Concerts and Festivals

Pickathon
Aug 2-4; Pendarvis Farm
It’s the 15th edition of Pickathon, an annual celebration of old-time country twang, roots music, and hillbilly hullabaloo. This year’s lineup includes Feist, Andrew Bird, Sharon Van Etten, Ty Segall, Tift Merritt, Kurt Vile, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, the Devil Makes Three, and many more—all set to pick and grin under the open sky. Bring an empty stomach, too, because as we all know, old-fashioned country cooking tastes better in the great outdoors. Check out our preview for eight not-to-miss bands. 

Mt. Hood Jazz Festival
Aug 2-3, from 11am-10pm; Gresham Center for the Arts Plaza 
Since 1981, this festival has been an annual gathering of hepcat Portlanders and jazz artists great and small, often meeting in intimate venues for concerts, impromptu jams, and workshops. 

Pink Martini
Aug 2-3 at 6:30 pm; McMenamins Edgefield
The 12 person, multi-lingual band has performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall to Paris' legendary L'Olympia Theatre. On consecutive nights, connoisseurs of fine music can lose themselves in lush sounds and tango their troubles away as pianist Thomas Lauderdale and his colleagues create an atmosphere of swank sophistication at Edgefield's lovely outdoor lawn. 

Special Events

Opera in the Park: Otello
Aug 2 & 4, 6pm; Washington Park Rose Garden Amphitheatre & Concordia University Campus Green
What’s more beautiful: a pristine rose, or the sweep of a pitch-perfect aria? You don’t have to choose at Opera in the Park, which takes on Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello. In 2010, Opera in the Park, consistently one of the most popular events in the Washington Park Summer Festival, drew close to 6,000 people to two performances of Il Trovatore, starring Metropolitan Opera singer Angela Meade as Leonora. This year, she returns to take on the role of Desdemona in Verdi's opera. Read our Q&A with Ms. Meade herself. 

Drive-in at Zidell
Aug 2-4 at 7:30pm; Zidell Yards
In partnership with the NW Film Center, Zidell Yards is bringing back the classic date-nights of yore with a perfect lineup and a scenic setting that beats the dirty lots our parents got. Held directly under the Ross Island Bridge, films begin at dusk and include Singin' in the Rain (Aug 3), Jaws (Aug 4), and Blue Velvet (Aug 5). There will also be special midnight showing of Dazed and Confused on Saturday. If you don't bring your car, be sure to brings chairs or something soft to sit on (inflatable mattress, anyone?), as the viewing area is on a gravel lot.  

Comedy

Ian Karmel: Portland as F***
Aug 1 at 7:30; Hollywood Theatre
As a columnist for the Mercury, guest star on Portlandia, and commentator for the Trail Blazers, is there anyone who signifies Portland more than Ian Karmel? His farewell show combines music (featuring musical guests Raise the Bridges) and comedy, bringing his weekly columnn to life for one last performance before he moves to Los Angeles (which we hate, because it keeps stealing our favorite comedians).  

Theater

Trek in the Park
Aug 3-25 at 5pm; Cathedral Park
Now entering its fifth and final year, Trek in the Park has become the stadium rocker of local outdoor performances. Last year’s lo-fi production of a Star Trek episode drew a whopping 1,000 audience members during its closing performance. For its grand finale, Trek takes on the cult classic episode: "The Trouble with Tribbles," in which adorable fuzzy creatures threaten to drown the Enterprise. Oh, to drown in such cuteness! We have a guide on how to make tribbles to contribute to the deluge in our Summer Guide.

Julius Caesar
Aug 1-17 at 7:30 pm; Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza
Scott Palmer and Bag & Baggage Productions shake up Shakespeare in this daring, gender-swapped retelling of the tragedy about the ambitious Roman emperor assassinated by his, er, her own men, uh, women. Perhaps Julia She-sar might be a more appropriate title? Read more about the summer Shakespeare lineup in our Summer Guide. 

My Fair Lady
Aug 1-18 at 7:30; Deb Fennell Auditorium
Can scholarly busybody Henry Higgins transform a Cockney flower seller into a reasonable facsimile of a sophisticated lady? In Lerner and Loewe’s treasured musical, the classic songs will pour out like “The Rain in Spain.”

Visual Art

Downtown Galleries' August Shows
Human torsos hung like animal hides at Blue Sky (in a poignant juxtaposition to portraits of facial paralysis), photos of sinks swallow you whole at Elizabeth Leach, and tiny paintings stall you in your tracks at Froelick. Here's our menu to the downtown gallery shows that will feast your eyes in August.