Things to Do

The Best Shows and Events in Portland, July 2026

The Hollywood Theatre turns 100, Pride, Pickathon, and competitive fencing.

07/01/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson, Margaret Seiler, and Matthew Trueherz

Curtain Call

Ring, Ring.... Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble Calling.

Telephone, a play about the history of electric speech, marks the troupe’s 15 years of dialing up extreme efforts to communicate.

06/08/2026 By Matthew Trueherz Photography by Jason Hill

Cobra Pose

A Portland Reptile Shop Strikes It Big with Snake Yoga

At Hisss, downward dog comes with a massage from a ball python.

03/30/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Long Story Short

At Oregon Ballet Theatre, Dani Rowe Takes on Marilyn Monroe

Rowe, the first woman to serve as the company's artistic director, has wanted to tell Monroe's story since Kim Kardashian wore the actor’s dress to the Met Gala.

03/24/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson Photography by Jason Hill

On and Off Broadway

The Theater Designer Who Designed a Theater

After The Lion King on Broadway, Olympic ceremonies, Taylor Swift stages, and Super Bowl halftime shows, Michael Curry wants a bigger stage.

03/03/2025 By Matthew Trueherz Photography by Jason Hill Illustrations by Michael Byers

Heat Seeking

Destination Saunas in Oregon and Beyond

Shvitz in a “wine barrel,” cold plunge in a river, or soak up the steam from a bubbling hot spring.

10/30/2024 Edited by Brooke Jackson-Glidden and Rebecca Jacobson

Au Musée

Getting Handsy with Monet’s Water Lilies at PAM

Stripping unwanted varnish gives the Impressionist masterpiece new life, and peels back some of the painting’s intimidating context.

10/14/2024 By Matthew Trueherz Photography by Jason Hill

In the Gym

All Bodies Strong Is Leading Portland’s Size-Inclusive Fitness Movement

It’s the city’s only gym explicitly designed for fat liberation.

09/23/2024 By Alice Wolfe Photography by Jason Hill

Lingua Franca

Portland Artist Sidony O’Neal Mines Math and Art for Connective Tissue

What can mathematical proofs, linguistics, and swimming pool ladders teach us about each other?

08/13/2024 Photography by Jason Hill By Matthew Trueherz

Memoir

Breaking Bread and Capitalism with Lola Milholland

The Umi Organic founder’s memoir challenges the nuclear family model with food.

08/01/2024 Photography by Jason Hill By Matthew Trueherz

Golden Years

Secrets of Our Wisest Portlanders

We've got the scoop about everything from friendships that last to retirement planning to midlife career pivots.

03/22/2024 By Portland Monthly Staff

Golden Years

Lifestyles of the Happy and Gray

For our wisest Portlanders, flexible schedules and good company are the key to joy.

03/21/2024 By Andi Prewitt and Arianne Cohen Photography by Jason Hill

Golden Years

Can Third-Act Careers Work Out?

We asked artists, literary agents, career coaches, and gallerists about who succeeds in midlife creative careers.

03/20/2024 By Rachel Saslow Photography by Jason Hill

Golden Years

The 50-Year Portland Friendship

Some friendships predate light rail, the microbrew boom, or the Blazers' one championship. A longtime local reflects on youth and old age in Rose City.

03/19/2024 By Andrea Carlisle Photography by Jason Hill

Till Death

What Separates Tattoo Connoisseurs from Art Collectors?

For many patrons of the extraordinarily tactile medium, tattoos aren't so different from paintings.

03/11/2024 By Matthew Trueherz Photography by Jason Hill

Black Art History is Black History

Intisar Abioto on curating the Black Artists of Oregon exhibition at the Portland Art Museum.

09/13/2023

Profile

Ricky Simón Punches Up

The Vancouver-raised fighter has risen from Portland’s under-the-radar MMA scene to the top rung of the UFC. His next fight can’t come soon enough.

02/28/2023 By Tony Perez Photography by Jason Hill

Long Story Short

Drea Johnson of Hidden Opulence Wants to Help Save Your Clothes

The founder of the Southeast Portland design studio talks apparel sustainability, fast fashion, sewing education, and human contact.

11/02/2022 By Dalila Brent Photography by Jason Hill

Work

After WeWork (and the Pandemic), Here Comes Coworking's Next Wave

These four coworking spaces in Portland offer flexibility, community, and some ridiculously cool amenities.

02/24/2022 By Shannon Daehnke

Visual Art

Inside the Portland Art Museum’s Aux/Mute Gallery

DJ Ambush of the Numberz has transformed part of PAM’s fourth floor into a platform for BIPOC artists.

12/20/2021 By Conner Reed