Summer Adventures

How to seize the season, from volcanoes to music to weed and beyond. Plus: Formula E stops in Portland, local real estate by the numbers, and the dream of a disaster-proof house.

In this issue:

Arts & Culture

Hear Here

Three Songs Shaped by the Pacific Northwest

Black Belt Eagle Scout, Laura Veirs, and Laura Gibson took inspiration from cedars, the sea, and haunted hotels.

07/09/2024 By Rebecca Jacobson

Q&A

Ripping the City with Dontā Laneil

The DJ brings Portland’s Black community together around his beats.

06/24/2024 By Dalila Brent Illustrations by Betty Turbo

Reading Ahead

3 Upcoming Books by Portland Authors

Does your nightstand need a genre-bending food memoir, a wellness-obsessed sci-fi novel, and a first-person report of an adult autism diagnosis? Of course it does.

05/22/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

Life’s Fictions

Miranda July in Conversation with Portland Novelist Chelsea Bieker

“A feeling of recklessness is what made me write it down,” July says of her latest novel, All Fours. “I’m pointing at a thing and calling it out.”

05/15/2024 By Chelsea Bieker Illustrations by Becki Gill

Down the Aisles

11 Portland Authors’ Favorite Indie Bookstores

Where do Renée Watson, Dane Liu, Erica Berry, and Jon Raymond shop for books? Hint: it’s not Amazon.

05/06/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

As Told To

In ‘skin & bones,’ Renée Watson Writes for Her Devout Readers’ Parents

"I’m always writing for that little girl who needed to see herself and her ancestors represented in stories."

05/03/2024 By Matthew Trueherz Photography by Michael Raines

Slow Burn

How Writing Romance Helped Alison Cochrun Embrace Her Queerness

The former high school English teacher, raised and based in Vancouver, is now a full-time author of love stories.

03/29/2024 By Rebecca Jacobson

Busking for Permits

Johnny Franco Wants to Lick the City’s Wounds with His Guitar

A Brazilian immigrant campaigns for a vibrant city, by way of free concerts.

03/29/2024 By Michelle Kicherer

Eat & Drink

Superfan

Dive Bar Devotion: The Mock Crest Tavern

Veggie slider fans David Finley and Cam Schwartzkopf are among many regulars at the beloved North Portland bar.

07/12/2024 By Margaret Seiler Photography by Michael Raines

Field Day

How a Local Mill’s Summer Camp Is Changing Our Relationship with Bread

A look inside Camp Camas, an invite-only gathering for advocates of local grain.

06/10/2024 By Adrian J. S. Hale

Sticker Shock

The Most Expensive Oregon-Made Cheese

Natural lava caves, quaint farmsteads, and the world’s stage. What makes one cheese worth more than another?

04/11/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

Restaurant Review

Xiao Ye’s Cuisine of Delicious Defiance

A menu of canonical Roman pastas, mochi-flour madeleines, and Japanese curry eludes simple labels.

04/09/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

Prepare Yourself

Rejoice: Choco Taco by Taco Bell and Salt & Straw Here This Summer

A tribute to the classic treat hits scoop shops this summer.

02/21/2024 By Zoe Sayler

Home & Real Estate

Real Estate

Portland Suburbs by the Numbers 2024

Are you hot for Happy Valley? Rarin' for Ridgefield? Gaga for Gresham? Check out home sales prices, rent costs, demographics, and walkability for Portland's suburbs.

05/29/2024 Edited by Margaret Seiler