Portland
Blog: This Week in Portland June 23 - June 30,
2012
Hey,
Portlanders. Welcome to
another edition of our all-local Portland
blog!
We finally--FINALLY--!
made it to our gloriously long-awaited Portland summer (yet as I write
this, it is still raining outside.. which I am totally ignoring, of
course.)
I'd like to invite you to read WWEEK's
article, "It's
not a
Portland Summer until you've..." for
some ideas of fun summertime past
times and stupidly Portland things to do that coincide with out
all-too-brief sunny warm season. "Locals
talk about Portland summers in near spiritual terms..." (read more)
This is actually true.
When defending to my friends and family why it
is I choose to live in a city where it rains like
5...no-7...no--maybe-like-9 months or
so out of the year, I often do wax nostalgic about the Portland
summers.
Because honestly, if there is a heaven, to me I imagine it
looks a lot like
Portland in the summertime. Do you realize how lucky we are?
Portland in the summertime is amazing! We Portlanders know how to cram
it all in,
too. We crawl out of our annual wet winter hibernation, all
pale-skinned and starved for sunshine, primed and ready for a hearty
dose of Vitamin D, and adrenaline (or beer or coffee) fueled fun. From PedalPalooza
to the Portland Adult Soapbox
Derby,
to any number of
bike/run/brew/music/patio events outdoors, we are ready for Portland
summer fun. And, we earned it! (And just around the
corner at the tail end of summer, is MusicFestNW,
the icing on the cake to end summer, as far as I am concerned).
Anyway, read WWEEK's
Portland Summer Guide if you
need some ideas of things to do when the sun comes out. And,
of course, read our weekly blog, too. We try to cover
neighborhood and super local Portland events to give you lots of ideas
for fun things to do in Portland.
North
Portland Sunday Parkways
Speaking of outdoor
family-friendly fun, this weekend is another Portland Sunday Parkways
event. Celebrate summer with a host of Portland neighbors,
and celebrate a strong sense of community while walking or biking
throughout our North Portland neighborhoods.
Join
us June 24th in North Portland!
Portland
Sunday Parkways promotes
healthy active living through a series of free events opening the
city's largest public space - its streets - to walk, bike, roll, and
discover active transportation.
Sunday
Parkways fosters civic
pride, stimulates economic development, and represents the community,
business, and government investments in Portland's vitality,
livability, and diversity.
Portland Summer Movies
in the Park
Well, it wouldn't feel like summer without outdoor movies on the lawn
at your favorite Portland park, would it? Take the family, and enjoy
outdoor movies at several Portland parks this summer. Here's
the
Portland Movies in the Park 2012 Schedule.
PedalPalooza
Continues this week! Pedalpalooza is 3+ weeks of bikey fun. With 293
different events, most organized by individuals, bikers of all
persuasions are likely to find many events of interest. Nearly all
events are free. Visit http://www.shift2bikes.org/cal/viewpp2012.php
Portland
Karaoke
Written
by Portland Guest Writer Jamal St. Peters
Ok,
so this is not
summer-specific, but it certainly applies to any night in Portland. The
culture of
Portland is synonymous with a host of fabulous and quirky things. We
have beards, bicycles, tattoos, food carts, microbrews, and last but
definitely not least -- we have KARAOKE!
In
the last 15 years
Karaoke bars have sprung from the Portland landscape like so many Ink
Cap mushrooms in a Pacific Northwest forest. With
over 120 bars and restaurants (120? Really? Check out http://karaokeinformer.com/venues.htm)
offering you a
chance to step up to the mic, there is no shortage of opportunities for
you and your friends to get your “sing-song” on.
Luckily
just about
every karaoke spot in Portland offers the alcoholic
beverages you’ll need to get up on stage for your 3 minutes
of fame.
Whether you enjoy
singing to
a raucous crowd of drunk strangers who will cheer you on relentlessly
no matter how poor your singing chops, or if want to cozy up in a
private suite with just you and a few of your closest friends, Portland
has a karaoke spot for you.
So
down that shot of
whiskey, take your beta blockers, shake off that stage fright, and grab
the spotlight at one of these awesome Portland karaoke venues!
If the idea of getting
up in front of a room full of complete strangers and belting your heart
out does not appeal to you or if you’re an old pro tired of
waiting 3 hours to sing one song, Voicebox Karaoke is the place for
you! With a decent sized song book and private rooms complete with
couches, disco ball, and big screen TV’s there’s no
competing for mic time with regulars, KJs, and all their closest
friends. This
Portland Karaoke convenience comes at a cost - $7/hr per person. The
budget conscious
should plan to take advantage of their Tuesday night special when you
can sing all night long for only $10.
2.
Ambassador Restaurant
– 4744 NE Sandy, Portland, OR
– 503.280.0330
As one of the original
karaoke bars in Portland, the Ambassador has karaoke down to a science.
Big stage, cheesy disco ball, and bright lights put the attention
squarely on you. Their huge song list is unrivaled. I’ve
found songs here that I’ve never seen anywhere else. Their
whole system is computerized so you can see how many people are ahead
of you and what they’re singing. You can only put one song in
at a time so you don’t have to worry about regulars or big
tippers getting more turns than others. The Ambassador is also one of
the only clubs in Portland that offers family karaoke. From
5pm – 9pm on Sunday bring the kids and enjoy!
3.
The Alibi
- 4024 N Interstate, Portland, OR
- 503.287.5335
I come to the Alibi
for the atmosphere and the food, and stay for the singing. The drinks
are yummy and strong. The food is varied and quite tasty. The wait time
for karaoke can be long on a busy night. I’ve waited upwards
of two hours and not been called up to sing. Luckily the food and drink
are a good distraction. Everyone always seems to be in a good mood at
the Alibi. Most will sing along and clap enthusiastically when
you’re done. Who
can blame them? The laid back mood of this tiki bar is contagious!
Find even more Portland Karaoke Bars
and read reviews on BarFlyMag.com
and Yelp.com.
New
Self Storage Facility in South Waterfront – Now OPEN!
South Waterfront Heated Storage offers a State of the Art Self-Storage
facility located in Portland, Oregon. This modern day Self-Storage
Facility offers extravagant features including: A digital camera
surveillance system, personalized customer access codes and
individually alarmed unit doors. Also find multiple covered/heated
loading areas, freight elevators and a large quantity of flatbed carts;
making your moving experience a breeze!
Just minutes from John’s Landing, Sellwood and Lake Oswego;
South Waterfront Heated Storage offers you a convenient location while
providing great customer service. Also find moving and packing supplies
– Your one stop shopping center!
Open 7 days a week! Stop
in for a cup of coffee and a tour of this cutting edge facility
– Great Move-in Specials Available!
Learn how you can receive up to 50% off your 1st 2 Months Rent!
The
Portland Photo of the Week
The
Portland Photo of the
Week is by Michael
Barton, who
is known for posting great photos of our Portland Parks and
recreational areas around town. These tranquil images are of
North Portland's Smith and Bybee Wetlands.
From OregonMetro.gov:
At nearly 2,000 acres,
Metro’s Smith
and Bybee
Wetlands Natural Area is the
largest protected wetlands within an
American city. This beautiful natural area is one of the
region’s best-kept secrets, hiding in a part of Portland
surrounded by port terminals, warehouses and other commercial
developments. Most visitors to the natural area are surprised to find
beaver, river otter, black-tailed deer, osprey, bald eagles and Western
painted turtles living only minutes from downtown Portland.
Smith
and Bybee Wetlands
by Michael Barton
Our Portland
Photo of the Week winner gets a
$20 gift certificate to a local Portland business of our choosing. This
week our winner is treated to
Powells Books, the largest indie
bookstore in the world!
Powells
Bookstore Portland Oregon-
If you're a book lover and you live in Portland Oregon, then Powells
Bookstore is no surprise to you because it is a local favorite.
Powell's City of Books is one of the most visited spots in town whether
you're visiting Portland and looking for popular places to visit, or
whether you've lived in Portland your entire life. they say
80,000 people browse the shelves of Powells each
day. If you're visiting with a group, you can evenarrange a
tour.
"From humble storefront beginnings in 1971 on a derelict corner of
northwest Portland, Oregon, Powell's Books has grown into one of the
world's great bookstores, with seven locations in the Portland
metropolitan area, and one of the book world's most successful dot-coms
(www.powells.com), serving customers worldwide." (Powells.com)
