Arts & Media❯Film

Featuring special guest Gary Hershberger (Mike Nelson) in person!

Joins us for the complete Twin Peaks series on the big screen for the first time in history! We continue our year-long celebration of the greatest TV show of all time The Missing Pieces. Rarely shown in theaters, this feature film presents deleted scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me assembled together as an untold portion of the story’s prequel. Following a Q&A, we’ll then begin The Return with episodes “My Log Has a Message for You” and “The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself.”

Gary Hershberger will be signing autographs and taking photos with fans for an additional fee at the event.

James Spooner joins PAM CUT for a screening of his film Afro-Punk, followed by an author talk for his new book It Starts With Anger. Books will be available for sale on site.

It Starts With Anger is a coming-of-age graphic memoir exploring race, identity, and rebellion through James Spooner’s teenage years in 1990s New York into his young adulthood in the early 2000s. Confronted with systemic racism, microaggressions, and Nazi extremism within punk spaces, Spooner traces how reactionary anger evolved into a creative force and a path to self-determination, along the way following the founding of the Afro-Punk movement, his eventual decision to leave the company, and an ongoing raw examination of the tensions between underground culture and mainstream success.

While not a traditional graphic memoir, It Starts With Anger combines black-and-white, zine-inspired visual elements including photos, illustrations, and cartoon panels with traditional narrative in a unique package that recounts the story behind Afro-Punk. James Spooner has not talked publicly about his reasons for quitting Afro-Punk previously, and the book is a damning indictment of its corporatization. But more importantly, it also offers a look at issues of Black identity, representation, and the lack thereof in a movement that had often prided itself on allyship, while being completely myopic to all the ways it fell short in that regard as a scene that was ironically both liberating and alienating for the Black people drawn to it.

ON SCREEN: Afro-Punk

2003. Directed by James Spooner. Runtime: 1 hour 6 minutes.

This film, which many may assume is a historical punk documentary, is actually an honest and needed treatment of race and identity. Punk and Hardcore music are simply the microcosm in which it is told. First-time director, James Spooner, in telling this story, has opened new dialogues on these crucial subjects both intra- and interracially. Many times funny, sometimes sobering, a wake-up call to America. An examination of the duality of racial identity that DuBois called “double consciousness.” What could have been “The Bad Brains Story” is a story about kids, alienated by two cultures and two communities. Many of these punk and hardcore kids have never questioned their role in the punk scene or the black community until their interviews, and it’s obvious as they struggle on camera to reconcile a fragmented self.

This program is co-presented by Literary Arts as part of the Cover-to-Cover program.

Parallel Worlds Bookshop and the Hollywood Theatre present a special author conversation with Jane Schoenbrun and SenLinYu, celebrating the release of Jane’s debut novel, Public Access Afterworld, followed by a screening of Schoenbrun’s acclaimed film I Saw the TV Glow.

When: November 5, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Where: Hollywood Theatre 4122 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97212
Tickets: $18 sold via Hollywood Theatre
Ticket price does not include a copy of the book. Preorder Here!

A mysterious realm waits on the other side of our screens. A dark force draws victims into its static. An unlikely hero must save them, and herself, from an electric hell.

Spanning decades and realities, Public Access Afterworld follows an unforgettable ensemble of outcasts and obsessive television viewers whose lives become entangled with a surreal pirate network. At the center is Bethany Peters, a trans content moderator working the night shift at a sprawling tech corporation. When a young streamer begins appearing in her feed and calling out to Public Access Afterworld, Bethany is pulled into a conspiracy stretching across screens, timelines, and realities.

A mesmerizing collision of speculative fiction, horror, conspiracy, and queer transformation, Public Access Afterworld marks the literary debut of the celebrated filmmaker behind I Saw the TV Glow and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair.

Jane Schoenbrun is an award-winning filmmaker and writer. Their films include I Saw the TV Glow and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. Their newest film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, starring Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder, releases in 2026. Public Access Afterworld is their first novel.

Tickets for the screening and conversation are sold through the Hollywood Theatre. Copies of Public Access Afterworld will be available for purchase onsite from Parallel Worlds Bookshop.

Jane Schoenbrun and SenLinYu will not be signing books. Pre-ordered books or books purchased at event will be pre-signed.

Still photography is permitted. Audio and video recording are not permitted unless approved in advance.

1. Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun - Signed Edition
   (Pub Date: October 27, 2026)
   A mysterious realm on the other side of our screens. A dark force that draws victims into its static. The unlikely hero called to save them and herself from this electric hell. Public Access Afterworld is the profound, binge-all-night, headrush of a novel by the celebrated filmmaker of I Saw the TV Glow and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.

2. Alchemised by Senlinyu Signed Edition (Out Now)

3. Alchemised by Senlinyu 3 Volume Deluxe Boxset(Pub Date: October 13)
   In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy—and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past.

Panel discussion featuring MacArthur Fellows Sterlin Harjo and Reginald Dwayne Betts.

What is more shapeshifting than the truth? Sterlin Harjo & Reginald Dwayne Betts join PAM CUT for a MacArthur Fellows Panel. Presented as part of PAM CUT’s PLUS PLUS Festival, join us for a FREE hosted discussion exploring questions like: What are truths? What makes them true? In this moderated conversation, we ask multidisciplinary artists Sterlin Harjo and Reginald Dwayne Betts to consider truth and truthiness.

Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Mvskoke) is a MacArthur Fellow, award-winner, writer, director, and showrunner from Holdenville, Oklahoma. Most recently, Sterlin created, wrote, directed and is the executive producer of THE LOWDOWN, currently airing on FX and Hulu, starring Ethan Hawke. Previously, he was the showrunner, co-creator with Taika Waititi and director of the Emmy-nominated RESERVATION DOGS for FX. The series ran for three seasons and received numerous awards including a Gotham Award, a Peabody Award, two Independent Spirit Awards and honors from the Television Academy.

Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet, lawyer, and founder and CEO of Freedom Reads. At sixteen, he was sentenced to nine years in adult prison for an armed carjacking, where he discovered poetry and the law. His work since then has been one long inquiry into how a child ends up in prison and what it takes to come home, pursued through poetry, memoir, theater, photography, and film. A MacArthur Fellow, Betts has authored six books, including A Question of Freedom and Doggerel (W.W. Norton, 2025). His solo theater work Felon: An American Washi Tale has been performed at San Quentin and the Perelman Performing Arts Center. He earned his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he is an Associate Research Scholar. Freedom Reads is the only organization in the country dedicated to building libraries inside prison cell blocks. Each Freedom Library is handcrafted, often by people who have served time themselves, and placed within arm’s reach of the people it serves. Betts founded it on a simple conviction: freedom begins with a book.

Defying Boundaries: MacArthur Fellows at 45: This moment calls for creative courage. For 45 years, MacArthur Fellows have expanded the boundaries of possibility by questioning conventions, crossing disciplines, and driving collective progress. Throughout 2026, the Foundation is celebrating the ground- breaking work of the Fellows and inspiring public dialogue through a series of nationwide events and conversations. Learn more at macfound.org/fellows-45.

The MacArthur Foundation boldly invests in creative solutions to urgent challenges, sparking hope for our future. We strive toward transformative change on some of the world’s most pressing social issues, including the existential threats of climate change, criminal justice reform, revitalizing local news in the U.S., expanding who creates, uses, and benefits from artificial intelligence, and strengthening the well-being of Native communities. In addition, we maintain enduring commitments in our hometown Chicago, where we invest in people, places, and partnerships to build a more inclusive Chicago and in journalism and media, where we invest in more just and inclusive news and narratives. We also make awards to extraordinarily creative individuals through the MacArthur Fellows program and for solutions to critical problems of our time through 100&Change.

Tickets $15. Are you ready to time travel back to the year 1990?! We're thrilled to present a documentary about a TV show called BUZZ, which aired in 1990 for one season on MTV as a "current affairs" show. Following the screening, there will be a moderated conversation and Q&A with Mark Pellington and Lance Bangs.

Visit Vancouver and The Kiggins Theatre are pleased to welcome back the annual D.B. Cooper Con produced by Vortex Events, LLC and taking place from November 13th through the 15th.

A Three-Day Pass is $75 and is limited to 200 passes total. Daily tickets can be purchased for $35 for Friday and Saturday or $30 for Sunday only. Available online or at the box office day of show.

Search and Destroy (S.A.D. for short) is a multimedia variety show happening on the last friday of every month featuring artists and local leaders sharing their craft and talking about what matters most to them. Through storytelling, live conversations, audience interaction, and heavy doses of honesty and humor, S.A.D. seeks to give hope and to be an entertaining and informative space for all to have fun, let loose, and be reminded that we as a people have the agency and ability to initiate change by working together as one.

S.A.D. was partly inspired by late-night television talk shows and variety hours and follows a similar format: an eye-catching opening number, a charming Emcee willing to play the fool, and a shared evening of dance, music, film, comedy, and conversations/interviews, all loosely tied to a theme of the night. The show ends with a dance party where the audience is invited to join the party on stage.
One of the main goals of each S.A.D. show is to dissolve the separation between artist and audience by directly engaging, conversing, and interacting with the audience, inviting them to participate in their seats as well as on the stage.
 Every show features dance movement, improvisation, visual imagery and soundscapes, conversations and spoken word, and various bits that play with the blurring of boundaries between the scripted and unscripted, all through an honest and humorous lens and the intention to entertain, educate, and inspire. Each episode of S.A.D. showcases different artists and acts than the previous one, guaranteeing that every iteration is unique and can only be experienced once.
S.A.D. is a show for everybody and every body, regardless of their identity, background, age, and anything else used to describe oneself.

*Revenue generated from each show is split evenly amongst the contributing artists

See full details at tomorrowtheater.org.

Doors open at 6:15 pm

A Proclamation for Peace joins poetry, global languages, and music to produce a short film advancing cultural exchange, education and global peace. The project draws on a poem by Oregon Poet Laureate 2018-2020, Kim Stafford, adapted into a vocal score by Theresa Koon and realized in a lyrical film by Ron Bourke.

The film is a gift from Oregon to the world that will inspire individual commitment to peacefulness everywhere. On this special evening we’ll present the first public preview of the film. Please join us in a toast to the many musicians, crew members, and supporters who’ve helped to turn our passion for poetry, music, film and peace into a reality. Poet Kim Stafford, composer Theresa Koon and filmmaker Ron Bourke will join a post film conversation. Many of the principal artists and performers will be in attendance. Tickets are free but very limited and must be procured in advance.

A Proclamation for Peace joins poetry, global languages, and music to produce a short film advancing cultural exchange, education and global peace. The project draws on a poem by Oregon Poet Laureate 2018-2020, Kim Stafford, adapted into a vocal score by Theresa Koon and realized in a lyrical film by Ron Bourke.

The film is a gift from Oregon to the world that will inspire individual commitment to peacefulness everywhere. On this special evening we’ll present the first public preview of the film. Please join us in a toast to the many musicians, crew members, and supporters who’ve helped to turn our passion for poetry, music, film and peace into a reality. Poet Kim Stafford, composer Theresa Koon and filmmaker Ron Bourke will join a post-film conversation. Many of the principal artists and performers will be in attendance. Tickets are free but very limited and must be procured in advance.

Special live introduction and post-screening Q&A with the writer, director, and producers Josh Androsky, Nate Fisher, and Amber A’Lee Frost!

Chapo Trap House presents: CHUNKS – an anthology film of six unique comedy shorts threaded together with our host Ruby, a faded Hollywood starlet (Ruby McCollister, Search Party, Rap World) and taking inspiration from the glamorous by-gone era of late nite public access weirdness.

With live action shorts featuring originals from friends of the podcast, like Pod About List (Adam Friedland Show, Rap World), Sandy Honig (Adult Swim’s Three Busy Debras), Will Senett (A Closer Look, Eephus), and two animated segments from Episode 1 & Jim Soper (The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie) and Nick Mullen (CumTown) & Saul Crinier.

• Director: Various
• Country: United States
• Year: 2026
• Runtime: 120 minutes

Join a special evening with trailblazing drag artist, activist, and political candidate Marti Cummings and Portland-based constitutional law professor and author Robin Maril. Before the film, Marti and Robin will sit down for a live conversation about queer representation, civic engagement, and the power of showing up for your community. The conversation will be moderated by Kyndall Mason of Basic Rights Oregon.

Following the conversation, stick around for Queen of New York, the acclaimed documentary following Marti Cummings’ groundbreaking 2020 campaign to become one of the first openly nonbinary members of the New York City Council. This evening also celebrates the launch of Robin Maril’s new book, A Queer Guide to Saving American Democracy. Copies will be available for purchase on site.

ON SCREEN: Queen of New York

2023. Directed by Emma Fidel. Runtime: 1 hour 20 minutes.

Welcome to a different kind of drag race. As NYC emerges from the chaos of 2020, Marti Cummings (they/them), an audacious and big-hearted drag queen, goes all out in a historic bid to become a City Councilperson. It’s one of the most hotly contested Council races in years, and Marti’s strongest competitor is Shaun Abreu, a tenants’ lawyer with deep roots in the district’s Latinx community. As these first-timers race to do the most good for their Upper Manhattan neighbors, they offer very different visions for Democratic politics — one in a suit and tie, the other in combat boots and floral print. As this immersive documentary reveals, Marti’s passion inspires queer activists and allies to change the political system. Their campaign becomes a community of its own, especially for Marti’s non-binary peers who have never before seen themselves represented.

On November 17, Portland will recognize its first annual day honoring the life and legacy of Will Vinton as proclaimed by Mayor Keith Wilson.

The event celebrating this momentous occasion will take place two days prior on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at McMenamins Mission Theater. This event is free and open to the public.

We will be displaying pioneering stop motion equipment from Will Vinton Studios, screening his award winning short films, and hearing about his impact on the world from friends, family, and fans.

About Will Vinton

Will Vinton was an award winning stop motion animator and filmmaker who called Oregon home. He laid the groundwork for Portland's animation scene, and today the city is widely considered to be the stop-motion capital of the world.

Vinton first gained notoriety in 1975 when his short film Closed Mondays won an Academy Award, the first film produced in Portland to do so. From there, Vinton opened the doors of his stop motion animation studio in the heart of Portland’s Nob Hill district. He would go on to produce numerous short films, television series, music videos, commercials, and special effects which are still influential today; such as The Little Prince (1979), Moonlighting (1987), Disney’s Return to Oz (1985), The PJs (1999 – 2001), and The California Raisins.

Later in life, Vinton branched into live action and CGI work, taught at The Art Institute of Portland, and created a musical titled The Kiss.

By the end of his career, Vinton had accumulated one Academy Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards alongside multiple nominations for both.

About MOSMA

This proclamation and event are spearheaded by MOSMA (the Museum of Stop Motion Animation). MOSMA is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2022 by president Brian Capati. We have been collaborating with local businesses and theaters to host various programming including quarterly screenings of stop motion films at the Hollywood Theatre, community collaborative animation workshops, and speaking events with industry professionals.

We are centered around strengthening the bonds between art, community and industry in efforts to establish a permanent stop-motion museum.

MOSMA’s Mission Statement

The Museum of Stop Motion Animation is a creative nexus between local industry and the global community. Building upon Portland's unique legacy in this remarkable medium, our goal is to enrich the public’s understanding and appreciation by inviting them to peer behind the curtains of this intriguing art form.

Stop motion is a symphony of artists who contribute their gifts to create truly handmade cinema. We seek to preserve stop motion animation and promote a united passion for it, so that this wondrous art form may continue to evolve and enchant audiences.

Website: mosmapdx.org

Vienna, 1815. Napoleon, vanquished for the moment, awaits his fate on the island of Elba while Europe’s Old Guard meets in Vienna to carve up the continent for themselves. But there are other intrigues abounding,those of the heart. When a glove saleswoman (Lilian Harvey) finds herself enraptured by the Russian Czar Alexander (Willi Fritsch), the fate of nations may be forever changed. A cherished masterwork of elegant humor and sexual intrigue, and the pinnacle of the star pairing of Fritsch and Harvey, THE CONGRESS DANCES is a treasure of Weimar operetta and comedy!

Portland premiere of a new, independent film!

After a tragic accident involving possibly fatal weed, stoner gig worker Marlo teams up with her journalist ex-girlfriend Julia to trace it back to the source and unravel a corporate conspiracy.

Screening followed by a Q&A with directors Tyler Aquilina and Brady Petrik, moderated by author Alison Cochrun and video essayist Lola Sebastian.

• Director: Tyler Aquilina and Brady Petrik
• Country: United States
• Year: 2026
• Runtime: 109 minutes

Join a very special Portland premiere of director Chad Brown’s new documentary Unseen: Invisible Wounds, Invincible Spirit. Taking place the week of Veterans Day, this film follows five veterans as they bike through two hundred miles of raw, unforgiving wilderness on a trail that asks everything of you and gives back something no clinic or desk job ever could. Following the film, director Chad Brown will be joined on stage for a Q&A about the film.

They came to Lakeview, Oregon, carrying things that don’t fit in a pack. Five veterans. Two hundred miles of raw, unforgiving wilderness. One trail that asks everything of you and gives back something no clinic or desk job ever could. Unseen begins at the edge of what most people call the end of the map Lakeview, Oregon, the last frontier, the quiet gateway to the Oregon Timber Trail; from that threshold, it launches something that can only be called a reckoning. This is not an adventure film. This is a document of survival, of spirits refusing to be broken, of invisible wounds meeting invincible will. Five veterans strap into their bikes and ride into the kind of silence that forces you to finally hear yourself. The cameras go with them. And what unfolds over volcanic plateaus, through alpine forests and ancestral lands, across a living corridor of history that stretches 600 miles from the California border to the Columbia River Gorge is something that will not let you look away. But Unseen is not only the story of these five riders. It is haunted by another story one America nearly buried. The Triple Nickel. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion. America’s first Black smokejumpers, who were dispatched to Oregon’s forests during World War II on a covert mission called Operation Firefly protecting this very land from Japanese incendiary balloon bombs at a time when their country denied them the right to fight as combat soldiers overseas. They parachuted into burning forests to save a nation that had not yet decided to save them. Their bravery was classified. Their names, forgotten. Their sacrifice, erased. Today, as five veterans pedal through the same wilderness those men protected with their lives, their ghosts ride alongside. The Oregon Timber Trail becomes something more than a route. It becomes a corridor of memory. A long-overdue act of remembrance.

2026. Directed by Chad Brown. Runtime: 65 minutes.

One of the crowning achievements of the German expressionist movement, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s THE LAST LAUGH stars Emil Jannings stars as an aging doorman whose happiness crumbles when he is relieved of the duties and uniform which had for years been the foundation of his happiness and pride. Through Jannings’s colossal performance, THE LAST LAUGH becomes more than the plight of a single doorman, but a mournful dramatization of the frustration and anguish of the universal working class.

Limited number of discount passes to see all the films in the Weimar Germany: Queer Visions series while supplies last.

• Director: F.W. Murnau
• Year: 1924
• Country: Germany
• Runtime: 90 minutes

Portland artist Eva Wrzesinski spent months visiting Blanchet House’s free café, drawing portraits of 22 guests while learning about their lives. The result is "At Our Table", a portrait exhibition that invites viewers to see people experiencing poverty, homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges as unique individuals with stories worth hearing.

The event offers an opportunity to view the portraits and interview Wrzesinski and participating café guests about their experiences.

Each portrait includes excerpts from interviews that explore guests’ memories, relationships, challenges, and hopes for the future.

Experience "Native Wisdom: The Peoples of Eastern Oregon," produced by Wisdom of the Elders, with a discussion led by Paiute/Shoshone artist, photographer, writer, musician and videographer Timothy Keenan Burgess. This thought provoking, illuminating film brings the foundational stories of the Pacific Northwest to the forefront of past, present, and future. A discussion will follow. Suitable for teenagers and older.

Join Israeli-American storyteller and public historian Yuval Malchi for a look at the lesser-known Americans who helped shape and defend the State of Israel. Through personal stories of nurses, social workers, intelligence operatives, and military leaders, Malchi explores the contributions of figures such as Rose Kaplan, David “Mickey” Marcus, Al Schwimmer, and Hank Greenspun, and their lasting impact on the relationship between the United States and Israel. In partnership with Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.

*The talk is geared toward adults, but welcoming participants ages 13 and up. *

MUST RSVP.

What happens to all the food we grow but never eat? And what can we do to change that?

Join Slow Food Portland for a special screening, followed by a community conversation exploring food waste and the local efforts working to address it.

In this thought-provoking documentary, filmmakers Jen Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin challenge themselves to live for six months on food that would otherwise be thrown away. Along the way, they uncover the staggering amount of perfectly edible food wasted across our food system and the environmental, social, and economic consequences.

Following the film, we’ll bring together local panelists working in food recovery, sustainability, and food systems to discuss what’s happening here in Portland and how we can create a less wasteful, more equitable food system.

Whether you’re passionate about food justice, sustainability, or simply curious about reducing food waste, we hope you’ll join us for an evening of film, conversation, and community.

• Director: Jenny Rustemeyer & Grant Baldwin
• Year: 2014
• Country: United States
• Runtime: 75 minutes

One Last Gathering of the Crows. Join Darcelle XV Plaza for the Wildwood: Follow the Crows Farewell Weekend. After soaring across Portland all season, all 30 spectacular crow sculptures are coming together for one final celebration. This free, family-friendly event is your last chance to see the crows in Portland—and the only opportunity to experience the entire flock in one place.

Meet some of the talented artists behind the crows, collect autographs, take plenty of photos and support OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital through optional donations.

Costumes are highly encouraged. At 2 p.m. on Halloween Day, costumed guests can strut, flap or swoop through the plaza in a festive Costume Parade. Prizes will be awarded in both Adult and Under-18 divisions for:

• People’s Choice
• Best Themed Costume
• Best Crow Costume

Admission is free, and all ages are welcome. Bring your family, gather your flock and help give Portland’s beloved crows a send-off to remember.

See full details at tomorrowtheater.org.

The Philip Glass Ensemble returns to Portland for Powaqqatsi, an artful cinematic experience that speaks to the impact of modernization and industrialization on traditional ways of living. Seen through the lens of communities across the globe, the narrative is amplified by a masterful Philip Glass score that features native, classical, and electronic instruments. Enjoyed alone or as the second in the Qatsi series, you won’t want to miss this thought-provoking performance with the Oregon Symphony and The Philip Glass Ensemble, led by conductor Michael Riesman.

po.waq.qa.tsi (from the Hopi language, powaq sorcerer + qatsi life) n., an entity, a way of life, that consumes the life forces of other beings in order to further its own life.

Inspired by Crater Lake National Park, Michael Gordon’s Natural History weaves Native and symphonic music in this paean to the natural landscape. Plus, hear works by two of classical music’s most intrepid pioneers: Stravinsky’s experimental musical essay on wind and brass sounds, Symphonies of Wind Instruments,and Beethoven’s vivacious and dramatic Symphony No. 1. Oregonian Grace Miedziak enhances the program with a new work that celebrates the Pacific Northwest.

• Norman Huynh Conductor
• Steiger Butte Drum and Singers Native American ensemble
• Members of Portland State University Chamber Choir Ethan Sperry, Conductor
• Oregon Symphony

• STRAVINSKY Symphonies of Wind Instruments
• Michael GORDON Natural History
• Grace MIEDZIAK Cascadence (Rizzo-Cummings Emerging Composer Fellow at the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Symphony commission)
• BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21

This concert is part of Classical Series A, and is eligible for the Choose Your Own Series (Portland only). Concert length is approximately 1 hour 33 minutes, with one intermission.

This pre-concert talk takes place one hour before the Sunday matinee performance.

SUN, NOV 1, 1PM: Conductor Norman Huynh and Rizzo-Cummings Emerging Composer Fellow Grace Miedziak with All Classical Radio host Warren Black.

Join an intimate evening featuring a pre-show discussion and Q&A with Soccer Mommy and special Guest Interviewer, followed by a local opener and solo performance by Soccer Mommy. This event is hosted by Papertrees Creative, in partnership with Literary Arts and the Portland Book Festival 2026.

Sophie Allison has always written candidly about her life, making Soccer Mommy one of indie rock’s most interesting and beloved artists of the last decade. Allison has used Soccer Mommy’s songs as a vehicle to sort through the thoughts and encounters that inevitably come with the reality of growing up. After all, Soccer Mommy began as a bedroom-to-Bandcamp exercise with teenage Allison posting her plaintive songs as demos. Over the years, though, she has often enhanced that sound, using the endless production possibilities, newly at her fingertips, to outstrip singer-songwriter stereotypes. The records would start with songwriting’s kernels of truth, and she would then imagine all the unexpected shapes they could take. Every Soccer Mommy record has felt like a surprise.

On Soccer Mommy’s fourth album, the tender but resolute Evergreen, Allison is again writing about her life. But that life’s different these days: Since making her previous album, 2022’s Sometimes, Forever, Allison experienced a profound and also very personal loss. New songs emerged from that change, unflinching and sometimes even funny reflections on what she was feeling. (Speaking of funny, this is a Soccer Mommy album, so there’s an ode to Allison’s purple-haired wife in the game Stardew Valley, too.) These songs were, once again, Allison’s way to sort through life, to ground herself. She wanted them to sound that way, too, to feel as true to the demos—raw and relatable, unvarnished and honest—as possible. The songwriting would again lead where the production would follow. Nothing overindulgent, everything real.

• Thursday, November 5
• The Heathman Lodge | 7801 NE Greenwood Dr., Vancouver
• Doors Open: 6:00 p.m. | Program Begins: 6:30 p.m.

Alexis Nikole Nelson, best known to millions of fans as Black Forager, invites you on an adventure to discover the delicious and wild foods hiding in plain sight. Alexis captivates people with her joyful enthusiasm and deep knowledge of foraging and inspires them to explore the bounty of their own backyards, parks, and trails, and now she does the same in her eagerly awaited first book.

Happy Snacking, Don’t Die! is a one-of-a-kind collection of recipes and foraging wisdom that teaches you how to turn common plants, flowers, and fungi into yummy, plant-based meals. This unique work is almost like two books in one—foraging plant guide and vegan cookbook—organized by season to guide you through a year of appetizing discoveries. In spring, you’ll learn to pickle Magnolia flowers and turn Japanese Knotweed into a refreshing granita. Summer is for frying up Milkweed Buds, making Juneberry Hand Pies, and crafting Rosewater Baklava. When fall arrives, you’ll be making savory mushroom dishes (a.k.a. chicken of the woods) like Maitake steak and bacon. And in winter, cozy up with Pine Shortbread Cookies and Oyster Mushroom Chowdah.

Join Erath and The Malarkey for a special evening that brings together two Oregon Originals. Hosted at chef Brian Malarkey’s downtown Portland restaurant, this winemaker dinner pairs seasonal cuisine with Erath wines for a one-night-only experience celebrating Oregon's flavors and spirit.

Throughout the evening, guests will enjoy a multi-course menu created by The Malarkey culinary team, thoughtfully paired with Erath wines selected to highlight the flavors, stories, and sense of place that define Oregon. Along the way, you’ll hear from Erath’s Head Winemaker Leah Adint and discover how a shared passion for hospitality, craftsmanship, and creativity continues to inspire both brands.

With limited seating, this is a rare opportunity to gather around the table for an unforgettable evening of food, wine, and Oregon tradition.

Climate change, especially in recent years, has escalated not only into a global environmental crisis but also into a highly intensified challenge in a time of political divides—often leaving one feeling overwhelmed and powerless. How can better conversations help move individuals, communities, and the planet toward collective solutions?

Called “one of the nation’s most effective communicators on climate change” by The New York Times, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy, has an uncanny ability to navigate all sides of the conversation on climate. With a singular balance of scientific rigor and storytelling, patience and empathy, and an abiding adherence to her faith, Hayhoe is often able to reach audiences that other climate scientists have not been able to reach — demonstrating that by finding shared values, we can better connect our unique identities to collective action.

WorldOregon welcomes Katharine Hayhoe back to Portland for this rich conversation exploring how to incorporate climate change into both our public decisions and private conversations at a moment of urgency when climate action and environmental policy are at a crossroads.

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose work bridges climate science, risks, and resilience. As Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy (TNC), she directs the organization’s global scientific strategy and leads a global community of more than 1,000 TNC scientists and science staff whose work underpins every aspect of TNC’s mission: from conserving lands and waters to developing scalable, science-based solutions to the biodiversity and climate crises.

Girl Winter Film Tour is a collection of femme-forward and gender-nonconforming films. The tour aims to shift the narrative of ski and snowboard films seen on the big screen each fall and include new voices in the stories. Girl Winter tour stops will make you want to start planning dawn patrols and lift laps for this upcoming season right this second. Each event will feature the film program followed by a Q+A with the athletes and filmmakers who brought the films to life. Back for its second year, the Girl Winter Film Tour screenings will provide a space to continue celebrating women in snow sports. All are welcome to attend! All Ages

Broadway Books is thrilled to welcome Anthea Kreston with her debut memoir Crescendo: Chronicles of an Adventurous Violinist (Paul Dry Books, 2026). She will be joined in conversation with Ling Ling Huang, author of Natural Beauty and Immaculate Conception.

When American violinist Anthea Kreston, called “An Indomitable Spirit” by Yo-Yo Ma, is selected as the fourth member of Germany’s Artemis Quartet, it is the culmination of decades of dedication. In Crescendo, her enchanting and deeply personal memoir, Kreston writes about growing up in a well-to-do but difficult family in Chicago, leaving home at age sixteen, studying at the ultracompetitive Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (Hilary Hahn was a classmate), then burning out and leaving it all behind for a commune in Oregon.

Choreographer Lai Hung-Chung makes dances of striking beauty and intention. “Birdy,” his captivating signature work for Hung Dance, moves between suspense and explosive energy, between the weight of tradition and the pull toward something new. Hung Dance blends traditional Chinese arts, including tai chi, Peking Opera, and classical Chinese music, with contemporary dance technique and driving electronic music, creating work that is poetic and rhythmic at once. What audiences see on stage is a world in constant transformation, where bodies bend and resist, images linger, and the tension between holding on and letting go becomes the dance itself.

TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN

Birdy

“…a dreamy sensibility with astonishing athleticism in culturally sensitive modern dance performance.” —Charlie Smith, Pancouver

Sponsored by George & Nancy Thorn. White Bird’s Uncaged Series Sponsor: Ronni Lacroute

The Friday and Saturday performances will have pre-show talks. Come early to hear from the dancers from 6:15–6:45 PM. No ticket needed.

Join us November 3rd for the Hung Dance Lecture Demonstration, FREE with RSVP here .

What’s Up, Doc? (1972) Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. 1hr 34min. Rated G. 35mm.

Join Film School x PAM CUT @ The Whitsell for What’s Up, Doc (1972) in 35mm. The 1972 screwball comedy, starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal, follows a wild and eccentric mix-up of plaid luggage through 70’s San Francisco. This portrait is tailored to showcase Barbra Streisand’s unique and distinct comedic persona and the chaotic magnetism she brings to the screen—echoing the screwball heroines that came before her.

Film School is a community film club hosting monthly screenings, discussions, and a blog. They celebrate cinema, spark conversation, and connect film lovers—on and off the screen.

We do not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, and films exhibited don’t necessarily reflect the views of PAM CUT or the Portland Art Museum. In addition to the synopses, trailers, and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on sites like Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com.

Portland Art Museum invites the community to join a Free First Thursday event, offering free admission to the museum for all, plus a Live Wire event as part of the Literary Arts Portland Book Festival. Visitors can take in the afternoon gallery pop-ups, the evening show, or both!

4:30 – 6 p.m. — Free, pre-show, pop-up performances will take place throughout the Museum’s galleries. Performers are poet and rapper Dessa, bestselling children’s author Mac Barnett, Pulitzer Prize Finalist Ed Park, and Portland comedian Mx. Dahlia Belle.

Free First Thursday tickets can be reserved online one week in advance and are also available at the door.

7 p.m. — Enjoy a fully seated, ticketed Live Wire taping hosted by Luke Burbank with announcer Elena Passarello, featuring a blend of interviews, comedy, and music performed live for the audience, then edited into an episode for broadcast to over 200 public radio stations nationwide. Performers are poet and rapper Dessa, bestselling children’s author Mac Barnett, Pulitzer Prize Finalist Ed Park, and Portland comedian Mx. Dahlia Belle. Doors will open at 6:30pm.

GA Tickets are $15. Preferred Seating is $40. Discounts available to Portland Book Festival passholders.

Dessa is a singer, rapper, and writer who fell in love with language as a toddler—and just never got over it. Now, she works in fields that traffic in words: she’s recorded rap bangers as part of the fiercely independent Doomtree collective, released a live album with the Grammy-winning Minnesota Orchestra; contributed to The New York Times and National Geographic Traveler; delivered a TED Talk on the intersection of romance and neuroscience that’s notched more than 4 million views; hosted 2 seasons of behavioral science podcast Deeply Human (BBC/American Public Media); and published a memoir recounting most of the above called My Own Devices (Penguin Random House).

Mac Barnett, the 2025–2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, is a New York Times bestselling author of stories for children. Mac’s books have won many prizes, including two Caldecott Honors, three New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book Awards, three E. B. White Read Aloud Awards and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, as well as several international prizes. He lives in Oakland, California. His latest book, illustrated by X. Fang, is Tom Nancy: The Sheep Who Swapped Brains with a Boy. From two of the most exciting picture book makers today comes a hilarious trickster tale and Freaky Friday switcheroo story: a sneaky, cheeky sheep named Tom Nancy has a brain swap proposal for an innocent farm boy named Felix that will change both of their lives forever. Laugh-out-loud, subversive, and totally unexpected.

Ed Park is the author of the novels Personal Days and Same Bed Different Dreams. He is a founding editor of The Believer, and has worked in newspapers, book publishing, and academia. His writing appears in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic, and elsewhere. Profound, wily, and beautifully wrought, his new book Three Tenses: A Transmission from the Nineties is a meeting of memory and myth, confession and obfuscation, coalescing to offer a singular picture of creativity in action.

The princess of Portland comedy, best known for her breakout performance on the popular Netflix special Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda, Mx. Dahlia Belle has been compared to a Swiss Army knife—different tools to extract sharpness, softness, vulnerability, hope, and wicked wit. She’s been declared one of “11 Trans Comedians… Funnier Than Dave Chappelle” by Out Magazine, repeatedly featured on NPR, and has written for Cosmopolitan Magazine, The Guardian, The Stranger, and Portland Mercury. Her live performances have included NW Black Comedy Festival, Upper Left Comedy Festival, SF Sketchfest, and an awkward conversation with John Waters and Piers Morgan. In the upcoming live taping of her comedy special Affirmed at Polaris Hall on November 22nd, Mx. Dahlia Belle delivers 60 new minutes of stand-up to celebrate and affirm being human in the modern world through a combination of the wholesome and mundane, anecdotes about house cats, liscivious foibles of the LGBT community, and an unapologetic account of her personal journey with gender-affirming care, all delivered with her trademark free form wit.

Free First Thursdays at the Museum and PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater aligns with the revitalization of the long-standing Portland art galleries’ tradition of opening their doors for openings, receptions, and events on the first Thursday of each month. In recent months art and culture organizations have joined to bring back this popular activity, including the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in the North Park Blocks.

Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.

Join an essential lecture by the acclaimed Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath. Jared Cooney Horvath (PhD, MEd) is a neuroscientist, educator, best-selling author and expert in the field of human learning. His new book, The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kid's Learning - And How to Help Them Thrive Again, pulls back the EdTech curtain and explains the research showing how digital tools in the classroom consistently undermine learning. It also explains how parents, teachers and schools can push back with purpose.

As a leading expert in learning and technology, Jared testified before the US Senate on EdTech and is an internationally sought-after speaker.

Sponsored by the Institute for Families and Technology and OR Unplugged.