April 14–21
Design
Design Week Portland
All over Portland
Prices vary, mostly all ages
If you’ve ever wondered where the action is in the design community in Portland, it really doesn’t get more intense than Design Week. All week long, every day is packed with incredible panels, lectures, demonstrations and opportunities to find out how people from all sorts of design practices work. This week is dense but full of great opportunities to see studios and hear from the cream of the crop.
Event list and more info at www.designweekportland.com
April 18–22
Music
Soul’d Out Festival
All over Portland
Prices and age restrictions vary
When it comes to influencers of modern music, you don’t have to go to Coachella to see the greats. You can stay right here in Portland and experience some of the pioneers that have shaped modern music across all genres. This year features Erykah Badu, De La Soul, Zapp, Dazz Band, Robert Glasper, Polyrhythmics and others. Every single show is a powerhouse of talent. Get excited, because it’s all going to be very, very good.
Event list and more info at www.souldoutfestival.com
Tuesday, April 17
Community
Digital Social Justice: Editing Wikipedia With Your Students
Office of Academic Innovation Smith Memorial Student Union M209
8:30 a.m. Free, all ages
Wikipedia is open source; anyone can access the platform to ensure the integrity of its entries. This seminar seeks to help participants identify bias in Wikipedia editing and publishing and help instructors find ways to incorporate Wikipedia editing with their students in the classroom.
Education
South Sudan: How Education Can Change a Generation
Multicultural Center SMSU 228
Noon, Free, all ages
Valentino Deng advocates for universal education and sustainable development. He grew up in Southern Sudan and was separated from his family during the second Sudanese Civil War. Deng received his education in a Kenyan refugee camp where he began a career in public service. Since moving to Atlanta in 2001, Deng has traveled the world speaking about his experience and collaborated with Dave Eggers to tell his life story in the novel What is the What. Deng’s lecture is part of PSU’s University Studies’ Race and Social Justice Dialogues, which are incredible.
Games
Video Game Night
HOTLIPS Pizza PSU
6 p.m. Free, all ages
HOTLIPS does not serve banana peels, but you can serve your fellow students some in epic Mario Kart battles while eating pizza and drinking $4 pints. Party. Pizza party.
Sustainability
Saving the Earth, Bite by Bite
SMSU 327
6 p.m. Free, all ages
It’s Earth Week! Celebrate your Mother with a panel discussion that explores the potential to change the fate of our world for the better through deliberate choices about what we eat. This event is sponsored by the Portland State Veg Education Group. They really missed an opportunity by not calling themselves the PSU Vegucation Group.
Activism
No More Killer Cops!
Roosevelt High School
6:30 p.m. Free, all ages
Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office is attempting to recruit citizens to lobby our government for more police officers. The community is getting together to show Wheeler that his priorities are not what the community wants.
Wednesday, April 18
Design
PSUGD Open House
Art Building
4 p.m. Free, all ages
Explore the inner workings of Portland State’s high-ranking graphic design program. There will be risograph demos, portfolio displays, presentations and snacks!
Art
“Fabric & Form” Reception
MK Gallery (Art Building, second floor)
5 p.m. Free, all ages
PSU’s Art Practices program have incorporated more material studies courses seeking to explore textiles as a means for creative making. Students utilize skilled craftsmanship and thematic elements to create works that elevate beyond articles of clothing.
Design
Analog Type in a Digital World with Briar Levit
Art Building
6 p.m. Free, all ages
PSU Graphic Design Assistant Professor Briar Levit is raising the bar for students. In this presentation, Levit shows what life was like before Adobe took all the fun out of type. Dry transfer type, IBM Selectric and other archaeological finds from the pre-digital past will make this experience a historical look at the labor of love our design predecessors had to endure and what makes doing it old-school almost fun.
El Pasaporte Project: A Social Impact Design Workshop
Portland Mercado
7 p.m. $10, all ages
El Pasaporte Project seeks to show how human-centered design can have a positive impact on Portland’s local immigrant and POC communities. The project was created to increase visibility of immigrant and POC-owned businesses. Their first installation features an incentive-based passport and is focused on Portland Mercado’s Latino and POC-owned businesses—presumably similar to the McMenamins passport or a punch card. Sweet.
Music
Erykah Badu
Arlene Schnitzer
8 p.m. $55–125, all ages
A massive influence on artists from all genres, Badu is a musical pioneer and Portland is beyond lucky to have an opportunity to witness her concert.
Thursday, April 19
Music
Live @ Lunch presents Kory Quinn
PSU Park Blocks (Parkway North if raining)
Noon, Free, all ages
Quinn has definitely listened to Bob Dylan before. The singer-songwriter decries the problems of corrupt politicians, excessive reliance on fossil fuels and fear. The songs rely on acoustic guitar and are fairly upbeat despite the heavy subject matter.
Noon Concert: String Area
Lincoln Recital Hall 75
Noon, Free, all ages
The PSU String Area is having its spring recital. If you’ve got too much stuff to do or are in Thailand, fear not, they’ll be streaming the event live to reach as broad an audience as possible!
Design
Extreme Making
Cleaners at the Ace Hotel
4 p.m. $10, all ages
Sometimes individual craft can become a part of groundbreaking production. Artists, architects, furniture fabricators and brand strategists have come together to show inspiring case studies and learn about their processes. The event does have a picture of a skateboarder in a bowl: fairly extreme.
Theater
FUBAR: We Are Still Here
Lincoln Hall Studio Theater 115
7 p.m. Free, all ages
PSU alumni and U.S. Navy veteran Nathaniel Patterson are directing three student veterans sharing their stories. Christina Ebersohl is a student and U.S. Army veteran who’s composed original music for the performance. FUBAR is an acronym for “fucked up beyond all recognition.”
Cats
Hang in there: Cat Café
Nemo Design
7 p.m. Free, all ages
Come hang out with some kitties, cats and living room lions to take a break during Design Week. If you think you are falling in love with a design concept, explore it. If you fall in love with a human, ask them out. If you fall in love with a cat, you can adopt it!
Music
R+R = NOW
Roseland Theater
8 p.m.
$28.50–45, 21+
Robert Glasper’s supergroup solo show for the Soul’d Out Festival. If you missed them opening for Erykah Badu, you can catch them at the Roseland’s more intimate space. Glasper brings Terrace Martin, Christian Scott, Derrick Hodge, Taylor McFerrin and Justin Tyson to show off their jazz, funk, soul and hip-hop chops.
Drag
Drag Dangerzone: A Drag Open Mic, Marla Mania!
Crush Bar
9 p.m. $5, 21+
Prince Peanutbutter from The Land of Chunky has arrived to guest host an evening with over 12 scheduled drag performers that the audience can be a part of. The audience is encouraged to sign up for a spot to try out some new material or even a new character! It’s Marla Darling’s birthday; feel free to bring a gift or not.
Friday, April 20
Grass
High Expectations
SMSU 228
Noon, Free, all ages
Free brownies! If you have the munchies or just want a free snack while cruising around campus, here it is. While the brownies might contain gluten, this presentation will contain some great information about cannabis laws as they not only relate to the real world, but also PSU’s policies about the devil’s lettuce.
Ontologically Oriented Objects with Parsons & Charlesworth
Shattuck Hall
3 p.m. Free, all ages
Mass produced objects turned into mysterious objects. Teams of students from the PSU School of Architecture are given the same object but are tasked to turn it into something new and often bizarre.
Design
Exploring the Creative Process
ANX Gallery
6:30 p.m. Free, all ages
Wacom, ADX and AIGA want to help you understand how your digital workflow can manifest itself as a physical object. Local legends OMFGCO and others are coming out to chat about their processes to help you see where your digital work can operate in the physical realm.
Opera
Albert Herring
Lincoln Performance Hall 175
7:30 p.m.
$15 student/youth, $27 seniors, $30 general, all ages
A comedy about losing innocence, social stratification, Victorian morality and coming of age, this opera just about has it all!
Sport
Night at the Thorns
Providence Park
7:30 p.m.
$10 for Campus Rec members, all ages
Come cheer on the Thorns for PSU’s second annual Night at the Thorns event as we take on the Washington Spirit. Come root for the best women’s team in the country!
Rebirth Brass Band
Revolution Hall
9 p.m. $25–30, 21+
If you think of New Orleans parade music but imagine it fused with many other genres, you might come close to Rebirth Brass Band. There will be a tuba. It’s not a tuba fish or a tuba toothpaste; it’s a giant awesome instrument.
Music
Ghost Note & Polyrhythmics
Revolution Hall
9 p.m. $20, 21+
Ghost Note is all about percussion from all genres. James Brown, Dilla, Samba, African Folk and beyond; their members are also integral parts of soul, funk and jazz staples like Snarky Puppy and Dumpstaphunk. Polyrhythmics’ sound leans more towards a Daptone style with influences from Antibalas to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Legendary.
Noname & BJ The Chicago Kid
Crystal Ballroom
9 p.m. $26.50, all ages
Two Chicago artists come out to show what neo-soul and R&B has been up to. Poetry, hip-hop, rap and mellow grooves are sure to make this event a bit above a well-drink operation.
Sat, April 21
Holiday
Earth Day Festival
PSU Learning Gardens Laboratory
11 a.m. Free, all ages
Come celebrate Earth Day in the gardens! Master gardeners, nurseries, games, crafts, a blood drive and all sorts of other activities for people of all ages.
Theater
Vanport, the Musical
Midland Library
3 p.m. Free, all ages
African-Americans came to Portland to help build important infrastructure during WWII. After the war, many decided to make Vanport their home, but a giant flood made that impossible. A musical based on an almost unbelievable tale of triumph against the forces of man and nature.
Music
Dazz Band and Zapp
Roseland Theater
7:30 p.m. $31.50–$46.50, 21+
Old school funkateers remember these legends. Roger might not be around, but that won’t stop you from gettin’ all the bounce to the ounce you can while lettin’ it whip.
¡Cubanismo! and Tezeta Band
Roseland Theater
9 p.m. $25, 21+
Tezeta opens the night with ‘70s Ethiopian-inspired funky jazz, then Cubanismo comes out to bring some Cuban sounds full of blazing horns to Portland.
JID + Eargang
Wonder Ballroom
9 p.m. $25, all ages
A night of hip-hop starting with Portland legends Brown Calculus and Mic Capes then heads to the south for JID and Earthgang from Atlanta. Socially conscious and innovative sounds make this a night of artists to watch as they continue to rise through the ranks of modern musical discourse.
Music
Othership Connection
Jack London Revue
9 p.m. $10, 21+
Local funk legend Farnell Newton brings the funk; don’t come out if you’re not prepared to take a ride on the Othership. His group is talented and unafraid to show you that their chops are for real.
Sun, April 22
Holiday
Earth Day
All day. All over.
Free, all ages
For a long long time the Earth has existed, and we’ve benefited from its existence. Some might say it might not even be possible for us to exist without it. Take a look around and appreciate this gosh darn awesome planet we live on!
Music
#JusticeForQuanice: All-Ages Hip-Hop Benefit Show
Funhouse Lounge
7:30 p.m. $5, all ages
Glenn Waco is headlining an evening featuring a variety of local hip-hop artists including Baqi, Rome, G-Low, [E]mpress and Tyleah Alizay. All proceeds will go to help out the Hayes family.
Wyclef Jean
Wonder Ballroom
8:30 p.m. $32–45, 21+
As a Haitian, Jean’s music has always been political. He co-founded the Fugees with Lauryn Hill and now he’s in Portland with some solo stuff for you. He’s still killing you softly with his songs, he just does it in a more experimental neo-soul kind of way.
De La Soul
Roseland Theater
9 p.m. $38–55, 21+
Hip-Hop and rap pioneers De La Soul join the lineup for the last night of the Soul’d Out Festival. They’ve been around since the start, and they still bring it after almost 30 years.
Mon, April 23
Business
Online Self-Promotion: Portfolios, Resumes, and CVs
Karl Miller Center 460
4 p.m. Free, all ages
As the world becomes increasingly smaller through digital platforms, it is important to understand and do our best to control how we present ourselves online. This is a workshop trying to make that presence and the practices behind making yourself discoverable a little less confusing.
Community
African Americans of Portland
Gregory Heights Library
6 p.m. Free, all ages
The history of African Americans in Portland is one of striving to thrive, despite Portland making that difficult through exclusionary laws and other discriminatory practices. This evening tells some of their tales, from Vanport to the present.
Film
Goodfellas (1990)
Clinton Street Theater
7 p.m. $5, all ages
Martin Scorsese has a name that looks weird on paper, but he certainly makes incredible movies. Come out and watch a bunch of wise guys beat each other up and get paranoid about life in the mob while rats make their lives difficult. This screening benefits Ceasefire Oregon, which advocates for reasonable gun laws to prevent gun violence.
Best in Show (2000)
Hollywood Theatre
7:30 p.m. $7–9, all ages
Christopher Guest loves making ridiculous movies, and this movie is certainly that. Come watch a bunch of absurd characters hang out with their dogs at a dog show. Eat peanuts while learning about all kinds of nuts. Proceeds from this show are going to benefit the Oregon Humane Society.
