Skip to main content
LISTEN: Pickathon
Weekend 1 of Portland-chella (aka Project Pabst) may be behind us, but Weekend 2 over at Pickathon is still to come. The four-day outdoor music festival showcases 55-plus experimental artists. At the gorgeous Pendarvis Farm, you can camp, see a comedy show, take part in a literary discussion, mosh to a DJ set, hang out under a glowing art installation, take a wellness class, peruse the various craft vendors, and eat everything from fresh oysters to acai bowls. Pendarvis Farm, 16581 SE Hagen Road, pickathon.com. Thursday–Sunday, Aug. 1–4. $205+.
GO: Vanport Jazz Festival
Experimental music is cool and all, but Portland is rooted in jazz. After the 1948 Columbia River flood devastated the city of Vanport, 18,000 people—a quarter of them Black—were displaced from their homes. Vanport’s uprooted Black community then decided to open jazz clubs in their designated neighborhood, attracting the biggest names in jazz and establishing Portland as a true jazz city. Colwood Golf Center, 7313 NE Columbia Blvd., vanportjazzfestival.com. Friday–Saturday, Aug. 2–3. $65+.
ENJOY: Fremont Festival
This Saturday, the annual Fremont Fest returns to Portland’s (you guessed it) Fremont neighborhood, in celebration of the Beaumont Business Association’s 40th anniversary. In addition to 150-plus vendors—everything from Girls Next Door Vintage to Straightaway Cocktails—the street fair will feature live music at Fremont restaurants like Tomorrow’s Verse, Amalfi’s, and Hi-Top Beer Garden, where a DJ will keep the vibes flowing. Fremont Fest’s ‘80s theme guarantees neon leg warmers and scrunchies. Northeast Fremont Street from 42nd to 51st avenues, bbapdx.org. 10 am–4 pm Saturday, Aug. 3. Free.
LEARN: OMSI After Dark: Pickle It
Calling all pickle fans—no, not of the Portland baseball team, although we’re sure there’s some crossover there. No, we’re talking to the pickle obsessed: fans of pickled cucumbers, sauerkraut, carrots, cabbage, asparagus—anything picklable, really. Tonight, there’s a fermented feast at OMSI, and you’re all invited. Learn how to pickle all the veggies above while getting tipsy and exploring the museum at night. There’ll be science demos, performances, DJs, artisan food and beverage vendors, pickles, and a whole lot more. Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, 1945 SE Water Ave., 503-797-4000, omsi.edu. 6–10 pm Wednesday, July 31. $25.
SEE: Coraline’s Curious Cat Trail
The movie-art experience of the summer is here, according to WW’s more obsessive fans of Coraline. The iconic, Pacific Northwest-made animated film comes to life starting Friday on the streets of downtown Portland with Coraline’s Curious Cat Trail: an outdoor exhibition in which 30 different 6-foot-tall cats will be placed throughout the city. Each cat—or vermin, as The Other Mother would say—has been created by a different local artist in partnership with Laika Studios and the Visit Downtown Portland campaign. Downtown Portland, coralinescuriouscattrail.com. Aug. 2–Oct. 13. Free.
WATCH: Clue, Moonrise Kingdom, Wet Hot American Summer and Pokémon Detective Pikachu at PAM CUT Tomorrow Theater
Y’all… There’s so many good movies screening this week at PAM CUT that we couldn’t possibly choose just one to highlight. So first up, on Friday, we’ve got Clue, the hilarious, board game-inspired murder mystery classic, paired with a pre-show murder mystery game based on the movie and board game (stay with us here). On Saturday, Moonrise Kingdom, the adorable Wes Andersen flick, screens at 4:15, with a pre-show custom merit badge-making craft session; and Wet Hot American Summer, one of the greatest movies of all time, plays at 7:15 after a friendship bracelet-making workshop. Oh, and then there’s Pokémon Detective Pikachu on Sunday, for those with children, Ryan Reynolds fans, or both. Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division St., 503-221-1156, tomorrowtheater.org. Various showtimes Friday–Sunday, Aug. 2–4. $5-$15.
GO: A-WOL Dance Collective: Art in the Dark
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly around outside like Tinker Bell, floating from tree to tree without a care in the world? No? Just us? Well, now you don’t have to imagine. A-WOL Dance Collective invites you to join in its signature summer event, Art in the Dark: an interactive, family-friendly, illuminated aerial production. Patrons will gather outside in a forested park, pop a squat in some intimate theater-style seating, and watch as aerial artists, suspended from old growth trees, dance to a musical score under the stars. Mary S. Young Park, 19900 Willamette Drive, West Linn, awoldance.org. 7:30 pm Thursday–Saturday, Aug. 1–3. $40+.