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

In 2009, March Madness returned to Portland for the first time in more than 25 years.  Tickets to the match-ups at the Rose Garden – home of the Trailblazers – sold out, thanks to some almost-local teams like Washington hitting the court.

Fast forward three years and the Rose City is once again hosting early rounds of the 68 team tournament.  Tickets are still available for the series, with the first tip-off between Louisville and Davidson on Thursday at 10:40 a.m.  Don’t want to shell out the $81 per session?  Try catching the action at one of these local watering holes:

Spirit of 77: Near the Oregon Convention Center and a block away from the Rose Garden, this trendy, laid-back sports bar is opening early so fans can catch the morning games on the big screen.

On Deck: This Pearl District bar is also cracking open the doors at an early hour, featuring drink deals for every match-up.

Cheerful Tortoise: Don’t let the bare-bones website mislead you — this classic Portland sports bar on Portland State University’s campus has more than 40 TVs, plus plenty of food and drink specials during the wee hours.

Spring kicks off with a citywide survey of contemporary art, and includes a retrospective of a major Northwest ceramicist, new photographs at the Portland Art Museum, and more.

Portland2012 Biennial
March-April
Various venues

Curated by Prudence Roberts, longtime curator of American art at the Portland Art Museum, this regional survey features work by 24 artists and arts groups working in sculpture, painting, photography, installation, video and more. Details at www.disjecta.org/2012.

James Lavadour, Shine 1, 2012

The Interior
Feb. 28 through March 31
PDX Contemporary, 925 N.W. Flanders St.

The interior in question is that of Eastern Oregon, where renowned painter James Lavadour has lived and worked for decades, deeply inspired by the land around him.

Generations: Betty Feves
March 14 through July 28
Museum of Contemporary Craft, 724 N.W. Davis St.

A retrospective for this ceramic artist whose story rewrites the male-dominated narrative of post-war American ceramics. Feves relentlessly experimented with processes and locally sourced materials in the creation of her Modernist functional and sculptural works.

Emerging, New Photography Acquisitions
March 10 through June 24
Portland Art Museum, 1219 S.W. Park Ave.

Curated by Julia Dolan, this exhibition reveals the diversity and breadth of the more than 500 photographs added to the museum’s extensive photography collection between 2009 and 2011. The 50 images in the show include works by Adolphe Braun, Berenice Abbott, Chris McCaw, Frederick Henry Evans, Bea Nettles, Mark Klett, Linda Connor, Eadweard Muybridge and others.

About Framing
March 2 through April 14
Half/Dozen Gallery, 722 E. Burnside St. (basement, entrance on Eight Avenue)

Thinking about the traditional role of frames, Avantika Bawa shows new work addressing the tension between containment and dispersal.

Day Job
April 5 through May 15
Feldman Gallery + Project Space, PNCA, 1241 N.W. Johnson St.

Comprised of work by 21 artists, this exhibition curated by Nina Katchadourian, viewing program curator at The Drawing Center in New York, looks at the relationship between an artist’s “day job” and his or her creative practice.

Smokey Mountain, Cambodia
April 1 through May 1
Blue Sky | Oregon Center for Photographic Arts, 122 N.W. Eighth Ave.

Nigel Gordon Dickinson’s haunting photographs document the lives of the 2,000 impoverished scavengers who work and live amidst the rubbish and fumes of the Smokey Mountain dump in Cambodia.

Portland’s spring music season kicks off with a month-long celebration of new music and continues with a celebration of Mark Rothko and visits by the Kronos Quartet and Chanticleer.

March Music Moderne
March 5-29
Various venues

Musicians both homegrown and visiting perform music of the 20th and 21st centuries — 28 events in 29 days of contemporary music. Complete schedule at www.marchmusicmoderne.org.

Renee Fleming & The Oregon Symphony
March 13
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway

Accompanied by the orchestra, the popular soprano supremo sings music of Ravel, Leonard Cohen and more.

“Galileo Galilei”
March 30 through April 7
Portland Opera, Newmark Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway

After scoring an unexpected popular and critical triumph with Philip Glass’s Orphee last year, Portland Opera brings another chamber opera by the world’s leading living composer (in his 75th birthday year) to the relatively intimate Newmark. The pioneering physicist/astronomer, on his deathbed, looks back over a life of exploration involving a delicate dance among science, art and religion.

“Reviewing 3 Eras”
March 2
Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, First United Methodist Church, 1838 S.W. Jefferson St.

The orchestra celebrates its 30th anniversary with music by Mozart, Brahms and Shostakovich’s powerful Symphony #9.

“Rothko Chapel”
March 10
Third Angle & Resonance Ensemble, Kridel Ballroom, Portland Art Museum, 1219 S.W. Park Ave.

In conjunction with the museum’s landmark Mark Rothko exhibition, two of the Northwest’s pre-eminent musical institutions team up to perform one of the greatest works of 20th century American music, Rothko Chapel, inspired by the painter’s magnificently moody Houston murals. Composed by the vanguard American composer Morton Feldman, whose work — and that of his New York School colleagues, which will also be featured — parallels that of Rothko’s Abstract Expressionists. It’s a work of ethereal beauty for voices and chamber ensemble.

Emma Kirkby in Recital
April 24
Portland Baroque Orchestra, Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, 3203 S.E. Woodstock Blvd.

One of the most important singers of our time, Kirkby led the way in bringing back the kind of light, agile, effervescent singing that prevailed in the Baroque and Classical periods before the heavier Romantic style emerged. The city’s most exciting orchestra accompanies her in music by Mozart, Haydn and more. (more…)

Here’s a look at some of Portland’s best theater and dance offerings this spring:

"A Lesson Before Dying," photo by Jamie Bosworth

“A Lesson Before Dying”
March 2-27
Profile Theatre, 3430 S.E. Belmont St.

This Romulus Linney adaptation of Ernest Gaines’ powerful novel about the last days of an African-American man wrongly accused of murder in the Jim Crow South has an undeniable gravity of its own.

“Race”
March 6 through April 15
Artists Repertory Theatre, 1516 S.W. Morrison St.

David Mamet’s courtroom drama hinges, as the title suggests, on matters of racial politics, but with Mamet, it’s never as easy as that.

Northwest Dance Project

Northwest Dance Project’s Spring Premieres
March 9-10
Newmark Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway

Three world premieres by choreographers Sarah Slipper, Patrick Delcroix and Wen Wei Wang are on the program for this modern-ballet hybrid company. Delcroix has worked extensively with the Nederlands Dans Theater, and the Chinese-born Wen Wei Wang is one of Canada’s leading choreographers. (more…)

The Portland Art Museum has just opened the Pacific Northwest’s first retrospective of celebrated abstract expressionist Mark Rothko’s work. That is a somewhat shocking fact, given that Rothko spent formative years of his childhood in Portland and this very museum was the first to host a Rothko solo show, back in the 1930s.

This exhibit is well worth the wait. More than 40 paintings are on display until May 27 – most from the Rothko estate and some which haven’t been seen for over 50 years – ranging from his earliest works to those powerful and profound abstract pieces for which he is best known. (more…)

This weekend is one of my favorite events of early spring — the SE Portland Artwalk. For two days, you can walk through inner Southeast Portland and enjoy the work of more than 80 artists in their homes, studios and hosted business locations!

I have been a participating artist for this event for 5+ years, and I love meeting people as they walk through the doors of local studios and get to talk about art, the creative process, that new coffee shop that opened down the street … just about anything!

The event is free, and you can download a map of artists and locations from their website.

Go out, take a walk, see some art. You just might discover something new!

Earning accolades like “world’s best street food” from U.S. News Travel, Portland’s food cart scene is becoming very well-known. But did you know that we have an annual food cart festival? Eat Mobile features samples from some of the city’s best carts along with live music and some friendly competition — carts vie for awards in a variety of categories. Check out this video from 2011:

Eat Mobile is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, 2012, and tickets will go on sale March 28 at wweek.com/eatmobile. General admission tickets are $18 and include samples from each of the participating carts, while a limited number of pre-tasting tickets, running $47, will get you into the event at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) an hour early and include complimentary beverages. This event always sells out, so make sure you mark your calendar if you plan to attend.

With a new year upon us, most people take stock of what they’d like to accomplish in the next year – everything from exercising more, losing weight and breaking bad habits. However, I’m focusing on my Portland New Years’ resolutions – to explore more of the city, and its surrounding adventure, in the next year. Here are a few items on my annual “bucket list”:

Fertile Ground Festival: This 10-day festival of new works features plays, including “(I Am Still) The Duchess of Malfi” at Artists Repertory Theatre, as well as dance performances, staged readings and a compilation of short films.

Belly dance classes: Yes, I’m joining thousands of other Portlanders who take continuing education classes through Portland Community College. I’ll be learning new things and trying to NOT trip over my two left feet!

Spend a night (or two) at Timberline Lodge. Who knows, I may even add “skiing lessons” to my list!

Rendering courtesy of the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation.

Out of the six largest operating steam locomotives in the world, Portland owns two — more than any other American city. These engines and more Oregon rail transport history (which predates the transcontinental railroad), will be showcased at the new Oregon Enginehouse and Rail Heritage Center set to open later this year in Portland’s Central Eastside. You may even catch traveling exhibits such as the luxurious New York Central-3 passenger car, originally owned by Harold Vanderbilt.

The fall opening of the new eastside Portland Streetcar line will complement the center. Whether you’re looking for an activity with dinner or enjoying spare time before a Blazers game, the streetcar can get you to and from the center and plenty of nearby attractions.

Dozens of volunteers worked three decades to preserve this slice of rail history, restoring the SP& S 700 and the better-known SP #4449, which pulled the 1975-76 American Freedom Train in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial. For the full story, check out this video from the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation:

Photo by Mark Stalcup, via Flickr

The holiday season isn’t over yet! This Saturday, Portland has plenty of ways to say goodbye to 2011 and hello to a brand new year. Here’s a quick round-up of resources to help you plan the last night of the year:

Portland Food and Drink has a comprehensive list of 45 restaurants offering New Year’s Eve dinners and special events. Many of the city’s top eateries are in on the action (think Olympic Provisions, Aviary, Grüner …) and there are even a few places serving up New Year’s Day brunch.

CitySearch found some eclectic parties and events, from Champagne at the Hilton to casual comedy at Helium and free video games at Ground Kontrol.

For those who want to dance, rock or eat their way into 2012, Willamette Week breaks down the options.

Of course, this is just the tip of the celebratory iceberg — if you have other favorite Portland NYE events, please let us know about them!