More Holiday Events from Forkfly!

December 17, 2010

Yesterday we looked at some Forkfly merchants who are hosting events and specials for the holidays. Today we have even more great things to do in Portland, from holiday displays and parties to cookie classes and an awesome giveaway. Have a great weekend everyone!

The Benson Hotel Gingerbread Display and New Year’s Eve Party

Every year the Benson Hotel has their resident Chief Baker and Architect erect a gingerbread masterpiece. It will be on display in the festive Benson Hotel lobby this season. Take a look at the YouTube video of the unveiling of the gingerbread village. The Benson worked with the Make a Wish foundation for the unveiling and they will be selling Make a Wish stars all month, so stop by to see the display and support a great charity.

The Benson is also hosting an event this season: Copacabana, a Latin Masquerade Gala, will take place on New Year’s Eve. There will be a Brazilian buffet, drinks, dancing, masks, and a balloon drop at midnight. You can buy a package to stay the night or just go for the party: check out this and other holiday special packages here.

Holiday Cookie Classes at In Good Taste

This weekend, Saturday December 18 and Sunday December 19 at 1 pm, In Good Taste hosts two cooking-making workshops. Seats are limited, so call and sign up now. Here is the info page for this cooking class. Looks like both classes will fill up, which means they will meet the maximum cooking capacity of 14 kinds of cookies and 3 dozen cookies to each participant! Learn to make (and come away with) sugar cookies, gingerbread, peanut butter fudge and more. The cookies make great gifts, and the experience would be fun for a couple or parents and kids. Or give this class as a gift to a foodie friend. And remember that In Good Taste is your retail destination for high-end kitchen products as you craft your holiday meals.

Shop Adorn 12 Days of Schwag

Keep on top of the Shop Adorn blog for a chance to win a giveaway now through Christmas! The theme of the giveaway is “keepin’ it local,” and all the prize packages tie in to some great local business. As you know, we at Forkfly have the same priority of encouraging independent and local business, so a high-five to Shop Adorn. So far they have selected winners to receive a massage from Blossom Clinic, an Amalfi’s Restaurant gift card, and a portrait photography session. Today’s giveaway is a barre3 package. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment or retweet Shop Adorn’s blog post, so there’s nothing to lose, just a great holiday treat to gain.

Holiday Events from Forkfly!

December 16, 2010

Our Forkfly merchants are all over the opportunity to host events, dinners and provide special accommodations during the holidays. Today we have event suggestions from our merchants to keep you in the holiday spirit and help you get the most out of what Portland has to offer this time of year.

Holiday Suite at Mark Spencer

The Mark Spencer Hotel offers a special Holiday Suite package that you can recommend to guests (I’m picturing a holiday-sweater-wearing aunt loving this.) The blurb about this special on the website mentions cookies, eggnog, wrapping paper (genius! Of course an out-of-town visitor would need access to wrapping paper!), and seasonal music. The other amenities include continental breakfast, wifi, afternoon tea and cookies and a wine reception. There’s no price listed (the website wants you to “name your price”). This sounds like a real treat — much more festive than your average hotel stay.

Wilfs Winter Wonderland and Holiday Shows

Wilfs is decked out for the holidays and ready to share the spirit of the season with you. Seriously, take a look at the many pictures they’ve posted of their Winter Wonderland. Wilfs always hosts live jazz, so naturally they have some holiday performances lined up. Tomorrow and Friday you can see Kate Davis’ Holiday Show at 6 pm. Take a look at the event calender to see what other shows you might want to catch. And as their website reminds me, Wilfs is a great place to grab dinner before a Blazers game, and you can leave your car near Wilfs and take the MAX to the Rose Garden to avoid parking headaches.

Oregon Zoo’s Zoolights

Zoolights at the Oregon Zoo is an annual event where lighted displays all over the zoo feature animated creatures. “Displays include swinging monkeys, leaping frogs, flying bats, [and] diving penguins,” according to the website. This is a great time to take the Zoo Train around the zoo grounds, as many of the displays are best seen from the train. Zoo Lights is also a time for music and performances, and the zoo hosts performances every night through December 23. Take a look at the performance schedule, and peruse the website for more information on times and ticket prices.

Acadia Bistro Chrismas Eve Reveillon Dinner

Acadia Bistro has a special 3-course dinner for Christmas Eve. I imagine this would be great for a couple spending the holidays with just each other — no cooking at home, a delicious Southern meal and specialty cocktail, and the feeling of celebration that comes with eating a nice meal out. This is not an especially vegetarian-friendly option, but that’s what we expect from authentic Southern cooking. The meal has a $30 set price. Take a look at the menu here.  They also have a special dinner on New Year’s Eve for a more hefty $50/person and with a more extensive menu.

Green Friday with Portland Pedal Power

November 24, 2010

Join Portland Pedal Power and Seven Planet for Green Friday, a sustainability-oriented event with green merchandise, geocaching, a food drive and more!

Portland Pedal Power, a bike-powered delivery service with connections to restaurants and retail stores, can deliver all manner of food and goods, and their partnerships help their affiliates to be more sustainable and locally minded. This organization is also active in the Portland community and involved with events like their upcoming answer to Black Friday, dubbed Green Friday. In partnership with Seven Planet, which is the first green general store chain in the world, Portland Pedal Power brings you a shopping event that will leave you feeling better about the state of your soul and the world than maxing out your credit card at Nordstrom ever does.

From 10 am until 6 pm, Seven Planet on NW 4th and Couch will headquarter the event, while geocaching activities go on around NW. Seven Planet, which began in Idaho, sells organic, sustainable, locally sourced and fully “green” apparel, groceries, health and household products and more. Their products look great, but as you would expect, this stuff is more expensive than what you would find at Fred Meyer. But their amazing 20% discount on everything in the store during the Green Friday event makes it so worthwhile to do some shopping there. Bring in 5 nonperishable food items to donate for the Oregon Food Bank and receive an additional 10% off your purchases, for maximum savings of 30%!

This event is about more than shopping, though. Through the promotional material one can tell how excited Portland Pedal Power is about Friday’s geocaching activity. Geocaching is a treasure hunt using GPS and social media, so if you follow Portland Pedal Power and Seven Planet on Facebook and Twitter, you can see the clues they will publish throughout the day. Be the first to find two Pedal Power bicycles and win prizes! Find Seven Planet on FB here and Portland Pedal Power here.

Have an excellent Thanksgiving tomorrow, and if you feel like shopping on Friday November 26, make it to Seven Planet where you’ll find great savings on high-quality, sustainable and local products. Seven Planet is located at 412 NW Couch St in Portland and the event takes place from 10am to 6pm.

Written by Forkfly intern Eleanor R. Brown

PDX Weekend Happenings: November 12-14

November 12, 2010

Thanksgiving is just a couple weeks away, and while we still have awhile until we commence the stuffing of our faces, food is definitely on all of our minds.  This week is when you really have to start narrowing down your Thanksgiving plans, and in honor of this preparation all of this weekend’s happenings are focused around food.

Make Your Own Cookbook Straight From Your Garden

What: Portland-based artists, gardeners and cooking enthusiasts Lexa Walsh and Nicole Penoncello want to make you a cookbook. Through their program Your Garden Cookbook, they will assess your garden and then make a custom, handmade cookbook designed to utilize your garden’s bounty to its fullest.  I love this idea and it really makes me hunger for my own garden once again.

Event Details: This workshop is FREE; for more details visit their blog.

When: Saturday, November 13; 12pm-2pm

Where: 2505 SE 11th Ave., No. 106

People’s Food Co-op turns 40

What: People’s Co-op is having a birthday party and everyone is invited. You’ll find natural foods, a cake in the shape of the store and a “People’s Co-op through the Ages” presentation. T-shirts bearing the winning design of a T-shirt contest will also be for sale.

Event Details: This is a FREE event.

When: Saturday, November 13; 5pm-8pm

Where: 3029 SE 21st Ave

Portland Opera’s Hansel and Gretel

What: This is not your kids’ Hansel and Gretel.  This show by Engelbert Humperdinck, the German composer,  features a terrifying chorus of cooks, flying food, and murder.

Event Details: $20+; call for full ticket pricing 800-745-3000 .

When: Saturday, November 13; 7:30pm

Where: Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St

Kenny & Zuke’s Thanksgiving Dinner To Go

What: Who wants to really go through all that effort just for one Thanksgiving dinner?  Wouldn’t you rather be enjoying yourself and spending time with family than slaving over your stove all day?  That’s why at Kenny & Zuke’s delicatessen they want to take care of the entire dinner for you!  They’ll be offering turkey stuffed with wild mushrooms, along with sides like cornbread stuffing, twice-baked truffled potatoes and three different pies. Yummy!

Details: Call 222-3354 or visit www.kennyandzukes.com for full menu. Orders must be placed by 3 pm Monday, Nov. 22

Where: Kenny & Zuke’s Delicatessen, 1038 SW Stark St.

You Gotta Try This!: The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

November 3, 2010

So Halloween is behind us and it’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving and those December holidays. This is the time of year where you get to dress up and attend classy cocktail parties, festive and well-thought-out meals, and sophisticated outings to the theater. One such outing should take you to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, where they have been producing great music and entertaining snazzily-dressed concertgoers for thirty-two years.

The orchestra has some sweetly humble beginnings: it started as a group of musical enthusiasts who played together in various groups. They moved up by steps, first becoming the Vancouver Chamber Orchestra than the Vancouver Community Orchestra, as they created a demand for chamber music in their region. String musicians joined the group to form the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and today this professional organization is highly regarded.


This weekend, the symphony has its last regular season performance of the year, featuring two outstanding pianists, Yukiko Akagi of Japan and Alex Alguacil of Spain, pictured here. They will perform together on the Concerto for Two Pianos at Saturday’s 3 pm performance and Sunday’s 7 pm show. Their piece will be followed by the whole orchestra’s performance of Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 and Liszt’s Hungarian Raphsody.

But the really festive concert will take place on December 18. The Big Horn Brass Christmas Show is a “perfect blend of traditional and swinging standards played by sixteen pieces of brass and percussion, and featuring vocalist Valerie Day.”

Another great reason to support this organization is their involvement in the Vancouver community and their dedication to providing opportunities to young musicians. Take advantage of this local treasure and make the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra part of your holiday celebration this year!

Weekend Happenings: October 30-31

October 29, 2010

Halloween weekend has arrived! Although Sunday is not always the best party night, I’m pleased with the opportunity to celebrate all weekend long and I’m pretty sure I can bring myself to stay up a little later Sunday. (What am I saying, this is Portland, we know how to party on a Sunday.) Anyway, for our Weekend Happenings we’ve included some Forkfly Merchant events for your holiday pleasure!

Portland Walking Tours: The Beyond Bizarre Ghost Tour

What: The Portland Walking Tours offers this event every weekend, but Friday and Saturday will be especially appropriate nights to experience the haunted edifices of our fair city. The tour uses real ghost hunting equipment to capture paranormal activity.

When: On Friday, October 29 and Saturday, October 30, tours take place for all ages at 7 pm and for those 18 and over at 10 pm.

Where: Buy tickets here and meet your guide outside Old Town Pizza.

Pearl Animal Hospital Hawl-Loween

What: A Halloween party with snacks, drinks and a pet costume contest!

When: Saturday October 30, 2 pm to 4 pm. Costume contest judging begins at 3 pm.

Where: The Pearl Animal Hospital, 1250 NW 10th Ave.

Annual Pearl District Halloween Hunt Prize Giveaway

What: A scavenger hunt that takes you to many Pearl District businesses, including some Forkfly merchants, to hunt for activities and treats. Get your Halloween Hunt Map stamped at 5 businesses to win a prize!

Event Details: Forkfly affiliates Asula Chiropractic, Oblation Papers, Salt Grotto, Whole Foods and Yo Yo Yogi are participating.

When: Saturday October 30 from 12-4 pm.

Where: Begin at any participating business!

Sixth Annual Tour of Untimely Departures at Lone Fir Cemetery

What: Tour the gorgeous Lone Fir Cemetery to visit residents at their resting places and hear their stories, plus learn about the history of the cemetery.

Event Details: Tickets $10 per adult or $15 for a family with kids under 12. Buy tickets here.

When: Sunday, October 31, 6 pm to 9 pm.

Where: The Lone Fir Cemetery, entrance at SE 26th off Stark.

Costume Party then Vampire Trivia at East Burn

What: On Saturday, attend a Halloween party with a $500 prize for the winner of the costume contest. On Sunday, try your hand at Vampire Trivia.

Event Details: $5 cover for the party Saturday; trivia is free and requires teams of 5 or fewer. Both events are 21+.

When: The party on Saturday, October 30 doesn’t have a start time; things will probably be happening around 9 pm. On Sunday, October 31 trivia begins at 6 pm.

Where: East Burn, 1800 E. Burnside.

PDX Weekend Happenings: October 22-24

October 22, 2010

Get your Halloween fix a week early with more zombie-oriented events than you would expect to find in one city, a punk rock style haunted house with a bar and live bands, and an Audubon event that lets you see some spooky winged creatures up close.

Tease Time: Zombie Halloween Burlesque Show at Tonic Lounge

What: A live show by All the Apparatus, featuring burlesque zombie choreography.

Event Details: $7 admission. Zombie attire is requested of guests, but no worries if you show up unprepared — a zombie transformation station is available!

When: Tonight, Friday October 22. Doors at 8:30 pm, show at 9 pm for those 21+. For minors, All the Apparatus will play a show street-side at 8:30 pm.

Where: Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy.

The 6th Annual Portland Zombie Walk

What: A gathering of costumed, Halloween-and-horror-movie-loving Portlanders ready to terrorize our fair streets. The Thriller Dance will also be performed. Participants and photographers/gawkers welcome.

Event Details: Free!

When: Saturday, October 23. Gathering and photo op at 3:30 pm; Thriller dance at 4; walk begins after dance.

Where: Pioneer Courthouse Square.

The Blood Shack Haunted House

What: A haunted house, plus much more. The Blood Shack has live music on the weekends, a beer garden, hot Hammy’s pizza, horror movies playing and horror-themed pinball.

Event Details: $10 admission. Tiny’s Coffee is providing free coffee for designated drivers on the weekends. This is an adult-oriented event.

When: 8 pm to 1 am Friday through Sunday. The house will be open through next weekend.

Where: 55 SE 11th and Ankeny.


Night Flight 2010 with Audubon Society

What: See owls, vultures and ravens, and take a night walk around the beautiful Audubon Society grounds.

Event Details: $12.50 for the first person per group, $10 for each person after that. Register online or call 503-292-6855 to reserve your spot and schedule you night walk. This event is recommended for kids 5-12 years old.

When: Saturday, October 23 from 5pm to 8:30 pm.

Where: The Audubon Society, 5151 NW Cornell Road.

PDX Weekend Happenings: October 16-17

October 15, 2010

Do you have children, or access to children? They’ve been in school for a while now and they deserve a fun outing this weekend just as much as you do. So today we have for you a list of great weekend events, in descending order of child-friendliness.

Apple Tasting at Portland Nursery

What: The Portland Nursery hosts its 23rd annual apple tasting this weekend. Apples and pears (and juice and ice cream concoctions) will be available to sample. Vendors, live music, a scarecrow contest and free admission make this a very family-friendly fall staple.

When: Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17 from 10 am to 5 pm.

Where: The Portland Nursery, at 5050 SE Stark St.

Portland Open Studios Tour

What: The Tour is an annual self-directed tour of 100 artists’ studios. Observe the process of many kinds of artistic creation, from painting to glassblowing, weaving, sculpting and beyond. Get kids thinking creatively and learning about artistic possibilities with this tour, which is free for those under 18.

Event Details: $15 buys you 2 adult tickets, a map and directions to the studios, and pictures of the artwork produced at each stop so you can decide what you want to see. Tickets cover both days.

When: Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17, 10 am to 5 pm.

Where: 100 locations all around Portland.

Rose City Roller Derby Match: Wheels of Justice vs. Windy City Rollers


What: A smackdown on wheels, featuring two of the highest-ranked teams in the West and North Central regions. Roller derby is one of few female-dominated sports; watching a match may be the perfect confidence boost for an adolescent girl.

Event Details: $14 admission, free parking.

When: Saturday October 16. Doors open at 5 pm, match from 6 pm to about 8:30 pm.

Where: The Hangar at Oaks Park, 7805 SE Oaks Park Way.

The Vampires of Fright Town to hold Twilight Book Burning

What: Apparently the vampires at Portland’s award-winning haunted house FrightTown are pretty upset with Stephanie Meyer for portraying vampires as sparkly brooding teenage poster boys. As a diehard Buffy fan, I can’t say I’m please either, but I don’t know about resorting to book burning. In any case, this is happening, and while it’s probably best to leave the little ones at home, teenagers might enjoy the event.

Event Details: The haunted houses are $20, but I don’t know if you need haunted house tickets to attend the event.

When: Saturday October 16 at 8:30 pm.

Where: On the Commons of the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

PDX Weekend Happenings: October 9-10

October 8, 2010

Halloween is on its way, and there’s no avoiding the horror-themed events going on around our fair city these days (not that we would want to!) This weekend we have only one Halloween-specific event on the list, but get that costume ready, because two other events offer ticket discounts if you show up dressed for the season.

The Portland Hallowe’en Bazaar

What: The Bazaar is an all-ages community event featuring a free craft zone, a hearse and creepy car show, live performances from the cast of Uncle Eerie’s (Midnight) Shiver Show, Monster Burlesque and more!

Event Details: $5 admission, free for kids under 18.

When: Sunday October 10, noon to 6 pm.

Where: Oaks Park Giant Bazaar Tent at Oaks Park Amusement Park, 7805 SE Oaks Park Way.

Wordstock Festival

What: Wordstock is an annual book and literary festival put on by the nonprofit organization Wordstock, which promotes writing in schools and communities. The Book Fair and writer’s workshops take place this weekend.

Event Details: The Book Fair is $7 for one day or $10 for both. Look here for prices on writing workshops, which take place at the same time and place as the fair, and to see other Wordstock events.

When: October 9 and 10, 10 am to 6 pm.

Where: The Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.

Stage Production of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

What: A stage production of Joss Whedon’s excellent film Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, produced by Blue Monkey Theater Company.

Event Details: Tickets are $10 in advance and $10 at the door if you come in costume. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay $15 at the door. So bust out that Halloween costume early and get your discount!

When: The show runs through October 23 on Fridays and Saturdays (so if you catch it this weekend, Saturday the 9th.) 8 pm.

Where: Ethos at IFCC, the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. The address is 5340 N Interstate Ave.

The 4th Annual Hero/Villain Ceasefire

What: A party with live music, contests and games to benefit p:ear, a youth mentoring organization that operates right down the street from the Forkfly office, so it’s a cause close to our hearts.

Event Details: $10 admission, $7 if you come in costume. The Alter Egos Society asks that you come as an original hero or villain, not a character from movies or comics.

When: Saturday, October 9 at 8 pm.

Where: Paradise Studio, 826 SE Belmont St.

Written by Forkfly intern Eleanor Brown

PDX Weekend Happenings: October 1-3

October 1, 2010

It is officially October, and that means the official start of the haunting season.  It is now “socially” acceptable for you to wear a costume every day to work up until Halloween, and your boring office decor can now be transformed into the Deathly Hallows or a scene from Dexter.  In honor of my favorite month, here are some spooky events to start you off right!

Portland Halloween Group Art Show

What: This is the second year Redux is doing the Halloween group art show.  This year’s theme is entitled: “Skulls and Crossbones”. Sweet treats & wine will be served until 9pm. DJ-man is spinning Hallows hits starting at 7pm!

Event Details: The show runs Oct 1st- Oct 31st.

When: First Friday, October 1; 6pm-9pm

Where: Redux, 811 East Burnside #110

Lompoc Brewers Portland Halloween Seasonal Beer Release – “Monster Mash” Imperial Porter

What: The Monster Mash Bash is to celebrate the release of Lompoc Brewers’ newest beer an Imperial Porter called Monster Mash, which has strong chocolate and roast flavors and a touch of red fruit.  It will be available on draft and in 22 oz. bottles at all Lompoc locations and in select stores.  The Monster Mash Bash will also highlight ’09 Bourbon Barrel Aged Monster Mash, and The Lompoc brewers will be doing the mash at the release party, so you don’t want to miss that :)

When: Friday, October 1; 4pm-10pm

Where: Sidebar, 3901 N. Williams

The Tempest

What: Enjoy a classic haunted tale The Tempest, as the Clackamas Repertory Theatre visits Shakespeare’s haunted island, with Tobias Andersen as the sorcerer Prospero.

Event Details: Tickets cost $12-$22

When: Opens Friday, October 1 and closes October 10;  7:30 pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2:30 pm Sundays

Where: Clackamas Repertory Theatre, 19600 Molalla Ave., Oregon City

H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival

What: The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival promotes the works of H.P. Lovecraft, literary horror, and weird tales through the cinematic adaptations by professional and amateur filmmakers. This year’s guests include author Caitlín R. Kiernan, editor Ellen Datlow, direct Stuart Gordon, and a cast of 1000′s.

Event Details: Tickets prices vary so check out the box office site here.

When: October 1-3

Where: The Hollywood Theatre

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