Love Our Arts & Culture Coverage?
You can help fund it!

Give now
Avatar photo

Andrew Jankowski
Posted inSay Nice Things 2024

Say Nice Things About Local Drag Artists (Proudly Representing Portland All Year Long)

You might not know these performers (yet), but these drag artists consistently embody Portland’s strange and timeless beauty.
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

[Welcome to our second annual “SAY NICE THINGS ABOUT PORTLAND” issue! Read it online here, or if you like physical, paper-y things, you can find it in more than 50 locations all around the city!—eds] What better cheerleaders could Portland ask for than drag artists? They gossip, they make out with guys in letterman jackets […]

Posted inTheater & Performance

Peachy Springs Is Portland’s Premiere Hard-Working, Foul-Mouthed Bingo Drag Queen

They play for two tight hours and cash prizes. They stay for Springs’ delightfully abusive crowd work.
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

Peachy Springs cusses out a baby, at her Tuesday night bingo game at the Alberta neighborhood bar Bye and Bye. “Is that a fucking baby?!” she asks the packed bar through her bedazzled mic. “Are you leaving? This is a family unfriendly show.” However, as it turns out, the game Springs is hosting started at […]

Posted inTheater & Performance

Poison Waters Turns up the Heat at Her Own Charity Roast

The Portland drag icon returned shade upon her roasters and raised over $3000 for a Cascade AIDS Project summer camp.
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

On February 21, a wry and boisterous audience packed the dance floor of Old Town gay nightclub CC Slaughters to witness the character destruction of one of Portland’s most beloved figures, Darcelle XV Showplace hostess Poison Waters. “This was terrible. I have been a subject of roasts, and I’ve been a roaster. This was terrible,” […]

Posted inLGBTQIA+

Portland Pride Is in July? An Explainer.

Why did the parade and festival move, and why do we love June so much anyway?
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

It’s June, and your friends, coworkers, and roommates are all asking you about Portland’s Pride Festival. The short answer: It’s in July; the parade is Sunday July 16.  The long answer is as follows:  Pride Northwest announced in December that this year’s Portland Pride Parade and Festival would move from June to mid-July, citing schedule […]

Posted inQueer Guide 2023

Portland Pride Is in July? An Explainer.

Why did the parade and festival move, and why do we love June so much anyway?
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

It’s June, and your friends, coworkers, and roommates are all asking you about Portland’s Pride Festival. The short answer: It’s in July; the parade is Sunday July 16.  The long answer is as follows:  Pride Northwest announced in December that this year’s Portland Pride Parade and Festival would move from June to mid-July, citing schedule […]

Posted inSay Nice Things About Portland

Say Nice Things About… Portland’s Kickass LGBTQ+ Community!

Trans strip nights! Drag king vampires! Star Trek tea houses! (And we’re just getting started!)
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

[Welcome to our “Say Nice Things About Portland” guide to the city! Did you know that this feature package is also in PRINT?? That’s right, this is our first print product since the start of the pandemic, and we’re psyched to produce a lot more. Find the “Say Nice Things” guide in over 500 locations […]

Posted inNews

Walter Cole, Mastermind of Darcelle XV, Has Died at 92

As Darcelle XV, Cole reigned as the world’s oldest drag queen and laid the groundwork for Portland’s queer culture scene.
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

Walter Cole, the man behind iconic Portland drag queen Darcelle XV and owner of the landmark namesake drag club Darcelle XV Showplace, has died at the age of 92 from natural causes. Kevin Cook, Cole’s longtime friend and colleague best known as Poison Waters, announced Cole’s passing via his and the club’s social media accounts. […]

Posted inCulture

Portland Perfumer Emily Schaber Blends Science and Art

Her COVID-born label, Shelter In Perfume, aims to tell stories through fragrance notes and complications.
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

What most surprised Emily Schaber about mixing her own fragrances was the sense of order it brought to her life. Living with a learning disability had made scheduling and organizing next to impossible, Schaber told the Mercury, but the intentional planning that perfumery required helped her break through some of those difficulties. She became a […]

Posted inSpring Arts Preview 2023

Portland Perfumer Emily Schaber Blends Science and Art

Her COVID-born label, Shelter In Perfume, aims to tell stories through fragrance notes and complications.
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

What most surprised Emily Schaber about mixing her own fragrances was the sense of order it brought to her life. Living with a learning disability had made scheduling and organizing next to impossible, Schaber told the Mercury, but the intentional planning that perfumery required helped her break through some of those difficulties. She became a […]

Posted inTheater & Performance

My Perfectly Valid Objections Airs the First Date Anxieties of Trans and Cis People

Portland playwright Mikki Gillette depicts the minefield trans women navigate, specifically while dating cis men.
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

Within the last half decade, shows like Pose and Euphoria have presented relatable, swoon-worthy—even realistic—romances between transgender and cisgender people. But despite those successes, there’s still a wealth of ways cis people can accidentally (or intentionally) insult trans people, even when attempting to woo their affections. Portland playwright Mikki Gillette’s new work, My Perfectly Valid […]

Posted inFood and Drink

A Lick of Scents

Salt & Straw’s new taste-enhancing fragrance collaboration with local perfumers Imaginary Authors.
Avatar photo Andrew Jankowski

Depending on your fine dining haunts, you’ve probably been on the receiving end of a restaurant pepper mill and an offer to grind. Now the craze of culinary perfume spritzes is also slowly, but surely making its way across—or lingering in a fine mist above—our plates. Aromatic dining adjustments are not unwelcome. In many ways, […]

Gift this article