Downtown, Pearl & NW

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.

From humble beginnings 50 years ago busking on the streets of Philadelphia, to acclaimed sold–out runs on Broadway and renown as the longest-running and one of the most-beloved resident headline acts in Las Vegas history, magic’s legendary duo — Penn Jillette and Teller — continue to defy labels (and at times physics and good taste), by redefining the genre of magic and inventing their own very distinct niche in comedy.

Their Off-Broadway debut in 1985 electrified New York with a stage show the likes of which had never been seen. Combining magic, comedy, and social commentary in a theatrical event the New York Times said was a “A witheringly funny…Brazen assault on the temple of magic,” the show moved to Broadway in 1987, the first of three eponymously titled Broadway runs. Their efforts in New York have been awarded an Obie and a Lucille Lortel Award. Their most recent return to Broadway, hailed as “Deliciously Demented” by USA Today, was the highest-grossing non-musical for the entirety of its run, even out-grossing Hamilton for one week.

Performing nearly 300 live shows every year from the stages of America’s greatest performing arts venues as well as the Sydney Opera House and London’s Apollo Theatre, their record-breaking Las Vegas show at The Rio Hotel & Casino has an amazing 10 wins, including 2025, as “Las Vegas Magicians of the Year” and was called “The single best show in Vegas,” by the Los Angeles Times.

The current hit series Penn & Teller: Fool Us! for The CW Network, on which up-and-comers and magic veterans try to fool Penn & Teller for a chance to star in the pair’s hit Las Vegas stage show, was nominated for a Critic’s Choice Award and has been renewed for an unprecedented 12th season. The show is the longest continual American magic television series in history, introducing the art to new fans and cultivating new generations of innovators within the craft.

Hundreds of outrageous appearances on everything from Fallon to Friends, The Simpsons to Colbert, Modern Family to Big Bang Theory, Dancing With The Stars to The Masked Singer, plus their own specials for NBC, ABC, PBS and Comedy Central have garnered them an Emmy, a Writers Guild Award, and their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The controversial Showtime series, Penn & Teller: BS! was nominated for 13 Emmys and was the longest-running series in the history of the network. The show highlighted the pair’s ardent skepticism by tackling the fakes and frauds behind such topics as alien abduction, psychics, and bottled water.

In recent years they have become acclaimed documentarians with the BAFTA-nominated Sony Pictures Classic release, Tim’s Vermeer, which follows Texas-based inventor Tim Jenison on his quest to discover the methods used by Dutch Master painter Johannes Vermeer. Their other films, the critically-lauded feature The Aristocrats and the Showtime short The Gambler’s Ballad, were met with wide praise.

The Olivier-nominated Magic Goes Wrong, written and created in collaboration with Mischief Theatre (creators of the Tony-nominated The Play That Goes Wrong), played at London’s West End Vaudeville Theatre, setting a box office pre-sale record. The Daily Mail hailed it as a “Spellbinding romp,” while The Sun theater critic raved, “I’ll be laughing into next week.” In 2024, they had two shows running Off-Broadway as creators and producers: the Magic Goes Wrong spin-off The Mind Mangler, which returned to London’s West End in
March, and the technology/magic/thriller Stalker.

As individuals, they are just as prolific. Teller directed versions of Macbeth and The Tempest which toured to raves from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, co-wrote and directed the Off-Broadway thriller Play Dead and has written two books. Penn has written five books, including the New York Times Best Sellers “God No!” and “Presto”. For his role in this year’s critically acclaimed Oscar-nominated film, Marty Supreme, he was nominated for an Actor Award (formerly the SAG Awards), alongside co-stars Timothee Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Twice named “Magicians of the Year” by the Academy of Magical Arts, the equivalent of the Oscars in magic, they were named the 2024 Masters Fellowship recipients, the highest honor the Academy bestows. The pair live in Las Vegas where they are engaged in their community, acting as honorary chairmen for AFAN (Aid for AIDS Nevada), raising and donating nearly $2 million and serving as grand marshals for AFAN’s annual Las Vegas AIDS Walk for the past 23 years. Through their involvement with Opportunity Village, which assists in employment placement and lifestyle betterment for those living with intellectual disabilities, they have raised over $1 million. The annual blood drive, Penn & Teller’s 13 Bloody Days of Christmas, has resulted in over 85,000 donors since its inception. In 2023, they took part in the USO’s annual Christmas tour, entertaining thousands of servicemen and servicewomen in bases across Europe.

In 2025, the pair celebrated 50 years as innovators in combining smart, edgy comedy with their unique magical style.

The Fates are spinning… do you dare give in to temptation?

After a deep slumber, EX-SPELLED! A Cabaret Tribute to the Occult finally returns to the Jack London Revue this November. Hosted by the Mad Marquis, this wicked night of magic, mystery, and mayhem summons a spellbinding collection of performers to astonish you in ways that would make even the Devil himself shiver with antici……

Step beyond the veil and surrender yourself to the forbidden, where good old debauchery mingles with the come-hither peculiarities of your wildest dreams. Prepare to explore the limits of your imagination, indulge your darker curiosities, and discover what exactly lies just beyond the bounds of everything you know.

JLR Seating Map Notes: For this show, you may reserve individual tables on the map pictured. Note that some tables have limited sightlines as noted. General Admission ticket holders note that seating and sightlines are limted and may be standing room only. All table reservations include admission.

1. For Table Reservations: Note the relative location of the stage and bar on the map. Then click a table number to see prices, or click "Show All Tickets". Click the + button to add a specific table to your cart.
2. For General Admission tickets: click the "GA Standing" area. Click the + button to add additional tickets.
3. Click "Agree & Checkout"

Live Wire joins forces with the Portland Art Museum for an afternoon of roving performances ahead of an evening recording of the program. The event coincides with PAM's monthly Free First Thursday and the Portland Book Festival's expanded programming. Performers will include poet and rapper Dessa, bestselling children’s author Mac Barnett, Pulitzer Prize Finalist Ed Park, and Portland comedian Mx. Dahlia Belle.

Free pop-up performances will take place throughout the Museum’s galleries, giving visitors a chance to catch live performances and storytelling while moving through the PAM spaces. Completely free through PAM’s Free First Thursday general admission. Also, 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.

Visitors can take in the afternoon gallery pop-ups, the evening show, or both.

From humble beginnings 50 years ago busking on the streets of Philadelphia, to acclaimed sold–out runs on Broadway and renown as the longest-running and one of the most-beloved resident headline acts in Las Vegas history, magic’s legendary duo — Penn Jillette and Teller — continue to defy labels (and at times physics and good taste), by redefining the genre of magic and inventing their own very distinct niche in comedy.

The current hit series Penn & Teller: Fool Us! for The CW Network, on which up-and-comers and magic veterans try to fool Penn & Teller for a chance to star in the pair’s hit Las Vegas stage show, was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award and has been renewed for an unprecedented 12th season. The show is the longest continual American magic television series in history, introducing the art to new fans and cultivating new generations of innovators within the craft.

Twice named “Magicians of the Year” by the Academy of Magical Arts, the equivalent of the Oscars in magic, they were named the 2024 Masters Fellowship recipients, the highest honor the Academy bestows. The pair live in Las Vegas, where they are engaged in their community, acting as honorary chairmen for AFAN (Aid for AIDS Nevada), raising and donating nearly $2 million and serving as grand marshals for AFAN’s annual Las Vegas AIDS Walk for the past 23 years. Through their involvement with Opportunity Village, which assists in employment placement and lifestyle betterment for those living with intellectual disabilities, they have raised over $1 million. The annual blood drive, Penn & Teller’s 13 Bloody Days of Christmas, has resulted in over 85,000 donors since its inception. In 2023, they took part in the USO’s annual Christmas tour, entertaining thousands of servicemen and servicewomen in bases across Europe.

In 2025, the pair celebrated 50 years as innovators in combining smart, edgy comedy with their unique magical style.

We’re celebrating two fabulous birthdays of Darcelle XV and Brandi Mae! Join us for an evening of love, laughter, and birthday magic, all while giving back to our community.

🎁 Bring an unwrapped toy or donate $10 to join the festivities and help spread a little extra joy! All donations will benefit Camp KC.

📅 November 8
🚪 Doors open at 5 PM | Show starts at 6 PM
🎟️ No reservations required | 21+ event

Come celebrate, give a little, and make someone’s holiday brighter! See you at the door!

Grab your gear and strap on your tunic, because The Hyrule Ball is here. A niche, nerdy, nightlife celebration of everyone's favorite action-adventure franchise, just in time for the latest release. Featuring Zelda-inspired DJ sets and drag performances, specialty cocktails, local vendors, and consoles and cabinets for playing games with friends.

Come dressed in your cosplay best, grab your wallet of rupees, and get ready to dance until the Sun Song plays.

Pass the gravy and bring on the glamour. Serving up a fabulous helping of bingo, laughs, and Thanksgiving fun at the Hi-Lo Hotel. Join the one and only Poison Waters as your host, with two fabulous queens performing and plenty of sparkle to kick off your holiday season. Gather your friends, bring your chosen family, and get ready to gobble up a good time.

Share the love: Please bring a canned or shelf-stable food item to donate to Esther’s Pantry. A little generosity can make a big difference, and we’ve got plenty to be thankful for.

Come hungry for fun and ready to give back. These queens are serving more than turkey.

Can Can’s first show in its restored Old Town home is a haunted-hotel cabaret. The Hitchcock Hotel once hosted royalty and politicians, and its dubious operations and supernatural pull still linger. Its newest hire, a graveyard-shift maître d’, learns he’s been mistakenly put on the perilous night shift, and a paranormal entanglement follows. Expect dance, burlesque, sultry songs, and an original score over three acts, with craft cocktails and bites served during the show. Evening performances are 21+ with valid ID.

Live Wire teams up with the Portland Art Museum during First Thursday and the Portland Book Festival. From 4:30 to 6 p.m., complimentary pop-up performances roam the museum galleries, no ticket needed. At 7 p.m., host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello lead a seated, ticketed taping with poet and rapper Dessa, children’s author Mac Barnett, Pulitzer Prize finalist Ed Park, and Portland comedian Mx. Dahlia Belle. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.. Portland Book Festival passholders get 10% off.

Voted by BURLESQUE MAGAZINE as one of the Top 10 Burlesque shows in the USA!

A sinful circus of burlesque, fire-dancing, DJs & debauchery. Every Sunday night for 20 years...the longest-running weekly cabaret show on the west coast!

SEATING IS LIMITED and is first-come, first served. Seating IS NOT GUARANTEED for General Admission ticket holders!

Chatter PDX is a performing arts series in Portland inspired by the success of the innovative Chatter series in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which has captivated audiences for over 15 years. Chatter PDX brings a unique blend of music, spoken word, coffee, and reflection to Portland's vibrant cultural landscape. Chatter performances take place weekly and offer audiences the opportunity to hear a wide variety of classical chamber music and spoken word, performed by local artists. Coffee and mingling with the audience and performers before and after the show are an essential part of the Chatter PDX experience.

Each week, join a unique program of music and poetry.

PAM gallery pop-ups: 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Doors for Live Wire seated show: 6:30 p.m.
Live Show: 7:00 p.m.

Live Wire Radio, the Portland-based public radio variety show, joins forces with the Portland Art Museum for an afternoon of roving performances ahead of an evening recording of the program. The event coincides with PAM’s monthly Free First Thursday and the Portland Book Festival’s expanded programming.

In the afternoon, free pop-up performances will take place throughout the Museum’s galleries giving visitors a chance to catch short live performances and storytelling while moving through the PAM spaces. Performers will include genre-blending rapper and writer Dessa, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and children’s author Mac Barnett, National Book Award Finalist Ed Park, and Portland comedian Mx. Dahlia Belle among others.

The evening will feature 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.

Visitors can take in the afternoon gallery pop-ups, the evening show, or both!

Note: Admission is free to the afternoon gallery pop-ups as part of general admission on Free First Thursday at Portland Art Museum. Tickets available on the museum website.

Ticket Prices:
$40 Preferred Seats
$36 Bookfest Pass Holder Discount – Preferred Seats (10% off)
$15 General Admission Seats
$13.50 Bookfest Pass Holder Discount – General Admission (10% off)

Join the 20th year anniversary for a beloved holiday event for kids and grandparents alike. The whole family will enjoy reserved seating and a plated breakfast while whimsical characters entertain the kids with storytelling, music and magic. Cinnamon Bear has been a cherished holiday tradition for generations.

Enjoy reserved seating and a plated breakfast while a cast of fanciful characters entertains the kids with storytelling, music and magic.

Tickets include:

• 2-hour cruise on the Willamette River
• Plated hot breakfast (eggs, potatoes, bacon, fruit and pastries) for adults and youth, excludes infants
• Hot cocoa, orange juice, coffee and hot tea
• Souvenir photo with Cinnamon Bear for every child 12 and younger
• Signature cinnamon cookie for youth
• Character storytelling, autograph sessions and a magic show
• Reserved table
• Service gratuity

Darcelle XV and Company have been entertaining audiences from all walks of life for over 50 years with Las Vegas-style cabaret revues featuring glitz, glamour, and comedy.

TGIF! What a week, huh? Wrap up your week in a fun way and join this fabulous night of glittery entertainment.

Almost PHAMEous, PHAME Academy’s resident comedy troupe, hosts this monthly improv comedy showcase featuring some of Portland’s finest talent. Each month, Almost PHAMEous kicks it off with their hilarious brand of fast-paced short form improv comedy a la “Whose Line is it Anyway”. Then they invite a carousel of creative cadres, including special guest improvisers, comics, and musicians, to close out the show. PHAME is a fine and performing arts academy serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Located in Portland, Oregon, and also operating online, their education and performance programs empower students to learn new skills, take artistic risks, and build lasting relationships with people who share their experience of having a disability.

Ding ding ding… your room is waiting at the infamous Hitchcock Hotel. Although decades have passed since the Hitchcock family entertained royalty and influential politicians, the hotel's dubious operations continue. The hotel's supernatural allure inhabits its guests (and staff) in this dilapidated relic of the past. The Hitchcocks' latest hire is no exception. The graveyard "maitre d," quickly realizes that there has been a misunderstanding in the hiring process and that he's been mistakenly hired for the precarious “night shift” position, one unfit for pedigree. He is about to experience nothing short of a fortuitous paranormal entanglement unlike any other. An evening featuring death-defying dance, sultry songs, shimmying show girls and hauntingly beautiful new music, you’re sure to delight in this decadence of the damned.

TGIF indeed! ✨What a week, huh?

Wrap it up the fun way and com join us tonight for a fabulous night of glittery entertainment, fierce performances and nonstop sparkle!

Celebrating something special? Bachelor or bachelorette party, birthday celebration, new job, or just making it through the week? Do it with us! You deserve a little glam afterall!

The doors open at 7pm and the show is at 8pm. Cover $32. Ages 21+

Make your reservations now!

Our bodies may be sick. Our lives are not over. Our stories deserve to be seen.

SICK: A Year in Our Bodies is a fundraising showcase centering Portland-area sex workers living with chronic illness and disability—and the ways we have learned to survive in a world that wasn’t built in our favor.

For many disabled and chronically ill people, traditional employment demands something our bodies cannot always promise: the same energy every day, rigid schedules, eight-hour shifts, limited rest, and the ability to simply push through. Sex work can offer something different—the ability to build work around our bodies instead of constantly punishing our bodies to fit the expectations of work.

We are dancers. Performers. Artists. Providers. Mothers. Hustlers. Creators. Disabled people. Chronically ill people. Survivors.

This night brings our community together for performances, vendors, entertainment, and unapologetic visibility while raising funds for Rose and Pistolita to create SICK: A Year in Our Bodies—a calendar featuring 12 iconic Portland-area sex workers living with chronic conditions.

Each month will put a real body and a real story behind invisible illness. Not as tragedy. Not as inspiration porn. Not as bodies to pity.

As bodies that adapted. Bodies that worked. Bodies that survived. Bodies that are still fucking here.

This project is about what survival actually looks like when your body refuses to cooperate with the rules of an able-bodied world. It is about the ingenuity of people who found another way when conventional systems failed them. And it is about refusing the shame that so often surrounds both disability and sex work.

We are taking the bodies society tells us to hide—and putting them on the fucking calendar.

Twelve workers. Twelve bodies. Twelve stories of adaptation, resistance, sexuality, illness, labor and survival.

Come celebrate the people who learned how to make a living on their own terms. Come support chronically ill and disabled sex workers telling their own stories.

Sick people are strong people.
Disabled bodies are worthy bodies.
Sex workers are workers.
And survival deserves to be seen.

Join us at the Jack London for the latest edition of our late-night cabaret spectacular, hosted by the Mad Marquis and featuring some of the finest dancers from the Rose City and beyond. Treat yourself to a sensational evening of sultry and exotic delights, liberally spiced with old-fashioned spontaneous fun! The show starts after the evening's musical performance.

SICK: A Year in Our Bodies

Our bodies may be sick. Our lives are not over. Our stories deserve to be seen.

SICK: A Year in Our Bodies is a fundraising showcase centering Portland-area sex workers living with chronic illness and disability—and the ways we have learned to survive in a world that wasn’t built in our favor.

For many disabled and chronically ill people, traditional employment demands something our bodies cannot always promise: the same energy every day, rigid schedules, eight-hour shifts, limited rest, and the ability to simply push through. Sex work can offer something different—the ability to build work around our bodies instead of constantly punishing our bodies to fit the expectations of work.

We are dancers. Performers. Artists. Providers. Mothers. Hustlers. Creators. Disabled people. Chronically ill people. Survivors.

This night brings our community together for performances, vendors, entertainment, and unapologetic visibility while raising funds for Rose and Pistolita to create SICK: A Year in Our Bodies—a calendar featuring 12 iconic Portland-area sex workers living with chronic conditions.

Each month will put a real body and a real story behind invisible illness. Not as tragedy. Not as inspiration porn. Not as bodies to pity.

As bodies that adapted. Bodies that worked. Bodies that survived. Bodies that are still fucking here.

This project is about what survival actually looks like when your body refuses to cooperate with the rules of an able-bodied world. It is about the ingenuity of people who found another way when conventional systems failed them. And it is about refusing the shame that so often surrounds both disability and sex work.

We are taking the bodies society tells us to hide—and putting them on the fucking calendar.

Twelve workers. Twelve bodies. Twelve stories of adaptation, resistance, sexuality, illness, labor and survival.

Come celebrate the people who learned how to make a living on their own terms. Come support chronically ill and disabled sex workers telling their own stories.

Sick people are strong people.
Disabled bodies are worthy bodies.
Sex workers are workers.
And survival deserves to be seen.

SICK: A Year in Our Bodies
November 21 • 8 PM • Dante’s • 21+