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ENJOY: Crafts and Cocktails
From the minds behind First Thursdays comes a brand-new holiday craft show here in PDX: Crafts and Cocktails. Tomorrow, the McMenamins Crystal Ballroom will completely transform into a craft marketplace, full of some of the city’s best artists, makers and crafters. There’ll be crafts, McMenamins cocktails, McMenamins craft cocktails (sorry), live music, cozy holiday shopping vibes, and plenty of opportunities to purchase handmade goodies for your loved ones. McMenamins Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., 503-384-2511, urbanartnetwork.org. 4–10 pm Thursday–Friday, Nov. 7–8. Free.
GO: Celebration of the Chrysanthemum
It’s officially November, which means it’s time for the Celebration of the Chrysanthemum. And no, we’re not talking about Chrysanthemum, the cartoon about the adorable mouse. We’re talking about chrysanthemums—flowers that have deep roots in Chinese culture, symbolizing longevity, nobility, and endurance. And if you find yourself at the Lan Su Chinese Garden now through Sunday, you’ll witness a floral paradise of chrysanthemum-centric displays from more than a dozen floral artists. Lan Su Chinese Garden, 239 NW Everett St., 503-228-8131, lansugarden.org. Through Wednesday, Nov. 27. $16.
WATCH: PLUS PLUS: PAM CUT’s New Annual Festival
Looking for the perfect way to spend each of the forthcoming cozy, rainy Portland days now until Thanksgiving? We have just the thing for you. In tandem with Tomorrow Theater’s first birthday (yea!), PAM CUT has announced PLUS PLUS, a brand-new annual festival that flips the script on the “traditional” film festival. PLUS PLUS is 25 different one-night-only experiences that combine at least two art forms every night. That means: a group drawing session with cartoonist Jack Kent (@sketchypeople) preceding Napoleon Dynamite; a screening of Ratatouille hosted by PDX IG queen @foodiesnitch; a therapy sesh in space with Portland’s premier drag clown Carla Rossi; and a whole lot more. Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division St., 503-221-1156, tomorrowtheater.org. Through Sunday, Dec. 1. Prices vary.
EAT: World Vegan Month
Portland is already a pretty great place to be vegan. So, Portland during World Vegan Month? The city as we know it will transform into something of a vegan paradise…or so we imagine. To celebrate, Veganizer is collabing with 33 different restaurants across Portland to create some truly delicious-sounding vegan concoctions—including Thanksgiving-inspired Detroit-style pizza (insane), black sesame panna cotta, vegan flautas, Venezuelan street-style hot dogs, torched marshmallow lattes, kimchi margaritas, and buffalo cauliflower nachos…just to name a few. Plus, each restaurant will donate a portion of its sales to various food equity and animal welfare groups. Various locations across Portland, wazwu.com. Through Saturday, Nov. 30. Prices vary.
SHOP: Holiday Food and Gift Festival
You know what they say: The early bird gets the…best gifts. And we can almost guarantee that a whole lot of those gift-savvy, early birds will attend this weekend’s Holiday Food and Gift Festival in Hillsboro. One of the largest holiday celebrations in the Northwest, the festival boasts hundreds of vendors selling art, crafts, jewelry, clothing, woodcraft, photography, toys, Christmas décor, and more. Oh, and there’ll be tons of gourmet food, wine and distillery exhibitors to sample from as you peruse; that even the on-time birds can get behind. Westside Commons, 801 NE 34th Ave., 503-643-8299, hfgf.com. 10 am–6 pm Friday–Saturday, 10 am–4 pm Sunday, Nov. 8–10. $8.
GO: Kumoricon
Kumoricon seems sorta like if Comic Con were exclusively centered on anime, Japanese culture and the Pacific Northwesterners who love both of those things. Derived from the Japanese word “cloudy,” Kumoricon, first held in 2003, will celebrate more than two decades, and it’s anticipated to be the biggest festival yet. Attendees can expect: an Anime Music Video contest, an Idol Festival, musical performances by NANO, OR3O and Lollia; dance parties; lip-sync battles; cosplay contests; and KumoriBall: Dungeons and Dancing Soiree. Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., kumoricon.org. 8 am–midnight Friday–Saturday, 8 am–4:30 pm Sunday, Nov. 8–10. Prices vary.
Got an event tip? Email shannon@wweek.com.