Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland – Travel Portland's Staff Blog

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.

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.

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…)

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 >>

As the holidays draw nearer, Portland offers even more musical celebrations!

“Gospel Christmas”
Dec. 9-11
Oregon Symphony, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway

Charles Floyd and the Northwest Community Gospel Choir return for the season’s most exuberant sounds.

“Glory of Christmas”
Dec. 11,16-18
Oregon Repertory Singers, St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1716 N.W. Davis St.

Under new director Ethan Sperry, the venerable chorus sings favorite carols, plus modern and traditional Hannukah songs, sacred music by Benjamin Britten, Anton Bruckner, Henryk Gorecki, Portland’s Joan Szymko and more.

The Canadian Tenors

“The Canadian Tenors Christmas”
Dec. 16
Oregon Symphony, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway

The Oprah-approved quartet sings holiday tunes.

Handel’s “Messiah”
Dec. 16-18
Portland Baroque Orchestra, First Baptist Church, Southwest Taylor at 12th Ave.

If you can catch only one Messiah, PBO’s is the truest, because it uses the instruments, tunings and performance styles closest to the composer’s intentions — and it sounds magnificent, especially abetted by the sublime voices of one of the West’s finest choruses, Cappella Romana, and soloists from New York, Boston and Toronto. A young people’s concert on Dec. 19 features excerpts for shorter attention spans. (more…)

Artist Kindra Crick working in her studio.

Fall is my favorite time of year, and not just because I get to break out the knee socks and enjoy the changing colors. I am infatuated with fall because it signals my favorite annual art event — Portland Open Studios! Imagine getting two weekends to enjoy the art of 100 local artists, all exhibiting their work (and demonstrating it) in their own creative spaces. It is bliss for an art fan like myself!

Make plans to attend this year’s event which will take place on October 8-9 and 15-16. Portland Open Studios prints a Tour Guide and Map Ticket for visitors to purchase online (you can also purchase guides at New Seasons and Powells), which contain the artists’ contact information and directions to their studios. Their site instructs, “Once you have your map, look for the yellow and black arrows that point to the individual studios.  Then bus, bike, drive, walk, skip or ride your skateboard to any of the other studios in any order at any time during the tour hours.”

Fall visual art exhibitions in Portland are highlighted by celebrations surrounding the legacy of the late Bonnie Bronson, for whom the important Bonnie Bronson Fellowship award is named, and the 30-year track record of dealer Elizabeth Leach. The Portland Art Dealers Association also celebrates the 25th anniversary of the First Thursday art walk, which has grown from a quiet event at a handful of galleries to a lively monthly celebration of the arts.

Nikki McClure, Source, 2010, Paper, 11 x 11 inches. Photo by: Dan Kvitka.

Nikki McClure: Cutting Her Own Path, 1996-2011 - Aug. 18-Oct. 29
Museum of Contemporary Craft, 724 N.W. Davis St.

This retrospective features the X-acto blade artist’s intricate paper-cuts, which have been a visual hallmark of Northwest illustration since her work with Olympia-based record labels K and Kill Rock Stars in the Riot Grrrl era.

Carrie Iverson: Correspondence – Aug. 31-Nov. 19
Bullseye Gallery, 300 N.W. 13th Ave.

A series of ethereal installations by this printmaker and glass artist elegantly reflects on the loss of language and memory.

Frank A. Rinehart: Photographs – Aug. 31-Oct. 1
Charles A. Hartman Fine Art, 134 N.W. Eighth Ave.

Vintage platinum print portraits of Native Americans made during the Indian Congress of 1898 in Omaha, Nebraska, as part of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition.

Bonnie Bronson: Works 1960–1990

Bonnie Bronson: Works 1960-1990 – Sept. 1-Oct. 9
Pacific Northwest College of Art, 1241 N.W. Johnson St.

This retrospective represents the first major showing of Bronson’s work in nearly two decades, since the Portland Art Museum’s posthumous survey in 1993, and includes some never-shown wall sculptures and works on paper. (more…)

Theater in Portland has become progressively better and more adventurous in recent years, and the fall season looks especially inviting, between a visit from film star William Hurt and a slate of sharp-edged American plays. “Oklahoma!” — Portland Center Stage’s big musical of the year — adds a touch of the American classic. The dance season is also promising, leaning heavily toward the acrobatic end of the spectrum for modern and toward story ballets for classical.

Dan Hoyle (photo courtesy Portland Center Stage)

“The Real Americans” – Sept. 6-Nov. 6
Portland Center Stage, 128 N.W. 11th Ave.

Bay Area comedian Dan Hoyle took a trip through the American heartland, looking for examples of what 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin called “real Americans.”  The surprising — and funny — results are in this one-man show.

“God of Carnage” – Sept. 6-Oct. 9
Artists Repertory Theatre, 1516 S.W. Alder St.

In Yasmina Reza’s 2009 Tony winner, two sets of parents get together to discuss a bullying incident, and things disintegrate from there.

“Shrek: The Musical” - Sept. 13-18
Broadway Across America, Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.

Something green this way comes. Also big and funny!

“Oklahoma!” - Sept. 20-Oct. 30
Portland Center Stage, 128 N.W. 11th Ave.

In recent years, Portland Center Stage, the city’s biggest theater company, has opened its season with a musical, and this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic is their most ambitious undertaking so far. And speaking of “real Americans” … (more…)

This fall’s classical music season is far more eclectic than in days of old when warhorse symphonies dominated. The concert of the season, for example, might be Sō Percussion’s account of Steve Reich and John Cage, and the Oregon Symphony’s fall season features Dawn Upshaw singing great American songs and a Pink Martini collaboration. On the other hand, Portland Baroque Orchestra will settle in for Vivaldi and In Mulieribus will sing a program of women composers, ancient and contemporary. Here are some of the highlights.

Thomas Lauderdale and Storm Large

Oregon Symphony with Pink Martini – Sept. 11-13
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1111 S.W. Broadway

Pink Martini pianist Thomas Lauderdale isn’t just classically trained — he’s a longtime symphony supporter and current board member, so these collaborations between the city’s orchestra (fresh off its Carnegie Hall triumph) and its bubbly retro-Latin big band amount to much more than the usual crossover fare.

Portland Vocal Consort – Sept. 11
The Grotto, 8840 N.E. Skidmore St.

In a free tribute to the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks, the choral ensemble will sing some of history’s most moving requiems by Spanish Renaissance composer Tomas Luis de Victoria and Samuel Barber, as well as patriotic songs.

Uri Caine

Uri Caine – Sept. 20
Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E. Burnside St.

The latest in Portland Piano International’s intimate, edgier series brings the jazz-tinged classical pianist and composer to town to explore the delightful possibilities along the boundaries of each genre.
(more…)