Gimme Five

Portland’s Best Free Concert Venues

Parks, pubs, and street corners with live music that don’t cost a thing.

05/27/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

Snow!

Best Not-Too-Exciting Sledding Hills Around Portland

Portland is not a sledder's paradise, and we’re OK with that.

02/03/2025 By Portland Monthly Staff

All of the Lights

For the 10th Portland Winter Light Festival, Artists Look Forward

Since 2016, the Portland Winter Light Festival has illuminated the city with dramatic sculptures and interactive installations. This year, it imagines the future.

01/13/2025 By Brooke Jackson-Glidden

Oregon Trails

Step Inside the Oregon Coast’s Historic Bowling Alleys

Life’s a beach. Then you bowl.

01/07/2025 By Margaret Seiler Illustrations by Jordan Kay

Deep Fake

We Took a Spin Around OMSI’s Plastic Ice Rink

The Swiss-made synthetic surface is Glice, Glice, baby.

12/17/2024 By Margaret Seiler

Shopping

9 Portland-Area Malls, Ranked

Pioneer Place, Clackamas Town Center, Washington Square, and more—which ones are retail heaven, and which should come with a sad trombone?

11/20/2024 Edited by Margaret Seiler By Portland Monthly Staff

Blades of Glory

Portland’s Downtown Ice Rink Is Back

Get ready to glide.

11/08/2024 By Margaret Seiler

Get Lost

Lose Yourself in These 7 Portland-Area Corn Mazes

Work your way through the dead ends and wrong turns, then reward yourself with apple cider doughnuts.

10/07/2024 By Portland Monthly Staff

Cinema

Where to Watch Horror Movies on the Big Screen in Portland This Halloween

The city’s classic theaters are ready to bring a chill to your October.

10/02/2024 By Conner Reed and Matthew Trueherz

Berry Good

Where to Pick Your Own Berries This Fruit-Filled Season

We found the perfect U-pick farm for every type of Portlander.

07/02/2024 By Portland Monthly Staff

The Game of Portland

The Roller Coaster of Summer in the Rose City

Catch a Pickles game, hike in the mountains, bike naked, and jump in the river—just watch out for wildfire smoke and swimmer's itch.

05/24/2024 By Portland Monthly Staff Illustrations by Hawk Krall

Summer Fun

Portland Pickles 2024 Schedule Is Here: Robots, Farts, Monty Python

Tickets are on sale for nights dedicated to Dilly Parton, the Simpsons, and sleep—oh, and baseball games, too.

03/06/2024 By Margaret Seiler

Glow Up

Cosmic Tubing Is the Mood-Enhancing Activity You Need

Find neon lights, party tunes, and a jolt of joy on Mount Hood’s snowy slopes.

02/27/2024 By Rebecca Jacobson

First Person

Who Powers Portland’s Bike and Walk School Buses?

A cycling mom joins walk and bike buses helping kids get to school in neighborhoods rich and poor, where volunteers keep the wheels turning.

08/28/2023 By Ellee Thalheimer Photography by Thomas Teal

Getaway

Perfect Plan: Where to Eat, Stay, and Play (with or without Kids) in San Francisco

Reports of the city’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

08/03/2023 By Dalila Brent and Margaret Seiler

Cycling

Get Naked: Pedalpalooza’s Essential August Rides

The bike festival’s most famous ride, the World Naked Bike Ride, is back, plus four other recommended rides featuring lizards, gravel, freeway history, and ice cream.

08/01/2023 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Berries

Strawberry Crisis! U-Pick Season Is Almost Over

If you’ve got U-Pick in your summer plans, the time to go is today, as farms struggle with a short season.

06/21/2023 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Oregon Coast

You Want to See the 2023 Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest Winners

Teams built for up to five hours to create gravity-defying sand art at the 59th annual competition.

06/16/2023 By Sam Stites

Juneteenth

Black Cowboys in Portland? Yep, the Juneteenth Rodeo Is Here

Mark your calendar for June 17, when the Portland Expo Center hosts the 8 Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo, where Black cowboys will compete for $60,000 in prize money.

06/12/2023 By Dalila Brent Photography by Ivan McClellan

Pride

Pride Parades and Events 2023: Portland Upgrades to 2 Months of Celebrations

The big parade moves to July, but June is still packed with Pride events, from the Portland Gay Men's Chorus Disney Show to the Queer Wine Fest.

06/08/2023 By Margaret Seiler