Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

It was date night and I had to come up with something special to placate the better half.  Lucky for me, an e-mail  hadpopped into my inbox earlier in the week with the perfect date idea: Catching the Oregon Symphony’s performance of “The New World Symphony.”  With Musical Director Carlos Kalmar at the helm, I knew we would be in good hands as we slipped into our seats.

Big sounds quickly filled the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall as we were treated to a phenomenal auditory experience for the next hour and a half.  About 20 minutes in, I had my first awe-inspiring moment, which came in the form of a question: Why has it taken me so long to attend a performance of classical music?  It was amazing.  Angie and I were treated to a firsthand look at the expert as Carlos Kalmar cued a section to play and sound burst forth as the music shifted around the orchestra.  The guest of honor, German cellist Alban Gerhardt, offered a stunning performance of the monumental creation by Prokofiev.  Needless to say, this was an experience I’m ready to relive in the near future.

When you’re ready to have your own classical music epiphany, the Oregon Symphony and I will be there with you.  For a full lineup of performances, visit the Oregon Symphony’s website, www.orsymphony.org.

I was charmed and surprised by a recent walk through downtown Troutdale.

Often overlooked by those zooming through the Gorge, or overshadowed by nearby McMenamins Edgefield, this section of the Historic Columbia River Highway feels like an old-time Main Street, and is a picturesque holiday shopping destination.

Here’s what I found:

1. Troutdale General Store: With its overflowing baskets of taffy, cases of candy, piles of gifts for kids and adults, old-fashioned ice cream counter and seasonal decorations, this place is a destination unto itself.

2. Celebrate Me Home: A beautiful home store with decor, gifts, housewares and a cozy deli serving hot cider, espresso and homemade quiche.

Vintage posters at Troutdale Antique Mall

3. Troutdale Antique Mall: 60+ sellers display their wares throughout two floors. From highly collectible glassware to bargain jewelry, there is something here for every treasure hunter.

Photo by Allison Park, via Flickr

As the holidays approach, the grocery store aisles and bar taps around Portland welcome full-bodied seasonal ales to help weather the cold winter months. This year, Widmer Brothers Brewing is back with its BRRR Seasonal Ale and BridgePort Brewing Company will help cure any bah-humbug tendencies with their Ebenezer Ale.

For those looking to sample seasonal ales not sold in stores, Portland’s annual Holiday Ale Fest offers dozens of brews created solely for the festival. Considered the premier winter beer-tasting event on the West Coast, the 16th annual festival will feature beers from more than 40 breweries Nov. 30 through Dec.4, 2011, in Pioneer Courthouse Square. A heated, clear-top tent keeps attendees cozy while allowing for holiday light-viewing in the heart of the city. And, plenty of holiday shopping and dining options are located on adjacent blocks. The festival website features a full list of breweries and their 2011 submissions, ranging from Belgians and barley wines to porters and stouts.

Photo by Jean-Francois Leblanc

I am not a horse person.

I like horses and have even ridden them over the years but I don’t count as a real horse person who understands the nuance of a horse. But that doesn’t matter. I went to the opening of Cavalia this week and it blew me away. It was amazing. It was beautiful. The horses are amazing and beautiful but the training, even to this untrained eye, was mind-blowing. I know those horses were doing things that are so difficult that it was unreal. The riders are obviously amazing — they defy gravity and have to balance sideways and upside down at death-defying speeds that makes you cheer. And the acrobats always defy reality. But the horses! And it is all done gently. Observing the rapport between the performers and the horses was the best part of all.

If you are a horse person, go see Cavalia. If you aren’t a horse person, go see Cavalia!

Bring on the holidays – the pop-up shops are back! Four destination shopping experiences, available only in November and December, are now open for business throughout downtown.

Boys’ Fort, a fantastical venue created by two theater designers, offers everything from salvaged wood tables and reclaimed lighting to men’s wallets and women’s bangles. The nonprofit Trillium Artisans helps up-and-coming artisans market their wares, which are all crafted from repurposed materials; check out the upcycled jewelry, toys, garden art and the baby booties made from surplus Pendleton wool. Downtown Artistry offers indie crafts and ceramics (and classes for the DIY shopper) and Saturday Market Annex provides an on-site artisan workshop and a daily central-city complement to Portland Saturday Market on the waterfront. Nearby, don’t miss Portland Design Collective and Crafty Wonderland – former pop-up shops that are now permanent storefronts offering fashion, jewelry and crafts year-round.

Looking for a motherlode of unique gifts? Clear your calendar for Dec. 10-11 when two holiday fairs celebrate Portland’s creative community. Crafty Wonderland’s annual Super Colossal Holiday Sale features more than 200 artisans decking the halls of the Oregon Convention Center with handmade jewelry, toys and housewares. Nearby, the Portland Bazaar launches this year at Sandbox Studio with a curated collection of handcrafted goods by more than 100 vendors. Offerings include books, music, art and (this being Portland) a bicycle-building demonstration. A shuttle will ferry shoppers between the fairs, while food carts will keep intrepid gift-givers fueled and toasting tax-free holiday shopping.

The holiday season just got a little merrier in Downtown Portland with the openings of several new businesses.  Some are local businesses, some are national, but all of them offer tax-free shopping and dining.

Nike Portland: Feel like you’re walking back into your high school gym at the new concept store from Nike, an Oregon-based company.

Via Tribunali: Seattle’s popular wood-fired pizza empire opens its first Portland location on Nov. 15.

Bunk Sandwiches: The third outpost of this beloved Portland sandwich shop is perfect fuel for on-the-go shoppers.

Sephora: Beauty lovers, your time has arrived — Sephora has opened a stand-alone store across from Pioneer Place shopping center.

PDX Pop-Ups: For the third year, temporary stores featuring local designers are swinging open their doors until Dec. 31.

http://downtownportland.org/downtown-events/good-stuff/pdx-pop-up-shops-2011/

How do you get in the holiday spirit? Well, elves help and so do ghosts of Christmases Past.  Somehow Rat Kings and Nutcrackers figure and so do Bing Crosby, a Red Ryder BB gun and maybe an angel or two. We can’t guarantee a white Christmas in Portland, but there’s plenty of holiday cheer, with or without the snow.

"White Christmas" at Lakewood Theatre

“White Christmas”
Nov. 4 through Dec. 18
Lakewood Theatre, 368 S. State St., Lake Oswego

The great Irving Berlin movie musical has been converted to the stage, and though Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney won’t be there, Lakewood musicals have a good reputation, so the title song will be in good hands.

“Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol”
Nov. 15 through Dec. 24
Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 S.W. Morrison St.

The Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and the ghosts of Christmas has gotten a serious shaking from Seattle playwright John Longenbaugh. Instead of Scrooge, a reclusive Sherlock Holmes is on the scene to deduce the facts of a particular visitation by a peculiar trio of ghosts. The show stars two of Portland’s favorite actors, Michael Mendelson and Todd Van Voris, as Holmes and Watson.

“A Christmas Story”
Nov. 20 through Dec. 24
Portland Center Stage, 128 N.W. 11th Ave.

This is the stage adaptation of Jean Shepherd’s great Christmas reminiscence about growing up in the 1950s, when a bar of soap in the mouth was the antidote to bad language and the Little Orphan Annie radio program was just about the best thing going — except for that Red Ryder BB gun, which Ralphie Parker desperately hopes is under the tree. This popular comedy returns for another season at Portland’s biggest theater.

“Ahhh HA!”
Nov. 26 through Dec. 30
Do Jump!, Echo Theatre, 1515 S.E. 37th Ave.

Do Jump artistic director Robin Lane has explored the intersection of physical comedy, acrobatics and the dream world for more than 30 years, and this holiday show assembles the best of her research into one family-friendly holiday show.

“The Santaland Diaries”
Nov. 29 through Dec. 31
Portland Center Stage, 128 N.W. 11th Ave.

The career of humorist David Sedaris started with an essay he wrote about his experience playing an elf in the Santaland at Macy’s in New York. He read the essay on NPR’s “Morning Edition” and it’s become a holiday tradition. It’s been a hit at Center Stage for the past two seasons, and it returns this year with Jim Lichtscheidl playing Sedaris in the one-man show. (more…)

Walk There!

Portland is a walker’s paradise. From the wide sidewalks (and short blocks) of downtown, to the eclectic eastside neighborhoods of Belmont, Hawthorne, Alberta and Mississippi, to the stairways hidden among the West Hills, Portland is a great place to enjoy a good stroll. For a city of its size, I’m constantly amazed at the great planning that makes walking an easy, safe and enjoyable task.

A favorite activity of mine is to head to a new area of the city and walk about. Lucky for me, Metro, the regional government, has put together a wonderful book called, “Walk There!” This guide does a great job of highlighting fun walks, whether you’re into exploring historic homes in Laurelhurst, walking to the top of Mount Tabor or from Portland Heights to the Oregon Zoo. As an added bonus, you may now download a free Walk There! app to your iPhone. Put on some comfortable shoes and start walking — you’ll be surprised how easy Portland makes it.

For those looking to explore trails, this post offers links to help you plan off-sidewalk adventures.

Girls With Glasses (photo by Chris Hughes)

I recently participated in Ladies Rock Camp, a program of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls that’s held twice a year. This three-day event is unlike anything I’ve ever done before. You sign up to either learn or improve your skills on the instrument of your choice — drums, guitar, bass, keyboard or vocals. Once you’re at camp, you form a band, write a song, learn how to play your instrument and perform a show on the final day.

What struck me most when we were introducing ourselves on the first day is how many ladies were from places other than Portland. At one point, I started to think that the locals were in the minority. There were people from Tennessee, Michigan, a couple of different areas in California, Illinois and Australia. Some of these ladies were here for the first time, while others had been before.

I’ve always known that people visit town for music events like the Blues Festival, the Portland Jazz Festival and MusicfestNW, but this was a new way for me to look at Portland’s musical appeal. We all had a great time. The out-of-towners enjoyed themselves, and I heard several planning to come back and spend more time in the area, to which I give an approving thumbs-up. (more…)

As usual, the city’s choirs offer a choice of performances of Handel’s famous “Messiah” oratorio (technically an Easter story), and plenty of other holiday-related sounds abound as well. But by mid-December we’ll likely be overloaded with carols and other holiday tunes, so it’s nice to know that Portland’s vibrant classical music scene offers both spiritual and secular music alternatives to standard holiday fare.

Schubert’s “Winterreise”
Nov. 4
Ken Beare and Maria Choban, Community Music Center, 3350 S.E. Francis St.

The dynamic tenor and pianist present a heated new translation (Warning: not for kids!) of what may be the great song cycle ever written, Franz Schubert’s tale of lost love, Winterreise, which the pair are subtitling “Love’s Lost Journey into Frostbite.”

The Von Trapp Children

“A Von Trapp Family Christmas”
Nov. 26
Oregon Symphony, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway

The famous singing family returns with the sound of holidays.

“Winter’s Voice”
Dec. 2
Portland State University choirs, Lincoln Recital Hall, 1620 S.W. Park Ave.

The school’s reinvigorated choral program (including the Chamber Choir, Man Choir and Woman Choir) sings a very affordable program of wintry music from Russia and Estonia, and classical masters from Bach to Debussy.

Tallis Scholars

Tallis Scholars
Dec. 4
Chamber Music Northwest, St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1739 N.W. Couch St.

The choir has been at the forefront of early music choral groups since its founding in 1973, and they’ll bring a mostly holiday-themed program of both Renaissance and more recent music to Portland.

“A Holiday Gift of Music”
Dec. 4
Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Mt. Hood Community College Theater, 26000 S.E. Stark St., Gresham

This reasonably priced concert features Prokofiev’s famous kids’ classic “Peter and the Wolf,” with puppets by Tears of Joy theater.

“Winter Bells”
Dec. 4
Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway

The Cleveland High School chorus and handbell choir join the young players for holiday sounds.

See more holiday music recommendations >>