issue 25: mushroom jazzercise + mega man beaten live on stage (extended cut)

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hey tiny.

i am back over the city proper this week, chin back at rooftop height after a week of squinting at basalt. the equinox tips next tuesday, the 22nd, so you have five days left of summer pretending it still has a say in anything.

nobody new went annual this week, so no names to thank at the top today. the door's still there if you want to be the first one i get to.

this issue has a couple of things i genuinely did not expect the city to produce on a random late-september wednesday. a mortal kombat drag show with a two-hour arcade chaser. a grief gathering at a farm, scheduled for noon like sadness keeps business hours. a party whose entire flyer amounts to one word and a time, and the organizers seem to think that's plenty.

it was. get into it.

X X X

[ SEEING ]

Fantastical Cabaret: An Otherworldly Burlesque Revue Sep 18 at 19:00 Alberta Rose Theatre | $37 [ more ] boylesque, draglesque, actual circus arts. one ticket, three genres of taking your clothes off with intention.

Show and Tell Sep 22 at 19:00 Daydreamer Coffee and Public House | Free [ more ] grown adults get on a small stage and explain an object. for what it's worth, my object would not fit on the stage. it would not fit in the building.

Touch Art: Portland's Creative Ecosystem Sep 24, 18:00–midnight Watershed, moving to Process Nightclub for the afterparty | Donation [ more ] six hours, a civic panel, flow arts, and a fire spinner closing it out. by the time the nightclub leg starts you will have forgotten you came for the panel.

Creative Wor(l)ds of Robert Hunter Sep 24, doors 18:00 / show 19:00 Kennedy School Theater | $18 [ more ] a grateful dead lyricist gets the poetry-reading treatment he earned and never asked for. bring your own truck.

2026 NRS Artist Showcase Sep 24 at 18:00 Alberta Abbey | $15–$30 suggested donation, no one turned away [ more ] eighteen-plus artists across music, film, theater, and a dj set, and nobody gets turned away for lack of funds. rare, generous, worth the trip up alberta.

High Score: A Mortal Kombat Inspired Drag Show Sep 27, doors 17:30 / show 18:00 Retro Game Bar | $17.85 [ more ] [ weird ] drag queens, fatalities, two free hours of arcade play after. finish him has never had better staging. 21+.

ONE OF ONE: A Couture Exhibition by Myriam Marcela Sep 26, 14:00–16:00 528 SW 3rd Ave | Free [ more ] one designer, one afternoon, clothes you cannot buy anywhere else because there is only one of them. i, obviously, could never fit into a single piece of it, but i appreciate the ambition. rsvp via the bio like it's still 2019, and that's fine.

[ LISTENING + DANCING ]

As Above So Below Sep 17–19 Jefferson County Fairgrounds | see info [ more ] year four of a campout that forgot it was supposed to also be a warehouse party, so it is both, for three days straight. pack a tent and lower your expectations of sleep.

The Chaos Lab Sep 19 at 18:30 VEGA 360 | $23.18 [ more ] local dancers get turned loose with zero creative direction and a night to fill. i cannot wait to see what chaos means to a portland dance troupe specifically.

EQUINOX FOREST RAVE w Mantis House Sep 19 at 20:00 Olympia, WA | $20 [ more ] [ road trip ] year five, seven acts, and a theme of underworld, harvest, roots and communion, which is a lot of concepts to ask a forest to hold in one night. worth the drive up I-5. 18+.

Mushroom Jazzercise: a Velvet Ginger self guided experience Sep 18, 22:00–02:00 Donnie Vegas | Free [ more ] disco house billed, unpromisingly, as good for your mental health. i am not a doctor. i am, however, four stories tall, and i believe them.

Calling All Clowns Costume Party Sep 25 at 19:00 Peabody Heights Brewery | Free [ more ] mandatory clown dress code, no horror requirement, coulrophobes may still attend at their own risk. drag show, vendors, dancing, and a distinct possibility someone brings a unicycle.

Enchantment Under the Thunderdome (2nd Annual Slim's Prom!) Sep 20 at 19:00 Slim's PDX | Free [ more ] prom court, prom portraits, an all-vinyl set from a dj named preacher's kid. i was not invited to prom the first time either. i am choosing to interpret this as a second chance.

Cyber Desire Sep 22 at 21:00 Ming Lounge at the Republic Cafe | Unlisted [ more ] headspace circus's september installment, and the flyer offers exactly one other piece of information beyond the name: nine pm. i respect the commitment to mystery in moderation.

Karaoke Week Pass (Big Dawg) Sep 26, 19:00–02:00 WonderLove | $50 [ more ] portland's best karaoke venues send their strongest singers to compete for actual titles. the big dawg tier gets you a skip-the-line and a gong on arrival, which is either an honor or a warning.

Benefit Concert for Immigrant Worker Justice Sep 28 at 19:30 The Hawthorne Theatre | tickets from $25 [ more ] [ all ages ] quasi's sam coomes, unwound's sara lund, and a marisa anderson collaboration, all in on a monday for a cause that could use the money more than the bar could. all ages, all in.

[ MAKING + DOING ]

Autumn Wreath Workshop at Division Sep 27, 10:00–11:30 Portland Nursery Division | $70 [ more ] evergreens, late-summer flowers, and a greenhouse to do it in so the weather stays outside where it belongs. i tried a wreath my own size once. it required an entire hillside.

Tarot Paint Class at Memento Mori Sep 19 at 11:00 Memento Mori Cafe | $44.52 [ more ] black cat tarot, portland's goth cafe, spooky treats included in the price. everyone leaves with a painted card and a slightly more ominous outlook, in a fun way.

Weekend at Paradise Sep 19–20, doors 11:00 Paradise Tattoo | $100 [ more ] third anniversary flash day, over a hundred designs, thirteen artists according to the flyer and twelve according to the caption. someone is either uncounted or unwilling to commit.

CRaFt 'N dRiNk with SCRAP PDX at Holman's Sep 23, 17:00–19:00 Holman's Bar & Grill | $7 [ more ] collage and seasonal paper garlands, hosted by the reuse people, at a bar, on a wednesday. sign up ahead or gamble on walk-in space, your call.

Death Fest Sep 26 at 12:00 Rare Bird Farm | $10 [ more ] a community gathering built on the idea that grief works better shared than carried alone at noon, apparently, when the rest of the day still has the nerve to look normal. a farm, and a room of people willing to talk about the thing nobody brings up at dinner.

[ ROAMING ]

Portland Weird Fest 2026 Sep 19 at 10:30 The Oaks Amusement Park | $15 GA, early bird 25% off [ more ] [ weird ] [ outdoors ] sixty oddity vendors, a chicken beauty contest, and a kids rave, at an amusement park, which already had a strange energy before anyone added the chickens. a genuine rarity: i am not the strangest thing at this fair.

Queers in the Park Sep 18, 12:00–18:00 Laurelhurst Park | Free [ more ] [ outdoors ] one more market by the pond before summer officially gives up. byob, byo blanket, or bring nothing and just vibe near the vendors like the rest of us.

BROTHERS IN BLOOD PRESENT: DRIVE IN OF THE DEAD 2 Sep 20, noon market, movie at sundown 99W Drive-In | see info [ more ] [ outdoors ] fifty five vendors selling vhs and collectibles by daylight, then a horror double feature once the sun clocks out. the whole lot looks like a toy set at this height, tiny cars, tinier zombies. the drive-in hasn't announced the movies yet, which is either suspense or disorganization.

Drag Me Outside Cemetery Hikes Sep 23 at 18:00, every other Wednesday through November Portland Historic Cemeteries | Free [ more ] [ outdoors ] bats, owls, raccoons, and cemetery ecology, guided, every other wednesday. the dead don't mind the company, and the raccoons actively encourage it.

Swap, Don't Shop! Sep 27, 12:00–16:00 Alberta Park | Free [ more ] [ outdoors ] trade your stuff, feed the mutual aid pile, skip the billionaires entirely. potluck included, unmasking kept politely away from the tables.

[ EATING + SHOPPING ]

Portland Polish Festival Sep 19–20 Polish Hall | Free [ more ] [ all ages ] thirtieth year, pierogi in bulk, a polka contest for kids and adults alike, and a saturday street dance that i, four stories up, would very much like to join without crushing anyone.

How Convenient Pop Up Sep 18, 17:00–20:00 How Convenient PDX | Free [ more ] aura photography, vegan cookies, terrariums. three vendors that have never shared a table before and somehow make total sense together.

Second Annual Astoria Garlic Market Sep 19, 15:00–18:00 Obelisk Beer Co | Free [ more ] garlic braids, garlic jelly, garlic bread, a garlic-themed printing station. i can smell this one before i can see it, which for a giant is really saying something.

FLIPSIDE Vegan Market Sep 19, 12:00–17:00 6550 N Interstate Ave | Free [ more ] thirty-plus vendors doing a 90s rewind, a clown doing face painting, and a tattoo booth for the truly committed. no meat, plenty of nostalgia.

BIRDHOUSE POP UP 5th Anniversary Sep 19, 11:00–16:00 Laurel Park, Bellingham WA | Free [ more ] [ road trip ] five years of a free art market with an open jam attached, in bellingham, which is a bit of a haul, but the kind of haul that ends in a market and not regret.

Nate's Bagels Pop-Up Menu Sep 20, 08:00–11:00 or sold out Champs | $8 [ more ] salt, sesame, poppy, everything, and a lox situation called the new yorker that costs more than the plain bagel for a reason. all proceeds to oregon humane, so eat guilt free.

Trinket Swap Sep 20, 10:00–14:00 Friends Share Community Space | Free [ more ] bring a trinket, leave with someone else's trinket, drink coffee in between. the lowest-stakes trade economy in the city, and i mean that as a compliment.

Dark Market @ The Coffin Club Sep 27, 14:00–20:00 The Coffin Club | $2 [ more ] [ weird ] spooky vendors on two floors, a two-dollar cover, and a bar that is, notably, open. two dollars is less than i've paid to enter far less interesting rooms. 21+.

OLD TOWN MUSIC GARAGE SALE Sep 26, 12:00–17:30 55 SE 11th Ave | Free [ more ] used fenders at a markdown, a vintage pick-n-pull bin, and a raffle, all raising money for a music center. first ever garage sale for the shop, so go easy, and also go early.

[ BULLETIN BOARD ]

Vintage Pin Up Statues while they last [ more ]
one hundred twenty five dollars for a porcelain woman who has survived crayon, pen, a bad gold repaint and at least one repair. she outlasted every shelf she was on. there are three more of her.

Craft Beer Caps, Sold By The Lot while they last [ more ]
three dollars gets you eleven non-alcoholic caps, which is a very particular collection to begin. lot a through lot r, no duplicates inside a lot, labeled in highlighter by a man in beaverton with a system.

Freeform Portland: Become a DJ oct 6 [ more ]
ninety point three and ninety eight point three. ten years, no ads, no format, one hundred twenty five volunteers picking the songs. i can hear exactly where both signals give out.

The Get Down: Show Flyer Artist rolling [ more ]
a paying job making show flyers for a venue that wants fingerprints on them. the comment section is still arguing about whether that counts as art. apply while they fight it out.

got something to pin up? there is a form on the page. calls, items, small strange asks, the thing you have been too embarrassed to send me. send it.

[ read the board ]