Around the Sun: A Blog About Saving Money in Portland, Oregon, and beyond

Free Events This Weekend in Portland: April 11–13

April 11th, 2008

To celebrate the balmy weather we’ll be having (fingers crossed), this weekend’s round-up has a few outdoor events, a solar energy workshop, and a chef from Maui.

Admission is free for all events below. Have a great weekend!

Friday, April 11

• Courtney Jones (alternative/pop/acoustic) will perform at Edgefield at 7:00 pm. Ages 21 and older. For details, visit the Edgefield website. 

• Cowboy Heroes will perform at Rock Creek Tavern at 9:00 pm. All ages until 10:00 pm. For more information, visit the Rock Creek Tavern website.

• Pearl District (jazz) will perform at Borders in Vancouver at 7:00 pm. For details, visit the Borders website.

• Will Coca will perform at Borders in Beaverton at 7:00 pm. For more information, visit the Borders website.

• Miss Michael Jodell (country/jazz/pop) will perform at Press Club at 8:00 pm. Press Club is located at 2621 SE Clinton St., 503.233.5656.     

• Author Gary Moore will talk about his book Playing With the Enemy at 7:30 pm at Powell’s City of Books on Burnside. For more information, visit the Powell’s website.

• Author Peter F. Hamilton will talk about his book The Dreaming Void at 7:00 pm at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing. For more information, visit the Powell’s website.

Saturday, April 12

• Green Week Kick-off Event: The Tualatin Youth Advisory Council is sponsoring a week-long event starting with this opening celebration at The Pointe at Bridgeport (across from Bridgeport Village) from noon to 3:00 pm. Community organizations and businesses will share information on how to reduce our impact on the environment. There will also be food, music, games and recycled crafts. Area businesses will be handing out coupons and freebies. The Washington County Bicycle Transportation Coalition will be giving free bike inspections. For more information, visit the City of Tualatin website.

• Critter Count: The Water Resource Education Center in Vancouver will teach you how to identify reptiles and amphibians, and then send you out with an experienced biologist to help find and document these creatures. The information will be fed into a statewide internet database, NatureMapping, maintained by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the University of Washington. Bring boots, warm clothes, your lunch and binoculars (if you have them). Snacks, drinks, field guides and equipment will be provided. 9:00 am. Visit the Water Resource Center website for more information on the expedition.

• Tualatin Hills Nature Park is hosting an Earth Day celebration. The theme is Wildflowers: Backyard and Beyond. Go for a walk in the wildflowers and learn about native plants and gardening through activities and displays. 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. For more information, click here.

• Día de los Niños y Día de los Libros: A Celebration of Bilingual Literacy: Midland Library is hosting this event featuring a visit by author Pat Mora, as well as food, music and special activities. 1:00 pm–5:00 pm. For more information, visit the Multnomah County Library website. 

• Columbia Children’s Arboretum is celebrating the addition of new bridges and 1,780 new trees. There’ll be tours, children’s activities, giveaways, and speeches by local leaders. 10:00 am to noon. Details here.

• Healthy Kids Day and Open House at the Clark County Family YMCA: Admission will be free all day, with special activities from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm including an underwater Easter egg hunt, obstacle courses, crafts, family games, vendors and demonstrations. For more information, visit the YMCA website.  

• It’s Second Saturday at the Water Resources Education Center in Vancouver. This month’s theme is Reptiles as Pets - What You Need to Know. Kids and their families will explore this topic through hands-on activities, games and stories. 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. For more information, visit the Water Resources Center website.  

• Delectable Designs with Cupcake Jones, Central Library, 2:00 pm: Learn about the origins of foods like vanilla and chocolate found in this year’s Every Family Reads book, Yum! ¡Mmmm! ¡Qué Rico!, by Pat Mora. Then you’ll get the chance to decorate your own cupcake. Recommended for ages 5 and up. Space at this program is limited. Free tickets for seating will be available 30 minutes prior to the program. For more information, visit the Multnomah County Library website.

• Guitarist Ronnie Robins (Brazilian, samba) will perform at Woodstock Library at 2:00 pm. For more information, visit the Multnomah County Library website.

• Canoe (indie folk/rock) will perform at Borders in Gresham at 7:00 pm. Visit the Borders website for more information.

• Courtney Jones (alternative/pop/acoustic) will perform at Borders in Tigard at 7:00 pm. For details, visit the Borders website.

• Lincoln Crockett (folk rock/bluegrass/acoustic) will perform at Edgefield at 7:00 pm. Ages 21 and older. For more information, visit the Edgefield website.

• Red Rubber Band (jam band/nu-jazz/rock) will perform at Rock Creek Tavern at 9:00 pm. All ages until 10:00 pm. Visit the Rock Creek Tavern website for details.

• Pete Krebs Gypsy Jazz Trio will perform at Press Club at 8:00 pm. Press Club is located at 2621 SE Clinton St., 503.233.5656.      

• The Shackeltons will perform at Music Millennium at 6:00 pm. For more information, visit the Music Millennium website.

Sunday, April 13

• Basics of Going Solar Workshop: Learn how even Puddletown residents can benefit from solar energy. Tryon State Park (Kraft Room), 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Visit the Solar Oregon website for more information.

• Hip Drip Cafe’s 2nd Sunday Sustainability Fair is happening from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Swing Papillion (gypsy, jazz trio) will be performing. Local artisans will show off art made from recycled or renewable resources, and representatives from businesses that use sustainable practices will be on hand to talk about what they do. This event happens every second Sunday of the month. Visit the Hip Drip Cafe website for more information.    

• Crafty Wonderful, Portland’s monthly art and craft fair, is celebrating its second birthday. There’ll be cupcake decorating for all to enjoy, prizes and 40 vendors. Doug Fir Lounge, 11:00 am–4:00 pm. Visit the Crafty Wonderful website for more information.

• Guitarist Bryan Johanson will perform at the Central Library at 2:00 pm. Visit the Multnomah County Library website for more information.

• Ken Kesey and Other Great Notions—A Book Discussion: David Sumner, director of Linfield College’s Writing program, and Wendy Willis, Social Sustainability program manager at Oregon Solutions, will lead a discussion of Ken Kesey’s novel Sometimes A Great Notion. Central Library, 2:00 pm–4:00 pm. For more information, visit the Multnomah County Library website.

• Author William Sullivan is giving two presentations today. First, he will talk about his book Oregon’s Greatest Natural Disasters at the World Forestry Center, Cheatham Hall, at 12:00 pm. For details, visit the WFC website. Then he will present a slide show of some of the best hikes in Northwest Oregon at St. Johns Library, 3:30 pm. Sullivan is the author of 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington. For more information, visit the Multnomah County Library website.

• Maui chef Brian Igarta will be dishing up recipes from his book The Maui Vegetarian: Cooking with Aloha at Borders in Beaverton, 1:00 pm. For more information, visit the Borders website. 

• The film Double Indemnity will be showing at Press Club at 8:00 pm. Press Club is located at 2621 SE Clinton St., 503.233.5656.      

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.

Other articles from Around the Sun:

• August 14, 2007 -- “…making a big fuss out of an adult shopping in a junior’s section”
• October 9, 2008 -- Around the Sun Turns Two
• June 8, 2007 -- My New Money-Saving (and Fat-Busting) Game

Entry Filed under: Art, Books, Children, Classes, Entertainment, Environment, Events, Food, Free, Frugal living, Kids, Literature, Movies, Music, Portland, Workshops