Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Image courtesy of the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce

Seated at the confluence of the Columbia River and the fertile Hood River Valley, the town of Hood River is perfectly positioned to allow visitors to pick and choose from exhilarating activities and delicious food. These two offerings are highlighted each year with the Hood River Harvest Fest (Oct. 19-21). The weekend-long, old-fashioned fall celebration has been happening for 30 years and offers many ways to get a taste of Oregon, no matter which flavor is your favorite. (more…)

BeatBots, a project from Maker Faire Bay Area 2012

Whether you build websites or bookshelves, life is all about creating — and we all get a special feeling when we make something great. Saturday, Sept. 15, and Sunday, Sept. 16, Portland Mini Maker Faire brings its do-it-yourself spirit to OMSI, where homemade innovations will be put on display, explained, dissected and sold. A mobile, miniature version of the epic Maker Faire that got its start in San Mateo, Calif., seven years ago, this family-friendly event inspires, informs and entertains with creative applications of technology, from burrito-building robots to DeLorean hovercrafts. (Really.) And though this event travels from city to city, each one is different, because the demonstrations come from dedicated local hobbyists who bring their projects not just to show off their chops, but also to share their passion with like-minded tinkerers.

Along with interactive exhibits, the Mini Maker Faire features an Innovation Stage that showcases projects impacting the community, and a marketplace where Commercial Makers can pedal their wares. So, while you might not have enough ambition to build a clock from a cathode ray tube, or an AM radio housed in a beer bottle, you can probably pick one up from the show’s enterprising innovators — or at least glean some inspiration from them. Advance tickets are available, and attendees can also save half off admission to OMSI, where eureka-moments abound, and great ideas are explained in full detail.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — the weekend of the Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale! I know I’m not the only local who’s planning to start and finish all my holiday shopping in one fell swoop at this massive event. On Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 10-11), more than 250 vendors will pack the Oregon Convention Center’s Hall C, selling everything from handmade jewelry to fine art, locally crafted clothing to supplies for crafting your own creations. I am especially looking forward to perusing my friend Jolie’s felt flower accessories and my talented colleague Amy’s encaustic paintings and “Pin Up Cups.”

If I have any steam left after shopping and socializing at Crafty Wonderland, I plan to check out the city’s newest holiday craft fair, The Portland Bazaar. Organized in part by Design*Sponge blogger extraordinaire Grace Bonney, this sale also runs Saturday and Sunday, and is at Sandbox Studio (420 N.E. Ninth Ave.), just a five-minute drive from the Oregon Convention Center.

Here it is, November already! And that sets me to thinking about holiday gatherings, about homemade cranberry sauce and Hood River’s own Tofurky … and about finding a few special gifts for a few special people.

Thankfully, it’s also time for our pop-up shops to sprout downtown. Alongside Portland Saturday Market, these collectives of local artists, artisans and fashion designers help holiday shoppers find carefully crafted gifts for everyone on our list. Here’s a look at this year’s crop, which opened on Tuesday:

• A favorite indie emporium, Crafty Wonderland, showcases the work of more than 80 local artists in jewelry, clothing, art and housewares. Have some fun with their wacky holiday photo booth! (802 S.W. 10th) (more…)

In case you haven’t heard, we’re pretty creative in Portland. Whether it’s functional, pretty or both, we like to make it ourselves. That DIY ethic means that shopping for gifts is a special treat here.

Crafty Wonderland’s regular group sales have been wildly popular for years, but now you don’t have to wait. Crafty Wonderland is opening a pop-up shop in downtown Portland during the holiday season! From mid-November (opening date is still TBA) through the end of December, you’ll be able to find locally crafted jewelry, art, clothes and more for yourself or that special someone.

The pop-up shop will be located at 802 S.W. 10th Ave., next to Finnegan’s Toys and across from the Multnomah County Central Library. It will be open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-6 p.m. on Sundays (although hours may change). When I hear more confirmed info, I’ll update this post. Shoppers … are you ready?

Did you know that Portland is the crafty capital of the world? Such a claim might be hard to prove, but for the next three days, the Summit of Awesome at the Kennedy School will make Portland the undisputed center of the handmade universe.

Produced by Hello Craft along with Portland’s own Crafty Wonderland and DIY Lounge, the Summit is an annual national craft conference that offers business and technical education seminars as well as hands-on workshops and tours of Portland’s Alberta Arts District. Featured speakers include Portland craft stars like Rebecca Pearcy of Queen Bee Creationsand Elizabeth Newell of the newly launched Handmade in Portland.

The best part of all? You don’t have to be a crafty genius to reap the benefits. On Saturday, June 19, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., you can meet — and buy handmade goodies from — 40 vendors at the free Show of Awesome at the Doug Fir Lounge. I’ve been counting down to this event for weeks!

To learn more about Portland’s craft community, check out this awesome article from The Oregonian.

The quintessential Portland cultural weekend includes performing and visual arts as well as culinary tourism. I started out at Travel Portland as the cultural tourism director and it’s still my job to experience firsthand all of the above and more. I know, it’s a tough gig, but that’s why I’m here.

So let me tell you about last weekend — because you can do the same thing almost any weekend with variations on the theme. Artist Repertory Theater premiered “Gracie and the Atom,” a musical about many things: loss, finding friendship, religion vs. science, Catholic girls’ schools, all those universal themes. Great music, touching story, amazing voices.

Saturday turned into the visual arts day. (more…)

Saturday Market has moved to Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Image courtesy of Portland Saturday Market.

Whenever I travel, I’m always looking for that unique something to take back home — whether it’s for me, a loved one or a friend, it can be difficult to find something that’s just right. Well, it’s not so hard to do in Portland, thanks to Portland Saturday Market.

Every Saturday and Sunday now through Dec. 24 (that’s right!), you can see what the buzz is about. At Saturday Market, you’ll find handmade items like bath products, jewelry, clothing, photography, games and toys (for people and pets) and much more. Oh, and it’s a great place to stop and get a bite to eat. On top of that, add a helping of local entertainment — jugglers, stilt walkers, dance groups, marimba bands — and you never know who you’ll see.

And now there’s an even better reason to visit Portland Saturday Market — it’s moved! (more…)

Image courtesy of Explore the Pearl.

Kick off fall in style with Labor Day weekend in Portland.

Start with the much-loved juried art festival, Art in the Pearl, featuring more than 100 artists selling ceramics, jewelry, mixed media, photographs and other designs in the North Park Blocks.  There’s food, music and an educational pavilion, too.

The streets surrounding Art in the Pearl will be bustling as well, as retailers mark down prices for the annual Sidewalk Sale, the Pearl District’s biggest shopping event of the year.  More than 50 shops are taking part, including Lizard Lounge, French Quarter and Lucy, with discounts up to 80%.

After you’ve shopped to your heart’s content, take in the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s annual Time-Based Art Festival (Sept. 3-13).  This 10-day event combines performance, visual and film artistic works curated by Cathy Edwards. (more…)