After reading about the Polish Festival over at Portland Food, Restaurant, and Market Guide, I couldn’t get the idea of sweet pierogi(pierogi z owocami) out of my mind. So having a little free time on Saturday, I ventured over to North Portland to try what sounded like a delicious treat.
I found parking easily and for free in the nearby Kaiser Permanente parking structure, then headed straight over to the food area of the festival. I needed tokens to buy food, so I bought $10 worth of tokens (1 token = $1). I planned to spend the whole lot, but it was comforting to know that I could convert the tokens back into cash if I wanted to.
The festival was packed, with long lines at all the food booths (it was lunchtime after all). The sweet pierogi line went pretty quickly though, and in a few minutes I had 3 steamy dumplings, one each of cherry, strawberry and sweet cheese. I really liked them! Especially with the sour cream on top. Each was $1.
I also got potato pancakes, which were amazing ($4). Who would have thought that potato, applesauce and sour cream could go so well together?
Usually I’m all about the food at a festival like this, but I’d say that I enjoyed the entertainment even more. There were non-stop performances by a few different dance troops while I was there. I loved the costumes and the variety of dances and performers, from small children to adults. Here are a few pictures:
There were also booths selling a variety of items, including this man selling medieval-style weaponry.
I highly recommend checking out the festival. It runs today (Sunday, Sept 30) from noon to 6:00 pm. Try to get there by 12:30 to catch Polonez and Polskie Orly, two dance groups from Canada that I enjoyed watching. And I must warn you that the pierogi booth sells only sweet pierogi. If you want potato pierogi, you must go to the food court. The signage is vague, and it’s easy to get in the wrong line.
Update: Get all the details on the Polish Festival at Portland Restaurant and Market Guide.
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Admission is free for all of these events:
Friday, September 28
The Free Baby Expo is taking place all weekend at the Oregon Convention Center. The event features birth and parenting seminars, fashion shows, a film festival, exhibits and more. Friday 9/28: 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Saturday 9/29: 9:00 am to 6:30 pm. Sunday 9/30: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information, visit www.freebabyexpo.com.
Beth Willis will be performing at Edgefield at 7:00 pm. Ages 21 and older. For more information, visit the Edgefield website.
The Dead Beetles will be performing at Rock Creek Tavern at 9:00 pm. All ages until 10:00 pm. For more information, visit the Rock Creek Tavern website.
Dick Dale will be performing at Music Millennium at 6:00 pm. For more information, visit the Music Millennium website.
Greil Marcus will be talking about his book “The Shape of Things to Come” at 7:30 pm at Powell’s City of Books on Burnside. Visit the Powell’s website for more information.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker (The Color Purple) will be talking about her latest book “Why War Is Never a Good Idea” at 7:00 pm at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing. Visit the Powell’s website for more information.
Saturday, September 29
The Love Rally is taking place at Pioneer Courthouse Square. According to the Willamette Week, “The Love Rally is a daylong party highlighting various issues, from environmental health to the suffering of Uganda’s children. The festival will include tons of vendors and nonprofits, a screening and discussion of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, speakers like mayoral wannabe Sam Adams and an influx of clipboard-toting campaigners.” 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
Critically-acclaimed, award-winning concert pianist Eldred Marshall will perform “Pathetique” at 8:00 pm at the Portland Community Music Center, located at 3350 SE Francis Street. This is part of Marshall’s 8-concert series in which he’ll attempt to play the entire series of piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven from memory. The recitals will take place throughout September, October, November and December of 2007. The events are free, but donations are welcomed and encouraged. For more information, click here.
The 25th Annual Teddy Bear Parade and SecondAnnual Bike Safety Fair will be taking place in historic downtown Gresham. According to Gresham Outlook, “The 25th Annual Teddy Bear Parade, presented by Soroptimist International of Gresham, will roll through historic downtown Gresham from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 29. The parade will form at Fifth Street and Main Avenue at the East Hill Church and will feature floats from local merchants, service organizations, schools, neighborhood groups and individuals. As always, participants will be carrying teddy bears or will be dressed in bear costumes. In addition to the parade, the second Annual Bike Safety Fair will also be held in historic downtown Gresham at the parade’s start/finish line. Valet parking will be available for all cyclists—and the first 600 people in attendance will receive free bicycle helmets. A prize wheel will also be set up, with prizes given out throughout the morning. As a grand prize, Shiloh Cyclery Ltd. will be giving away a free new bike.” More information can be found here.
The Portland Boathouse River Parade of light watercraftwill be paddling down the Willamette River from the Ross Island to the Steele Bridge starting at 10:00 am. Following the parade will be an open house at 1515 SE Water Avenue (on the Eastbank Esplanade) to include: tours of Portland Boathouse’s newly remodeled space, boat demos including dragon boats, food, erg races, music and educational displays. For more information, visit the Willamette Riverkeeper website.
The Free Baby Expo is taking place all weekend at the Oregon Convention Center. The event features birth and parenting seminars, fashion shows, a film festival, exhibits and more. Friday 9/28: 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Saturday 9/29: 9:00 am to 6:30 pm. Sunday 9/30: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information, visit www.freebabyexpo.com.
Eric John Kaiser will be performing at Edgefield at 7:00 pm. Ages 21 and older. For more information, visit the Edgefield website.
Rich Mans’ Burden will be performing at Rock Creek Tavern at 9:00 pm. All ages until 10:00 pm. For more information, visit the Rock Creek Tavern website.
Tina S. Marie Band will be performing at Music Millennium at 5:00 pm. For more information, visit the Music Millennium website.
The Portland Rock Gym will be hosting its annual Ice Festival from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm. There will be an ice climbing competition starting at 5:00 pm, a slideshow of Denali by photographer Mark Westman, and free beer. You’ll also get the chance to try out ice gear and enter to win gear in a raffle benefiting the Save Hyalite Canyon organization. For more information, visit the Portland Rock Gym website.
Sunday, September 30
It’s the Hotel deLuxe’s Sunday Movie Night. “Film Geek” will be playing. The Screening Room, located off the hotel lobby, opens at 6:00 pm, the movie begins at 6:30 pm. RSVP to 503.219.2093. For more information, visit the Hotel deLuxe’s website.
Critically-acclaimed, award-winning concert pianist Eldred Marshall will perform “Tempest” at 4:00 pm at the Portland Community Music Center, located at 3350 SE Francis Street. This is part of Marshall’s 8-concert series in which he’ll attempt to play the entire series of piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven from memory. The recitals will take place throughout September, October, November and December of 2007. The events are free, but donations are welcomed and encouraged. For more information, click here.
The Free Baby Expo is taking place all weekend at the Oregon Convention Center. The event features birth and parenting seminars, fashion shows, a film festival, exhibits and more. Friday 9/28: 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Saturday 9/29: 9:00 am to 6:30 pm. Sunday 9/30: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information, visit www.freebabyexpo.com.
The 2007Walk for Unity and Community Fair will be happening in Beaverton. The Walk for Unity is a free 3-mile walk, which starts at 2:00 pm at Beaverton City Park, 4950 SW Watson Avenue. The Community Fair begins at 1:15 pm and includes kids’ activities, informational tables and a special presentation of Mexican culture and dance by Ballet Papalotl. Click here for more information.
Ron Hughes will be performing at Edgefield at 5:00 pm. Ages 21 and older. For more information, visit the Edgefield website.
Boy Eats Drum Machine, Jared Mees and Ali Wesley will be performing at Towne Lounge at 9:30 pm. Doors open at 9:00 pm. Ages 21 and older. For more information, visit the Towne Lounge website.
If you know of any other free events happening this weekend, please write a comment about it. If you’d like me to include an event in a future round-up, feel free to contact me.
I got an email from HSBC saying that the interest rate on my savings account has dropped from 5.05% to 4.50%.
I also have an Emigrant account that I emptied years ago but didn’t close. Now Emigrant has a higher rate than HSBC. I’m going to move my money over there.
I like using the HSBC website more than the Emigrant website, though. Hopefully, HSBC will get their rate back up again soon!
MAX downtown will not be running this weekend due to construction on SW 6th avenue by Pioneer Courthouse Square. The Portland Mall project is actually kicking off the outage with another milestone party on Friday night. See, they need to make the cross connections so the north/southbound tracks intersect with the east/westbound tracks. We had a similar weekend in July for the 5th street connections.
So, if you are heading downtown, give yourself some extra time and check out TriMet’s page for route suggestions.
Download an Admission Card from the website. This card is valid for free admission for you and one guest; one card per household. (General admission only. Does not include entry to special exhibits or IMAX screenings.)
On the last Wednesday of each month from September through May, St. Johns Cinema and Pub will be hosting Portland Community Cinema, a series of movies and panel discussions on a variety of social issues.
The Church of Craft and The 100th Monkey Studio are sponsoring a big art and craft swap on October 7 in Portland. This is a great opportunity to cleanse your creative space of unwanted art and craft supplies and pick up some inspiring, new-to-you materials.
Here are the details from Sister Diane, Church of Craft organizer:
Admission: Bring any craft supplies you want to swap, and a $5.00 donation for 100th Monkey’s Art Scholarship Fund.
What happens: You’ll drop off your stuff at the entrance, and then head inside. You will receive an empty bag, and you can take any materials you can use from the swap tables.
Guidelines on what to bring:
This swap is for yarns, beads, buttons, papers, rubber stamps, fabrics, sewing notions, art/craft books, paints, drawing materials, and anything else that relates directly to making art or crafts.
Please don’t bring discarded items that could be “reclaimed” into other projects. We’re big fans of reclaimed materials, but they aren’t the best items for this kind of swap. (But you might consider donating them to SCRAP instead.)
Fabrics must be at least 1/2 yard. Please do not bring smaller scraps, or finished or half-finished garments.
Intel Corporation and KGW invite Oregonians to recycle their too slow, too old, unwanted electronics on September 22nd.
People may bring entire computer systems to recycle, including peripherals, desktop and laptop computers, keyboards, mice and monitors. TVs, phones, DVDs and other electronics will also be disposed of at Intel’s Hawthorn Farm Campus in Hillsboro.
A shredding truck will be on site for paper waste.
The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 22nd at Intel’s Hawthorn Farm, located at 5200 NE Elam Young Parkway in Hillsboro.
Items accepted for recycling:
•TVs
•VCRs
•Computer monitors and CPUs
•Phones
•Cellular phones/PDAs/pagers
•Inkjet/printer cartridges
•Keyboards/mice
•Rechargeable batteries
•Scanners, printers and fax machines
Items not accepted:
•Microwaves
•Smoke detectors
•Air conditioners
•Major household appliances
Most items will be recycled at no charge. There is a $5 fee for each computer monitors and televisions up to 27. Monitors and Televisions greater than 27 inches will not be accepted.
Join the Zimbabwe Artists Project (ZAP) as they celebrate their new space at 107 SE Washington Street, Suite 162. ZAP helps women in rural Weya in eastern Zimbabwe become economically self-sufficient through education, sale of their art in the US, and special projects. All art will be 10% off from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm. There will be a special program from 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm to honor ZAP supporters followed by an evening of music by Njuzu Mbira. For more information, click here.
Joshua Slamp will be performing at Edgefield at 7:00 pm. Ages 21 and over. For more information, visit the Edgefield website.
Scraff Orser Trio will be performing at Rock Creek Tavern at 9:00 pm. All ages until 10:00 pm. For more information, visit the Rock Creek Tavern website.
Saturday, September 22
Doug Fir Lounge will be hosting Fall Fir Fest, a free fall outdoor music & art extravaganza. Derby, Boy Eats Drum Machine, and The Sort Ofs will perform. There will also be a fall fashion runway show by Sameunderneath & Johnny Sole, as well as arts and crafts booths organized by Crafty Wonderful. The event will take place on the outdoor Jupiter/Doug Fir patio from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Ages 21 and over. For more information, click here.
The 13th AnnualDoveLewis Dogtoberfest will be happening at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub (915 SE Hawthorne) from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. The event will feature musical performances by Outpost, Back Porch Revival, and Macadam. For a $5 donation, local TV and radio personalities will wash your dog. Every washed dog gets a free gift from IKEA while supplies last. The money will be donated to the DoveLewis Blood Bank, which is one of the largest volunteer-based blood banks in America. For more information, click here.
The Oregon College of Art & Craft will be celebrating its 100th birthday with a family-friendly event featuring fun and interactive activities for all ages, including face painting, hands-on art and craft activities, an alumni art sale, lively entertainment, OCAC memorabilia for purchase, and free food and beverages. The event will take place at the OCAC campus (8245 SW Barnes Road) from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. For more information, click here. (Thanks to DIY Alert for the heads up!)
The 4th Annual Ukrainian Fall Festival will be held from 10:00 am until 9:00 pm on the grounds of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church at 8014 SE 16th Avenue in Sellwood. All are invited to this family-friendly event featuring musical entertainment, cultural displays, children’s activities, and ethnic foods including borscht, varenyky (perogies), sausage, and desserts. For more information, click here.
The Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival offers a weekend full of demonstrations, livestock shows, seminars and kids’ activities. Clackamas County Fairgrounds, 694 N.E. 4th Avenue, Canby. 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information, visit www.flockandfiberfestival.com. (Thanks to DIY Alert for the heads up!)
The Guild of Oregon Woodworkers and the Pacific Northwest Woodturning Guild will be demonstrating their processes and techniques at the Museum of Contemporary Craft (724 NW Davis Street) from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. For more information, visit www.contemporarycrafts.org. (Thanks to DIY Alert for the heads up!)
The Willamette Falls Locks in West Linn will be hosting a family-friendly history festival. Watch antique boats; make some paper; see the 134-year-old locks in action. Food, music, and fun! 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information, visit www.willamettefalls.org.
Eddie Parente Duo will be performing at Edgefield at 7:00 pm. Ages 21 and over. For more information, visit the Edgefield website.
Jack McMahon Band will be performing at Rock Creek Tavern at 9:00 pm. All ages until 10:00 pm. For more information, visit the Rock Creek Tavern website.
Tonight is the first concert in an 8-concert series by critically-acclaimed, award-winning 26-year-old California-based concert pianist Eldred Marshall. Over the course of 8 concerts, Marshall will perform the entire series of piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven from memory. The recitals will take place throughout September, October, November and December of 2007. All performances will be held at the Portland Community Music Center, located at 3350 SE Francis Street. The events are free, but donations are welcomed and encouraged. 8:00 pm. For more information, click here.
Sunday, September 23
McMenamins’ Oktoberfest & Plant Sale will be happening at Edgefield starting at 11:00 am. Tons of bands will be performing, including The Renegade Saints, Ashleigh Flynn & Killdeer, Mary Flower, The Quick & Easy Boys, Sassparilla Jug Band, Midnight Serenaders, Julie McCarl & Friends, and The High Five Fun Times Band. There will also be a plant sale, McMenamins Oktoberfest Ale, German food & drink specials, balloon twisting, and more. All ages (except Winery). For a detailed schedule of events, go to the Edgefield website.
The Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival offers a weekend full of demonstrations, livestock shows, seminars and kids’ activities. Clackamas County Fairgrounds, 694 N.E. 4th Avenue, Canby. 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. For more information, visit www.flockandfiberfestival.com.
Critically-acclaimed, award-winning 26-year-old California-based concert pianist Eldred Marshall will perform “Waldstein” at 4:00 pm at the Portland Community Music Center, located at 3350 SE Francis Street. This is part of Marshall’s 8-concert series in which he’ll attempt to play the entire series of piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven from memory. The recitals will take place throughout September, October, November and December of 2007. The events are free, but donations are welcomed and encouraged. For more information, click here.
If you know of any other free events happening this weekend, please write a comment about it. If you’d like me to include an event in a future round-up, feel free to contact me.
