Northeast (NE)

Closing out the Portland Book Festival with a special edition Soju Party, celebrating Korean food, drinking culture, and Irene Yoo’s James Beard Award-winning cookbook, Soju Party: How to Drink (and Eat!) Like a Korean, as part of Portland Book Festival’s “living cookbook” weekend.

Expect Han Oak favorites and anju-inspired bites with specialty soju + wine cocktails with CHO Wines, and plenty of reasons to raise a glass. Irene will be there celebrating the book, with copies available for purchase throughout the evening. Come eat, drink, and learn to party like a Korean. Everyone’s invited.

About the author:

Irene Yoo is a Korean American food writer, recipe developer, chef and co-owner of Brooklyn’s Orion Bar, whose work explores Korean food, drinking traditions, and the culture of gathering around the table.

Portland Book Festival welcomes Molly and Meherwan Irani, the husband-and-wife team behind Asheville’s nationally celebrated Chai Pani Restaurant Group. Their flagship restaurant, Chai Pani, was named Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation in 2022.

This year, Molly and Meherwan each bring a new book to the table. Meherwan has written No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World: At-Home Recipes from the Streets, Truck Stops, Villages, and Palaces of India. Molly’s Service Ready: A Story of Love, Restaurants, and the Power of Hospitality was published earlier this year. Together, the books offer two very different—and deeply connected—perspectives on food, restaurants, and hospitality.

In celebration of Diwali—the Hindu festival of lights, marked by food, gathering, and celebration—Molly and Meherwan will join their longtime friend Chef Troy MacLarty at Bollywood Theater on Alberta Street for a collaboration. Bollywood Theater will serve a special menu inspired by recipes from Meherwan’s book alongside its own Diwali-inspired menu. It’s a gathering of longtime friends, great food, and two books that reflect different sides of a shared life in restaurants.

Both books will be featured at Portland Book Festival, and Molly and Meherwan will be on hand at Bollywood to meet guests and sign copies.

The Big Trans Comedy Show is a yearly comedy show featuring only trans identified comedians, and this is the biggest one yet, featuring multiple touring and well-loved comedians, plus a handful of your local favorites! Proceeds of this show will also benefit SMYRC, whose mission is to offer vital resources to 2SLGBTQIA+ youth in Portland.

Headlining the Big Trans Comedy show are 4 of the top trans stand-up comedians in the country, including Mx. Dahlia Belle, featured on Netflix. Ren Q. Dawe, a finalist for the Queerties and founder of the Here to Pee Comedy Tour. Hayden Johnson was selected for Just for Laughs’ New Faces and Netflix is a Joke Comedy Festivals. And River Butcher, featured on Comedy Central, has written and performed in several highly acclaimed television series, and was named one of ten comedians to watch by Vanity Fair.

This show also features Portland local favorite comedians Mack Lee, Moisés Araguaney, IMANI, and Portland’s Funniest Person of 2025 Ally J Ward.

Ages 18+

Ages 18 – 20 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Celebrating 20 years of cinema, culture, and community—a very special milestone celebrating two decades of building bridges between Latin America and Portland through film.

Over these 20 years, the stories have made audiences laugh, reflect, and feel deeply, while offering new perspectives on identity, collective memory, and cultural diversity. What began as a dream has grown into a vibrant community of filmmakers, artists, volunteers, sponsors, and audience members who believe in the power of cinema to bring the community closer together.

This year features the generous collaboration of musician and composer José Manuel Aguilera, who has authorized the use of his song "Confabulario"—from the album *Tinta negra y roja*—as the official theme for this anniversary edition. The official poster for the twentieth edition was designed by Gilberto Martínez and inspired by the work of renowned graphic artist Joel Rendón. Its visual power and rich symbolism reflect the creative spirit and cultural diversity that have defined the festival over the past two decades.

Children ages birth to 6 along with their families, elders, aunties and uncles are welcome for songs and stories celebrating Native cultures and building language and literacy skills. Presented by Native library staff. Attendance is limited and available on a first come, first served basis.

Jamila Woods is a musician, poet, and multidisciplinary artist from the South Side of Chicago. Her critically acclaimed debut album HEAVN – an ode to Blackness, girlhood, and home – was released by JagJaguwar Records in 2017. Her sophomore project, LEGACY! LEGACY!, features twelve tracks named after writers, thinkers, and visual artists who have influenced the creator’s life and work – including James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni and Frida Kahlo. Her most recent album, Water Made Us, is a genre-blending song cycle on love and the wisdom of surrender.

Jamila has been featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk, CBS This Morning, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She has shared stages with Corinne Bailey Rae, Rafael Saadiq, Bonobo, Common, Chance the Rapper, Brittany Howard, Macklemore, and many others. An award-winning poet, Jamila’s work often blurs boundaries between poem and song. As cultural critic Doreen St. Felix writes, “It makes you wish all singers were poets.”

IDEAL PDX presents a unique art exhibition featuring special guest artist Rah Azul at McMenamins Kennedy School on November 1st.

The exhibition will feature nine talented artists, each showcasing their work through a personalized altar installation that reflects their unique style, perspective, and way of honoring Dia de los Muertos.

Please save the date and join us for this special evening celebrating art, memory, and tradition.

Special Guest
Rah Azul

Featured Artists
Oliver Casillas
Romina Del Castillo
Mariel Del Rincon
Isa Guadalupe
William Hernandez
Savi Santiago
Tekpatl
Yathzi Turcot
Alexis Yonathan

Portland Book Festival welcomes Molly and Meherwan Irani, the husband-and-wife team behind Asheville’s nationally celebrated Chai Pani Restaurant Group. Their flagship restaurant, Chai Pani, was named Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation in 2022.

This year, Molly and Meherwan each bring a new book to the table. Meherwan has written No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World: At-Home Recipes from the Streets, Truck Stops, Villages, and Palaces of India, releasing September 22. Molly’s Service Ready: A Story of Love, Restaurants, and the Power of Hospitality was published earlier this year. Together, the books offer two very different—and deeply connected—perspectives on food, restaurants, and hospitality.

In celebration of Diwali—the Hindu festival of lights, marked by food, gathering, and celebration—Molly and Meherwan will join their longtime friend Chef Troy MacLarty at Bollywood Theater on Alberta Street for a collaboration.

Bollywood Theater will serve a special menu inspired by recipes from Meherwan’s book alongside its own Diwali-inspired menu. It’s a gathering of longtime friends, great food, and two books that reflect different sides of a shared life in restaurants.

Both books will be featured at Portland Book Festival, and Molly and Meherwan will be on hand at Bollywood to meet guests and sign copies.

Market vendors and staff with a direct cultural connection will honor the tradition of Días de Los Muertos with a community ofrenda. Everyone is welcome to bring a pic of a deceased loved one to place on the ofrenda!

"PORTLAND, OR — On Sunday, November 22, 2026, New York-based pianist, composer, and storyteller David Haney brings the world premiere of The Waters of Non-Existence: Vishnu to Portland, Oregon — an immersive concert work for piano, bass clarinet, bass, and spoken narration. The performance takes place at Augustana Lutheran Church at 4:00 PM and features two of Portland's most celebrated creative musicians: multi-reed master Ike Levin on bass clarinet and bassist Shao Way Wu. The Waters of Non-Existence: Vishnu draws on three ancient Vedic stories of the Hindu god Vishnu — the Preserver, the Dreamer of Worlds, the God who enters human life in moments of cosmic need — and reimagines them within a contemporary New York City setting. The result is an evening of music and mythology that contemplates what it means for the divine to live among us: in the streets, in the subways, in the silences between notes. The concert is drawn from Haney's new album, The Waters of Non-Existence, released in June 2026 on Ravello Records / PARMA Recordings — a work that has earned national press attention and critical praise since its release."

Jalen Ngonda honours soul music’s rich history while pushing it forward into new territory, an artist who’s both archivist and explorer, a disciple of the greats actively shaping the future of music. Having spent the last three years growing this new soul vision from small clubs to arenas and festivals across the world Ngonda stands poised to become the new spokesman of authentic soul with the release of his second album Doctrine Of Love.

Doctrine Of Love is an instant classic of an album, a long player alive with a confidence and swagger that seals the young singer’s reputation as not only the spiritual heir of soul’s great leading men but a one-off songwriting talent stepping far out from the shadows of his artistic ancestors. The title track ‘Doctrine Of Love’ sets both the emotional tone and musical template for the rest of the album, “I wrote that track when I was trying to do anything to get out of the studio” remembers Ngonda. “I was listening to a lot of James Brown at the time and that was an inspiration – Doctrine to me was a word no-one ever uses, I took it to be like a certificate, the ‘Certificate of Love’ – look, I think maybe I meant ‘doctorate’, but we wrote it and recorded it and now it’s a whole thing.” The Doctrine of Love is multi-faceted of course – yes, it can be a cool word that fits the song, it can be a code, a philosophy, words to live by, words to love by, words to write some classic music by. ““I just write the song,” Ngonda enthuses, “the listener can interpret it however they want.”

Calling all lindy hoppers, balboa-heads, Charleston nuts, and shag enthusiasts! Come on out to Portland's longest-running swing dance, bringing you fantastic live jazz music on Norse Hall's magnificent floor.

Be ready for a night of four-to-the-bar swing tonight with Portland's own Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band!! ​ The band is formed by dancers for dancers, and they know a thing or two about music. ​ Known for their solid swing sound, this band is committed to making danceable music for all you swing dancers. ​ The band is inspired by vintage sounds with an emphasis on 1940's "transition era" sound that blends swing, jump blues, and vintage rock n' roll. ​ The band loves to play tribute to the Black and African American bandleaders and musicians of the time with adapted arrangements of well-known classics and lesser-known cuts during this masterful era of jazz music.
​
Our Foundations Lesson is an hour-long beginner lesson from 6:45PM-7:45PM (and is included with the dance cover!). ​The lesson is great for folks who are new to dancing, curious about dancing, or just love dancing! ​Topics will lean more towards Lindy Hop or Charleston depending on the band playing each Thursday night. ​We hope to see you there before the dance starts at 8pm and we kick off another fun night!

Cover $20 | All Ages
Beginning swing dance lesson included in dance cover

*Schedule*
6:30 Doors open
6:45 - 7:45 Beginning swing dance lesson w/ Dianne and Dan
8 - 9 Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band
9 - 9:30 DJ Break w/ Dianne
9:30 - 10:30 Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band

The downstairs bar and lounge will be open. You may bring your drinks upstairs into the ballroom.

If you have accessibility concerns, please contact PLS.

Learn the history of how the Kalapuyans and Chinookans signed treaties, were placed on temporary reserves and then removed to Grand Ronde. David G. Lewis, PhD and member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, is a recognized researcher, scholar, writer and assistant professor of anthropology and Indigenous studies at Oregon State University.

Celebrating more than twenty years of anime and Japanese culture, Kumoricon is back for its biggest year yet. Gaining its namesake (kumori) from the Japanese word "cloudy", Kumoricon embodies everything it means to live in the Pacific Northwest and love this fandom. Stretching across generations, anime fans have gathered together for an amazing annual event, rain or shine. Returning to Portland and bringing you another wonderful anime convention designed and operated with the fans and their devotion in mind.

Picture a Sunday night with family and friends around watching a movie and playing games. Come to our Soulful Sundays at Albina! Play Spades, Dominos, Uno and more! Happening every 1st and 2nd Sunday of the month through November! All ages are welcome.

Featured Film: MARY LOU WILLIAMS: THE LADY WHO SWINGS THE BAND (running time 1Hr 10min)

Join another installment of Portland's #1 hip-hop showcase. March's Thesis brings the energy back to straight bars.

Enjoy an incredible, rap-focused lineup stacked around him to close the year strong. Expect fire from start to finish.

New Sweden is proud to host their 5th Annual Scandinavian Christmas Goat Market, on Saturday, November 28, at the historic Norse Hall. Gather your family and friends to share some “julstämning” (holiday spirit) and kick off the festive season.

• Meander through over 30 vendors Nordic goods
• Savor the Nordic foods
• Enjoy live entertainment
• Explore the huge LEGO display and activities for the kids

Celebrating more than twenty years of anime and Japanese culture, Kumoricon is back for its biggest year yet! Gaining its namesake (kumori) from the Japanese word "cloudy", we embody everything it means to live in the Pacific Northwest and love this fandom. Stretching across generations, anime fans have gathered together for an amazing annual event, rain or shine. Returning to Portland, Oregon, we are excited to bring you another wonderful anime convention designed and operated with the fans and their devotion in mind.

Sunday, November 1 6pm & 7:30pm All ages welcome at Gymnasium

Hózhó Náhásdlįį': Walking In Beauty

Join artist Lorne James for a participatory art initiative inspired by Navajo cultural beliefs of harmony, balance, and interconnections. This project invites you to create art flags that reflect your interpretation of "Walking in Beauty."

Stones, Bones and Blacked-Eyed Peas presents: The historical and cultural significance of black eyed peas. Join chef and owner of Finer Things Events and Catering, Michelle Guinn, along with her daughter, Sable Askew and take a trip back into history. Enjoy a cooking demonstration using traditional foods and recipes cooked by African Americans from the time of slavery, and explore their many modern interpretations.

Paying tribute to villains, anti-heroes, and anyone ostracized by society. In an era where trans and gender non-conforming people are constantly villainized by the media, choose to reclaim the label and have a little fun with it. Get ready to embrace the parts of yourself that scare people.

Trans Voices Cabaret Portland is an annual musical theater showcase with a different theme each year. TVC began in New York, and chapters have been created in cities across the country. The PDX chapter has been performing since 2022, first produced by Teague Shattuck.

This show is sponsorship- and donation-based, with cast and crew receiving a percentage of ticket sales. To support the work, please consider the most generous ticketing tier within your reach.

A host of fantastic players playing the English folk revival sounds of Bert Jansch, Pentangle and related,. $10 cash at the door, 9 pm.

Every Tuesday, something pretty special happens at Tomorrow's Verse Taproom. Musicians pull up a chair, listeners grab a pint, and for a couple of hours the room turns into the kind of community space that's getting harder and harder to find. No stage, no spotlight, no barriers—just people sharing songs, stories, and a love of live music.

Whether you play, listen, or just enjoy being around good people, Bluegrass and Brews is a place to connect. Discover your new favorite musician, catch up with neighbors, and support a group of local pickers who keep traditional music alive, one tune at a time.

Pull up a chair. Order a pint. Stay awhile. The music's better when the room (or courtyard) is full.

We are delighted to welcome Jenny Tseng for a cooking demonstration, highlighting the freshest seasonal produce sourced from our farmers.

Everyone is invited to stop by the Chef’s booth learn about the local ingredients she uses. You can also sample the recipe and ask questions!

About the Chef:
Jenny is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants and a transplant to the Pacific Northwest from the Bay Area. Her love of local foods has led her to dairy farming in Western Massachusetts, supporting food pantries in Berkeley, and researching the school meal program at Oakland Unified School District. Now in Portland, Jenny supports farm to early childhood across the state of Oregon and caters food with roots in her family’s Taiwanese and Cantonese foodways. Her food systems work is fueled by a life-long joy in nourishing and building community through shared meals that preserve cultural traditions and celebrate diasporic creativity. She can be found helping her fellow farmers plant Asian veggies, befriending people at the grocery store, and organizing community events for those in the diaspora to connect with their cultural roots through food.

Join us in an Analog-Style listening space, where Adult patrons and Teens (16+) who identify as Two-Spirit/LGBTQ+, and allies, can enjoy culturally relevant and identity-supporting media and learn more about local Two-Spirit resources. As part of this series, we will explore analog media and hand-made projects.

Now in its fifth year, the Scandinavian Christmas Goat Market is hosted by the New Sweden Cultural Heritage Society. Last year's market was recognized by Willamette Week as one of Portland's best holiday markets, reflecting a well regarded seasonal tradition with Scandinavian flair.

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Calling all lindy hoppers, balboa-heads, Charleston nuts, and shag enthusiasts! Come on out to Portland's longest-running swing dance, bringing you fantastic live jazz music on Norse Hall's magnificent floor.

Portland's own vintage jazz band, Puddletown Stompers, will be performing this week at our weekly LIVE music dance party! ​ The band will be performing hot jazz tunes from the 'fabulous fives' era and beyond. ​ We'll be keeping things swingin', so join us for a dance this week!
​
Our Foundations Lesson is an hour-long beginner lesson from 6:45PM-7:45PM (and is included with the dance cover!). ​The lesson is great for folks who are new to dancing, curious about dancing, or just love dancing! ​Topics will lean more towards Lindy Hop or Charleston depending on the band playing each Thursday night. ​We hope to see you there before the dance starts at 8pm and we kick off another fun night!

Cover $20 | All Ages
Beginning swing dance lesson included in dance cover

*Schedule*
6:30 Doors open
6:45 - 7:45 Beginning swing dance lesson w/ Austin Neverman
8 - 9 Puddletown Stompers
9 - 9:30 DJ Break w/ Austin
9:30 - 10:30 Puddletown Stompers

The downstairs bar and lounge will be open. You may bring your drinks upstairs into the ballroom.

If you have accessibility concerns, please contact PLS.

The African and African American experience comes alive for children from birth to age 6 (with their favorite adult/family members). Have fun with books and stories, songs, and movement activities in a positive and affirming environment. Black Storytime builds language and literacy skills your child needs to be ready for kindergarten. Attendance is limited and available on a first come, first served basis.

Portland's longest running and hands down BEST bluegrass night.

#barnearme #beer #bluegrass #taproom

Children with their families, elders, aunties and uncles are welcome for songs and stories celebrating Native cultures and building language and literacy skills. Presented by Native library staff.

Multnomah County Library storytimes are supported by gifts made to The Library Foundation.

Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity tells the story of the Nativity from an African-American perspective through a combination of scripture, poetry, dance, and song with griot-style narration.

Written by Langston Hughes, directed by Jerry Foster, music directed by JerMichael Riley PhD, choreography by Kemba Shannon.

A roof-raising, spirit-catching, musical tour-de-force that will bring you to your feet. Pure joy for the season. Bring the whole family. Make it a block party.

Ever wondered about the origin of the modern Norwegian language? Like most Scandinavian languages, it derives from Old Norse, and modern Icelandic is almost the same as Old Norse. The Old Norse Conversation Group practices speaking Icelandic and talks about culture, grammar and vocabulary, some history and current events. We are not a language class. We are more of a social gathering where Icelandic and Norwegian language origins are explored in an informal and entertaining setting. We meet every 4th Thursday of the month from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at Norse Hall in the downstairs dining area. Anyone interested is welcome to join us. For more information and to join our email list, please contact Nord Njordur F. Winnan at [email protected].