Featured: MusicFest Northwest Presents Project Pabst this weekend in Portland, Aug. 26-28.
This weekend marks the first collaboration between Portland’s two biggest music festivals, Project Pabst and Musicfest Northwest, which are joining forces for an epic lineup as one entity, MFNW Presents Project Pabst. The two-day, two-stage festival takes place in Portland at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
Tickets are still available and are appropriately inexpensive for a cheap beer-themed festival. It’s 21+, if that doesn’t go without saying. Day passes are $55 for either Saturday (Duran Duran, Ice Cube, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Strfkr) or Sunday (Tame Impala, Ween, Parquet Courts, Unknown Mortal Orchestra), or $90 for the whole weekend. Doors open at 12 p.m., shows begin at 1 p.m., and it’s all over by 10 p.m.
The lineup also includes A$AP mob alumnus A$AP Ferg, the rapper behind 2015’s excellent Trap Lord and 2016’s Always Strive and Prosper; six-piece Nashville-based act Diarrhea Planet that boasts four guitarists and an assaulting garage punk aesthetics and the endearing, vulnerable indie group Hop Along.
Party activist, motivational tweeter and punk-rocker Andrew W.K., who, among other feats, set the world record for drumming for 24 straight hours in 2013 and sporadically tweets out advice like, “PARTY TIP: Gently fold a dog’s ear in half and enjoy its velvety softness” or “PARTY TIP: Haters are just people who haven’t quite figured out partying,” will be present at the festival.
Several night shows, including ‘90s hip-hop act Digable Planets, comedian Todd Barry, airy folk act Real Estate, Peter Bjorn and John are making appearances at several venues around town throughout the weekend.
Monday, Aug. 22 through Wednesday, Aug. 24 — Eugene Emeralds v. Everett AquaSox at PK Park — Starts at 7:05 p.m. — Tickets are $8 – $14.
This week, catch the last three games in the series of Emeralds facing the Aquasox at PK Park. Monday is Good Karma Monday; fans can choose their ticket price, as fifty percent will go to the Children’s Miracle Network. Tuesday is Dog Day; fans can bring their dogs to the ballpark’s third base picnic area. Wednesday is Luau Night at the ballpark, as PK Park will “transform into a tropical paradise,” according to the Emerald’s website. Ukuleles and pig roast are not provided.
Wednesday, August 24 — The JSMA’s Art in the Attic 2016 at Oakway Heritage Courtyard — 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Find previously owned art and decor from homes around the community at this annual fundraiser. This event helps fund the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s Fill Up The Bus program, which finances transportation and tour scholarships for K-12 field trips to the JSMA. The fundraiser is organized by Friends of the JSMA.
Thursday, August 25 – Multi-author Launch Party and Reading at Tsunami Books (2585 Willamette St.) — 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — Free.
Authors Valerie Ihsan, Anthony St. Clair, Tanya J. Peterson and Gina Ochsner will read from their latest releases at this event at Tsunami. Themes include a beer-based rivalry between homebrewers and a brewmaster (St. Clair’s “The Lotus and the Barley”), a stoic journey to Scotland after a cancer diagnosis (Ihsan’s “The Scent of Apple Tea”), a young boy piecing together stories of his rural Latvian hometown and its volatile past (Ochsner’s “The Hidden Letters of Velta B.”) and a commentary on how a family man’s mental health can disrupt his semblance of normality (Peterson’s “Twenty-Four Shadows”).
Friday, August 26 – Bard on the Butte brings A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Skinner Butte (155 High St.) — 6 p.m. —Free.
This summer’s string of outdoor productions from the immortal Bard continues this weekend with Shakespeare’s flagship comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Skinner Butte. The free shows, directed by Robert Newcomer, are every evening at 6 p.m., beginning on Aug. 25–28, and again Sept. 1–4.
Bard On The Butte’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Video Invite from Ben M. Jones on Vimeo.
Friday, August 26 – Hamlet at Cottage Theatre (700 Village Dr. in Cottage Grove) — 8 p.m. — Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for youth
If Shakespeare’s dramatic works are more your speed, make a trip to Cottage Grove for Hamlet, directed by Tony Rust. This tragedy, a tale of internal struggle and revenge, features an ensemble of nuanced characters, potent dialogue and Prince Hamlet’s unimpeachable dilemma of life: “To be or not to be: that is the question.” The play is put on Aug. 12-28 at the Cottage Theatre with a 2:30 p.m. matinees on Sundays.
Saturday, August 27 – Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited at Hi-Fi Music Hall (44 East 7th Ave) — Tickets are $15 in advance; $18 on the day of the show. Doors open at 8 p.m. Shows starts at 9 p.m. 21+ only.
One of Zimbabwe’s most iconic musicians and activists, Thomas Mapfumo, provided a revolutionary soundtrack for the social unrest against the government and president Robert Mugabe. Mapfumo coined and pioneered the musical genre Chimurenga (a word that means “liberation” in a Shona language), characterized by its political dissent and rallying cry for social rights. He sought political asylum from Zimbabwe and Mugabe, and has lived in exile in Eugene ever since. Last year, he and his band the Blacks Unlimited put out the album Danger Zone.
Sunday, August 28 – 2nd Annual Farmers Market Feast at the Lane County Farmers Market (8th Ave. & Park Alley) — 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $35; $10 for SNAP recipients.
A USDA report from last September reported that Oregon ranks third in the country for “food insecurity,” or the inability to afford adequate food rations during the year. This Sunday, the second-annual Farmers Market Feast will make an elaborate farm-to-table menu made from this season’s harvest. The banquet is a fundraiser for Double Up Food Bucks, a new program within SNAP to encourage purchasing fruits and vegetables. Gates open at 4:30 p.m.