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WATCH: Hanabi Film Festival
Make your way to Clinton Street Theater this week for the return of the Hanabi Film Festival! Now in its third year in Portland, the festival celebrates a wide range of works from Japan. This year’s event will feature several restorations of classic and cult films, along with brand-new features coming to the U.S. for the first time. This week alone, we’ve got screenings of a Japanese horror fairy tale, a samurai period piece and a “mysterious and intoxicating” pop romance. Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St., cstpdx.com/hanabi. See website for showtimes, through Sunday, Aug. 31. $10+.
GO: Analog Social
Need a break from social media? How about something a bit more…analog? Enter Analog Social: a way for us all to touch grass (literally…it’s at Sellwood Park), socialize, and connect with one another sans screen. Gather at “The Shack” near the pool, and enjoy a chill evening of analog fun—we’re talking D&D, Legos, board games, puzzles, and pogs. Not entirely sure what pogs are? Me neither. Feel free to bring an in-progress craft, a book to read, or something else to do once you arrive. Drop in, hang out, touch grass, and hopefully you’ll leave feeling a little more centered. Sellwood Park, Southeast 7th Avenue and Miller Street, sellwoodcommunityhouse.org. 6:30–8:30 pm Thursday, Aug. 21. Free.
WATCH: Summer Free for All Outdoor Movies
OK, yeah, I know I mentioned this one last week…but after seeing Barbie in Irving Park last Thursday night—which was, in fact, iconic, btw—I can’t not highlight this week’s screenings. ICYMI, the Summer Free for All Outdoor Movies are…well, they’re exactly that: completely free outdoor movie screenings under the stars in Portland’s parks. This week’s lineup includes: The Wild Robot (2024) at Parklane Park on Thursday night, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) at Luuwit View Park on Saturday. Hot tip: Bring a chair if you have one (the blanket vibe becomes uncomfy like, pretty immediately), and the movie doesn’t actually start at 7:30. So no rush. Various parks throughout Portland, portland.gov. See website for showtimes, through Saturday, Aug. 30. Free.
LISTEN: Garcia Birthday Band
Did you know that Garcia Birthday Band is baby elephant Tula Tu’s favorite band? Well, they better be anyway because they’ll be playing right next to her enclosure. That’s right y’all, you can catch Miss Tula, her mommy, and her grammie absolutely grooving to The Dead this Friday night as Garcia Birthday Band helps bid a “fare you well” to the Oregon Zoo’s summer Zoo Nights series. Aside from live music by “the beating heart of the Pacific Northwest’s GD community,” there’ll be: bubble dance parties, lawn games, food carts, keeper chats and, crucially, famously, the aforementioned Miss Tula Tu. Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Road, 503-226-1561, oregonzoo.org/nights. 6:30 pm–8:30 pm Friday, Aug. 22. $13–$30.
SHOP: Hawthorne Street Fair
Imagine one of Portland’s coolest streets got even cooler…and a whole lot more crowded. Well, if you’ve ever been to the Hawthorne Street Fair, you don’t have to imagine. A bittersweet sign that summer in the Rose City is coming to a close (sob), this year’s 42nd street fair will shut down Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard from César E. Chávez Boulevard to 30th Avenue to host over 160 local businesses, vendors and food pop-ups, plus a whole lineup of local musicians. Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, hawthorneblvd.com. 11 am–5 pm Sunday, Aug. 24. Free.
