Portland’s Miracle Theatre Group, the only Latino theatre company in the Northwest, is kicking off its 25th anniversary season with an original bilingual production called “Dos Pueblos.”
The show starts this weekend, and Miracle is offering a special two-for-one ticket deal for the following performances:
Thursday, September 18, at 7:30 pm (preview)
Friday, September 19, at 8:00 pm (opening night), includes post-play reception catered by La Bonita
Saturday, September 20, at 8:00 pm
Sunday, September 21, at 2:00 pm, followed by post-play discussion
All you have to do is purchase tickets from the Miracle Theatre website and use the coupon code MERC.
More information about “Dos Pueblos” can be found here.
Also, a couple of weeks ago, Miracle’s artistic director Olga Sanchez talked about the company and its upcoming season on AM Northwest. Watch the interview here.
Admission is free for all events below. Have a great weekend!
All weekend (August 8–10)
Little League Softball World Series: The series runs from August 7–13, 2008, at Alpenrose Field (6149 SW Shattuck Road). For the complete schedule of games, visit the event website.
Multnomah Centennial: A variety of events will take place from August 8–17 in the Multnomah neighborhood to celebrate its 100th birthday. Visit the event website for more information.
Friday, August 8
Health Net Portland Twilight Criterium: Cyclists will be vying for the biggest cash prize in the region. The event takes place on the North Park Blocks in downtown Portland, and will include a free helmet giveaway for kids at 5:30 pm. Racing starts at 6:30 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Lower Fremont 2nd Friday Artwalk and Sidewalk Sale: More than 40 artists and crafters will display and sell their work on NE Fremont at 13th & 14th Avenues. This event takes place on the second Friday of each month from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Visit the Irvington Community website for more information.
Tualatin Crawfish Festival: On Friday night, admission is free. There’ll be live music, and you can purchase samples of crawfish dishes from local restaurants. The festival continues on Saturday with a small admission fee. Visit the event website for more information.
Portland Concerts in the Park: The Balkan Fusion Project will perform at Washington Park Amphitheater Stage at 6:00 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Rachel Taylor Brown and Lisa Stringfield (website) will perform at Press Club at 8:30 pm. Press Club is located at 2621 SE Clinton St., 503.233.5656.
Jesse Young (website) will perform at RiverPlace Hotel (1510 SW Harbor Way) at 8:00 pm. Visit the PDX Jazz website for details.
Erin Adkisson (website) will perform at Hawthorne Theatre at 9:00 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Sugar Q Burlesque Club (website) and Emerson Valentine Lyon (website) will perform at Someday Lounge (125 NW 5th Avenue) at 9:00 pm. Visit the Someday Lounge website for more information.
Alexa Wiley (website) will perform at Edgefield at 7:00 pm. Visit the Edgefield website for more information.
Moon Mountain Ramblers (website) will perform at Rock Creek Tavern at 9:00 pm. Visit the Rock Creek Tavern website for more information.
Liberty Plaza Concert Series:Braxton Bragg and Rock Residue will perform at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, respectively. Liberty Plaza is located in downtown Oregon City next to the Clackamas County Courthouse. Visit the event website for more information.
Flicks on the Bricks: “Ghost Busters” will be showing at Pioneer Courthouse Square at dusk. For more information, visit the Pioneer Courthouse Square website.
Portland Movies in the Park: “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” will be showing at Laurelhurst Park (SE 39th Avenue & Stark Street) at dusk (between 8:00 pm and 8:45 pm). Pre-movie entertainment starts at 6:30 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Flicks by the Fountain in Beaverton: “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will be showing at Beaverton City Park at dusk. Pre-movie entertainment will begin at 8:00 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Outdoor Movies in Vancouver: “Raiders of the Lost Ark” will be showing at the Historic Reserve Parade Ground at sunset (around 9:00 pm). Visit the event website for more information.
Outdoor Movies in Wilsonville: “Shrek the Third” will be showing at the River Shelter in Memorial Park at dusk (lawn opens at 8:15 pm). Visit the event website for more information. (Click on “Movies in the Park” under City Seasonal Events)
Masque Alfresco will perform Goldoni’s “Servant of Two Masters” at 6:30 pm at George Rogers Park Memorial Garden in Lake Oswego. Visit the event website for more information.
Saturday, August 9
Sunset Criterium: This event includes races for men, women and children, as well as live music in the afternoon. Bethany Village Shopping Center (15320 NW Central Drive) from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Rockin’ Round The Block Car Show in Gresham: Over 700 classic street rods and custom cars from all over the Northwest will be on display in Historic Downtown Gresham. The event also includes a parade (10:00 am) and KidsZone Playland. 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Tualatin Library Grand Opening Celebration: Tour the recently expanded library, enjoy refreshments and listen to live music. 11:30 am. Visit the Tualatin Library website for more information.
Another Cynthia (website), Oh Darling (website), New York Rifles (website), and The Wanteds (website) will perform at Doug Fir (830 East Burnside) at 9:00 pm. Visit the Doug Fir website for more information.
Portland Concerts in the Park: Portland Festival Symphony will perform at Grant Park (NE 36th & Brazee) at 6:00 pm. For details, visit the event website.
Portland Concerts in the Park: “Sanyu! An Evening of Gospel and Much More” will take place at Washington Park Amphitheater Stage at 6:00 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Matt Tabor (website) and Chance Hayden (website) will perform at RiverPlace Hotel (1510 SW Harbor Way) at 8:00 pm. Visit the PDX Jazz website for details.
James FareTheeWell (website) and Carter Sampson (website) will perform at Hawthorne Theatre at 9:00 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
The Royal Motel Orchestra will perform at Press Club at 8:30 pm. Press Club is located at 2621 SE Clinton St., 503.233.5656.
Lincoln Crockett (website) will perform at Edgefield at 7:00 pm. Visit the Edgefield website for more information.
Brad Creel & The Reel Deel (website) will perform at Rock Creek Tavern at 9:00 pm. Visit the Rock Creek Tavern website for more information.
Portland Movies in the Park: “Zathura: A Space Adventure” will be showing at Dickinson Park (SW 55th Avenue & Alfred Court) at dusk (between 8:00 pm and 8:45 pm). Pre-movie entertainment starts at 6:30 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Outdoor Movies in Milwaukie: “Shrek the Third” will be playing at Candy Lane Elementary (5901 SE Hull Street) at dusk (about 8:30 pm). Visit the event website for more information.
Outdoor Movie in Troutdale: “City Slickers” will be showing at Columbia Park at dark (approximately 8:40 pm). Visit the event website for more information.
Uptown Movie Night in Vancouver: “Goonies” will be showing outside on 23rd and Main Street in downtown Vancouver at 8:45 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Portland Actors Ensemble will perform “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” at Washington Park (SW Washington Way, in the lower park, just North of the Holocaust Memorial) at 3:00 pm. This performance will be ASL interpreted. Visit the PAE website for details.
Northwest Classical Theatre Company will perform William Shakespeare’s “Troilus & Cressida” at 3:00 pm in Woodlawn Park (NE 13th Avenue & Dekum). For details, visit the event website.
Masque Alfresco will perform Moliere’s “School for Wives” at 6:30 pm at George Rogers Park Memorial Garden in Lake Oswego. Visit the event website for more information.
Powell’s will host a hands-on project-building event for the book “Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself” at 11:00 am at Powell’s Books, Cedar Hills Crossing (3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd). Visit the Powell’s website for more information.
Ivy Manning will sign copies of her book “The Farm to Table Cookbook” at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market (NE Hancock between 44th and 45th Avenues) from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Visit Ivy’s website for more information.
Portland artist Inge Bruggeman will give an informal talk at the Central Library (801 SW 10th Avenue) at 1:00 pm. Bruggeman has been making fine press artist’s books for more than 15 years, and many of her books and broadsides are on display at the library. Visit the Multnomah County Library website for more information.
Beaverton Modular Railroad Club will have models set up at the Beaverton Library and will be available to answer questions. 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Visit the library website for more information.
Sunday, August 10
Dove35 Birthday Party: DoveLewis Animal Hospital invites you, your kids, and your dogs (leashed with ID) to its 35th birthday party at Pioneer Courthouse Square (SW 6th & Morrison) from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. There’ll be live music, kids’ activities and more. Visit the event website for more information.
Pickin’ on Sunday at Doug Fir: Michael Dean Damron and James Low will perform at 3:00 pm on the patio. Visit the Doug Fir website for details.
Portland Concerts in the Park: Portland Festival Symphony and 3 Leg Torso will perform at Washington Park at 6:00 pm. For more information, visit the event website.
Forest Music in Tryon Creek State Park: Westside Singers (show tunes, ’40s favorites) will perform at Tryon Creek Park at 2:00 pm. Visit the Tryon website for more information.
The Sam Howard Band (jazz, website) will perform at 7:00 pm at Someday Lounge (125 NW 5th Avenue). Visit the Someday Lounge website for more information.
Lake Oswego Concerts in the Park:The Trail Band (acoustic folk) will perform at Millennium Plaza Park at 6:00 pm. Visit the Lake Oswego website for more information.
“Barton Fink” will be showing at Press Club at 9:00 pm. Press Club is located at 2621 SE Clinton St., 503.233.5656.
Portland Actors Ensemble will perform “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” at Washington Park (SW Washington Way, in the lower park, just North of the Holocaust Memorial) at 3:00 pm. Visit the PAE website for details.
Northwest Classical Theatre Company will perform William Shakespeare’s “Troilus & Cressida” at 3:00 pm in Woodlawn Park (NE 13th Avenue & Dekum). For details, visit the event website.
Masque Alfresco will perform Goldoni’s “Servant of Two Masters” at 6:30 pm at George Rogers Park Memorial Garden in Lake Oswego. Visit the event website for more information.
Author Ron Lovell will be reading at Murder by the Book at 5:00 pm. Visit the event website for more information.
Beaverton Modular Railroad Club will have models set up at the Beaverton Library and will be available to answer questions. 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Visit the library website for more information.
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.
A couple of weeks ago, I bounced my workday worries away at a free concert by the All Girl Summer Fun Band. The show was part of Music on Main Street, a summer concert series that features a different band each Wednesday evening through the end of August.
Sponsored by Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA), Music on Main Street was all new to me, and more impressive than I expected. I knew that the bands performed outside on SW Main Street between Broadway and Park, and I just assumed the setup would be festival-style: a stage and lots of empty space.
When I got there, I was impressed that there were tons of chairs set up outside, even a few small tables. Seating was also set up inside the lobby of the Antoinette Hatfield Hall. I appreciated the effort to create an inviting space, even though I didn’t take advantage of it (I don’t sit much at concerts, I realize). But lots of other people did.
All the sitting, however, seemed to make the band uncomfortable. A couple of times, from what I remember, they invited people to come up closer to the stage where there was room for dancing. Eventually, a few enthusiastic souls bounded into the void, and their presence encouraged many others to do the same, including me.
Tonight, National Flower is playing. Be sure to get up and dance early on. Don’t make them ask twice.
You can check out more photos of the All Girl Summer Fun Band performance on Flickr.
For the complete schedule of upcoming Music on Main Street performances, visit the PCPA website.
There’s a question I’ve been thinking about that I’d love to get your opinion on:
If an event has a suggested entrance donation of $X, do you consider it to be a free event?
A recent example is Sand in the City, which had a suggested entrance donation of $3 per person or $10 per family.
Do you consider an event like Sand in the City to be a free event? Put another way, would you expect to find it in Around the Sun’s roundup of free weekend events?
Tell me what you think in the poll below and/or via comments. (If you can’t see the poll, this link will take you to it.)
Summer in Portland is truly paradise for the frugal music lover. From July through August, the warm air over many outdoor venues will carry the sweet sounds of free concerts.
Here are links to the free summer concert series that I’m aware of. I’m sure there are more. If you have any to add, please write a comment.
I wanted to give you a heads up that Around the Sun will experience some downtime on Friday night (April 11). It’ll happen sometime after 7:00 pm and last for a couple of hours.
The reason is that Acorn Host is moving Around the Sun to a new server, which promises better performance. I’ve been satisfied with Acorn, and I like that they’re local and 100% green powered. If you need a web host, check them out.
$10 tickets are currently available for the plays Beard of Avon and Twelfth Night. If you go to the PCS MySpace page and add PCS as a friend, you’ll get access to the secret code that allows you to purchase $10 tickets to any remaining performance of the two plays (which run until March 16). If you don’t have a MySpace account, consider getting one for deals like this if nothing else.
Rush Tickets: All season long, you can buy a $10 ticket to any play when you purchase 15 minutes before show time (cash only).
30 and Under: Next season (starts September 2008), you can get $20 tickets if you are under 30 years old (ID required).
Learn more about current and upcoming performances by visiting the Portland Center Stage website or calling 503.445.3700.
In addition to great plays, PCS sponsors free events including a monthly First Thursday event featuring live music and art exhibitions. To find out about upcoming events, keep your eye on Around the Sun or visit the PCS Community Events page.
Portland’s Miracle Theatre Group, the only Latino theatre company in the Northwest, is kicking off its 25th anniversary season with an original bilingual production called “Dos Pueblos.”
