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VIRTUAL | Fronteriza Online
Beginning on and running for a week after Dia de los Muertos, Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble offers a virtual window into Fronteriza, an ongoing work the collective created together. Part podcast, part rumination on U.S.-Mexico border strife, and all conversations that ensemble member Christi Miles couldn’t bring herself to have with her parents, this recorded performance from the Portland Playhouse in June 2021 is probably not its final form. But if you didn’t get a chance to see its short run, it’s certainly worth your attention. Nov. 1-7. Tickets at petensemble.org. Free-$50, pay what you can.
GO | Olio Nuovo Festival
The hills surrounding the hamlet of Dayton are best known as wine country, but nestled among all of those vineyards is a 17-acre olive grove producing some of the best extra virgin olive oil in the state. And starting this week, you can celebrate the delicious liquid fat made at Durant during the Olio Nuovo Festival. The event features tours of Oregon’s only olive mill, a series of cooking classes, oyster olio happy hours, and an open-air tasting bar, where you can experience the wide range of flavors in the oils: from creamy and mild to fresh, fragrant and green. And thanks to the pandemic, the festival’s normal three-day run has been extended to a month to spread out the celebration. That simply means more days of olive oil tasting for you. Durant Olive Mill, 5700 NE Breyman Orchards Road, Dayton, 503-864-2000, durantoregon.com. 10 am-4 pm daily, Nov. 1-30.
GO | Half Waif
The music of Nandi Rose Plunkett, who performs as Half Waif, is informed by equal parts Sia and Björk. She mixes dramatic, melancholic pop with experimental electronic elements to the delight of critics, garnering her 2018 album Lavender acclaim for Plunkett’s icy keyboard riffs and captivating vocals. Now touring her new album Mythopoetics, she’s taken a decidedly Kate Bush direction. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895, mississippistudios.com. 8 pm Friday Nov. 5. $15. 21+.
DO | Dia de los Muertos Dinner
If Halloween is about fearing the tortured souls of the departed, Dia de los Muertos is the exact opposite: The holiday that originated in Mexico is a tribute to friends and family who have passed—it’s even said to be a time when the living and the dead can briefly reunite. Zenger Farm is marking this sacred period with a multicourse take-home dinner by Paula Hernandez, a member of the nonprofit’s Community Chef program that highlights local women of color and their cooking traditions. The meal is centered on Oaxacan foods, including farm-fresh pico de gallo, chicken and nopales marinated in an adobo spice paste then steamed in banana leaves, a flourless chocolate-almond torta, and an orange-flavored pan de muerto. And in case that’s not enough food for your Dia de los Muertos table, Hernandez will be at the farm on pickup day serving tamales and champurrado (extra-thick hot chocolate). Zenger Farm, 11741 SE Foster Road, 503-282-4245, zengerfarm.org. 1-4 pm Saturday, Nov. 6. $150.
VIRTUAL & GO | Portland Book Festival
This year’s Portland Book Festival will hold in-person events on Saturday, Nov. 13, but the week preceding it, Nov. 8-12, promises a robust amount of virtual programming to warm up the literary audience and broaden the base of those who can attend. For our mileage, we’re particularly jazzed for the Tuesday, Nov. 9, powerhouse panel on freedom, with Maggie Nelson, Masha Gessen and Aminder Dhaliwal, among others. It’s impossible to imagine a lineup like that without remote programming. Register for the online festival at literary-arts.org. Nov. 8-12. Free-$100 sliding scale.
VIRTUAL | Huma Abedin
Remember when we were obsessed with Hillary Clinton’s top aide Huma Abedin for reasons not related to her disgraced, former New York congressman husband Anthony Weiner? In her new memoir, Both/And, you can get the full tea service on Abedin’s rise and fall. She recounts stories of her travels with her Indian and Pakistani parents as they advocated for causes and gave her a strong foundation in activism, which led her into the political sphere. Buying a copy of Both/And at powells.com automatically registers attendees for this Zoom conversation. Register for the Zoom event at powells.com. 7 pm Tuesday, Nov. 9. $30, includes copy of the book.
