WW’s Bar Guide Magazine Is Still Free, Despite What It Says on the Cover

It makes a certain kind of sense that we'd wake up the day after publishing our annual guide to Portland's best bars feeling a tad bit of regret.

It makes a certain kind of sense that we'd wake up the day after publishing our annual guide to Portland's best bars feeling a tad bit of regret. Doesn't it?

Today, Willamette Week's Bars and Happy Hour magazine is on counters and newsstands all over the city. It's a curated roadmap to the Portland bar scene, with reviews of our 101 favorite bars, both new and classic; guides to the best happy hours in town; and everything else you need to know about tying one on in Rip City.

You might find yourself a bit confused, though, when you go to pick up your copy.

Let us explain: The first runs of all our glossy magazines are free, one to a customer. Later, we slap a different cover on and sell them for $5 at Powell's, New Seasons and other local outlets. Surprise! On our free Bar Guide this year, there's a $5 price tag.

Please do what any hungover Portlander would: Ignore it.

That is, we're letting you know that if you see a stack sitting in your favorite bar or coffee shop, while it might say it costs money, it's actually free. So go ahead and take one, and use it for what it's meant for—exploring one of the best bar scenes on the West Coast. But the deal's only good for the next week or two, so long as supplies last. After that, the $5 price tag means what it says.

And in case you’re wondering where, exactly, you can pick up your copy, check out the map below:

See Related: In Portland, Every Bar Has a Story. Consider This Your Primer on the City's Own Drunk History.

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