Matthew Trueherz is the senior associate editor at Portland Monthly, where he oversees arts and culture coverage and writes criticism and reported stories on art and restaurants. Matthew has also written for Taste and Epicurious.

seeing things

Things to Do in Portland This Week, January 2026

45 years of Elizabeth Leach Gallery, and other events in town this week.

01/22/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

Words with Friends

The Open Mic That Counts Amateurs and Award-Winning Authors as Regulars

One-Page Wednesdays, hosted by Portland novelist Emme Lund, feels like a public writers’ group.

01/22/2026 By Matthew Trueherz Illustrations by Stephan Dybus

Concerts

The Best Music Festivals in Portland and Across Oregon

Project Pabst, Pickathon, Aminé’s Edgefield party, and the Blues Fest are just a fraction of the state’s robust festival circuit.

01/20/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

seeing things

Brooklyn Author Colm Tóibín Is at the Schnitz

An elegant art of numbers, and other events in town this week.

01/15/2026 By Matthew Trueherz and Alex Frane

Arts & Crafts

8 Low-Stakes Craft Classes and Workshops in Portland

Sew something. Cook something. Make some perfume. Feel human again.

01/13/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

seeing things

Mickalene Thomas’s Love Letter to Her Mother

4 Palestinian Poets, and other events in town this week.

01/08/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

For the Record

Remember How Everybody Was in Portlandia?

An incomplete list of the show’s celebrity cameos.

01/05/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

Television

15 Years Ago, Portlandia Told Portland Who It Was

Though it has undeniably shaped the city’s reputation, what exactly the show “did” to Portland is less cut-and-dried.

01/02/2026 By Matthew Trueherz Illustrations by Lisa Sheehan (Photo courtesy Chris Hornbecker/IFC)

Hit List

Portland’s Most Iconic Dishes

The Korean pork shoulder sandwiches, wonton nachos, foie gras profiteroles, and other culinary stars.

12/30/2025 By Alex Frane, Brooke Jackson-Glidden, and Matthew Trueherz

Required Reading

Must-Visit Portland Indie Bookstores

Our list of more than 20 shops spotlighting the African diaspora and children’s books, sci-fi and fantasy, artist monographs, comics, and…yarn?

12/22/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

At the Gallery

Christmas Special: The Gay Folk Art of Jeffry Mitchell

With a Tannenbaum and fireplace, the Portland artist leverages folk art’s autobiographical traces to celebrate queer home life.

12/11/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

seeing things

A Holiday Market of Glossies and Art Books

The Portland Art Book Fair, Little Women, and other events in town.

12/11/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

Bookshelf

Portland Monthly’s Best Books of 2025

Our favorite fiction and nonfiction, children’s books, cartoons, and comics of the year by Oregon authors.

12/08/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

seeing things

To Nutcracker or NOT-Cracker?

Two takes on the classic ballet, and other events in town.

12/04/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

at the gallery

At 50, Blue Sky Gallery Still Believes in Photography

Portland’s international photo gallery has been one of the art form’s biggest players since day one.

12/04/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

music preview

The Biggest Portland Concerts of Winter 2025–2026

Cardi B, Cat Power, Sudan Archives, Earl Sweatshirt, John Legend—and a Pink Martini New Year’s.

12/02/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

Shop Talk

4 Portland Stores We Adore for IRL Holiday Shopping

Close the laptop and pound the pavement for martini dad hats and vinyl your biggest music nerd will love.

11/24/2025 By Alex Frane, Brooke Jackson-Glidden, and Matthew Trueherz

Food History

The 25 Restaurants That Made Portland

Portland was not a food city in the year 2000. Over the past quarter century, these restaurants changed that.

11/14/2025 Edited by Matthew Trueherz By Portland Monthly Staff Illustrations by Max-O-Matic

seeing things

Portland Authors Present Norwegian Film Dreams at the Tomorrow Theater

Plus the history of Portland concert posters at Mint Gallery Records, and more.

11/13/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

Profile

Ralph Pugay Is Troubling Paradise

The Portland artist’s collages capture the fractured beauty of his own queer, immigrant experience.

11/13/2025 By Matthew Trueherz