From clowns on stilts to country music stars and grilled cheese sandwiches...
Portland at night is quite the sight to see. (Scott Chia -- The Beacon)
By Enid Spitz, Staff Writer -- spitz13@up.edu
If you find yourself looking for something to do when you wake up on Saturday morning (or afternoon) look no further...
Zany crafts, beautiful art and the occasional street acrobat are yours to enjoy if you catch the yellow line or 44 or 35 buses to Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Weekend mornings through Dec. 24 the west side of the Willamette under the Burnside Bridge is exploding with art-filled easy-ups, food carts and live music, all part of the Saturday Market, which started in 1974. The Spoonman booth is famous for its cutlery creations, and this market may be the only place to find those tie-dyed long johns you've been hunting for. Plus, right up the street is the world famous VooDoo Doughnut shop with its uniquely inspired treats topped with cereal or bacon.
Wander a Farmers Market
The many farmers markets around Portland are great ways to enjoy these last fleeting days of summer. Almost daily around Portland you can find a market with lots of friendly, local vendors.
While you may not be in need of fresh zucchini for your dorm room, food vendors and live entertainment make markets worthwhile excursions. Most end by 2 p.m., but there are a few evening markets too, such as the one on Northwest 23rd Avenue (nicknamed "trendy-third" for its boutique culture). Portland's largest, PSU's Market runs every Saturday in the University Park blocks until December. Http://portlandfarmersmarket.org has more information.
Pick up a book... at Powell's
The one-of-a-kind Powell's city of books covers an entire city block downtown on 10th and West Burnside Street. It boasts the title of largest bookstore in the world, carrying over one million books. Be careful though, it's easy to get engulfed by the sky-high bookshelves and labyrinthine rooms.
It's not just books either. Comics, magazines, gifts and novelty items are there too. You can even sell back your old books for cash or a gift card. A new art exhibit is featured every month, and, with a full calendar of events, there is always something going on. While perpetually crowded, its café, World Cup, is a great place to sit down with your potential purchases or get some homework done.
Watch a movie - sans theater
Are you craving big screen entertainment on a tight college budget? Portland offers many options for catching films around the city. Throughout the summer, there were movies each week in various parks, often preceded by live entertainment. Best of all, the price is perfect: it's free.
Various permanent theaters offer great cheap movies, too. The Bagdad Theater, a hard to miss landmark on Southeast 37th Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard, has two dollar Tuesdays. On Belmont Street, The Avalon Theater offers daily movies for $2.50. If dinner and a movie appeal to you, the Tin Shed on Alberta Street, a fun little restaurant with a diverse menu, hosts movies Wednesday nights at 8 p.m.
Closer to home, Proper Eats café in the St. Johns neighborhood hosts a weekly Jazz Jam. The café and market, known for its vegetarian and vegan fare, opened in 2006. You can enjoy jazz music with your veggie wrap every Thursday night from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.
Visit a food cart
Portland's food carts are a more urban dining experience. At some point, you're sure to stumble across some random corner of carts serving everything from tacos to Thai food. If you're brave enough you can even try the Cheesus Burger at the Grilled Cheese Grill on Northeast Alberta and 10th Avenue. It's a hamburger wedged between two grilled cheese sandwiches for the buns. Also, just before the Adidas offices on Greeley Avenue is another cluster of carts, which offer anything from pizza to waffles to ice cream cones. Check out http://foodcartsportland.com for a more complete list and maps of the many different food cart locations, then experiment to your heart's content.
Cheer on our teams
For sports fans, http://www.pgepark.com gives a full list of sporting events at PGE Park. Portland is gearing up for the Timbers soccer team to officially become an MLS team in 2011.
The Rose Quarter also provides a full list of entertainment. The Barnum and Bailey Circus, Carrie Underwood and Arcade Fire are just a few upcoming events there. Plus there are always Blazers games to get fired up about. http://Rosequarter.com has more information.
