Blitz Pearl & Willamette Week present the 1st Annual Chili Cook Off & Winter Ale Fest on Sat., December 5th!

Eight winter ales will be judged along with your favorite chili recipe! Includes Sam Adams Winter Ale, Deschutes Jubelale, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, New Belgium 2 Below, Pyramid Snowcap, Bridgeport Ebenezer and more! Comepete for Cash, Fame & Glory!

Festivities start at noon in the parking lot of Blitz Pearl, 10th and Couch. Call 503.222.2229 to register or email blitz.poe@gmail.com and blitz.lauri@gmail.com.

Stuck on Christmas gift ideas? Willamette Week’s Retail Therapist recommends checking out Crafty Wonderland’s Super Colossal Holiday Sale! It’s the prefect place to find unique presents with over 200 vendors selling amazing handmade goods. There will also be an assortment of free craft activities and much, much more. Goodie bags for the first 200 people.

Sun., Dec. 13th, 11am-7pm @ the Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE MLK Jr. Blvd, Exhibit Hall D. All ages. Free Admission.

Join us for MASSIVE 13: STICKS & STONES ACCESSORIES RELEASE PARTY! Massive is the monthly fashion show & dance party at the Crown Room on the last Saturday of the month.

Hosted by Ronin Roc, MASSIVE 13 features J. Boogie, Dr. Adam, Emyd and special performance by Da’Rel Jr.

This month benefits Habitat for Humanity: Women’s Build Project.

Saturday, Nov. 28, 9 pm. NW 4th & Davis. 21+. $3 entry. For free entry, email leighfeldman3@gmail.com to join “Life is a Party,” the weekly email update supplying you with all the crazy fun events to do in Portland on the weekend!

Portland has always been a music town: It’s notable for being the birthplace of the Kingsmen’s “Louie, Louie” and the longtime home of famed singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. But much of the city’s rich musical history involves influential bands, rather than platinum-selling ones. Dead Moon, The Wipers, Team Dresch, Poison Idea, Hazel: These bands still exert a sizable influence on the region’s sound, and one can still find members of ’80s sensations like Nu Shooz and the Motels performing around town today. But Portland’s last decade has been one of transition from a quaint indie-rock community into a full-fledged musical economy. Bands from all over the country flock to the city, attracted by cheap rent and the success of groups like The Shins and The Decemberists. This is great news for area music lovers, even if it makes it tougher for good bands to stand out. There’s plenty going on in PDX besides a thriving indie-rock scene: strong jazz, hip-hop, and experimental music emanates from Portland as well, often under the radar. The cliché is that many of Portland’s hometown bands are received more enthusiastically in other cities, but some of them even seem to like it that way. They keep coming back for the music scene, the natural environment, the food carts (tons of ‘em), and the disastrous job market. Home sweet home. Click here for your tunes!

SCRAP’s first ever Auction and Awards Dinner Party! This is a night you won’t forget: A Masquerade Ball with exquisite cuisine, entertainment, local celebrities and of course lots of treasures to bid for! The Nines, 525 SW Morrison. For a listing of events and to purchase tickets, please visit SCRAP’s website!

Calling all artists: It’s the 4th Annual Junk to Funk Recycled Fashion Show Contest!

Junk to Funk is an annual evening event of outrageous wearable art and imaginative fashion couture all designed with trash. Artists, designers and members of the creative public are called to innovatively design the discarded into striking costumes out of used trash, found objects and recycled materials and win cash prizes up to $500. Look in dumpsters, free boxes and discover the joy of saving your own junk. You can also find materials at SCRAP, The ReBuilding Center, Free Geek, nwmaterialsmart.com, other thrift and reuse centers or connect with area businesses and use their waste stream. In addition to the usual Trash Couture Contest, consider the New Textile Challenge: Up cycle and reconstruct trashed or used textiles for stylish functional everyday clothing. Refashion that used upholstery, reconstruct that shirt, and reinvent that tent, save it from the landfill and give it a new life. Deadline for submissions: Wednesday, October 14th.
For more details about the event, visit the Junk to Funk website!

Willamette Week presents MusicfestNW, our annual music festival held in Portland. Wristbands for this year’s MFNW, held September 16th through 19th, are now on sale for $60 and guarantee you no cover admission to all MFNW clubs during the annual 4-day festivity held in Portland, Oregon (age and capacity restrictions may apply). Be sure to check musicfestnw.com for all the details about wristbands, individual tickets, this year’s special VIP pass and a complete lineup! You can also follow MFNW on Facebook, Twitter or Myspace for updates, additonal bands and final schedule. Updates: MusicfestNW has teamed up with Heineken and Jacksons Food Stores to offer everyone $10 off a MusicfestNW wristband. Stop by any participating Jacksons store to pick up your coupon. Also,
the 2009 MusicfestNW compilation album is out! The album is free with the purchase of a wristband at both Jackpot Records stores, Music Millennium, Ace Hotel, Backspace and Willamette Week. This year’s comp features songs from Explosions in the Sky, The Get Up Kids, Okkervil River, Blind Pilot, Viva Voce, Frightened Rabbit, Pink Mountaintops and many more!!

Behold, Finder.
Your guide to the spirit and specifics of Portland. We scoured every inch of this city to bring you the most comprehensive and discerning guide possible. Where to find a hot dog at 2am, where the largest and hairiest gay men congregate, how city government works—it’s all in here. To find a Finder, click here!

Willamette Week’s monthly concert and interview series, Portland Makes Music, presents Michael Jackson Tribute Night. Enjoy the King of Pop as sung by Portland bands on Sunday, July 12th, 9 pm @ Backspace. 115 NW 5th Ave. 248-2900. Special all ages show. Free.