Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Lining up in the dark to wrestle crazed shoppers for discounted socks and tree trimmings? No thanks. I’ll be sleeping in on “Black Friday” and then peacefully counting the days until Dec. 12.

That Saturday, from noon to 5 p.m., House Spirits will host its annual Holiday Booze Bazaar — a chance to shop for the tastiest gifts ever, in the form of offerings from a range of local distillers, as well as local cheesemakers and charcutiers. This year’s bazaar is extra-special, because it’s also the official debut of House Spirits’ new whiskey. Add in food carts and a circus tent (?!), and this is definitely the holiday shopping event I’m holding out for. And I have a feeling Santa will be there to pick up a bottle or two for me, too.

I’ll admit it — I never cared much for saké. I drank it with sushi, because that’s what you drink with sushi, right? I love wine, I love beer, and I love coffee. I love all of them made in Oregon. So, I guess it’s fitting that after I visited SakéOne in Forest Grove, I decided that I like saké. A lot.

At SakéOne I toured the brewery and tasted a few styles (none of them served hot), which gave me a much broader understanding of the beverage, and all of its flavor possibilities. Ever thought of pairing saké with ginger-molasses cookies? Well, the Momokawa Organic Junmai Ginjo compliments them perfectly. These types of pairings are brought out in SakéOne’s new “Saké Shock” flight (more…)

Image courtesy of Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory

Having spent many years in the frigid tundra commonly known as Montana, I know a thing or two about life after daylight savings time — mostly that it gets cold and it’s dark when I wake up AND go to bed. More importantly, it’s also when I start doing deep-knee squats in preparation for the ski season that typically begins around Thanksgiving weekend.

Here in Portland, winter means a touch of “liquid sunshine” — and I’ve learned that if it’s raining here, it’s usually snowing on nearby Mount Hood. This year has been no exception — except for the fact that record snow last week has lead to one of the earliest openings in decades. (more…)

A scene from "Urban Meadow," part of BodyVox's "Chronos/Kairos" show. Photo by J Dunham Carter, Polara Studios.

Modern dance doesn’t have to be dramatic, depressing or incomprehensible.

So says BodyVox, one of Portland’s lauded dance companies, with their new show Chronos/Kairos.

The first show in the 12-year-old dance troupe’s new home, Chronos/Kairos is a retrospective look at some of the group’s favorite performances of years past, ending with a piece that looks to the future — a world premiere.  Ranging from incredibly physical, humorous pieces to more subtle, thought-provoking movement, BodyVox entices, amuses and humbles the audience.

The 160-seat studio is intimate, but the seats closer to the floor are worth their higher price tag.  Many of the segments have performers jumping, rolling and lying on the ground, and some of the experience is lost if you only have a partial view.

Chronos/Kairos runs through Dec. 5.  Can’t make it by then?  Check out their spring show, Smoke Soup, starting March 5.

I can’t believe that the holidays are fast approaching, but it is indeed November (mid-November, in fact!). It’s always such a special time of year when the city is literally aglow from all of the lights. One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is to explore the city and see as many lights as possible. In that spirit, I’ve created a guide of some of the places throughout Portland where you can see the city blink, twinkle and sparkle and get in the holiday spirit. Happy exploring! Check out the guide.

While I usually post about my hobbies around Portland, my life, like many of yours, is increasingly steeped in all kinds of online interactions – particularly social media. Here’s an update on Travel Portland’s activities with this blog; our own social network, GoSeePortland.com; our presence on Twitter; and Travel Portland on Facebook.

The fact that you’re reading this means you’ve already discovered one social outgrowth of our main online presence. This blog gives us the opportunity to not only share the wealth of Portland experiences that we collectively experience both personally and in our work, but also to discuss Portland with you — we love your comments and encourage you to keep them coming! (more…)

We’re in the home stretch to NTA Reno and, at a brief stop at Susanville, California, we met the mayor!

It’s Klamath Falls to you, but K-Falls to us Oregonians. Day One of “NTA Reno or Bust” ended at the Shilo Inn Klamath Falls and we were thrilled with the light snowfall that greeted us …

We made it to Medford last night and were greeted with a wonderful reception hosted by the SpringHill Suites.

Our short and sweet stop to pick up Bridget Sheffler in Albany got us a short and sweet video! Watch it now…