If there were such a thing as the 2023 Facial Expression of the Year, it would be Portlanders slack-jawed, with their eyebrows approaching their hairlines. In comparison to the pandemic hells of 2020 and 2021, 2023 was a glorious year: people enjoyed delicious food and festivals and friends, and the economy didn’t crash. (Yes, the standard is low, but that’s a topic for another day.) Yet rolling into 2024, our eyebrows remain in heavy use, as we continue to be perplexed about interactions with gas station attendants (Is it OK to ask for help? Should we tip?), worried about learning loss after No-school-vember, and on the lookout for cougars.  

10. McMenamins Turns the Big 4-0
The vibe of McMenamins spaces has always ranged from aging hippie to adult contemporary. Now, the local empire is, unquestionably, middle-aged. In 1983, publican brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin took over a corner bar on SE Hawthorne, the first in a bar-restaurant-brewery-hotel-theater-music-venue-winery-distillery-etc. chain that now includes nearly 60 properties in Oregon and Washington. For this year's birthday occasion, McMenamins poured special brews, hosted birthday fêtes, held a scavenger hunt, and launched a podcast—pretty much the way many a Portlander marks their own fourth decade. We celebrated by ranking McMenamins’ Portland-area spots from worst to best.

9. Nike History on the Big Screen
Who’s calling? Oh, it’s Hollywood. Boston buds Matt Damon and Ben Affleck turned their attentions westward to produce and star in a semi-revisionist history of Nike’s 1984 signing of a young phenom named Michael Jordan. Air opened in April, complete with private screenings for Nike staff and alumni, though the company hadn’t been very involved in the production. Locals knew the character depictions and basic facts weren’t exactly accurate (a meek Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser, who in real life was a bombastic figure nicknamed Rolling Thunder?), not to mention the creative geography (Nike’s headquarters is apparently in the woods, with nothing but verdant forest between its shiny buildings and Mount Hood). In upcoming Oscar season campaigning, get ready to see Ben Affleck’s bare feet on a desk as he portrays Nike boss Phil Knight.

8. Heeeere, Cougar Cougar
Remember the cougar spotted on top of Haystack Rock? And the big cat also spotted at Nehalem Bay State Park, which closed a popular trail to visitors for weeks? And the entire cougar family spotted in a Neskowin resident’s driveway? And the cougar discovered in eastern Multnomah County’s Wood Village? You get the trend. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife attributed the sightings to dense cougar populations in southwest Oregon expanding to other regions of the state. 

7. The Ritz-Carlton, Portland Finally Launches
The much-anticipated luxury landmark was controversial before it broke ground, for displacing the beloved Alder Street food cart pod and becoming the harbinger of a future that many Portlanders can't afford. The hotel, which will purportedly anchor the next chapter of the city’s West End, finally opened its doors on Halloween (here’s our write up). Instead of a glittery interior, it is washed in slate grays and hung with tree-like decorations and callouts to Lewis and Clark.

6. Portlanders (Kinda Sorta) Pump Their Own Gas
In August, House Bill 2426 made pumping gas in Oregon legal a lot more confusing. In short: stations are allowed but not required to let Portlanders pump their own. We all swiftly discovered that how we gas up our whips is a bigger part of our collective identity than you might expect. Portlanders were very surprised, not only because they don’t know how to operate the many varieties of local gas pumps, but also because they didn’t recall voting to change the law (because they didn’t).

5. Farewell to Mama Dút, Pepper Box, Lokanta…
It was a rough year of restaurant closings in Portland. Vegan Vietnamese restaurant Mama Dút (it was featured on Netflix’s Street Food USA, along with our very own Karen Brooks), famed for its vegan pork belly, shuttered in November. Malka, one of our Best Restaurants of 2020 and beloved for its beauty-in-chaos plates (some incorporating more than 100 ingredients), closed in February for financial reasons. Other notable closings included fine dining destination Castagna (founded in 1999), classic Jewish deli Kenny & Zuke’s, Turkish restaurant Lokanta, New Mexico brunch spot Pepper Box Café, and chef-crafted nook Tercet.

4. Adios, Walmart and Target
In March, Walmart closed its two stores in Portland city limits. The company’s given explanation was underperformance, but the talking heads who appear on Fox were sure it was due to lawless mobs and a liberal city hall. Texas governor Greg Abbott, who appears unaware that over a dozen Walmarts remain in the metro area, called the closures “what happens when cities refuse to enforce the rule of law.” Later in the year, Target closed three of its Portland stores: downtown’s decade-old location, and two more recently opened stores that occupied former bowling alleys. The Minnesota-based company said organized retail theft was largely to blame, a claim soon called into question by actual crime data. One lesson? Don’t turn bowling alleys into Targets: the low-slung ceilings and bermed entrances do not transform into a pleasant shopping experience.

3. Goodbye, Dame
Blazers fans’ biggest nightmare finally came to pass. After 11 seasons in red and black, Damian Lillard took his talents to the Milwaukee Bucks. In the October trade, the Blazers acquired Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, and Toumani Camara to play alongside first-round draft pick Scoot Henderson. The Blazers currently have more losses than wins, while the Bucks are winning and our former fan fave is averaging over 25 points per game. We’d still trade many things to get Lillard back.

2. Darcelle XV: The End of an Era
We’re so accustomed to calling the Portland-born, Linnton-raised, Old Town–ruling club owner Darcelle (née Walter Cole) “the world’s oldest living drag queen” that we keep having to remind ourselves she’s no longer with us. Cole died on March 23, 2023, at age 92. Celebrated in life—Guinness record titles, historical plaques, a biographical musical, an Oregon Historical Society exhibit of her sequined gowns—Darcelle was fittingly sent off for the next stage of her journey with a glittery, dignitary-packed memorial at the Schnitz in April. Cole’s larger-than-life legacy lives on with his extended stage family, who continue five shows a week at Darcelle XV Showplace on NW Third Avenue.

1. PPS Teachers Strike
Portland Public Schools kids got to nurse their Halloween candy hangovers for nearly a month when the Portland Association of Teachers went on strike November 1–26. It was the first such strike in PPS history, and one of the longer modern US educator strikes, making national headlines and dominating local conversations: kids missed 11 days of school, parents missed teacher conferences, and teachers missed grading days. The new contract ultimately increased pay and planning time for teachers, and missed days are being made up with a shortened winter break, reclaimed in-service and holidays, and a few days of summer vacation. Throughout the strike, teachers marched at daily demonstrations, families struggled with childcare, tempers flared on social media, bars sold “teacher beers” for educators, and some kids (OK, ours) played way too many video games.