Reports from the arts, culture, and food worlds have been ROUGH lately. January through March are lean times for everyone. So if you don’t want to make dinner, and you still have enough self esteem to refrain from eating canned tomatoes over the sink (๐guilty), spend some takeout dollars on your favs. If you’re cold, they’re cold, order some Phแป. This also goes for bookshops, movie houses, and other artsy spaces.
โข Speaking of fundraising, I honestly never thought Mother Foucault’s would DO IT, but the bookshop is buying its dang building through its newish literary nonprofit L’รcole Buissonniรจre. A release from the group said purchase of Nathaniel West Building No. 1 “was made possible by the generous support of donors and the Portland literary community.” When we wrote about the attempt in July, the shop’s owner Craig Florence (also L’รcole Buissonniรจre board chair) said he had until the fall to raise $300,000 for a downpayment. The GoFundMe campaign shot to $10,000, then seemed to stall. However, for the last few months, donations trickled inโincluding several anonymous contributions in the thousands. And now a readjusted goal of $55,000 seems close at hand. If this progress continues, L’รcole Buissonniรจre plans to host programming on the third floor of the building. Art studios and gallery space Societyโwhich made Lindsay Costello’s year-end art show listโare already in place on the second level.
โข Every year, nudists, the nude-at-heart, and the nude-curious all eagerly await the World Naked Bike Ride date announcement. Within recent years, two factions of stark-naked cyclists have staked their ground int the city’s tradition.ย Bike Portland has a readable rundown. At first, there was Portland World Naked Bike Ride, and then on a year when that group cancelled the ride, volunteers from the first formed and held a ride under the name World Naked Bike Ride Portland. Do you see the subtle difference? Anyway, the latter group willย hold a nude bike ride on Saturday, August 8. The former has a “save the date” note on their site for July 25 (and we have reached out for clarification). Never-nudes should also take note, because on this summer night, it’s possible to get stuck behind blocks and blocks of naked people on bikes shouting “woo!” They don’t obey traffic lights; they take the road! They’re vulnerable! Either ride typically draws thousands of people and spectators to the streets of Portland. World Naked Bike Ride’n is a good time, but it’s also a protest against fossil fuel dependency and in support of alternate transport methods and body positivity.ย [UPDATE: An earlier version of this blurb failed to distinguish between the two World Naked Bike Rides in Portland. We regret the error.]
โข Portland Center Stage recently announced the cast of itsย upcoming production of Lizard Boy, and who is that in the role of Siren? Are we so fortunate to see/hear local music royalty Lo Steele perform “Terrible Ride?” Rounding out the three-person cast are Benjamin Tissell (we loved him inย Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) and Milo Marami who served as understudy to the show’s creator Justin Huertas. For the uninitiated, indie rock musical Lizard Boy debuted at Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2015. The story takes place in a fictional Seattle, 20 years out from a dragon attack. And that dragon crawled out of Mount St. Helens, so it feels like Portland has a little skin in the game. What’s not to love here? The songs are good, the story is gay, and this cast isย very promising.ย
โข Oregon Symphony announcedย its 2026-27 season, so if you have a friend group of 15-30 (you know how it gets), and everyone wants to sit together for Holst’s The Planets and Ravelโs Bolรฉro, you may want to start figuring that out now. Is symphony your SHIT? Time to buy season tickets.
โข Not to be a mobster about it, but if you want live symphonic music to stick around, you should go to it. Last week, longstanding outfit Portland Chamber Orchestra cancelled its remaining shows and announced its decision to dissolve. According to board president Robert Kingdom the chamber orchestra provided an intimate experience, compared to that of larger symphonies. Kingdom told the Oregonian that a chamber orchestra might have 20-40 members, depending on the show.
โข In last year’s City Guide, critic Dom Sinacola hailed Portland as “independent theater paradise,” with an impressive number of centenarian movie houses. As it happens, 2026 is the year that Hollywood Theatre turns the big 100, and its inviting fans and members to take the Hollywood Theater 100 challenge. While the actual anniversary isn’t until July, if you really want to watch 100 films at the Hollywood this year, you should probably get started. Prizes include more movie tickets and a keychain (for spending at least $1,000 on movie tickets), but the true boon is the exclusive party they promise to throw for all the diehards to meet people who also watched at least 100 screenings in 2026.
โข Lake Theater & Cafe, a movie theater in Lake Oswego,ย is banned from showing the film Melania after making jokes at the expense of the movie (and the First Lady it’s based on). According to the movie theater, Amazon (which produced and is distributing the film) revoked its rights to show the documentary about Melania Trump after the theater put up marquee messages like โTO DEFEAT YOUR ENEMY. YOU MUST KNOW THEM. MELANIA.โ Lake Theater & Cafe general manager Jordan Perry (who is known nationwide for marquee humor) wrote a thoroughly entertaining blog post about the saga. In the blog post, he explains his reason for showing Melania in the first place: “Mostly, I thought doing so would be funny.” It’s unclear how Amazon found out about the marquee messages. But, sheesh, these guys (Amazon execs and Melania Trump fans) are touchy and can’t take a joke! (For more savage takedowns of Melania, read The New Yorker‘s Isaac Chotiner’s brutal interview with the movie’s cinematographer.) TAYLOR GRIGGS
โข Oof. Felt this one in my heart. After months of inexplicably low stock and denials from owners that they planned to close, 110-year-old Portland grocery store Sheridan Fruit Company closed up shop on February 13. It was a small store, but it packed great things into those humble aisles. Sheridan always had the lowest price on Secret Aardvark hot sauce and the best meat counter in the city, which arguably fell off during the pandemic. It’s not like I couldn’t get ox tail and marrow bones elsewhere, but I didn’t want to. Their bulk beans and spices were a staple of my pantry, at least until they weren’t there anymore. I learned about hot pink Mountain Rose apples from a housemate, but Sheridan is where I reliably found them in season. It was easy to pop in and buy breadโSheridan was small enough to get in and out in less than 10 minutes. While I’ll miss the stock and selection, I’m also just sad to lose another neighborhood small staples store. Imagine how much time you lose, standing before the great glowing wall of eggs at your neighborhood big box.
โข Worth noting:
This past month has seen the closure of both The Skanner News and Sheridan Fruit Company, both of which have lent their names to retail stores soon to open at PDX. If that plan continues, they’ll join Henry’s Tavern and the Country Cat as local brands that have closed but live on at the airport.
โ iain (@maccoinnich.bsky.social) February 12, 2026 at 12:50 PM
โข When it rains, it pours. And we no longer have the awnings at Landmark Saloon to crowd beneath. Bri Brey and Nolan Parker teamed up to tease sad news of the intimate music venue and bar’s closure from its owner.
โWellโฆthat was a good run,โ Wilson sent to the Mercury Monday evening. โAll the laughing, crying, spitting, and cussing over the last 15+ years here at the Landmark Saloon will come to an end this Friday (for now?). The landlordโs patience for us has run out.”
โขย Portland’s revered “Mexico-forward” fine-dining restaurant Repรบblica announced this month that February 21 will be its last day of service. Considered the flagship of the local mini-empire Repรบblica & Co., Repรบblica also represented an idea that laid the groundwork for a conversation about Mexican cuisineโthe history, the flavors. Is this fine dining or just doing it right? She will be missed.
โข This is still somehow unconfirmed (?!), but much beloved listening bar and restaurantย Expatriate APPEARS to have closed. On February 10, Reddit user nutt3rbutt3r posted a photo of a poetic message taped to the restaurant’s front door. The space was shut tight; the message read:
“Life is just a party, and parties weren’t meant to last.
Our privilege, these 4,595 nights. Thank you.
Love, KLW et al
[exsilium non permanet]”
The first part of the note references the Price song “1999.” The end Latin roughly translates to “exile does not last.” Expatriate owner Kyle Linden Webster has yetโto my knowledgeโto actually confirm with a news source that the Expatriate is permanently closed, but it’s not looking great. Webster is the widower of Chef Naomi Pomeroyย who died unexpectedly in 2024. Expatriate was something they started together, so while I’ve heard second-hand that Webster has told food world reporters to back off, it seems like the town wants to treat him with some care. We are perhaps most surprised by the careful edits of Reddit’s nutt3rbutt3r whoโwithout much thoughtโaccidentally became the main source of news about the closure. The updated post reads: “Out of respect for the owner and the Expat family, I want to let the details come to light naturally as they put together their own words for an official statement…. I hope that Kyle and his people are well during this time. Hopefully we will hear from them soon.”
