The Mercury’s Do This, Do That: Your Top Events for May 25-31
Memorial Day is here, and with it, plenty of event momentum: floral installations bloom across downtown Portland, Pickles baseball returns, and the Mercury’s got enough highballs lined up to make “just one cocktail” a relative improbability. Plussss, you can chase after woodpeckers, catch that new film with the freaky yellow trailer (Backrooms), or let comedian Jacqueline Novak fill you in on some quality notions. But most importantly: Go outside! MONDAY, MAY 25 The Portland Mercury’s Highball Week 2026 DON’T LOWBALL—HIGHBALL! Get ready for the return of the Portland Mercury’s HIGHBALL Week! That’s correct: an ENTIRE WEEK (May 25-31) of specially crafted,…
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Happening NOW: The Delicious Cocktails of the Mercury’s HIGHBALL Week!
Are you ready for summertime in a glass? Yes? GREAT! Then prepare your thirsty mouth for the return of the Portland Mercury’s HIGHBALL Week! That’s correct: a WHOLE WEEK (May 25-31) of beautifully crafted, unique cocktails for only $10 each! We’ve teamed up with 30 of the finest bartenders in Portland—along with our cocktail-lovin’ pals at Jim Beam—to bring you this extravaganza of boozy concoctions. To help make Highball Week EVEN BETTER, our friends at the locally-owned Radio Cab are offering Highball Week participants a safe and reliable transportation option with $5 off ride coupons. Each Highball location will have…
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Who’s Who in the Portland Fire
The Portland Fire hit the road this week after the team’s nail-biter of a win (83-82) over the Connecticut Sun at the Fire Pit on Monday, May 18 The Fire’s first road test on Wednesday, May 20, was in Indianapolis against the Indiana Fever, and it was one the team will probably want to forget. The Fire went down 90-73 to the Fever in a game that saw Indiana’s Aliyah Boston net 24 points, eight rebounds, two steals, and a block, and Kelsey Mitchell rack up 21 points and four assists for their opponents. The Fever’s guard Caitlin Clark was…
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Spin Cycle: Songs From the Wild
A favorite pastime of mine is to take long walks in the Buckman neighborhood, trying to determine from where the echoes of practicing musicians are originating. Depending on the day, an acoustic performance thrums through a barricade of bushes behind my yard, where an unseen troubadour routinely serenades the streets in anonymity. Multi-home applauses are typical at the conclusion of this unknown musician’s songs (sometimes Neutral Milk Hotel covers, sometimes what I perceive as originals), and a neighborly essence seems to form during those fleeting moments. One time on a neighborhood walk, I heard the faint tinkling of keys that…
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Likely Ivy’s Stellar Mini Cupcakes Have an Unlikely Secret
A one-woman shop is quietly baking up some of the best cupcakes in Portland. Located on Hawthorne between sandwich shop Devil’s Dill and futbol bar Gol, Likely Ivy opened its doors in May 2025. The shop exclusively sells mini cupcakes, covering a range of traditional and experimental flavors and topped with a luscious, silky buttercream. But they’re also secretly vegan. There are no signs in the store or on their website advertising their vegan status. I tried the cupcakes having no clue they were vegan, and even after learning they were, I was convinced this was a mistake. But no—everything…
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The Best Bang for Your Buck Events in Portland This Memorial Day Weekend: May 22–25, 2026
We’ve got a couple dozen ideas for how to spend your Memorial Day weekend. So dig in below, then head to events from CityFair to the Bloom Tour, and from Wilhelm’s Portland Memorial Mausoleum Guided Walking Tour and to the 62nd Annual Gem And Mineral Show. For more ideas, check out our top picks of the week. FRIDAY LIVE MUSIC Family Worship Center (Album Release)Though they have no religious affiliation, groovy rock band Family Worship Center promises to “take your soul to heaven and back” at this show celebrating their forthcoming album Only Visiting, which is out next month. Born…
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Good Morning, News! Centrist Dems Seem To Have Lost; Oregonians Cool With Taxes, Actually; Ebola; And Stephen Colbert Signs Off
If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution to the Mercury, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good Morning, Portland! It’s gorgeous out! Here’s hoping you have some time to enjoy the sun and see some friends this long weekend if you’re fortunate to have the extra day off. If you go out, don’t forget to tip your bartenders and baristas. Your long weekend is their long work week. Let’s see what’s in the news. 📰 IN LOCAL NEWS: • Election headlines this morning: “Local newspaper sided…
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Ticket Alert: Chance the Rapper, Orville Peck, and More Portland Events Going On Sale This Week
Don’t say we didn’t warn you—tickets for these newly announced shows are about to go on sale! Chance the Rapper celebrates a decade of the Coloring Book mixtape with his first Portland show in a decade. Queer masked cowboy Orville Peck brings his baritone alt-country tracks to Edgefield this fall. Plus, the lead singer of indie pop group the Marías comes through town supporting her dream-pop solo project Not For Radio. Read on for details, plus some news you can use. ON SALE FRIDAY, MAY 22 MUSIC The Airborne Toxic Event: The Way Home 20 Year Anniversary TourRevolution Hall (Fri…
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PAM CUT’s Cinema Unbound Awards Expand to a Whole Week of Polymath Partying
Found in the wording of their events, Portland Art Museum’s Center for an Untold Tomorrow (PAM CUT) promises ticketholders to its Tomorrow Theater more than just a movie. It’s offering an “experience.” The Richmond neighborhood arthouse (itself a revamped and rehabbed porn theater) connects local cinephiles with Hollywood legends (Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro), homegrown heroes (Mickalene Thomas, Miranda July), and rising stars (Julio Torres, Donni Davy) through its multifaceted programing. One ongoing focus, Carte Blanche, even invites these notables to create an evening around a new work, talk about what they want to talk about, and “do what…
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FREE TICKETS THURSDAY: Win Tix to CityFair, Tab Benoit, Racing Mount Pleasant, and MORE!
Who’s ready to have some fun? Well, the Mercury is here to help with FREE TICKETS to see some of Portland’s best concerts and events; our way of saying thanks to our great readers and spread the word about some fantastic upcoming performances! (Psst… if you want to say thanks to the Mercury, please consider making a small monthly contribution to keep us alive and kickin’!) And oh boy, do we have some fun events coming at ya this week! CHECK IT OUT! Across hallucinatory classics and mind-bending modern visions, Surreal Summer wanders through strange landscapes, fractured identities, and worlds…
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Good Morning, News: City Council Budget Bonanza, Providence Dumps Insurance Plan, and Trump Threatens Another Castro
If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution to the Mercury, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good Morning, Portland! WELL, IT’S GOING TO BE BEAUTIFUL TODAY. I hope you’re happy! (Because I want you to be happy.) Highs of 83 today, and then we have low 80s high 70s until Monday—when the rains begin again in earnest! I weirdly used to have “as darkness runs its fingers over the face of a mountain” as a nickname in one of my circles, but now…
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Mercury Music Picks: Boot Scoot Your Boogie at Friends in Low Places
This past week was kooky-busy with extraordinary shows, showcasing but a fraction of what Portland, and the world, are on musically. The Mercury’s Music Issue launch party was a great success; the bands—KEEKS, La Isla Electronica, Isabeau Waia’u Walker, and the Barbaras—all crushed their sets. When, not if, you have the chance, check out all these bands live. The lead Echo & the Bunnymen dude was wasted, muttering Manchester slang for their Revolution Hall show, while Buddy Wynkoop and Nonbinary Girlfriend tore their sets the fuck up at Swan Dive. Carlos Niño made my first Jack London Revue visit special,…
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GZA Makes Up for Lost Time at Hawthorne Theatre
As Portland-grown rapper Vursatyl finished his set on May 12, he demanded the crowd get hyped for GZA, the Wu-Tang Clan deity visiting the Hawthorne Theatre in celebration of 30 years of his classic Liquid Swords album. The respectably sized crowd squealed with joy—after all, it’s not often you get to see one of the strongest members of Wu in a place as intimate as the Hawthorne Theatre. More than an hour later, though, those same fans were still waiting for the Genius to arrive, standing at the railing with their chins in their hands, looking bored and tired. When…
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Reporting Live (Continued): City Council’s Contentious Budget Meeting
Portland city councilors this week are meeting to discuss amendments to Mayor Keith Wilson’s proposed budget. The city is working to address a $160 million budget gap, and the proposed amendments seek to hold onto union jobs and instead cut management jobs, and stop Wilson’s proposal to divert Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) dollars to other city programs. An amendment to move $10 million from a fledgling police oversight board to the Portland Police Bureau and Portland Fire and Rescue failed in a 6-6 tie on Tuesday, marking the end of one of the more contentious proposals. Tuesday covered public…
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Good Morning, News: Oregonians Reject Gas Tax Hike, Senate Works to Block Strikes On Iran, and Guess Which Union is Targeting Portland’s Police Accountability Board?
If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s news reporting, arts and culture coverage, event calendar, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good morning, Portland! Get ready for another glorious, mild, sunny day with a high of 72 and a low of 51. IN LOCAL NEWS: …
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