Senior editor Rebecca Jacobson steers Portland Monthly’s news and city life coverage and writes about the more-than-human world, history, and arts and culture. She previously served as the magazine’s arts editor and digital editor. A former editor at Willamette Week and The Berliner as well as a contributor to several Wildsam field guides, she has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Montana.

IRL

22 Free Ways to Connect with Your Fellow Portlanders

Dance lessons, movie clubs, sea shanty singalongs, and more no-cost ways to be where the people are.

02/24/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Get Out

What to Do in Oregon in March

Get schooled on cacao history, dissect an owl pellet, watch whales on their way to Alaska, and amble under a canopy of cherry blossoms.

02/24/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson and Portland Monthly Staff

Get Lucky

The Best First Dates, According to Portlanders in the Business of Love and Sex

Streetcar loops, emo karaoke, mini golf, and more ways to spark romance.

02/23/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Long Story Short

At 80, Photographer Sergio Ortiz Is Still Seeking Wonder

The tour guide, raised in the South Bronx and an Oregonian since 1979, remains in awe.

02/17/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson Photography by Michael Novak

Thermophilia

Portland’s New Riverside Saunas Invite a Proper Cold Plunge

Warm up, then take a brisk dunk.

02/11/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Month Ahead

What to Do in Oregon in February

Leaving the house is good for you. This month delivers truffle dog competitions, sausage eating contests, and salty verse. (Also... Saxsquatch?)

01/26/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson and Portland Monthly Staff

Puck Yeah

Portland Is Thirsty for Heated Rivalry

The megahit Canadian show about gay hockey players has inspired trivia, wine pairings, and a growing number of dance parties.

01/15/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Let It Snow

Where to Sled, Snowshoe, and Play in the Snow in Oregon

These are our favorite spots for powder playtime, plus all you need to know about sno-park permits.

01/05/2026 By Julia Silverman, Gabriel Granillo, and Portland Monthly Staff

Month Ahead

What to Do in Oregon in January

Plunge into the Pacific on New Year's Day, dance to folk music in Florence, and cheer on sled dogs in Oregon's answer to the Iditarod.

12/31/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson and Portland Monthly Staff

seeing things

Things to Do in Portland This Week, December 2025

Holcombe Waller's A Very George Michael Christmas, and other events in town.

12/18/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson

Wild World

This Portland-Made Game Is a Crash Course in Animal Sex

Sisters Christa Berce and Gina Berce Lipor learned a lot about duck genitalia.

12/08/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson

Month Ahead

What to Do in Oregon in December

Make crafts at Silver Falls, hunt for ornaments in the forest, hop aboard a Christmas train, and spot gray whales swimming south.

11/26/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson and Margaret Seiler

Glide Time

Where to Cross-Country Ski in the Pacific Northwest

Find tranquil trails, big volcano views, and a glittering ice cave.

11/24/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson

Holidays

Where to Get a Christmas Tree Near Portland

Oregon leads the US in Christmas tree production. Here are our favorite farms and stands to get your Tannenbaum on.

11/20/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson and Portland Monthly Staff

Soak Spots

The Best Hot Springs near Portland

Let off some steam in nature's hot tubs.

11/11/2025 By Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Rebecca Jacobson, and Margaret Seiler

Get Out

What to Do in Oregon in November

Taste olive oil in Dayton, dance to Celtic music in Yachats, gorge on sausage and kraut in Forest Grove, and celebrate Thanksgiving in wine country.

10/29/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson and Isabel Lemus Kristensen

Best of PDX

Your Quintessential Portland Bucket List: 50 Things to Do in Town

These are our city's can't-miss activities, whether you’ve lived here all your life or are just passing through.

10/27/2025 By Portland Monthly Staff

Oregon Trails

The Boom-and-Bust Tales of 8 Oregon Ghost Towns

Hopeful homesteaders, gold mining boomtowns, and resorts that slid into the sea.

10/15/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson Illustrations by Jordan Kay

Long Story Short

A Tiny Travel Bookstore That Takes You Places

Tucked inside Cargo, Patrick Leonard’s Postcard Bookshop is an argument for armchair travel.

08/20/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson

Animal Planet

Have the Vaux’s Swifts Ditched Chapman for Good?

Last fall, the birds abandoned their longtime roost. Now, a city waits in suspense.

08/11/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson