Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

True story: Radiohead’s Thom Yorke once wanted to be Jim Morrison. Well, at least that’s what the band’s frontman sang in one of their earliest tracks, “Anyone Can Play Guitar.” During Rock Band Tuesdays at Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade, not only can anyone play guitar, but they can also be Yorke, Morrison or one of hundreds of other musicians in the iconic video game.

Ground Kontrol is a video-gamers’ Valhalla, crammed with 90+ classic coin-op masterpieces ranging from Pac-Man to Dance Dance Revolution. Serving beer and wine in the evenings, it’s a great place to relive 8-bit memories and also hosts DJs, twice-monthly free play nights and tournaments, in addition to Rock Band Tuesdays. (more…)

In Portland, the signs of spring aren’t limited to robins picking at worms and bulbs bursting through soil. You also see tents popping up in parking lots and closed-off streets, as farmers’ markets set up shop.

The city’s biggest and most popular outdoor grocery is already up and running: Operating every Saturday through Dec. 21, the Portland Farmers Market at Portland State University isn’t just a great place to pick up leeks, kale and broccoli — it also sells some of the best prepared goods in town. From Alma Chocolate to salmon from The Smokery, there’s plenty to take home from the market’s more than 150 stands (even if your home is thousands of miles away). If you’re in the mood for take-out, grab some eats from local vendors like Verde Cocina or Pine State Biscuits and enjoy live music as you stroll.

Come May, more market locations bring fruit, berries, melons and veggies to downtown: The Shemanski Park Market runs Wednesdays, May 1 – Oct. 30, while the Pioneer Courthouse Square Market comes to Portland’s Living Room on Mondays, June 17 – Sept. 30.

And the bounty isn’t limited to Portland proper — there are farmers’ markets all around the metro area. In fact, at the height of the season, there’s a market somewhere every day of the week. And that’s a good thing — because, after all, springtime runs seven days per week.

Maybe you’ve seen the viral video of a baby swiping and tapping on a magazine — or what is, to her, a broken iPad. Whether it saddens you that printed pages are becoming incomprehensible, or it excites you that the future is unfolding before our eyes, the video makes one thing clear: Children learn by touching.

This hands-on educational philosophy is employed throughout the Portland Children’s Museum, where an array of exhibits let little fingers poke, prod, grab and grasp complex concepts and toddler-sized tools, so they can learn by doing. From the Clay Studio to the Water Works, they can sculpt and splash, discovering elements of cause and effect while developing motor skills. And by taking part in kinder-sized construction projects in the eco-friendly garage or the “Building Bridgetown” exhibit, they can pick the tools they need to succeed later on, in the real world.

But the sharpest tool kids are developing at the museum is undoubtedly imagination, which plays a central role in Storyland (Feb. 9 – May 5), an exhibit that features favorite children’s books, from the classic Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter to newer favorites like Laura Numeroff’s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and encourages early literacy by getting children interested in books, improving their vocabulary and helping them to tell stories of their own. With a setting that looks like it leaped out of the pages of a book itself, the environment is interactive and hands-on — and way more exciting than an iPad.

Known for their DIY ethic, Portlanders have built many things — like an inventive food cart scene, microbrewery after microbrewery, its own Etsy-esque ecosystem of crafters and even competitive kickball and dodgeball leagues. But an aquarium? Surely there’s a limit to the “Made in Oregon” ethos, right?

Apparently not. Last December the Covino brothers (Ammon and Vince) opened the Portland Aquarium. Pegged as “surprisingly rad” by The Portland Mercury, this family-friendly attraction is located just nine miles south of downtown Portland (in Milwaukie) and is already delighting children and parents alike. (more…)

Photo by Kara Howland, via Flickr

It’s an annual tradition: When the (Gregorian) calendar turns to a new year, Portland’s Lan Su Chinese Garden celebrates with Great Eight Free Days (Jan. 5-12, 2013).

From 10 a.m.-5 p.m. each of these eight days, you can visit the lovely urban oasis at no cost (general admission is regularly $9.50). Explore the pathways, buildings and bridges, then duck into the authentic, two-story teahouse for warm drinks and snacks. And don’t miss the display of Chinese New Year gifts, laid out in anticipation of the beginning of the Year of the Snake on Feb. 10.

Update: As of Jan. 5, there are no longer restricted viewing hours for Lily — she’s integrated with the herd and can be seen during general zoo hours.

Portland got an early holiday gift this year with the Nov. 30 birth of a baby elephant at the Oregon Zoo. Dubbed Lily by popular vote, she was 300 pounds at birth, but still looks tiny compared to her mom, Rose-Tu.

Just how cute is a baby elephant? See for yourself! The public can visit Lily and Rose-Tu from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. daily (hours subject to change; check www.oregonzoo.org before you go).

Don’t miss your chance to see her while she’s still “little.”

Fireworks at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, courtesy of MtHoodTerritory.com

It’s beginning to look a lot like winter — especially when you take a peek at the peak of Mount Hood on Portland’s horizon. Just a 90-minute drive from the downtown, the mountain sits right in the city’s backyard and makes for a heck of a winter playground. In fact, there are a number of different ways to enjoy Mount Hood’s wonderland of snow.

For skiing and snowboarding, Mount Hood Meadows, Mt. Hood Ski Bowl and Timberline can’t be beat. Meadows, with 11 lifts, 85 runs and a three-mile stretch of uninterrupted downhill, has a trail for every level of skier. Ski Bowl, with the largest night ski area in the country, keeps snow-hungry riders shushing for hours. And Timberline, a national historic landmark, is as popular for its relaxing lodge as for its runs. (more…)

Portland is full of bright ideas to embrace the shorter days of winter: hundreds of thousands of lights in our neighborhoods, our waters, and plenty of spots in between. Here are some of the stars in the city’s constellation of holiday light displays:

The first twinkles come as the Winter Wonderland at the Portland International Raceway (Nov. 22-Dec. 25) kicks off the season with the largest holiday light show west of the Mississippi.

Next, the Oregon Zoo switches on Zoolights (Nov. 23-Dec. 31). This family favorite features carolers, rides on the beloved zoo train, and all sorts of animals (actual and animatronic) — all illuminated with 1.5 million LED lights. (more…)

Sure, there’s no place like home for the holidays, but there’s no place quite like Hood River, either. This pretty little burg is an hour’s drive over(-looking) the Columbia River and through the Mt. Hood National Forest woods from Portland — and still holds dear to holiday traditions of years gone by.

Hood River Holidays (Nov. 30 – Dec. 24) gives visitors plenty of reasons to stop, stroll and shop the city’s quaint stores and boutiques, as well as kick back within its restaurants and pubs for a bit of holiday revelry.

Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 30, with a holiday parade, live music, kids’ activities and the hristmas-tree lighting all heralding the arrival of Santa.

The month-long celebration fills every inch of town with holiday spirit, from boat parades featuring festively lit watercraft, to rides on Mount Hood Railroad’s Polar Express, which transports believers in the Christmas Spirit straight to the North Pole. New events are being added to the festival all the time, so be sure to check the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce website before you pack your sleigh.

Photo by Liv Niland, via Flickr

Just like an Advent calendar loaded with treats, the days leading up to Christmas in Portland hold an abundance of sweet memories — starting with the downtown tree-lighting ceremony (Friday, Nov. 23) in Pioneer Courthouse Square and stretching into the new year.

All ages of sippers and shoppers enjoy the traditional holiday tea service (Nov. 23 – Jan. 6) at The Heathman Hotel’s Tea Court Lounge. Don’t worry — snacking on their devil’s food chocolate cupcakeswon’t land you on Santa’s “naughty” list.

Christmas at Pittock Mansion

Another Portland institution, the Pittock Mansion, dresses up with Celebrating Christmas Carols (Nov. 19 – Jan. 1). The breathtaking mansion is adorned with 15 festive trees, dozens of genuine silver bells, and hundreds of ornaments, which set the scene for holiday performances by local musicians in the estate’s music room.

If your holiday spirit is a little feisty, Portland Center Stage’s annual presentation of The SantaLand Diaries (Nov. 27 – Dec. 30) is just the ticket. Humorist David Sedaris’ beloved account of life as a department store elf is both sweet and sullen, and is sure to deliver the gift of laughter. Traditionalists may prefer to ring in the season with Oregon Ballet Theater’s presentation of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Dec. 8-23) – it’s the only Balanchine-choreographed production of the holiday classic west of the Mississippi. These are just a pair of the big tickets this holiday season — visit our holiday arts guide for more, and make Portland your source for the best holiday gifts of all: great memories.