Who’s ready to have some fun? Well, the Mercury is here to help with FREE TICKETS to see some of Portland’s best concerts and events; our way of saying thanks to our great readers and spread the word about some fantastic upcoming performances! (Psst… if you want to say thanks to the Mercury, please consider making a small monthly contribution to keep us alive and kickin’!) And oh boy, do we have some fun events coming at ya this week! CHECK IT OUT!
Tacoma-based artist J.R.C.G. visits Portland with noisy abstractions and tightly structured beats from his Sub Pop debut, Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra), and beyond! Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!
Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave, Thurs February 5, 8 pm, $21.17, 21+
Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave, Tues February 10, 8 pm, $32.18, All Ages
GRAMMY-winning blues songwriter Cedric Burnside returns to Portland, sharing upfront storytelling and move-your-feet grooves from his acclaimed discography! Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!
Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave, Wed February 11, 8 pm, $26.05, 21+
At 37 years old, Grace Helbig was diagnosed with breast cancer. No family history, no pre-existing conditions. It was a darkly humorous adventure, to say the least. “Let Me Get This Off My Chest” reveals lessons and confessions from her “journey” into the wild world of cancer treatment. Get your tickets now or enter to win a free pair!
Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave, Fri February 13, 8 pm, $48.35+, All Ages
GOOD LUCK! Winners will be notified on Monday, and check back next week for more FREE TIX from the Mercury.
Good Morning, Portland! You like that rain yesterday? YOU’D BETTER because that’s the last we’re seeing of the sun until next Tuesday. [cackles in Portland] Maybe Saturday. Let’s hit the news!
IN LOCAL NEWS: • From where I sit, República closing is a big fucking deal. Portland’s revered Mexican fine-dining restaurant República has announced that it plans to close in February. Considered the flagship of the local mini-empire República & Co., República represents an idea—“Mexico-forward’“cuisine, tasting menus with culinary storytelling—and laid the groundwork for a conversation the food world should have had long ago about the way larger culture thinks of Mexican cuisine. This isn’t your typical restaurant closure, however. Owner Angel Medina doesn’t obviously blame the city; he seems more concerned for the future of this country and the safety of the staff.
• Art Snack is an attempt at streamlining the beautiful chaos of Portland’s arts and culture scene. In this week’s round-up: Portland’s claim on the summer thriller Weapons, WHOA! Renée Watson won the Newberry Medal, and República restaurateur asks for help to tell the story of a Minneapolis chef. (Yes, I didn’t know Medina was also about to announce República would be closing… still would have written about it!)
• Profile Theatre’s Tiger Style is the best bargain in Portland theater, writes Mercury critic John Rudoff. You buy a ticket to a comedy and get—as a free bonus—a dazzling array of vignettes dissecting Asian American life, relationships, and myths. It’s giving a side eye to corporate life, showing how families break up and make up, and offering biting examples of Communist Party of China politics. Such a deal! Rudoff also took some very lovely photos of the show.
• Mercury Music Picks is hard launching a new section: New Music Portland! This week’s MMP includes new music from Portland-area bands and the gig recs you’ve come to know and love. On the agenda: a Meredith Monk documentary, Cate Labubu, Steve Reich’s Counterpoints, and so much more!
• This morning in “reimagined parade experience,” the Rose Festival appears to be shifting its parade to night mode. “In honor of America 250, the Rose Festival will present a single, unified parade experience on the evening of June 6 that brings together the beloved elements of both the Grand Floral and CareOregon Starlight Parades,” reads an announcement from the parade’s organizers.
• Following Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s early January announcement that he would not seek another term in office, Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced on Thursday morning, January 29, that she would seek the office in this year’s election. “I like my job in the Senate,” Ms. Klobuchar said in her announcement video. “But I love our state more than any job.”
• Today in [checks notes] US armada headed to Iran… nothing says delicate nuclear deal (!) like the President of the United States saying that a “massive armada” is headed to Iran. In a social media post littered with typos and incorrect capitalization Donald Trump noted that this “massive armada” is a larger fleet than was sent to Venezuela. The president continued to write things like “MAKE A DEAL!” while threatening… ostensibly… force.
• APROPOS OF NOTHING, Sarah Jeong at The Vergepublished this round-up of gas mask recommendations, largely drawn from journalists who covered the 2020 protests, which exploded after George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer. The legend of the Mercury reader who bought me a better gas mask lives on.
• Elon Musk’s electronic vehicle company Tesla reports its second year of steep profit decline, which AP describes as “its lowest level since the pandemic.” However, profits and stocks don’t always pay attention to one another—Tesla stock is up 9 percent.
Hi Friends, [Redacted] here again, your friendly neighborhood chief of antifa counterintelligence (not my choice in title). Once upon a time a coworker at the day job asked me if we should sweep the boss’s office for bugs. I told them nah, because they already have our phones. Some people freak out to this knowledge, but the important thing is to have fun with it. I mean what other generation is better prepared to perform for audiences on the other side of a screen. Sure, talk to them via the key loggers, make up stories, coordinate skits and performances with your friends. Discuss your plans for revolution. Have heart to hearts with them about what they are doing and how it makes you feel and how it reflects on them. The key is to have fun and be creative with as many friends as possible. Keep in mind their job can be hard and overwhelming at times and they occasionally have to spend time on a lot of false leads or running down bad information. Yeah, they got your phone too, but don’t worry. And you know just live your values, be the change you want to see in the world. Spread joy and love in these times and help lift others up. It’s gonna get worse for “them” as more of “them” navigate their way to outside, so keep that in mind and always try to leave some room for compassion and empathy. These people are already scared and they need some help. I wondered if we could have an award for the best online performances for a government agent/foreign adversary? I vote for calling them “The Franklins” since “The Oscars” are already taken.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A packed house at Forest Grove High School was in attendance for Suzanne Bonamici’s town hall on Wednesday night as the Oregon congresswoman heard growing concern over federal actions from her constituents in Washington County. A big focus was on a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which now sits […]
By way of his newsletter Between Courses, Angel Medina has announced plans to close Portland’s revered fine-dining restaurant República in February. Considered the flagship of the local mini-empire República & Co., República also represented an idea—”Mexico-forward’”cuisine, tasting menus with culinary storytelling—that laid the groundwork for a conversation the food world should have had long ago about the way larger culture thinks of Mexican cuisine.
“The Mexican cuisine you celebrate today did not arrive by accident.” Medina wrote in the announcement. “It exists because of the labor, memory, and courage of the people in this kitchen; the tortilleras, the tortilleros, the cooks who brought recipes from home, who cooked from nostalgia, from history, from pride. They changed this city’s culinary landscape. We simply helped hold the door open.”
With his partner pastry chef Olivia Bartruff and chef Lauro Romero, Medina opened República in November 2020, in the Pearl’s Ecotrust Building—next door to his Reforma Roasters-run coffee counter, La Perlita. In the years that followed, the restaurant moved into its own, more central building on NW 10th.
Other ventures and ideas emerged under República and Co.’s broadening umbrella, like the now defunct coffee shops Matutina, Electrica Coffee, and La Perlita, along with De Noche, a small plates restaurant devoted to Mexican cuisine made with hyperlocal ingredients. Over the summer, Dani Morales essentially moved De Noche into República, as she assumed the flagship’s executive chef role. Lilia Comedor took over De Noche’s former roost in the North Park Blocks, next to Mezcal-focused cocktail lounge Comala, both still part of the República & Co. family.
The reasons that Medina gave for República’s closure ranged from decreased demand—which he says seemed to immediately follow Donald Trump’s return to being president—to rising costs, and Medina wrote that “one issue rose above all others.”
When the safety of my staff; people who built this place with their hands and their memories—could no longer be assumed, when their dignity and security were treated as negotiable, silence stopped being an option. We stayed quiet for a year, hoping things wouldn’t worsen. They did. And they will continue to.
In a previous newsletter from January 19, Medina related a story of federal agents dining at a small, family-owned Mexican restaurant in Willmar, Minnesota before later returning to the restaurant to detain three of the staff. “Minnesota is not an outlier. It’s a rehearsal,” he wrote. Those same concerns appear to be at the forefront of the decision to close República.
Now for a few caveats: First, República won’t close until February 21, so if you’re really feeling this one, go eat about it. Second, Lilia Comedor and Comala will remain open and more than able to furnish you with your Mexican-forward tasting menu fix. Reforma Coffee Roasters—the beans that started the whole business—appears to still be going strong. And Medina continues to move forward with his media company Todos, which we wrote about earlier today, as it is trying to fund an early release of a documentary episode focused on Minneapolis Chef Gustavo Romero.
Finally, Medina writes: “should the situation change—should we be spared what our colleagues in Minneapolis are facing—we will do our best to extend a little longer.” So, it’s not exactly done and dinner’d that República will absolutely close. It’s hard to say what sign could encourage the place to stay. Like I said, if you’re bothered by this, consider eating it out.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Portland Rose Festival rolled out major updates for 2026 on Wednesday. For years, the Rose Festival spread its two biggest parades across separate weekends. But this year, organizers are rolling them into one signature event. Organizers say the updates are designed to modernize signature events, expand access for families and […]
According to attorneys in Wednesday’s city council meeting, the council can’t do exactly what the mayor wants because this money comes from a fee that landlords pay on new properties. Because that tax is collected for a specific purpose, it can’t just go towards the general fund.
Instead, the council wants to put it toward housing, but how much should go where is still getting sorted out.
District 1 Councilors Loretta Smith, Candace Avalos, and Jamie Dunphy are pushing for the funding to go toward several different programs that help with rent assistance.
In their latest amendment that passed Wednesday, they also propose setting aside millions for affordable housing developments and spreading this funding out over the next three years.
The mayor told councilors they can’t reduce the risk of homelessness if they act impulsively and without long-term funding mechanisms.
“The mayor has his shelter plan, and he absolutely has to go and do the best to execute the laws that the city council has passed. The $20 million, almost $21 million that was found really had a very targeted purpose,” Portland City Council President Jamie Dunphy said. “This was not a general slush fund. This was about trying to be responsive to the real situation renters in our community are facing right now.”
Councilors voted to pass the District 1 councilors’ amendment 8-4 to let them continue discussing a different amendment that Councilor Mitch Green proposed.
The Green amendment doesn’t give funding to those affordable housing projects and instead directs more to rental assistance programs.
The council will continue to discuss this and vote on it next week
Mayor Keith Wilson brought up concerns about how this funding isn’t long-term and how these programs will survive when it runs out.
Profile Theatre’s Tiger Style is the best bargain to be found right now in Portland theater. You buy a ticket to a comedy and get—as a free bonus—a dazzling array of vignettes dissecting Asian American education, life, relationships, and myths. It’s giving a side eye to corporate life, showing how families break up and make up, and offering biting examples of Communist Party of China (CPC) politics. Such a deal!
The kaleidoscopic Tiger Style doesn’t pile themes atop each other, hoping to make something work. This is a surefooted script by a deft and sophisticated craftsman who knows just what he wants to show and accomplish.
Playwright Mike Lew introduces us to a panoply of characters, like Albert Chen (Nick Ong), a Harvard-educated software engineer who’s considered a failure in his family because he isn’t a doctor. Of course, his sister Jennifer (Evangeline Billups) is a Harvard MD/PhD oncologist and concert pianist, so she’s okay. Even as the brother and sister present to the world and one another as successful, their lives are secretly wretched.
Evangeline Billups (left) and Nick Ong (right) John RudoffMurri Lazaroff-Babin (left) and Evangeline Billups (right) John Rudoff
Albert’s coworker, Russ the Bus (Murri Lazaroff-Babin), is actively taking advantage of him at the office, and Jennifer was just dumped by her slacker boyfriend Reggie (also played by Lazaroff-Babin). Not one to go mildly, Jennifer nails Reggie with a precise read, telling him: “You’re a man-child with a cinder block for a brain and coal for a heart. Your hair’s thin, your dick’s thin.” Both siblings feel they are doormats for the unreflective, boundlessly-confident caucasian idiots in their respective orbits.
Initially, they conspire to demand an apology from their parents, a small recompense for their upbringing. Albert tells Jennifer: “Mom and Dad gave us no life skills. That’s the real reason you got dumped.” But the tables swiftly turn on them—their parents are far superior at psychological warfare. Their father (Heath Hyun) in particular drops an epic, “we’re not mad, we’re just disappointed,” and the match is won. No contest.
Nick Ong (left) and Evangeline Billups (right) John Rudoff
Giving up on the Western world, brother and sister set off on an “Asian Freedom Tour” to Shenzen, China. They immediately lose their money and passports, but are rescued by a CPC official. Soon, they find themselves awarded the elusive goals previously denied them—respect, wealth, resources, relationships, and especially a feeling of inclusion—but these benefits are not without costs.
Lew navigates many third rails with Tiger Style, exploring most obviously the effects and/or tropes of “tiger parenting,” a term popularized by Amy Chua’s 2011 book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Despite their upbringings of ruthless, competitive, scholastic achievement, Albert and Jennifer still feel inadequate compared to their undisciplined white counterparts (both played by Lazaroff-Babin, who also appears as a nasty customs agent).
Nick OngJohn RudoffLeft to right: Heath Hyun, Nick Ong, Julia Morizawa, and Evangeline BillupsPhoto by John Rudoff
In fact, though the audience enjoys a parade of characters, there are only five actors in the cast. The master of this device is Hyun who squeezes comedy out of his omnipresence, invading personal space with great physicality. Do you see your father in a random man at a park? A nosey official;? A heartless Chinese general?
Peter Kim’s direction is brisk; the second act is a little slower than the first, as more threads untangle. The ending is fascinating, if unexpectedly serious. For all the inversions of identities and deliberate stereotypes, we came away thinking about how we develop, own, and maintain our individuality.
Angels exist, I swear! If you were at the sold out Austra show on Monday, you would have witnessed Portland-born, Berlin-based multidisciplinary artist Colin Self descending from the heavens to bless us mere mortals with their angelic vocals and cherub-like presence. If you’re looking for something to believe in, believe in music—it’s one of the very few things with ability to unite complete strangers in dialog, movement, and tears.
What’s been going on Portland, what’s exciting you and bringing you joy right now? Below are a few things that might bring joy and excitement into you life in the next seven days. Don’t be shy, dive in!
Wednesday, January 28
Cate Le Bon / Frances Chang
For fans of Laurel Halo, Anika, Broadcast
This show is sold out, but, if you can snag a ticket, hear Le Bon’s music that arts and culture writer Lindsay Costello is calling, “surreal soundscapes with a neo-psychedelic, arty sensibility,” and what Pulitzer Prize-winning ProPublica research reporter Alex Mierjeski describes as, “Cate Labubu.” (Revolution Hall, 8 pm, more info here, all ages)
Thursday, January 29
Third Angle presents Steve Reich’s Counterpoints
For fans of Philip Glass, Julius Eastman, Pauline Oliveros
Putting in the work for over 41 years, the folks at Third Angle New Music continually deliver lush “new music” performances in some of Portland’s most captivating spaces for their site-specific sounds, this one-night-only presentation is no exception. The soft intensity of Steve Reich’s dizzying mallet work on his celebrated Counterpoints has that beguiling power to either fully energize you, or can act as a mother’s whisper cooing you to sleep. The repetitious staccato of Counterpoints’ four iterations—Cello, Electric, New York, and Vermont—backdropped by the intricate light works of Hopscotch is a delicious treat for both eyes and ears. (Hopscotch, timed entry 6-9 pm, more info here, all ages)
Friday, January 30
SH / athing / digifae / GF Simulator
For fans of QT, Colin Self, Machine Girl
A four band lineup including three of Portland’s best-named music projects, this bill is miiiiiixed. The new, intensely digital compositions of athing are getting the EP treatment with the release of agirl—if it’s a sound building on their 2022 EP Mixed Emotions, we’re in for a treat. The SEO for SH is terrible, so IDEK what they sound like, but the emo-infused hyperpop of Ohio’s digifae couples perfectly with GF Simulator’s micro beats that build into dancefloor euphoria. Gf Simulator wants you to know that “beauty fades, hole is forever.” Masks required at this one, friends! (Wyrd Hut, 6:30 pm, more info here, all ages)
Saturday, January 31
Mississippi Masala
Mira Nair—a filmmaker with a keen eye for cultural narratives who also happens to be New York mayor Zohran Mamdani’s mom—directed this romance between Mina (Sarita Choudhury), an Indian-Ugandan woman, and a Black Southerner carpet cleaner named Demetrius (Denzel Washington). Presented by Portland Panorama and screening as part of Clinton Street Theater’s Color & Sound series, the film’s cross-genre soundtrack and vibrant palette will shake off the post-holiday grays, and half of ticket proceeds go to support the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition’s legal defense and rapid response work. (Clinton Street Theater, 7 pm, more info here, all ages)LINDSAY COSTELLO
Monday, February 2
Monk in Pieces
For fans of Fire Music, A Life in Waves, The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye
Prolific avant-garde musician, composer, performer, filmmaker, and choreographer Meredith Monk started innovating sound and movement in the ’60s, and hasn’t stopped since. Co-presented with Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Monk in Pieces takes a look at Monk’s creative output through the lens of an artist confronted with mortality. The documentary features interviews with Björk and David Byrne, and should indeed be absorbed on the big screen. (Hollywood Theatre, 7 pm, more info here, all ages)
Also very worth it…
Production Unit Xero / Casual Decay / Feu Du Camp / Joel Noct / Ahpook at Process – Jan 29, more info here
Celluloid Jukebox: Scopitone-a-Go-Go at Clinton Street Theater – Jan 29, more info here
Guilt Tradition / Plague Mind / Witness the End / Ripped Off / Found Out at high Limit Room – Jan 30, more info here
Maps Good Space Grand Reopening – Jan 30, more info here
Portland Folk Festival at Crystal Ballroom – Jan 30 & 31, more info here
Brown Suga ft. DJ Pounce / Jupiter Williams / Trust Kimani / SoundsByDontā at La Factoria – Jan 31, more info here
Cherry Cheeks / George Jr. & The 9/11’s / The Dumpies / Chatterbox at Kenton Club – Jan 31, more info here
New Music Portland:
This is it friends, the hard launch of a new Mercury Music Picks section: New Music Portland. This is where we’ll keep you apprised of new singles, EPs, and albums, as well as music videos, by Portland bands and artists. Got something you think is extra special, or especially extra? Email me!
Last week, the young shoegazers As Above released their new single “Upside Down.” After seeing them open for House of Warmth a couple weeks ago, they’re new favorites. I’ve got it on good authority that “Upside Down” is foreshadowing a debut LP from the band, stay tuned. Slowdive, if you’re reading this, I’ve found a tour opener for you!
Queer, post-hardcore, emo-rockers, It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing! just announced the release of their debut album Tell Me All About It. As the exclamation marks might insinuate, the band’s music is high energy in ways shared by those harnessing the power of similar punctuation: !!!, !mindparade, Against Me!, The Go! Team, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, ¡Gonzales!, Panic! At The Disco, and Wham!
After beautifully blindsiding the audience while opening for Dustbunny earlier this month, the Portland noisy shoegazers Pileup released the fourth single, “Going Away,” from their upcoming album, Leave the Light On, this week.
The sludgy hardcore band Slime has released their new Vicious Oblivion EP, saying this, “[Vicious Oblivion] is dedicated to every outcast that has the heart to carry on in a world of ever changing subjective values that tells them they don’t belong. Shout out to the virtue signaling mob for giving us the fuel to write these tracks.” Bless.
The new Live at Nonseq release from WNDFRM consists of a single 37 minute track of subtle drama. The set was recorded during a rare, live WNDFRM performance at Seattle’s Nonseq series. The hushed vibrancy of electronics here makes me shudder to think I’ve yet to have the privilege of seeing WNDFRM live.
Portland Music News:
Did y’all hear the extremely bummer news that Redmond, Oregon’s fabulous country music festival, FairWell Fest, won’t be coming back in 2026? SAD. Sad because the fest’s music curation is spot-fucking-on and an enormous boon for all of Central Oregon’s music communities. Last year at the fest I saw country heavy hitters Sturgill Simpson, Dwight Yokum, Tanya Tucker, Marty Stuart, and Kaitlin Butts. All-time favorite Ludacris was there, as was one of my new favorite artists (introduced to me by FairWell), Sierra Ferrell. The Mercury has reached out for comment with no reply, we will be keeping a close eye on this one. Hopefully the fest returns in 2027!
Dry those FairWell tears knowing that Pickathon is back in 2026! Dropping this year’s lineup earlier this week, Pickathon once again does the lordt’s work bringing an outlandishly diverse roster of music from around the world to Happy Valley, OR. Established obsessions like Marcos Valle and The Cosmic Tones Research Trio will mix and mingle with future favorites El Khat and Prewn out in the woods around Pendarvis Farm. Check out our take on the initial lineup announce and keep your eyes peeled for more Pick26 coverage in the Mercury.
SEATTLE (AP) — As Seattle Mariners chairman John Stanton spoke fondly of Rick Rizzs on Wednesday morning, the longtime play-by-play broadcaster pulled a box of tissues close and looked around the team’s interview room in anticipation of the inevitable.
Rizzs, who will retire at the end of the 2026 season after his 41st year in the booth in Seattle, could only hold back tears for so long while manager Dan Wilson, superstar Cal Raleigh and dozens of others looked on. And as the 72-year-old Rizzs recollected stories of both listening and writing to former Cubs broadcaster Jack Brickhouse as a kid while growing up on Chicago’s South Side, he finally let the waterworks flow.
“You get to a certain point where you’re not that little kid watching the games on TV,” said an emotional Rizzs, “wishing you were Jack Brickhouse at 12 years old.”
When Rizzs got the chance to call major league games after being hired by the Mariners in 1983 to pair with Hall of Fame broadcaster Dave Niehaus, he had already lived out his dream. After broadcasting minor league baseball games in Alexandria, Virginia; Amarillo, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; and Memphis, Tennessee; Rizzs’ goal was to be in the big leagues for just one year.
Instead, he’s in his fifth decade in Major League Baseball. Rizzs also broadcast games for the Detroit Tigers from 1992-1994. But, it was in the Pacific Northwest that Rizzs became a household name, laid down roots and was part of some of the most memorable moments in Mariners franchise history.
“I made Seattle my home,” Rizzs said. “I grew up in Chicago, but Seattle’s my home.”
Rizzs said he had been contemplating retirement, and even considered calling it quits on a storied career after the 2025 season, one of the most successful in franchise history. In consultation with the Mariners, Rizzs decided to embrace the spotlight and enter the 2026 season with the public knowing it would be his last.
As much as Rizzs has cherished his career as a broadcaster, he recognizes he has missed a lot, and at this stage of his life has spent a lot of time contemplating how he wants to spend it. Rizzs would like to spend more time with his grandkids, play a bit more golf and travel — to cities of his choosing, that is.
“I want to get on a plane that I want to get on,” Rizzs said to roars of laughter. “I want to go to a place that I want to go. I want to go to Italy and eat my brains out.”
But, Rizzs insisted he is not going away quite yet. He intends on going to spring training each year in Peoria, Arizona, and spending plenty of time around the Mariners. And should Rizzs have it his way, the Mariners will improve upon last year’s disappointing finish in which Seattle lost Game 7 of the American League championship series to the Toronto Blue Jays.
“We’re going to get to the World Series this year,” Rizzs said, “and we’re going to win it this year.”
Though the Mariners’ on-field performance is out of Rizzs’ control, what will be within it is cherishing every moment of his season. Rizzs looks forward to arriving early to the ballpark, chatting with players and coaches alike each day and enjoying every remaining broadcast.
From Rizzs’ point of view, it’s all been gravy after that first season broadcasting for the Mariners.
He’s been in the booth for the Mariners’ magical 1995 run to the AL Championship Series, which coincided with the King County Council approving funding for a new stadium. Rizzs donned a headset during the Mariners’ 116-win season in 2001, and was on the call for Raleigh’s game-tying, eighth-inning home run against the Blue Jays in Game 5 of the 2025 ALCS.
Suffice to say, when Rizzs said he has enjoyed the “greatest life in the world,” he meant every word of it.
“This has been truly a joy,” Rizzs said. “Lou Gehrig said it best: I’m the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”
It’s the new year and theater companies are announcing their literal schedules for 2027, bless their boots. They’re your over-prepared friends trying to get everyone to pitch in for the group trip, except their group trip involves selling tickets for a Tony-award winning production. Welcome back to Art Snack, a smol attempt at streamlining the beautiful chaos of Portland’s arts and culture scene. If the thing you want to read about isn’t in this week’s Art Snack, check back next week. And it never hurts to put it on my radar. Anyhoo, let’s snack!
• Broadway Portland announced its Portland 2026-2027 season, kicking off in July 2026 with Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen in July. Highlights for the season: The Outsiders in November, Hadestown in January 2027 😳, and Clue in March of next year. See the whole season line-up here.
• Theater company Hand2Mouth announced a festival of new works, titled New2You, which will—in its first year—present commissioned pieces by local artists, built around ideas of body and technology. Kicking off in the Annex at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), from Fri March 27-Sat April 4, the list of commissioned creators includes multi-talent performance artist Pepper Pepper and collaborators Daye Thomas and Dylan Hankins, whose 2025 Faena we raved about.
• On the heels of that Broadway in Portland season announcement, a new study commissioned by the City of Portland advised against the plan in place to renovate Keller Auditorium, the city’s main venue for Broadway tours. In 2024, City Council gave two competing plans the go ahead—one to renovate the Keller and another to build a venue on Portland State University’s campus that would be able to host Broadway shows. At that time, the city also commissioned a $60,000 feasibility study to research whether Portland could produce enough demand for two Broadway show venues. The results seem to suggest that we cannot.
• Reed College hipped us all to a Portland connection from the summer’s ultra weird horror thriller Weapons. It turns out that Amy Madigan—the actress who played the movie’s very best character, Aunt Gladys—has been a Reed College Trustee since 2016. According to the announcement, Madigan and her husband screenwriter Ed Harris became supporters of Reed’s performing arts due to their daughter’s attendance of the school. Madigan was just nominated for the year’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar, but we would have been bragging long before now.
• Portland author Renée Watson won the Newbery Medal for her 2025 book All the Blues in the Sky, which tells the story of a teenager grieving the death of a close friend. Watson expressed gratitude to “every anchor that has supported me as I navigated my own grief these past few years. What a profound gift to love someone enough to grieve them. What a deep comfort to have been loved. Here’s to loving and living, to grieving and remembering, to growing and most of all to letting ourselves feel joy even in the midst of sorrow. There is much to rage against and also, there is so much celebrate.”
• Multnomah County leaders announced in a memo on last week that they do not plan to install metal detectors in the Multnomah County’s Central Library downtown. The library’s research does not indicate metal detectors would meaningfully impact the “most frequent security incidents or alleviate community concerns,” County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson wrote.
• Republica stans rise up. The restaurant group’s co-founder Angel Medina put out the call in his newsletter Between Courses (probably my favorite local newsletter) asking for community help to release an important episode of his production company’s new documentary series Humble Kitchen. Todos Media had planned to release the episode with the rest of the series in May, but the escalating violence by federal agents in Minneapolis made Medina want to release the episode now. It spotlights Minneapolis chef Gustavo Romero, who runs Oro by Nixta with his wife, Chef Kate Romero. Furthermore, the duo were just named as semifinalists for James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: Midwest category. Medina explains a little more and offers a link where readers can contribute; they’re trying to raise $12.000 to get the episode across the finish line.
• LIKE I JUST SAID, the James Beard Awards recently announced its semifinalist round. While semifinals are still two rounds away from winning an actual award, this is your early, early warning that an already busy restaurant in Portland could become impossibly busy very soon (June). This could also be a romance win, if you can get reservations at one of these spots for Valentines. The Portland restaurant semifinalists are (find the complete list here):
Le Pigeon – semifinalist for outstanding restaurant Coquine – semifinalist for outstanding wine and other beverages program Scotch Lodge – outstanding bar Joel Gunderson, Heavenly Creatures – outstanding professional in beverage service
There are 20 folks in the running for best chef of the Northwest & Pacific region, but the Portland has four!
Taylor Manning and Siobhan Speirits of Cafe Olli Kristen Murray of Måurice Thomas Pisha-Duffly of Gado Gado Ryan Roadhouse of Nodoguro
• Fans of food and an open fire likely already follow Tournant, the outdoorsy fine cuisine project of chefs Jaret Foster and Mona Johnson. Generally, we think of them as over hill and over dale, inviting foodies to the Oregon Coast for crab parties, or even taking vacationers on tasting tours of Croatia and Greece. In November, Portlanders got to have Tournant closer to home at downtown luncheonette Maurice. It’s nice to hear that with their next residency they won’t go far, stepping into an April-October collaboration with Side Yard Farm & Kitchen. This doesn’t mean that farm owner and chef Stacey Givens is leaving. She’s going to continue to host events both at the Portland Side Yard and the second Side Yard location in Rogue Valley.
File Photo of 2025 flooding, courtesy of the Burns Paiute Tribe.
Salem, Ore. – An updated Disaster Recovery Plan has been formally adopted by Oregon’s Department of Emergency Management, replacing a plan approved back in 2018.
“Of course, a lot of things have taken place in our state since 2018,” says State Disaster Recovery Program Manager Quinn Butler, “With the 2020 Labor Day fires, COVID, multiple floods, wind storms, etc.” Butler says the Emergency Management Department incorporated lessons learned from those events into the new plan, which is a guide for coordinating efforts. “This new plan helps to better align efforts with our federal partners, as well as provide that framework to support recovery planning at the local and tribal jurisdictional levels.” Butler adds, “What was lacking in that older plan was: We needed to better define the roles and responsibilities of those state partners, beyond the response, beyond those couple of weeks, because we know that recovery from many disasters take 5-10 years.”
The newly approved recovery document is part of a broader State Emergency Management Plan. It’ll be put to the test later this year, “We have a state level exercise taking place in October of this year,” says Butler. “It’s called Lahar’d Times. It’s focusing on a volcanic eruption in the Sisters area. The focus is recovery; what does it look like 30 days after this major disaster?”
He says says now is the time – before a disaster – for Oregonians to make sure they have appropriate insurance, gather supplies to be “two weeks ready,” and are signed up for local emergency alerts.
We used to work together. There was a falling out based on your unaccountability, privilege, and unconstructive criticism of creative types, for which you are completely incapable of doing said creative things. 5 years later, how on earth, we work at the same place. You worked in a different department but because you are so damn slow, and so damn lazy, you came to my department, not by earning it, but because nobody wants to work with you. You’re liable to break a rib if you bend over. You take an elevator to go up 10 steps of stairs. You cost this company money. When everyone leaves early because the work is done, I have no idea how you’ve milked out to stay the whole day. Every time I see you, you are talking and not working which what you call work, is not hard at all. We’ve had another encounter here to which you still play the victim with no accountability. The amount of loathing I have for you is nothing compared to how I’m sure other folks feel for other certain folks. You are a perfect ass kissing example of true lazy work ethics and entitlement.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Two men were pulled out of an Uber ride and detained by federal agents last week in Portland, and now, the driver is speaking out. Hannah Armstrong picked up the two passengers at Union Station around 5 p.m. “I drove about a half mile and then noticed a truck behind me […]
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Tigard mother and daughter accused of forced labor and health care fraud are now facing additional charges. Marie Gertrude Jean Valmont, 67, and Yolandita Marie Andre, 31, were indicted by a federal grand jury Monday on 12 counts of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and forced labor. As KOIN […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two federal officers fired shots during the encounter that killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, a Customs and Border Protection official told Congress in a notice sent Tuesday.
Officers tried to take Pretti into custody and he resisted, leading to a struggle, according to a notification to Congress obtained by The Associated Press. During the struggle, a Border Patrol agent yelled, “He’s got a gun!” multiple times, the official said.
A Border Patrol officer and a CBP officer each fired Glock pistols, the notice said.
Investigators from CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the analysis based on a review of body-worn camera footage and agency documentation, the notice said. The law requires the agency to inform relevant congressional committees about deaths in CBP custody within 72 hours.
The notification came a day after President Donald Trump ordered border czar Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota following Pretti’s death, which was the second fatal shooting this month of a person at the hands of immigration law enforcement.
Ecuador’s minister of foreign affairs, meanwhile, filed a protest with the U.S. Embassy after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis without permission Tuesday.
A video of the attempt on social media shows a consulate staffer running to the door to turn the ICE agents away, telling them, “This is the Ecuadorian consulate. You’re not allowed to enter.” One ICE officer can be heard responding by threatening to “grab” the staffer if he touched the agent before agreeing to leave.
International law generally prohibits law enforcement authorities from entering foreign consulates or embassies without permission, though sometimes permission may be assumed granted for life-threatening emergencies, like fires.
“Consulate officials immediately prevented the ICE officer from entering the consular building, thus ensuring the protection of the Ecuadorians who were present at the time and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility,” the ministry wrote on X.
A “note of protest” was filed with the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador so that similar attempts aren’t made at other consulates, the ministry said. The State Department, Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump says a ‘big investigation’ is underway in Pretti’s killing By sending Homan to Minnesota, “we’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ “Will Cain Show.” That’s significant since White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when questioned repeatedly Monday about Homan’s being dispatched to Minnesota, refused to say that doing so was an effort to calm the situation.
The president added of Homan, “Tom, as tough as he is, gets along” with governors and mayors, even in Democratic areas.
As he left the White House Tuesday, the president was asked whether Alex Pretti’s killing on Saturday was justified. He responded by saying that a “big investigation” was underway. In the hours after Pretti’s death, some administration officials sought to blame the shooting on the 37-year-old intensive care nurse.
Trump said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that he had “great calls” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Monday, mirroring comments he made immediately after the calls.
The seemingly softer tone emerged as immigration agents were still active across the Twin Cities region, and it was unclear if officials had changed tactics following the shift by the White House.
Walz’s office said Tuesday that the Democratic governor met with Homan and called for impartial investigations into the shootings involving federal officers. They agreed on the need to continue to talk, according to the governor.
Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said they also met with Homan and had a “productive conversation.” The mayor added that city leaders would stay in discussion with the border czar.
Homan posted on social media that the discussions “were a productive starting point.” Homan said that Walz, Frey, top law enforcement officials and he all agree that “we need to support our law enforcement officers and get criminals off the streets.”
The White House had tried to blame Democratic leaders for the protests of immigration raids. But after Pretti’s killing and videos suggesting he was not an active threat, the administration tapped Homan to take charge of the Minnesota operation from Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.
Trump says of sending Bovino to Minneapolis: ‘maybe it wasn’t good here.’ Trump said Bovino, the go-to architect for the president’s large-scale city-by-city immigration crackdowns, was “very good” but added “he’s a pretty out-there kind of a guy” and “maybe it wasn’t good here.”
Immigration enforcement activity witnessed by journalists in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs on Tuesday appeared comparable with recent weeks. As before, most didn’t result in major confrontations with agents. Activists say they continue to monitor enforcement operations through social media and chats on messaging apps.
In Texas, a federal judge issued a temporary order prohibiting the removal of a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father who were detained last week in Minnesota in an incident that further inflamed divisions on immigration under the Trump administration. U.S. Judge Fred Biery ruled Monday that any removal or transfer of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, is on hold while a court case proceeds.
On Tuesday, federal immigration authorities released an Ecuadorian man whose detention led the chief federal judge in Minnesota to order the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear in his courtroom, the man’s attorney said.
Attorney Graham Ojala-Barbour said the man, who is identified in court documents as “Juan T.R.,” was released in Texas. The lawyer said in an email to The Associated Press that he was notified in an email from the U.S. attorneys office in Minneapolis that his client had been freed.
In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz expressed frustration with the Trump administration’s handling of Juan’s and other immigration cases. He took the extraordinary step of ordering Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, to personally appear in his courtroom Friday.
Schiltz had said in his order that he would cancel Lyons’ appearance if the man was released from custody.
“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” he wrote.
Schiltz’s order followed a federal court hearing Monday on a request by the state and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul for a judge to halt the immigration enforcement surge. The judge in that case said she would prioritize the ruling but did not give a timeline for a decision.
Schiltz wrote that he recognizes ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally is extraordinary. “But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” he said.
The Associated Press left messages Tuesday with ICE and a DHS spokesperson seeking a response.
SALEM, OR – The Portland metropolitan area’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.0 percent in December, but was higher than a year earlier, when it stood at 4.2 percent, according to new labor market data.
The region’s jobless rate has climbed gradually from a post-pandemic low of 3.2 percent recorded in April 2023 and has hovered at or near 5.0 percent for the final four months of 2025. About 67,900 residents were unemployed in December, roughly 11,000 more than a year ago.
Statewide, Oregon’s unemployment rate was slightly higher at 5.2 percent, while the national rate was 4.4 percent in December.
Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment in the Portland metro area dipped by 400 jobs in December. November’s job gains were revised upward, from an initial estimate of 1,100 to 1,700 jobs.
Construction continued to underperform historical trends, losing 3,000 jobs in December. Typically, the industry sheds about 600 jobs during the month. Most other major industries posted job gains or losses in line with normal seasonal patterns.
Over the past 12 months, the metro area has lost 12,200 jobs, a decline of 1.0 percent. Most major sectors saw net losses, though private health care and social assistance added 6,400 jobs, followed by local government, transportation and warehousing, and leisure and hospitality.
