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DO | Harvest Festival
In this year’s Fall Arts Guide, we wrote about FRQNCY, a new streaming app from the founders of Pickathon that simultaneously transmits live shows to viewers and remote audience applause to performers. The app has been tested in the field in Brooklyn, but now it debuts in Portland—although virtual ticketholders can tune in from all over. The two-day Harvest Festival, at Topaz Farm on Sauvie Island, offers two performances each evening: Rose City Band and Antibalas on Thursday, Bill Callahan and Bedouine on Friday. Topaz Farm, 17100 NW Sauvie Island Road, topazfarm.com/live-music. 5 pm Thursday-Friday, Sept. 30-Oct. 1. $49.50-$90.
SEE | Outside the Frame: Riders in the Storm
Last year—when it felt like hunkering down was the easiest thing to do in the face of a pandemic, historic wildfires and political turmoil—a group of persistent youths ventured out to document the world around them. You can now watch the results of their hard work at this gala screening hosted by Outside the Frame, a Portland nonprofit that trains houseless and marginalized young people to make films. Each one focuses on a socially relevant theme—from racial justice to mental well-being to the health care system. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-662-8344, outsidetheframe.org. 7 pm Thursday, Sept. 30. Tickets available on a sliding scale.
DO | Seltzerland
Two years after hardcore White Claw fans declared we were living in the “Summer of Seltzer,” the controversial fizzy beverage is still going strong. This new event aims to keep the season alive even though we’ve now slipped into the fall of 2021. But time doesn’t matter when you exist in Seltzerland, which sounds like a destination where the swimming pools are sloshing with the fruit-tinged drink, faucets flow with White Claw, and most of the men are likely to be named Chad. In reality, the traveling festival—which has already boozed up destinations like Atlanta, Austin and Chicago—will take over a Portland golf course, delivering samples of spiked pineapple-mango juice, carbonated lemonade and dozens of other flavors to eager drinkers. Yes, there will be ‘Grammable backgrounds, swag bags and perhaps even the questionable revival of the Four Loko brand. Consider this as much of a warning to stay away as an invitation. Colwood Golf Center, 7313 NE Columbia Blvd., seltzerland.com. 11 am Saturday, Oct. 2. $39-$59. 21+.
SEE | Alex Falcone
One of Portland’s favorite comedians, Alex Falcone returns for one night only to record his first comedy album. Though he hails from Reno, Nev., Falcone cut his comedy teeth on Portland’s scene for many years, earning coveted gigs like a recurring nerd role on Portlandia and the title of Portland’s Funniest Person, in 2019. He recently appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where he politely slew the audience with his signature brand of grateful wife guy humor. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895, mississippistudios.com. 7:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 2. $15.
VIRTUAL | Ben Hodgson & Laura Moulton
Told in disjointed but addictive bite-size recollections, Loaners: The Making of a Street Library explores the founding of Street Books: a portable bicycle library that lends books to houseless Portlanders. The co-memoir is many things: a collection of diary-style accounts of how one of the library’s regulars, Ben Hodgson, survived sleeping on the street and a guide for how Laura Moulton founded the nonprofit library service in 2011. In addition, it’s another tremendous work from Perfect Day Publishing—a local press that publishes infrequently but always makes something worth your time. Register for the Zoom event at powells.com. 5 pm Tuesday, Oct. 5. Free.
SEE | Mo Mandel
You’ve likely enjoyed this comic numerous times on Conan and Chelsea Lately, or perhaps you more recently became a fan while watching the new Discovery program Small Town Throwdown, where he immerses himself in communities that get slapped with unfortunate superlatives like “drunkest” or “most boring.” But what you probably didn’t know is that Mo Mandel has been living among us for the past 18 months. That’s right—the L.A. comedian was forced to quarantine in Portland once the pandemic lockdown went into effect, which was right before his wife-to-be, a local urologist, was supposed to relocate. Mandel’s outsider observations about making a home here during a global health emergency should be worth the price of admission alone. Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside St., 503-206-7630, bossanovaballroom.com. 8 pm Tuesday, Oct. 5. $15-$18.