Awesome events in 2025

Activities, Uncategorized

Working on calendar

January 2025

Go see a movie!

February 2025

Portland Winter Light Festival (external link): Feb 7-15. So much fun all over the city!
Portland Jazz Festival (Festival external link): Feb 20-Mar 1

March 2025

Another round of sledding at Mt Hood

April 2025

Look at all those flowers!

May 2025

Cinco de Mayo weekend
Portland Rose Festival: (Festival external link) a classic

June 2025

Portland Rose Festival continues
Summer concerts

July 2025

Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
Portland Pride: moved from June to July
Watch a movie outside!

August 2025

Float down a river!
PDX Adult Soapbox Derby
Belmont Street Fair
Hawthorne Street Fair

September 2025

Back to school!
Oktoberfest! in September

October 2025

Oktoberfest!
West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta (external link): Sunday, October 19

November 2025

Cozy, rainy good food
Go see the Blazers!

December 2025

Christmas Ships
ZooLights
Lights at the Grotto
Peacock Lane lights
Lights other places
Solstice
Festivus

Awesome 2023 events in Portland

Activities

Calendar being built in January 2023.

February 2023

March 2023

  • Another round of sledding at Mt Hood

April 2023

  • Look at all those flowers!

May 2023

June 2023

  • Portland Rose Festival continues
  • Formula E comes to Portland!?!?! (Formula E external link): Race course yet to be announced but typically on city streets

July 2023

  • Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
  • Portland Pride: moved from June to July
  • Watch a movie outside!

August 2023

  • Float down a river!
  • PDX Adult Soapbox Derby
  • Hawthorne Street Fair

September 2023

  • Back to school!

October 2023

  • Oktoberfest!

November

  • Cozy, rainy good food
  • Go see the Blazers!

December 2023

  • Christmas Ships! ZooLights! Lights at the Grotto! Lights other places! We need lights!

New Croissant shop: Twisted on NE Broadway

Food and Drink, NE Portland

Twisted Croissant storefront with neon sign of croissant
Awesome neon croissant!

A new croissant shop opened to the general public on NE Broadway this last month, and their croissants are decadent. They have been serving at farmer’s markets and other locations around town for a while, but now have their very own store.

After a tragedy last Monday when I walked by and discovered they are closed on Mondays, I had three croissants this Sunday:

  • Butter (aka plain)
  • Chocolate
  • Monte Carlo – a sweet/savory combo that may rotate through their menu

We were also able to order coffee drinks, and stuck to a cup of drip coffee on this trip. There is a little bit of counter seating at the front and back of the store, and you can also sit in the design store next door.

The Monte Carlo was our favorite and the Chocolate and Butter vied for second place. All were delicious, and three croissants were more than two people needed.

Website: https://www.twistedcroissant.com/
Address: 2129 NE Broadway St.

 

Gado Gado

Food and Drink, Hollywood, NE Portland

Gado Gado is a new restaurant in the Hollywood neighborhood of NE Portland. The food and drinks are superb.

Our first dinner was during their opening week, which felt a little chancy, but turned out amazing. Both the service and the food was delicious. We ended up with a fancier fish than what was on the menu, and the flavors were perfect. The dishes on the menu have changed with each visit, and I highly recommend ordering a variety of options to taste the range of textures, flavors, and cooking techniques. We have tried to order at least one dish from the Chef’s Specialties, and these have often been our favorite of the meal.

The mixed drinks are also delicious, and I’ve focused on options where I don’t have the ingredients available at home.

While my digestive system is no longer equal to chef’s menus (simply too much food in one sitting for me), we have gotten rave reviews of the Rice Table approach from friends. If you are young and hunger (or older and stronger than me), go for it!

The space is in the same little retail development as Baskin-Robbins, and is light and airy. Since it’s an old strip mall, there is parking out front, and you can make reservations using the Resy application.

Website: https://www.gadogadopdx.com/
Address: 1801 NE Cesar E. Chavez Bvld.
Phone: 503.206.8778

NE Sunshine Dairy distribution building getting awesome murals

Cool Portland stuff, NE Portland

Sunshine Dairy truck in front of the building with giant milk carton on top
The Sunshine Dairy milk carton glows behind the truck after dark

I have a penchant for large versions of everyday things (milk cartons, pink elephants (Seattle!), beer bottles, etc.), and so have always loved the Sunshine Dairy distribution center in NE Portland on NE 20th just south of I-84 crossover. There is a giant (formerly) rotating milk carton on their building. They have closed and the property will presumably be redeveloped (discussions of apartments and whatnot have been in the media, but nothing seems to be moving fast).

I am very concerned about my giant milk carton (we should make sure we save it!), but I am also delighted to see the building getting a number of murals. Since it’s just down the street from my favorite beetles (dung?) on the side of the Eutectic gallery, this seems great. Plus the building was getting random, uncreative tags. The murals still being created, but I’m already enjoying them!

Lloyd neighborhood and the parking lots

Lloyd, NE Portland, Urban planning and development

Sign announcing the closure of the Lloyd Center parking lot in April 2018I walk through the Lloyd neighborhood (also called a district) almost every day. And this is an interesting area in central Portland with so many intriguing opportunities. Similar to the surface parking lots in NW Portland around NW 21st and Savier that are all turning into buildings, there is a lot of unused or very underutilized land between NE 16th and the river and NE Irving and NE Broadway.

There was a period of time about four years ago (around 2015-16) that I thought the neighborhood was about to pop. And unlike parts of Portland where there is a lot of existing housing (affordable or otherwise), the neighborhood is a lot of surface parking lots and low commercial buildings.

The encouraging signs:

  • Hassalo & 7th apartment buildings (built! but still empty retail space)
  • Affordable housing at NE Holladay and Grand Ave. (being built!)
  • Convention Center area getting new buildings and renovation (underway)
  • Increased use and care for Holladay Park at the max station (happening, although we always seem to be a moment from backsliding — but the activities and maintenance are very nice)
  • Redevelopment of Lloyd Center mall (sort of happened, but there is a long way to go)
    • Entrance/staircase at 12th or so is built, but has some usability challenges
    • Nordstrom space turning into music venue (maybe still happening, but not a lot of action going on there)
    • Movie theater going into a pushed out Sears space and the addition of office space (maybe still happening?)
  • Possible continuing build-out of the Oregon blocks just to the south of the Hassalo development (stalled but one of the existing buildings did get renovated)
  • Apartment buildings in the parking lot of the Regal Cinemas movie theater at NE 16th & Multnomah (stalled and parking lot remains empty — could we do something fun with this space?)
  • Redevelopment of the land where the Regal Cinemas currently is located and the parking lots to the east of Sears space in Lloyd Center mall (stalled)

But things seem to have ground to a halt. So, what I want to ask, is what could this neighborhood be? What can we do right now to continue to use this space in the best way possible?

 

Things I love when walking in Portland

Walking

Welcome to my running list about all of the things I love about walking in Portland.

  1. Sidewalks that are easy to walk on and protected from traffic
  2. Crosswalks
    1. Good signage
    2. Protected area to step out to indicate to drivers that I intend to walk across the street
    3. Electric signals
  3. Traffic signals that automatically have a walk cycle (no need to worry about missing hitting the button)
  4. Sidewalks and paths that follow the most direct route
  5. Fun touches (official or otherwise)
    1. Art on the intersection
    2. Decorative people painted in bike paths
    3. Murals
    4. Art
    5. Little Free Libraries
  6. Walking across or along the Willamette
  7. Admiring all the plants
  8. Slowing down and seeing (and hearing) birds
  9. Checking out the bioswales
  10. Interesting buildings and delightful architectural flourishes
  11. Easily shifting to mass transit or a bikeshare if needed
  12. Discovering public stairs or other handy cut-through to get where I need to go (or explore something new)