Portland Events Worth Braving the Weather

If you live in Portland and have left your house in the last 48 hours it's likely that you were drenched! It's coming down in buckets with temperatures dropping day-to-day and even talk of *gasp* snow is sneaking into our conversations! But those of us who have a few Portland winters under our belts know that while the weather may make us want to put on our pj pants, curl up on the couch, watch movies and eat cookies for dinner, we can't succumb to the dark and rain. Portland is definitely delivering some fine events this weekend to help us motivate out of our warm homes and brave the storms.

Like little rays of sunshine, these Portland events will make you laugh, make you think and make you dance away the blues of this cold rainy week!

Banish the gloom away by laughing it up for Hal Sparks, of VH1's "I love the 70s, 80s and 90s" as well as "Queen as Folk," at Helium Comedy Club in Southeast. He'll be performing his routine November 18-20th for Portland audiences.

Check out Clarity Miller's awesomely cute stuffed creatures at the Folks: Plush Wonders and Oddities show opening at the Land Gallery on Mississippi starting Friday. Billed as the "future of taxidermy" it is sure to put a smile on your face and bring out your inner kid.

Saturday is just packed with amazing music all around town. 
Blonde Redhead will be playing at the Roseland Theater in support of their new album release "Penny Sparkle" - that will definitely be a treat! All ages, tickets for $22.

March Fourth Marching Band has returned from journeys far and wide and will bring their own special sound to Refuge. Early show/family tickets are $9 advance / $12 day of; 21+ late night performance is $10 advance / $13 day of.

The Abstract Earth Project will be doing it up bigger and better the second time around for Flux 2.0. Musical billing is pretty impressive with the likes of Vibesquad, Starkey and up-and-commer Shigeto from Brooklyn (most recent release out on Ghostly International) in addition to heavyweight local Emancipator (fresh off his dancefloor packing national tour with Bassnectar) as well as new to the ranks PDX artist Natasha Kmeto. Flux 2.0 will be taking over both Branx and Rotture for the unveiling of Branx's new remodel. Presales are $20, otherwise $25 at the door.

And what better way to round out your weekend than eating perfectly paired bites with local craft beers? On Sunday the Hotel Monaco hosts the first annual Monaco Cup to benefit the United Way. Six Portland chefs will be doing their best to win the audiences' votes as they work to create the best pairings. Tickets just $22 with a processing fee.

So don't batten down the hatches just yet. There's too much awesome to miss this weekend in Portland!