In my roundup of New Year’s Eve freebies, I forgot to mention that the lights on Peacock Lane will be on from 6:00 pm to midnight. It’s also the last night, so if you’ve been meaning to go, go!
I went last night for the first time in my 15 years as a Portland resident. I liked it. My recommendation would be to walk through, rather than drive. I walked, and I can’t imagine that driving would be as much fun. With walking, you can stop at a house that interests you and take pictures or just take it in. The street is short, and there were a lot of little kids walking around. Finding parking nearby was no problem, though I’m not sure how it will be on New Year’s Eve.
If you’re interested, you can see my pictures below or at Flickr.
For more information on Peacock Lane, visit the official website.
All TriMet service will be free on New Year’s Eve after 8:00 pm. Buses, the Streetcar and the Red MAX line will run on regular schedules. Yellow and Blue MAX lines will have special late-night service. For schedules and details, check the TriMet website.
Free (No Cover) Events
For kids:
Kids Party at Borders: Bring the whole family to Borders on New Year’s Eve afternoon to celebrate the countdown to 2009. The party starts at 2:00 pm. There’ll be games, crafts, and a special parade to celebrate the holiday. Check Border’s store locator for information on the store nearest you.
For adults (sorted by venue):
Beulahland: DJ Atom 13, midnight champagne toast, and much fun. 118 NE 28th Ave, 9:00 pm. Ages 21+. For more information, visit the event website.
Cornelius Pass Roadhouse:Old Elbows will perform. 4045 NW Cornelius Pass Rd, Hillsboro, 9:00 pm. Ages 21+. For more information, visit the event website.
Edgefield:Lincoln Crockett & Lucky Finn will perform in the Winery at 7:00 pm. The Quick & Easy Boys will perform in the Theater at 9:00 pm. Ages 21+. 2126 SW Halsey St, Troutdale. For more information, visit the event website.
Kelly’s Olympian: Dance party with DJs Teenage and Koto. 426 SW Washington, 10:00 pm. Ages 21+. For more information, visit the event website.
Kennedy School:Freak Mountain Ramblers will perform in the Gym at 9:00 pm. Ages 21+. 5736 NE 33rd Ave. For more information, visit the event website.
Pix Patisserie: Free chocolate buffet to the first 100 guests at each store who purchase a beverage. Pix staff will be handing out tickets starting at 11:00 pm to all beverage customers until the tickets are gone. Get there early. All stores open until 1:00 am. For more information, visit the event website.
Rock Creek Tavern: Wildseed will perform at 9:00 pm. All ages until 10:00 pm. 10000 NW Old Cornelius Pass Rd, Hillsboro. For more information, visit the event website.
At least one good thing happened during snowmageddon. I got a $60 discount from Comcast.
About a week ago, I received an email from Qwest, offering a low introductory rate on Internet service. I called my Internet provider, Comcast, to see if they would match it.
The call went something like this:
Me: Hi, I got an email from Qwest offering Internet service for $24.99 for 12 months. Can you match that?
Comcast rep: No.
Me: Okay. Do you have any promotions going on?
Comcast rep: Let me check your account … I can give you $10 off for six months.
Me: Okay. Thanks.
That was it. Five minutes, $60 in my pocket.
I also asked whether I could get a discount on my cable TV bill, but the rep said no. I have analog cable, and there are no discounts right now for that type of service.
If you’re a long-time reader of this blog, you know I’ve gotten discounts twice before. The first time, I saved $108. The second time, $113. My savings were not as good this time, but for my effort, $60 is just fine.
Have you ever asked your cable TV or Internet provider to lower your rates? What was your experience?
Admission is free for all events below. Please contact appropriate event organizers or venues for weather-related cancellations. Have a great weekend!
All weekend
Peacock Lane: The lights will be on from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm each day. Peacock Lane is between SE Stark St and SE Belmont St and one block east of SE 39th. For more information, visit the event website.
Friday, December 26
John Vecchiarelli will perform at East Burn (1800 E. Burnside St) at 10:00 pm. For more information, visit the event website.
John Bunzow (website) will perform at Edgefield at 7:00 pm. Ages 21+. For more information, visit the Edgefield website.
Beth Willis & Todd C. (website) 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.
Saturday, December 27
Kwanzaa Celebration: Learn more about the meaning of Kwanzaa and share your stories: ones you’ve heard, ones you’ve made up, ones passed down from your family. Featuring fabric art by renowned artist Adriene Cruz. Light refreshments will be served. North Portland Library (512 N. Killingsworth St), 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. For more information, visit the event website.
Winter Craft Time at Beaverton Library: Winter Craft Time is for children in kindergarten through 5th grade. You can drop by any time between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm and create something fun to take home. 12375 SW 5th St. For more information, visit the event website.
Blair St. Mugwumps (website) will perform at East Burn (1800 E. Burnside St) at 10:00 pm. For more information, visit the event website.
Miss Michael Jodell, Matt Brown & Co. (website) will perform at Press Club at 8:30 pm. Press Club is located at 2621 SE Clinton St, 503.233.5656.
J*Malem (website) will perform at Edgefield at 7:00 pm. Ages 21+. For more information, visit the Edgefield website.
Reina Collins & The Saloonatics (website) 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.
“Kung Fu Panda” will be showing at Camas Library (625 NE 4th Ave) at 3:00 pm. Popcorn served. For more information, visit the event website.
Sunday, December 28
Progression (Hosted by Ben Darwish): Progression is what every other jam session isn’t. Original compositions, odd time signatures, free form improvisation, and no rules. Every last Sunday at The Someday Lounge (125 NW 5th Ave), 8:00 pm. For more information, visit the event website.
Jack McMahon (website) will perform at Edgefield at 5:00 pm. Ages 21+. For more information, visit the Edgefield website.
“A Christmas Story” will be showing at Press Club at 9:00 pm. Press Club is located at 2621 SE Clinton St, 503.233.5656.
“Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas” will be showing at Tigard Library (13125 SW Hall Blvd) at 1:30 pm. For more information, visit the event website.
Author John Galligan will talk about his book “The Clinch Knot” at Murder by the Book (3210 SE Hawthorne Blvd) at 5:00 pm. For more information, visit the event 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, please contact me.
I hope you are enjoying the holiday season. Thank you for all you do to support this blog: by reading, offering suggestions, and spreading the word. Let’s save lots of money in 2009.
On December 24, Peet’s Coffee will be giving away complimentary cups of brewed coffee and tea.
In addition to passing out drinks, Peet’s employees will give people the opportunity to donate to a local charity. Each store has chosen a different charity, and Peet’s will match up to $1,000 in donations per store. Participating locations in the Portland Metro area, and the charities they have chosen, are:
Oregon locations:
NE Broadway (1441 NE Broadway): Street Roots
Downtown Portland (508 SW Broadway): Cascadia Health Center
Hawthorne (3646 SE Hawthorne Blvd): Alternative Services Oregon, Inc.
Brewery Blocks (1114 NW Couch St): Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon
Lake Oswego (345 First St, Ste #111): Children’s Center of Clackamas County
Happy Valley (15918 SE Happy Valley Town Cnt): Multiple Sclerosis Society of Portland
Hillsboro (19250 NW Cornell Rd): Hillsboro Fire Fighters Random Acts
Bridgeport Village (Building G, 7471 SW Bridgeport Rd): Sexual Abuse Resource Center (SARC)
Vancouver locations:
Vancouver (16501 SE Mill Plain Blvd, Suite 100): John Kyle Daggett Memorial Foundation
Salmon Creek (13307 NE Hwy 99, Suite 115): Mentors of Boys
More information on the charity drive can be found here.
Entertainment Book is offering a free trial. You can print out three coupons from the Entertainment Book website for the price of your email address. Here’s the link.
The Portland/Vancouver book is still on sale for $15 with free shipping. You can purchase it here.
A reader just informed me that you can get QuickBooks Pro free after rebate at Staples. The offer is good today only. Go to Staples.com for more information.
Due to the mind-boggling amount of snow outside my house, I’ve been surfing the ‘net all morning and discovered the Choose Local Card.
The Choose Local Card is free and allows you to get discounts at more than 100 local businesses in Portland. You can pick up the card at many locations around town. Once you do, you register your card at ChooseLocal.com. Then, once a month, you’ll get an email about current deals. You can also check for deals on the Choose Local website.
I love this idea. By using the card, I support our local economy and save money at the same time. And it’s free.
Once I can leave my house, I’m definitely getting this card.
Because of the snow, you may have some free time on your hands, perhaps enough time to download free music. I just learned that CNET and Urban Outfitters offer free MP3s.
CNET is a website that provides technology news, reviews and safe software downloads including more than 100,000 free MP3s. The folks at CNET admit that their catalog of songs is hard to navigate (but you can try it yourself here), so they’ve created a page where they profile a song each day and make it easy to download the song, as well as other songs by the same artist. If you have Facebook, you can also download an application that brings each day’s free song into your profile page. Go to the Free MP3 of the Day page on CNET to find out more.
Clothing retailer Urban Outfitters is offering 21 free songs on its website. Songs include:
“Apply” by Glasser
“Inland Empire” by Peter Bjorn and John
“An Eluardian Instance” by of Montreal
“No One Does It Like You” by Department of Eagles
“Silence” by Takka Takka
“The Sound” by Human Highway
“Dishwasher” by Fujiya & Miyagi
“Quick and Painful” by Free Blood
“Neo Violence” by The Tough Alliance
“Sleepyhead” by Passion Pit
“Half Asleep” by School of Seven Bells
“Summer Grof” by The Spinto Band
“Single Fins & Safety Pins” by Japanese Motors
“Black Rice” by Women
“American Names” by Sebastien Grainger
“Molten” by Sky Larkin
“Changin’” by The Moondoggies
“Hellhole Ratrace” by Girls
“Evident Utensil” by Chairlift
“Lying in the Sun” by Koushik
“Mostly a Friend” by Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez
I got these tips from a great website called Freebie Blogger. Although FB is not Portland-specific, it will alert you to freebies on the Internet and at chain retailers.
P.S. Remember that Amazon.com is offering 25 free holiday songs: link.
