The Big Float
Get ready to get wet, because Portlandâs best river event of the year is going down on Saturday, July 15... the annual Big Float! For those new to town, the Big Float is a celebration of the Willamette in which 3,000 + fun-havers don life vests and inner tubes (or inflatable swans or floating slices of pizza) for a leisurely and fun float in the river. But that's not all! Thereâs also an inner tube parade, costume contests, and music provided by LoveBomb Go Go, Tony Starlight, and Clinton Fearon & the Boogie Brown Band. Plus you can expect lots of food and drink, and not one but TWO 100-foot long slip-n-slides! (WHAT?!?) Beat the crowds by registering online at thebigfloat.com, grab your fanciest inflatable and sexiest swimsuit, and jump in because itâs summer and the Willamette is fine! WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
11 am, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, $5-10, all ages
DJ Shadow
Last year, the 20th anniversary of the release of DJ Shadowâs Endtroducing..... came and went without much fanfare. There was no extensive 20th anniversary tour. Only a handful of published retrospectives. Shadow issued an expanded version of the album stocked with demos, outtakes, and remixes. But even he didnât seem to make a huge deal of it. Make no mistake: Endtroducing..... is a huge deal. Itâs a towering artistic achievement, a paragon of sample-based music, and one of the great releases in the past quarter-century of hip-hop AND electronic music. Itâs a timeless patchwork of soundsâfunk, rock, jazz, soul, ambient, and beyondâproduced by an obsessive crate-digger with turntables, a drum machine, and a computer. Perhaps Shadow didnât give Endtroducing.....âs birthday a major push because he was focused on promoting his latest album, last yearâs The Mountain Will Fall. Itâs representative of his entire career: impressive in both composition and performance, disdainful of genre boundaries, highly listenable, and largely overlooked in the long shadow of his landmark debut. BEN SALMON
8 pm, Roseland, $25
Spielberg on Film: The Indiana Jones Trilogy
The Hollywood Theatre's âSpielberg on Filmâ series is going strong, presenting some of the director's greatest moviesâall on 35mm or 16mm. And this weekend's lineup is all Indy, all the time, with the goddamn perfect adventure classic Raiders of the Lost Ark, its dark, weird sequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the crowd-pleasing Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade screening on 35mm! Seeing Indy chase relics, smooch ladies, and defy death on the big screen is about as good as moviegoing gets, and BONUS: So many Nazis get punched! ERIK HENRIKSEN
Hollywood Theatre, see Movie Times for titles and showtimes
Portland Queer Comedy Festival
This week is the inaugural Portland Queer Comedy Festival, a four-day long fest thatâll focus on a plethora of queer performers. With five stages around town, itâll be the first and largest LGBTQIA comedy festival of its kind in the US and the first ever in Portland. Headliners include Comedy Centralâs Kate Willett, Jason Stuart (The Birth of a Nation), Guy Branum, and Maggie Maye. Also, Mercury columnist D. Martin Austin will host several events and do a live taping of his podcast Your Fault For Listening. Donât miss out on this huge gay comedy fest!
Jul 15-16, Various Locations, click here for a full list of performers and schedules
Wimps, Patsy's Rats, Hornet Leg, Mini Blinds, Conditioner
Esteemed label See My Friends Records and beloved community space the American Legion Local 134 are proven beacons of Portlandâs burgeoning DIY rock scene, so when they team up to present a Saturday night all ages shindig, you know itâs going to be quite a treat. In addition to sets from some of the cityâs best underground pop and shapeshifting punk acts, Seattleâs Wimps will be in town to the top off this fully loaded sundae with a bright red slacker-rock cherry. CHIPP TERWILLIGER
8 pm, American Legion Local 134, $7
Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
Maximize the fine Portland summer by spending it lounging on the grass while surrounded by the sounds of the West Coast's longest-running free jazz festival. MARJORIE SKINNER
1 pm, Cathedral Park, free
WWE Presents NXT Live
Live wrestling returns to the Moda Center with NXT Live. Featuring NXT Champion Bobby Roode, NXT Womenâs Champion Asuka, Aleister Black, Kassius Ohno, Drew McIntyre, Ember Moon and more.
7:30 pm, Moda Center, $20-75, all ages
Defeat Trumpcare March
Socialist Alternative Portland leads this march against the anti-healthcare endeavors of the Trump administration as part of the #OccupyTrumpcare national day of action.
noon, Shemanski Park, free
Harefest 7: Shoot to Thrill, Aerosmith Rocks, Ramble On, Barracuda, All Fired Up, Maiden NW, Washed in Black, Unchained, Lovedrive, The Seekers, Poison'us
If rock is dead, Canby's prepping a damn decent zombie apocalypse. Head south for Harefest, an annual festival of cover bands (with tributes to Guns N' Roses, Van Halen, Heart, and more), camping, and beer. Canby: Always your best for traveling 20 years into the past. DIRK VANDERHART
4 pm, Pat's Acres Racing Complex, $40-100
Matt Wagner
Portland-based comics artist and writer Matt Wagner will be on site signing copies of Mage #0 Hero Denied, the third and final volume in his long-running series chronicling the adventures of Kevin Matchstick.
noon, Cosmic Monkey Comics, free
Pretty Creatives
The winners of NW Dance Project's international choreography contest, Alice Klock and Alysa Pires, show off their world-beating works.
7:30 pm, PSU Lincoln Performance Hall, $20-25
Basic Rights Oregon Benefit Concert
Sabrina Velazquez's alternative pop-oriented singer/songwriter project Montclaire shares the stage with Seattle-based singer/songwriter Sarah St. Albin and Portland post-rock outfit A Collective Subconscious as part of a benefit concert for Basic Rights Oregon.
9 pm, The Secret Society, $10
Barna Howard, Andrew Combs
Barna Howard brings a stripped-down outlaw-country onslaught, full of John Prine-style guitar plucking, Townes Van Zandt-like cautious pessimism, and Kris Kristofferson's storytelling prowess. RYAN J. PRADO
9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $12-14
Portland Highland Games
Scottish culture has given the world many gifts: haggis, kilts, Highlander, Groundskeeper Willie. Today, the Portland Highland Games gives us even more: Delight! at bagpiping, drumming, and fiddling competitions! Behold! caber tossing, where giant dudes throw telephone poles! Fear! for your life during the broadsword demonstration! Ooh and ahh! at adorable border collies! Win! a vacation to Scotland. (Possibly.) ERIK HENRIKSEN
9 am, Mt. Hood Community College, $8-20
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!
