Fight Toxic Prisons!

5–9 p.m. Wed, Apr 19, In Other Words, FREE
Attendees will spend the first 90 minutes of this event writing letters to prisoners with Critical Resistance Portland. This will be followed by a talk by anti-prison organizers Rose Harriot and Panagioti Tsolkas.

Children of Beqaa

7 p.m. Thu, Apr 20, PSU’s Smith Memorial Student Union, FREE
Catch a free screening of this new documentary about Syrian refugees in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley. Director Elias Matar will be in attendance.

Prism Ribbon Cutting

11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Fri, Apr 21, Prism, FREE
Take a tour of Prism Health, a brand-new community clinic dedicated to serving LGBTQ Portlanders. The event will also feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a performance by the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus.

Resistance Talks! Candidate Forum on Public Education

6–8 p.m. Fri, Apr 21, PCC Cascade Auditorium, $5 suggested donation
Hosted by Know Your City and Portland’s Resistance, this forum will cover an array of education topics, including school vouchers, DACA, school funding, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Speakers will include candidates for Portland Public Schools zones 4–6 and PCC zone 5.

Spiritrials

7:30 p.m. Fri–Sun, Apr 21–23; 7:30 p.m. Thu–Sun, Apr 27–30, Disjecta Contemporary Art Center, $12–20
Spoken-word poet Dahlak Brathwaite performs a verse-fueled exploration of race, drug addiction, and the criminal justice system.

Rodney King

7:30 p.m. Fri–Sun and 2 p.m. Sun, Apr 21–23, Artist Repertory Theatre, $15–30
This month marks 25 years since four LAPD officers were acquitted for their part in the brutal beating of Rodney King, a verdict that sparked riots claiming the lives of more than 50 people. Actor, playwright, and longtime Spike Lee collaborator Roger Guenveur Smith explores the story of what he calls “the first reality TV star” in his one-man show Rodney King. Now Smith ends the piece’s four-year-run in Portland, before the work goes onto Netflix in the form of a Spike Lee film, with Smith at the center. For more, check out our Q&A with Smith.

Robin Romm in Conversation with Camas Davis

7:30 p.m. Fri, Apr 21, Powell’s City of Book, FREE
Local writer and editor Robin Romm has gathered thinkers from Roxane Gay to playwright Sarah Ruhl to talk about glass ceilings, leaning in, and feminism in Double Bind: Women on Ambition. 

Inaugurada La Primavera

Fri–Sat, Apr 21–22, Melody Ballroom/Crystal Ballroom, prices vary
The creators of the Beloved Festival partner with Voz Workers’ Rights Education Project for two nights of food, music (including Edna Vasquez and Las Cafeteras), live art, and ecstatic dance. All Saturday proceeds go directly to Voz, an organization that works to empower migrants and day laborers.

Portland EcoFilm Festival

7:30 p.m. Fri and 6:30 p.m. Sat, Apr 21–22, Hollywood Theatre, $9
Celebrate Earth Day with screenings of two eco-minded documentaries. Friday brings Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, a documentary about the farmer-activist, and Saturday features Chasing Coral, a Sundance Audience Award winner about the planet’s rapidly disappearing coral reefs.

March for Science

10 a.m.–2 p.m. Sat, Apr 22, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, FREE
Portland joins marchers all over the country to celebrate science and call for evidence-based policy from America’s elected officials.   

Sweet Justice Vegan Bake Sale for One Tail At a Time

1–4 p.m. Sat, April 22, Jet Black Coffee Company, FREE
Stock up on sweet treats at this donation-based bake sale (cash only!). All proceeds will be donated to One Tail at at Time, and several adorable, adoptable dogs will be waiting to meet you on-site. 

Modern Calligraphy for Designers

6:30–9:30 p.m. Tue, Apr 25, The Cleaners, $55
Paperfinger’s Bryn Chernoff leads a workshop promising a fun, informative introduction to contemporary calligraphy covering tools, stylistic effects, and digital manipulation. All profits go to the ACLU, with attendees encouraged to exercise their new calligraphy skills while writing letters to Congress.

Free Speech: Believe It or Not

6:30–9 p.m. Wed, Apr 26, Wildfang West, $10 (free with Wildfang purchase in last 30 days)
For the first time ever, Wildfang’s monthly female-focused live storytelling event will feature non-binary speakers—and be hosted by Portland Monthly’s own Poison Waters. Ten percent of proceeds will be donated to Planned Parenthood.

Queer Students of Color Conference: Decolonizing Queerness

Fri–Sun, Apr 28–30, Portland State University, $10-25
PSU’s seventh annual Queer Students of Color Conference will feature keynote speakers Caleb Luna, Karolina Lopez, Kay Barrett, and Taylor Amari Little.

Pochas Present: Nalgona Positivity Pride!

6–7:30 p.m. Fri, Apr 28, 3520 SE Yamhill St, $10–20
This talk by Nalgona Positivity Pride founder (and Xicana/Indigenous body positivity advocate) Gloria Lucas will focus on the connections between historical trauma, social oppression, and eating disorders. 

Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

11 a.m.–4 p.m. Sat, Apr 29, PNCA Library, FREE
Want to help close Wikipedia’s gender gap? A 2011 survey found that less than 10 percent of the online encyclopedia’s contributors identify as female, which has led to the spread of these edit-a-thons, where folks gather for in-person, communal editing jams to expand Wikipedia entries on art and feminism. Computers are available, but bring your laptop if you have one. Tutorials and reference materials provided.

Craft and Cookie for NRO

10 a.m.–2 p.m. Sun, Apr 30, Food Fight Grocery (Stark), FREE
Local maker Panda with Cookie will be selling stuffed toys, baby onesies, cat toys, and baked goods; 50 percent of craft sales and 100 percent of baked good sales will be donated to the Network for Reproductive Options. Food Fight will also donate 10 percent of sales that day to the NRO. 

Connecting Lines

Thru Oct 29, Portland Art Museum, FREE–$19.99
PAM’s Center for Contemporary Native Art showcases work by two artists: Luzene Hill (Eastern Band Cherokee) examines sexual violence against Native women via large-scale silk hangings, while an installation by Portlander Brenda Mallory (Cherokee Nation) “addresses ideas of disruption, repair, and renewal.”