25 things to do in Portland: Monster Jam, Mardi Gras and more

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Christine Davis compiles best bets for family fun, festivals, comedy and more. Send events submissions to eventsbestbets@oregonian.com.

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Martha Kosel

Volksfest

Dust off your lederhosen, starch up your Bavarian dirndl, and join the happy folk of Mt. Angel to celebrate the Wurst (sausage) at Volksfest. Enjoy handcrafted German sausages, local and German beers, food, live German music, dancing, games and demonstrations.


10 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, March 1-3; Mt. Angel Festhalle, 500 Wilco Highway N.E., Mount Angel; $5-$10; 
mtangelvolksfest.com

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Warwick Schiller will be a featured clinician at the Washington State Horse Expo.

Washington State Horse Expo

For a galloping good time, get your equine fix with shows, seminars, demonstrations, a marketplace, and competitions that are all horse-related.


Noon-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, March 1-3; Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds, 17402 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield; $9-$11:
washingtonstatehorseexpo.com

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Courtesy of Antique and Collectible Show

Antique and Collectible Show

Looking for a long-gone toy? Grandmother’s cookie jar? Here’s a chance to search for them and other vintage stuff. Buy an Early Buyers Badge to attend Friday, and return Saturday and Sunday.


10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, March 1-3; Portland Expo Center, 2060 North Marine Dr.; $8-$30;
christinepalmer.net

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Jamie Hale/staff

Bricks Cascade LEGO Exposition

LEGO lovers old and young will appreciate the incredible custom creations by adult and young builders from around the world. Or create your own masterpiece in designated building areas.

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, March 2-3; Oregon Convention Center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.; $11; brickscascade.com

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Portland Women’s Expo

With 300 exhibitors offering products and services for women covering everything from wine to organic soap, you can learn about the latest trends while shopping at Portland Women's Expo.


10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, March 2; Oregon Convention Center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.; $8;
pdxwomensexpo.org

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Thomas Boyd/staff

Monster Jam

See monster trucks with names like Grave Digger, Monster Mutt and Scooby-Doo doing backflips, doughnuts and sky wheelies. Want more? Purchase a separate ticket to hang out with the drivers at Pit Parties before the matinees.


1 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday, March 2-3; Moda Center, 1 Center Court St.; $20-$85; 
monsterjam.com

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Mysti Krewe of Nimbus

Pirates Alley Mardi Gras

You don’t have to leave town to be transported to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. This ball  offers an evening of music, costumes, dancing and Cajun carousing.

6:30-11 p.m. Saturday, March 2; Tiffany Center Emerald Ballroom, 1410 S.W. Morrison St.; $35; 21+; portlandmardigras.com

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Beth Nakamura/staff

Mardi Gras Parade

The family-friendly counterpart to the Mysti Krewe of Nimbus’ Mardi Gras Ball, this parade rolls down Mississippi Avenue each year on Fat Tuesday.


Parade starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 5; travels down North Albina and  Mississippi Avenues between Humboldt and Cook Streets; free;
portlandmardigras.com

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Jamie Francis/staff

Portland Metro Dealers RV Show

Before you take off on that next road trip, take a gander at the latest recreational vehicles and accessories to get you going in the right direction.


11 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, March 6-10; Portland Expo Center, 2060 North Marine Drive; $7-$9;
expocenter.org

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Feminist March Film Fest

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Hollywood Theatre highlights women’s contributions to the film industry with a lineup that spans genres, eras and sensibilities.

Various times through March; Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd.; $7-$9; hollywoodtheatre.org/events/feminist-march-2019/

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Portland International Film Festival

With more than 140 international films, you can watch films and shorts to your heart’s content, along with experiencing parties, visiting artists and plenty of festival adventure.

Various times and locations, March 7-21; $9-$55; nwfilm.org

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CONCERT GUIDE

Robert Ham puts together seasonal, monthly and weekly concert guides. Email submissions at least 4 weeks ahead of the event to musicbestbets@oregonian.com.

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Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside

Local Americana/roots rock singer-songwriter Sallie Ford is back with her longtime backing band the Sound Outside for a pair of reunion shows that are sure to be rollicking ragers.

9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 1-2, Mississippi Studios. 21+. Tickets: $20.

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Trent Baarspul

Originally from Minnesota, guitarist and composer Trent Baarspul has quickly become one of the hottest players in town, combining funk and jazz into a heady soul stew.

6 p.m. Sunday, March 3, The 1905. All ages. Cover.


CORRECTION: This item has been updated to correct the time of the event
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo

The celebrated South African choral group, which first gained international prominence through their appearance on Paul Simon’s 1986 album “Graceland,” returns to the U.S. for a tour in support of their two Grammy-nominated releases.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, Aladdin Theater. All ages. Tickets: $35. aladdin-theater.com

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Julia Holter

Julia Holter’s 2018 album “Aviary” was 90 minutes of literary art pop recorded in the L.A.-based singer-songwriter’s bedroom. How these tunes will translate to the club is anyone’s guess, but it will surely sound enrapturing.

9 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, Doug Fir Lounge. 21+. Tickets: $18-$20. dougfirlounge.com

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The Monochrome Set

Post-punkers The Monochrome Set make a rare stop in Portland for a night of jangly guitars and angular rhythms.

9 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, Doug Fir Lounge. 21+. Tickets: $20. dougfirlounge.com

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PERFORMANCE AND FINE ARTS

Arts editor Amy Wang compiles theatrical and classical music performances and fine arts events. Email submissions to fineartsbestbets@oregonian.com.

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Brandon Villanova as Florizel and Nicky Nicholson-Klingerman as Perdida in "The Island in Winter" at Bag & Baggage Productions. (Casey Campbell Photography)

“The Island in Winter,” or “La Isla En Invierno”

Hillsboro theater company Bag & Baggage takes a new tack in its series of Shakespeare adaptations: The Bard's "A Winter's Tale," whose themes include sundered ties, lost homelands and displaced identity, has been reimagined from a post-revolutionary Cuban perspective by Carlos Zenen-Trujillo, a Cuban American playwright based in Oregon. The work is part of a company project focused on "exploring Shakespeare's most challenging works from a diverse, inclusive perspective." 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, March 7-24, The Vault, 350 E. Main St., Hillsboro. $27-$32, bagnbaggage.org or 503-345-9590.

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“H.M.S. Pinafore”

Pacific University's music department presents one of the best-known comic operas by the Victorian duo Gilbert and Sullivan, a satire of patriotism, politics and British aristocracy. The university's chamber choir director, Scott Tuomi, and director Anne McKee Reed oversee what the department is calling its most ambitious undertaking in three decades as it's grown to one of the largest music programs among the state's private universities. 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, March 1-2, 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3, Pacific University, Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center, 2014 Cedar St., Forest Grove. $10-$15, pacificu.edu/musictickets or 503-352-2918. 

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Cellist Kira Wang will perform an Ernst Bloch composition at the Portland Youth Philharmonic's next concert. (Courtesy of Portland Youth Philharmonic)

Portland Youth Philharmonic

The youth orchestra has a packed program for its next concert. It celebrates Leonard Bernstein's centennial year by performing his Jeremiah Symphony, with mezzo-soprano Laura Beckel Thoreson providing vocals. It will also celebrate the centennial year of the orchestra's second musical director, Jacob Avshalomov, by performing his tone poem "The Taking of T'ung Kuan." And it will feature the winner of its 2018-19 concerto competition, cellist and Catlin Gabel freshman Kira Wang, performing Ernst Bloch's "Schelomo." 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1027 S.W. Broadway. Tickets start at $5, portlandyouthphil.org or 503-223-5939.

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Norman Hyunh of the Oregon Symphony will conduct the family-friendly "Green Eggs and Ham" concert. (Oregon Symphony)

“Green Eggs and Ham”

Introduce your favorite young people to the orchestra with this family-friendly, Dr. Seuss-themed concert from the Oregon Symphony. The Dance West youth troupe and the Pacific Youth Choir also appear. 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1027 S.W. Broadway. Tickets start at $11, orsymphony.org or 503-228-1353.

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Watch John Ellingson of Northwest Children's Theater create a puppet for the company's Starlings troupe.

“Firebird”

Metropolitan Youth Symphony and Northwest Children's Theater team up for an eye-catching program. Performances of Respighi's "Gli Uccelli" ("The Birds") and Stravinsky's "The Firebird" suite" will be accompanied by the theater company's puppet troupe, The Starlings. The orchestra will also present the world premiere of Fugue for Orchestra by Max Ball, a junior at Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego, in partnership with Fear No Music's Young Composers Project. Soloing will be flutist John Nguyen, a senior at Westview High School in Beaverton and a winner of the orchestra's 2019 concerto competition. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 3, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1027 S.W. Broadway. $11-$40, playmys.org or 503-239-4566.

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Katherine Evans of PDX Contemporary Ballet. (Andy Batt)

“Materialize”

PDX Contemporary Ballet continues its season built around the imagery of a white dress with this collection of four original works by company dancers. Their interpretations range from virgin bride to consumerism to life expectations to grief. 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, March 1-2, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 3, New Expressive Works, 810 S.E. Belmont St. $15-$30, pdxcb.com or at the door .

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Thomas Orr, "APO SF 96217," ceramic.

Thomas Orr

"Marking Place," Portland artist Thomas Orr's current exhibit, centers on about 120 slip-cast ceramic house-shaped pieces that correlate to the more than 50 addresses Orr has had throughout the world in his lifetime. One piece, for instance, is named after the mailing address of his unit in Vietnam. "I think of my life as being filled with experiences," Orr says. "Each different address I was at is one of those experiences. Put them all together and they make the whole of who I am." Artist reception, 11 a.m. Sunday, March 3; on view, 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, through March 7, University of Portland, Buckley Center Gallery, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. Free, college.up.edu or 503-943-8000.

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David Slader, "In the meadow by the red house the wolf-dog bowed submissive"

“InkBodySkinPaint+Fire”

Tattoos are the connecting thread between the two artists in this show, painter David Slader and photographer Owen Carey, who focus on human figures and real people who have or appear to have body art. The exhibit includes a First Thursday performance by Risk/Reward, whose members will pose as "interactive tattooed, story-telling art models." Artists reception, 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 6; First Thursday, 3-9 p.m. Thursday, March 7; on view, noon-6 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, March 7-30, Gallery 114, 1100 N.W. Glisan St. Free, gallery114pdx.com or 503-243-3356.

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An image from Mark Danley's photography exhibit.

“Who Are We? Living on the Streets of Portland”

Photographer and mediator Mark Danley spent much of last year photographing homeless people in Portland. The intimate black-and-white photographs in his show "Who Are We? Living on the Streets of Portland" challenge stereotypes about homelessness and reveal the intrinsic humanity of each of his subjects. Artist talk, 9:15 a.m. Sunday, March 3; on view, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sunday, through March 22, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1624 N.E. Hancock St. Free, westprespdx.org or 503-287-1289. 

--Amanda Waldroupe

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