Independent Publishing Resource Center is the best writing, printmaking, and publishing resource that you might not know about, and they're worthy of your support. (How do I know? My boyfriend went to one workshop and came home a bookbinding fiend. They know their stuff.) From humble beginnings on the second floor of the now-shuttered Reading Frenzy bookshop, IPRC has expanded with certificate programs, workshops, and residencies. Writer and artist Lilia Hernandez Galusha's free event is a great excuse to check out the space—the event is billed as a "gathering of stories through zines," complete with a zine storytime and an installation of Hernandez Galusha's tufted rugs and quilt square designs. LC
(IPRC, Buckman, free)

MULTI-DAY

COMMUNITY

Dahlia Festival Past Event Like List
Grab your camera and your allergy meds and get ready to experience 40 acres of dahlias featuring 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. Time your visit to check out local bands performing on weekends, or grab a bite to eat from a rotating selection of food carts. SL
(Swan Island Dahlias, Canby, free, Friday–Sunday)

Portland TextileX Month Remind Like List
Exploring an "origin stories" theme this year, Portland TextileX Month (PTXM) is back to examine "the collective challenges we now face...and solutions to carry us forward" through diverse textile exhibitions and workshops. We're tied up in knots about Rankin Renwick's "unthreading" discussion, Charlie Wilcox's "roving animation" sewing circle, Salvadoran American textile artist Orquidia Violeta's protective vest workshop, and Homelands Within, an exhibition of contemporary SWANA textiles, but you can find a full list of the month's events here. LC
(Various locations, free, Saturday–Sunday)

EXHIBIT

Made with Love: 45 Years of Ikoi no Kai Remind Like List
For 45 years, Portlanders have ducked into the basement of Epworth United Methodist Church, just north of the Hawthorne Safeway, for Ikoi no Kai, a public, by-reservation lunch program serving up Japanese and pan-Asian cuisine. Exemplifying the concept of keirō 敬老, or respect for elders, Ikoi no Kai is volunteer-helmed and includes more than just food—attendees sing songs, play games, and pluck kotos. Made with Love: 45 Years of Ikoi no Kai honors the history of the city's lesser-known dining experience with text elements, artifacts, a video installation, and cute dumpling sculptures displayed in the museum's window. LC
(Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Old Town-Chinatown, $5-$8, Friday–Sunday)

Tree People: Puiden Kansa Past Event Like List
Works by Finnish artists Ritva Kovalainen and Sanni Seppo will come together for this photography exhibition, which draws from forest-based mythology to reflect on ancient customs and beliefs in rural Finland, Estonia, and East Karelia. To capture the images in Tree People, Kovalainen and Seppo researched and traveled for a decade; the results feel both sacred and familiar. After all, most of us have felt a close connection to a tree at some point in our lives. Head to the exhibition to learn more about the forest spirits and stories, then explore the World Forestry Center and Discovery Museum's wood-filled space. LC
(World Forestry Center & Discovery Museum, Washington Park, $0-$8, Friday–Sunday)

FALL

Bella Organic Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze Remind Like List
This year, Bella Organic Farms is expressing gratitude to teachers and school staff with their corn maze design and treating them with complimentary admission! For the rest of us, it's $10 on weekdays or $12 on weekends to wander the 2.7-mile path, enjoy a hot cup of apple cider over a game of trivia about the maze, and compete to win a Clue-inspired puzzle. Starting October 1, you can hitch a free hayride over to the pumpkin patch to pick out your own gourd for carving, painting, or simply placing on your porch for max autumnal vibes. If you're a thrill seeker, stop by after dark on Fridays and Saturdays for Bella’s haunted corn maze experience. SL
(Bella Organic Pumpkin Patch & Winery, Sauvie Island, $10-$12, Friday–Sunday)

Fall Harvest Fest at Topaz Farm Remind Like List
Celebrate the harvest season with a day full of autumnal activities like hay rides, pumpkin picking, and caramel apple snacking. Admission to Topaz Farm's fall fest is free on weekdays and $12 per person on weekends in an effort to reduce crowding and maximize fun—much better than waiting ages at the tire swing or hitting a backup in the sunflower maze! You can pay a little extra to treat yourself to u-pick flowers or your kiddos to a ride on the cow train. SL
(Topaz Farm, Sauvie Island, $0-$12, Saturday–Sunday)

The MAiZE at the Pumpkin Patch Remind Like List
The famous MAiZE on Sauvie Island is back this year with an absolutely adorable Peanuts design—an homage to the Great Pumpkin, I suspect. Peanuts is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a year of activations like this one around the world, giving local businesses the opportunity to finish the statement "Happiness is..." (in this instance, a corn maze). The maze has two parts: warm up with the "easy" section before tackling the more difficult part, and don't forget your boots—it can get muddy out there. SL
(The Pumpkin Patch, Sauvie Island, $9.25-$11.25, Friday–Sunday)

FILM

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Remind Like List
Hold on to your skin—Tobe Hooper's 1974 masterpiece will screen at the Hollywood in a fresh restoration, so audiences can catch Leatherface and his twisted pastimes in a brand new light. Far from just another slasher flick, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre changed the whole game, bringing festering horror into the bright Texas sunshine and transforming it into something deeply impactful. Without this film, your new bestie undoubtedly wouldn't exist. (Don't believe me? Wait until you see the dinner table scene.) LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, $10-$12, Friday–Sunday)

PERFORMANCE

PCS Presents: Risk/Reward's Election Anti-Party Past Event Like List
While this “micro-festival,” created by interim festival director James Mapes, is similar to the annual Risk/Reward fest in its adventurous nature and packed weekend format, the programming feels like an assortment of what Risk/Reward delivers in total, but with an overarching theme: the 2024 election and how we’re going to stay mentally healthy and engaged as the clusterfuck continues to unfold. The opening night of the festival, presents the Fig Tree Committee’s An Iliad—based on the epic Greek poem by Homer—performed by Paul Susi, with live accompaniment by cellist Anna Fritz. The duo have toured this show to 13 Oregon prisons, and played it for more than 3,000 people. On the second night, the Anti-Party features a double-header event, starting with the Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater who’ll perform a selection from their show Afrolitical called “Uprising” about the history of Black protest (casting a particular eye on the racial justice marches of 2020). Discussion on the intersection of activism and contemporary politics follows the performance. There’s also a screening of Tipping Point, the recent documentary that dives into Portland’s Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, interviewing participants, police, and activists, while providing a far more nuanced lens designed to counter the often hysteric reaction of local politicians and national media. The fest reaches its conclusion with a Saturday-evening showcase of 20 very-short, original performances—most staged for the first time. It’s a dynamic bill, boasting drag artists Carla Rossi and Pepper Pepper, an allegedly “very angry” piece from Tracy Cameron Francis of Boom Arts, first time voters from PSU and Hand2Mouth theater, and lots more (including a mysterious and intriguing appearance from “a sentient karaoke machine.”) PORTLAND MERCURY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
(Ellyn Bye Studio at the Armory, Pearl District, Pay-What-You-Will, starting at $5, Friday–Saturday)

SHOPPING

Portland Flea Remind Like List
Last year, Portland Flea doubled the weekend fun, introducing Saturday markets at the Ecotrust building in addition to its Sunday residency at SE Second and Clay. The flea's 13th season will run on the last weekend of every month through November with 150 vendors offering vintage clothing, unique creations, and more. The season's theme is "The Celebration of Self Expression," which focuses on individuality and fashion—September centers around "Back-to-School Chic," and October will bring "Mystical Masquerade" offerings just in time for Halloween. You can expect a rotating cast of food and drink vendors, but Freeland Spirits, Yoonique Tea, Nossa Familia Coffee, and Hot Lips Pizza will be there every weekend. Find them Saturday at the Ecotrust building and Sunday at SE Second and Clay. SL
(Various locations, free, Saturday–Sunday)

VISUAL ART

Bean Finneran: Properties of Layers Past Event Like List
Bean Finneran's ceramic sculptures feel playful, rendered in Play-Doh-esque primary colors and squishy, organic forms, but the artist has spent many years molding "a single elemental shape, a hand-rolled curve of low fire clay that was assembled by the hundreds into temporary sculptures." Properties of Layers represents a serious investigation of clay's various states—liquid, mushy, dry, soft, and even frozen. The resulting sculptures are layered and iterated upon through multiple firing and glazing sessions, so while the bright results may feel spontaneous, they're actually deeply considered. LC
(PDX CONTEMPORARY ART, Slabtown, free, Friday–Saturday; closing)

Cat Rabbit & the Seven Seas: Toy World Past Event Like List
Naarm/Melbourne-based textile artist Cat Rabbit and illustrator/sculptor The Seven Seas will present a fresh collaboration based on their mutual love of toys. The results are genuinely enchanting: Cat Rabbit's style, which uses hand-stitching on felt and vintage fabrics, blends with The Seven Seas' bold, colorful aesthetic to create potato chip mayors, wizard cats, and Freaks & Geeks-inspired animals. Each piece is a joy to look at, so Toy World seems like a sure bet if you're prone to the Sunday scaries. LC
(Nucleus House, Alberta, free, Saturday–Sunday; closing)

En Motion: WAVE Contemporary Past Event Like List
Similar to the conceptual setup of the current Oregon Contemporary show Orbit, which includes works by over a dozen international and local artists, WAVE Contemporary's member artists will also present En Motion this month. The group show probes everyday exposures and interactions with moving images to explore the "current social supremacy of film, video, and moving image as a driver of culture." My advice? Check out both Orbit and En Motion, then duck into Well Well Projects' hall gallery for Inner Sun, Katherine Spinella and Morgan Rosskopf's multimedia exploration of "uncomfortability and uncertainty in the creative process." Win-win-win! LC
(Well Well, Kenton, free, Saturday–Sunday; closing)

In Present Space: Kim Smith Claudel Past Event Like List
Kim Smith Claudel's first solo exhibition at Carnation Contemporary sees the multimedia artist (who holds an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) meditate on her attempts to "capture the ephemeral complexity of being a spirit in a physical world." In Present Space features works that grapple with evidence of time—what might a sculpture look like in decay? Although the show statement doesn't reveal much about the work outside of these initial ponderings, Claudel's website reveals her curious, playful sculptural sense. LC
(Carnation Contemporary, Kenton, free, Saturday–Sunday; closing)

Laura Burke: The Unseelie Court Remind Like List
Brooklyn-based artist Laura Burke's last solo show at Chefas Projects centered the artist's interest in fairy tales, imagined through scenes of household objects and natural elements imbued with "subtle magic." (The show's title, Bright Blue His Jacket Is, and His Boots Are Yellow, was a Tom Bombadil quote from The Fellowship of the Ring.) Burke is one of my favorite contemporary artists, due in no small part to her devotion to Scottish folklore and curious, yet somehow perfectly balanced compositions, which evoke a modern Mary Fedden. Expect more of that in The Unseelie Court, which gathers drawings and paintings that delve into the whimsical lives of spirits—which she calls "Gremlins"—inhabiting a realm "between the ether and Earth." LC
(Chefas Projects, Central Eastside, free, Friday–Saturday; opening)

MK Guth: Distant Dreamer Past Event Like List
Multidisciplinary artist MK Guth’s last show at Elizabeth Leach, Touching Matter, focused on social ritual, incorporating objects with “implied performativity” and extending opportunities for reflective audience engagement. Guth's latest solo exhibition, Distant Dreamer, dives into her archive to cherry-pick from themes and materials used across the artist and PNCA professor emeritus' 30-year career. "Full of adjacent tangents and aestheticized renditions, the result is what one could call a 'performance' by an indomitable artist very much connected to her own thesis," the gallery explains. Translation? Anticipate a range of multimedia works that revisit and expand upon Guth's wide-reaching oeuvre, including textile works and sculptures from repurposed materials. LC
(Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Pearl District, free, Friday–Saturday; closing)

Xavi Bou: Ornithographies Past Event Like List
Inspired by childhood walks with his grandfather along Spain's Llobregat Delta and his background in geology, Xavi Bou's ongoing photography project Ornithographies documents something that typically escapes human perception: the "invisible patterns traced by birds in the sky when they fly." Merging a poetic eye and ongoing consultation with naturalists, Bou's work captures the lightning-fast flapping of wings in a single frame, making visible the imperceptible through organic shapes and abstracted forms. LC
(Blue Sky Gallery, Pearl District, free, Friday–Saturday; closing)