The first week of the year has already attempted to match its predecessor with chaos at the Capitol and a Trump Twitter/Facebook ban, but there are still things to look forward to this weekend to take your mind off the madness for a short while. We've rounded up our suggestions for socially distanced and at-home activities below, from novelty vending machines to feed some dollars into (like one with Nancy Drew paperbacks at Donnie Vegas Like List ) to ways to celebrate David Bowie's birthday (like a virtual Golden Years Past Event Like List dance party and a Straight from New York pizza special), and from places to watch this weekend's Blazers game to a new thrift store to visit. For even more options, read our guides to the best online events this week Like List , the best movies to watch this week Like List , and the best things to do all month long Like List .

Jump to: Food & Drink | Music | Resistance | Sports | Shopping

FOOD & DRINK

Try vegan specials. If your New Year's resolution involves reevaluating your meat and/or dairy consumption, adopting a vegan diet, or going plant-based for the annual "Veganuary" challenge, you've got plenty of delicious options to ease you through the transition. As per yearly tradition, Salt & Straw is offering their "Vegandulgence" series with five flavors that prove plant-based can be just as decadent, including banana avocado sorbet, peanut butter strawberry crumble, bourbon and caramelized honeycomb, coconut rice pudding, and chocolate hazelnut cookies and cream. Plus, three local vegan pop-ups that became smash hits in 2020 have recently launched full-fledged brick-and-mortar joints: The Vietnamese pop-up Mama Đút Like List and the Sri Lankan pop-up Mirisata Like List both cropped up during the pandemic and spawned permanent locations last fall, and the vegan comfort food sensation Plant Based Papi Like List opened a restaurant in late December.

Visit vending machines. Vending machines always hold an irresistible draw, and during the pandemic, they're especially perfect for providing a bit of contactless novelty. Better yet, Portland is home to several vending machines that are no less weird than you would expect. Pix Patisserie Like List 's magical Pix-O-Matic is stocked full of delights like goat cheese tarts, sparklers, pocket-size US Constitutions, toilet paper, gift cards, and more for 24-hour fun. The eccentric dive bar Donnie Vegas Like List has a vending machine that holds candy, cigarettes, Nancy Drew paperbacks, merch, masks, and more. And Taylor Valdes's business The Venderia distributes wacky, wonderful, hand-painted vending machines around town that dispense everything from tarot cards to handmade earrings to mystery grab bags of plastic animal figurines—you can track down her creations at bars like Mad Hanna Like List and Side Street Bar Like List . She's also recently stocked them with predictions for 2021, so you can go see what the year has in store for you.

Try some to-go cocktails. Rejoice: To-go cocktails are now legal with the purchase of a "substantial food item" in Portland! Celebrate by checking out our list of new drinks Like List available for pickup or delivery, from bottled Negronis at Montelupo Market Like List  to fun libations from Eem, Like List and read about Suzette Smith's to-go cocktail picks in the latest edition of her Takeout Club column.

Other notable weekend events:

Deschutes Brewing Freebies
Get a free IPA pretzel bread pudding with all curbside pickup orders over $20 through this Sunday, while supplies last.
Deschutes Brewing, Northwest (Friday-Sunday)

MUSIC & ARTS

Celebrate David Bowie's birthday. This week marks the birth and death anniversary of David Bowie, Goblin King of our hearts. In addition to dancing around your living room to "Lady Grinning Soul," there are a few ways to celebrate his legacy even further. Start by hitting up local record stores like Jackpot, Exiled, or Mississippi Records for some new vinyl, then maybe order some Bowie-themed merch from local maker Dearly Beloved Creations while you stream Labyrinth Remind Like List online. This weekend also brings two virtual parties in the spirit of the Starman: Rolling Live Studios' David Bowie: Just for One Day Past Event Like List livestream on Friday evening, featuring performances by the likes of Duran Duran, Yungblud, and Adam Lambert, and Days of Bowie's virtual Golden Years Past Event Like List DJ dance party spotlighting the star's music between 1966 to 1986. In conjunction with the online event, Straight From New York Pizza will have a Bowie-themed pie called "Sauce Oddity" available from Jan 8-11.

Other notable weekend events:

RuPaul's Drag Race Outdoor Viewing Party Past Event Like List
Let's hope another unfortunate scandal doesn't take over the set of the new season of RuPaul's Drag Race, the premiere of which will be hosted by local drag queens in a "COVID-aware environment" at Local Lounge. The organizers also promise prizes and giveaways. 
Local Lounge, Northeast (Friday)

Timelines for The Future: Christine Howard Sandoval Past Event Like List
The first exhibition under resident curator Lucy Cotter's Turnstones program, which "[brings] together artists who refuse the available vocabulary and prefer to seek new frameworks," features photographs and drawings by Christine Howard Sandoval, whose practice revolves around the act of walking on sites of precarious and contested land.
Disjecta, North Portland (Friday-Sunday)

RESISTANCE

Use local resources to support BIPOC communities. The violent police response to Black Lives Matter protestors condemning the broken system that's led to the deaths of countless BIPOC Americans at the hands of law enforcement is not the police response we saw at Wednesday's Trump-incited mob at the Capitol. (See: cops and rioters posing for selfies together.) While Trump only has two weeks left in his administration (maybe sooner if we ITMFA), the institutions that bred the outgoing Cheeto won't go away when he does. In addition to the events on our resistance calendar, be sure to check out The Mercury's roundup of Black-owned restaurants in Portland and our BIPOC-focused events calendar, and check out this roundup of books about race by Black Portland writers.

SPORTS & OUTDOORS

Watch yourself watching the Blazers game. Transporting your living, breathing body to the MODA Center to cheer on RIP City is currently not allowed, but you can get a fan cut-out of yourself (or your NBA-obsessed loved ones) that will sit in the Fred Meyer Fan Zone for every Blazers home game this season, allowing for the surreal experience of seeing your inanimate self on TV. As for where to watch the games (like the one this Saturday at 7 pm against the Sacramento Kings), you can stream them at home or mask up and head to a socially distanced outdoor patio at Landmark Saloon Like List , Space Room, Rambler Like List , Spirit of 77 Like List , or Thunderbird.

Check out COVID-friendly outings from the Portland Book of Dates. As we near almost a year of quarantine, you'd be forgiven if you're running out of creative date ideas. The Portland Book of Dates, out this week from Sasquatch Books, may be able to help. Written by real-life couple Eden Dawn (an editor at Portland Monthly) and creative-about-town Ashod Simonian, the guidebook covers restaurants, getaways, hikes, shops, and over 155 other date ideas throughout Portland and Oregon at large, plus a few spots in Southern Washington. To give you a taste of the Portland Book of Dates, we've picked out Like List our favorite COVID-friendly date they recommend in each neighborhood below, but we definitely recommend buying the book for yourself—there are so many more places to explore (even during COVID!) than we could possibly fit here, and the illustrations are gorgeous.

Take online dance classes. Chances are you've spent at least a few nights during COVID flailing around your living room to fill the dance-party void (maybe you've even tried to learn a TikTok dance), but surely your moves could use some brushing up. For a dose of exercise that lets you express your artistic side, sign up for free dance classes in a range of genres and levels at BodyVox's Virtual Dance Week Past Event Like List , which wraps up this Saturday. If you want to dedicate yourself to dancing throughout the year, BodyVox also offers fee-based online classes like "Stretch Appeal Dance," hip-hop, and modern jazz. The Northwest Dance Project is another great option, as you can register for their Zoom classes within 30 minutes of starting time.

Other notable weekend events:

RCR Winter Skate Pop-Up
Rose City Rollers' open-air skating rig at Lloyd Center will be up and running every weekend in January. As usual, the Skatemobile will be on site if you need to rent gear.

Lloyd Center, Northeast (Saturday-Sunday)

SHOPPING

There's a new thrift store in town called the Arc, and its racks are ready for your socially distanced perusal on SE Stark. Having had its grand opening on Thursday, this spot features a variety of gently-used household items, clothing, toys for kids, kitchenware, small furniture, and other such gems. If you stop by and find yourself in the mood for even more second-hand shopping, pay a visit to one of Wm. Steven Humphrey's favorite thrift spots around town, such as the lamp haven Lounge Lizard (offering online shopping and curbside pickup in addition to in-person shopping), Stars Antiques (open for in-person shopping), or House of Vintage Like List (open for in-person shopping).