It's Thanksgiving week, which translates differently for everyone: Some will be stoked for the time off work, others dreading the family dynamics, and a whole lot of us angry about the holiday's connection to colonial violence and white supremacy. This week, you'll find ways to lean into all of those Big Feelings: Ogala Lakota Sioux chef Sean Sherman will share Indigenous recipes at Powell's Books, you can distract your parents with historical concert posters at Mint Gallery Records, and Rum Club will serve up very boozy holiday sips. Plus, a benefit screening of No Other Land creates an opportunity to support relief in Gaza this week. 

Monday, November 24

Sean Sherman in Conversation With Kate Nelson

November is Native American Heritage Month. And one of the sacred and accessible ways we can honor Indigenous people is to learn about their foodways, which include holistic and sustainable systems that have been in practice for generations. Ogala Lakota Sioux chef and James Beard Award winner Sean Sherman is at the forefront of this movement, sharing cultural knowledge through his nonprofit the Indigenous Food Lab and his restaurant Owamni. In his second book, Turtle Island: Food and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America, Sherman fills pages with rich narrative histories and over 100 “ancestral and modern recipes”—sweet potato soup with dried venison and chile oil, sweet corn pudding with woodland berry sauce, and wild rice-crusted walleye cakes among them. To celebrate the book’s release, he’ll chat with his Turtle Island co-author Kate Nelson. (Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 7 pm, FREE-$45, more info) JANEY WONG

Josh Fadem

Do you like the absurdist comedy stylings of Andy Kaufman? No? Then move along to the next blurb. Do you like extreme physical comedy? No? Move along. And do you like that style of awkward comedy where someone does something really weird for two-to-five minutes without breaking character, and though it’s initially funny, it keeps going on for so long that it’s no longer funny—until suddenly it’s not only funny again, but it becomes freaking hilarious? No? Then move along, because you won’t like Josh Fadem, who is the current reigning king of this particular comedic form. Oh… but if you don’t like him, then maybe that says something about YOU, because he is absolutely adored by David Lynch—who cast him in Twin Peaks—or the dozens of Hollywood producers who cast him in Better Call Saul, 30 Rock, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Reno 911, or the hundreds of bookers who keep inviting him to the biggest comedy festivals in the land. Anyway! Think about it, and if it sounds intriguing, you should definitely go. You may see something you’ll never see again. (Siren Theater, 3913 N Mississippi, 7:30 pm, $20-$25, more info, all ages) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY

Also worth it:

Cameron Granger: Slay the Goblin!!!, Pacific Northwest College of Art, more info
NYC-based artist Granger brings serigraphs, goblins, and fantasy role-playing games to PNCA, using the medium to ponder "othering in our increasingly militarized cultural environment."

Getting to Know You(tube), Boathouse Microcinema, more info
Once a recurring event at Hollywood Theatre, Getting to Know You(tube) will return to Boathouse with three presenters sharing their fave YouTube rabbit holes: Björk, gift balloons, and Marble League.

Tuesday, November 25

Mark William Lewis / Samba Jean-Baptiste

For fans of King Krule, The xx, Nourished By Time

London has always had an irresistible cool. It's a real city, international, DIVERSE. Signed to A24’s record label, the music of Mark William Lewis feels like the perfect accompaniment for wandering aimlessly through Hackney and Shoreditch (or Portland in the fall). There’s a chicness to being sad that few artists truly pull off; let’s hope Mark William Lewis never gets into therapy. Opening is Samba Jean-Baptiste, a self-taught R&B artist that could be our answer to the deep lack of Frank Ocean these last nine years. (Polaris Hall, 635 N Killingsworth, 9 pm, $23.23, more info, all ages) NOLAN PARKER

Wednesday, November 26

The History of Portland Concert Posters

For decades, Portland's lampposts and community boards have told a vibrant history. Oftentimes stacked one on top of another, feet-thick, stapled up on poles lining hip-strips like Mississippi and Hawthorne avenues, concert posters clue in passersby that certain artists will be playing at a certain time and date at a certain place, while also telling a story of a city's culture and history, its music and art scenes, and the people involved in those scenes. Poster collector Jason Blumkoltz showcases more than 40 pieces of art from his extensive catalog of Portland-specific concert posters. Read our full review. (Mint Gallery Records, 3912 N Mississippi, Tues-Sun 12-7 pm through Dec 12, FREE, more info) NP

Also worth it:

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 with the Turkeynecks, Hollywood Theatre, more info
All you really need to know about the TCM sequel is that Leatherface is horny now, and his new sidekick’s catchphrase is: “Lick my plate, you dog dick.” But the curious can read a longer spiel on Tobe Hooper’s black comedy in The Stranger. 

Church of Film: The Snow Queen, Clinton Street Theater, more info
This icy Rococo-goes-’80s film adapts the eponymous Hans Christan Andersen tale.

Thursday, November 27

No Other Land Benefit for Gaza

The 2025 Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature follows the prolonged, forced demolition of Masafer Yatta, a rural West Bank community whose homes Israel uses for military target practice. In No Other Land, Palestinian activist and Masafer Yatta community member Basel Adra documented the destruction for half a decade, building an unlikely alliance with an Israeli journalist along the way. (For a glimpse of Adra's documentation practice, check out his Instagram, which shares footage of Israel's destructive practices.) Organized by the Multnomah Friends’ Quaker Palestine Israel Network, the proceeds from this screening will benefit the American Friends Service Committee’s Gaza Relief Fund. (Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton, 7 pm, $12, more info, not rated) LINDSAY COSTELLO

Stirred Thanksgiving

Whether you Thanksgiving'd, Friendsgiving'd, and/or Stranger Thingsgiving'd, you've got some stuff to talk about or silently drink about. In keeping with their longtime practice, Southeast Portland cocktail bar Rum Club will be open and serving up an "all digestive-y menu featuring brown liquor, bitters, and Amari." Their holiday drink menu of hot buttered rum, mulled wine, and egg nog variant the Tom & Jerry kicks off November 21, so even if you have to hang sober with your fam (BORING) there's plenty of time to celebrate seasonal hard nog. (Rum Club, 720 SE Sandy, 8 pm-1 am, more info, 21+) SS

Friday, November 28

Synth Library Portland Benefit 

Providing space for education, space for femmes and queers, and space for experimental concerts is Synth Library Portland. As an arts organization in 2025, they need help. The best way to support arts organizations in 2025? Go to events, bring friends, tell strangers! This, one of two upcoming SLP fundraisers, features live performances by Musique Mystique, Solenoid, Spines, Family Trust, and Production Unit Xero, as well as live visuals by Matthew Rempes and Madonno Productions. Need to get out of the house after too much tryptophan? This is the one. (Lloyd Center H220, 2201 Lloyd Center, 5 pm, sliding scale $10-$50, more info, all ages) NP

41st Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony

The logistics of watching the enormous tree being placed in Pioneer Courthouse Square are fascinating: arriving on a huge truck with cranes, last year’s behemoth was a 75-foot-tall beast grown in Gaston, Oregon and donated by the Stimson Lumber company. The tree is placed in the urban park and draped in lights, which aren’t turned on until Black Friday. Gather with other Christmas-loving comrades for the annual plug-in moment when Portland’s living room transforms into a winter wonderland. Santa will flip the switch, and the lighting will be followed by a community sing-a-long with Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini. (Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 SW 6th, 5:30 pm, FREE, more info, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH

Also worth it: 

Record Store Day, various locations, more info
Whether you're looking for special RSD releases or you just want to support your local record store, drag yourself out of bed bright and early this Black Friday as vinyl-hungry shoppers trickle into shops around town.

Hamnet, Cinema 21, more info
Chloé Zhao's latest follows Shakespeare's relationship with his wife, Agnes, and the aftermath of a tragedy in their family.

Winter Wonderland: Holiday Lights at Portland International Raceway, more info
What is more merry than driving a mile-long racetrack, while gazing at various artistic holiday lights shaped like Santa, Rudolph, a menorah, Santa on skis, polar bears, dinosaurs, volcanoes, and visual representations of each of the Twelve Days of Christmas, which you sing along with at the top of your lungs? Nothing. (Oh, and they have days where only bikes or walkers with their dogs are allowed, too.)

Saturday, November 29

Grinch Skate

Ice skaters of all ages are invited to join America’s favorite weird li’l guy at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink for an event aptly titled, “Skate with the Grinch and Cindy and Friends.” The chain-store-free Lloyd Center is now one of Portland’s premier holiday shopping locations, especially for customers hoping to buy locally. A portion of each skate fee from this event will benefit the Salvation Army. Don’t forget your costume! (Lloyd Center, 2201 Lloyd Center, 2-4 pm, holiday skate admission $20, skate rental $5, more info, all ages) SS

A Christmas Carol

In 2013, Portland Playhouse laid claim to the area’s best staging of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and they never really let up. In the company’s theater—built in the bones of a former neighborhood church—the timeless story of a miserable miser who learns the True Meaning of Christmas unfolds with original songs and lyrics by Rick Lombardo and Anna Lackaff. This year’s set-up has a lot of spark, as local theater force La’Tevin Alexander takes a turn at the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. (This alone is a reason to go!) Plus, the production’s new music director DeReau K. Farrar has promised some changes to orchestrations and instruments, keeping an already great performance lively and vibrant. (Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott, through Dec 31, $59.95, Arts for All and CARE tickets available, more info, all ages) SS

Cirque Nutcracker

It won’t just be sugarplums dancing at Oregon Symphony’s performance of this iconic ballet score. This year, the symphony’s famed classical musicians have partnered with acrobatics from Troupe Vertigo for a performance dubbed Cirque Nutcracker. Attendees can expect a series of fantastic physical feats accompanied by Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s memorable earworms. (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, Nov 29-30, $35+, more info, all ages) SS

The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Rogue Apostles

2025 has been dotted with lively/lusty 50th-anniversary celebrations and screenings of Jim Sharman's campy, risque musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show. No place in Portland has celebrated harder than Clinton Street Theater, which has held weekly showings since 1978. As a special Thanksgiving weekend treat, XRAY.FM drag comedy divas Rogue Apostles trot out a shadow cast performance, showing us THEIR version of Rocky Horror. (Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton, 10:30 pm, $20, more info, R) SS

Also worth it:

Scandinavian Christmas Goat Market, Norse Hall, more info
While no live goats are involved in this market, it is a solid way to get into the julstämning (holiday spirit), with spiced glögg, Nordic dancing, and an enormous LEGO Christmas display.

Sunday, November 30

Twinless

The story of two men who meet in a twin-loss support group and forge an unlikely connection, this winding tale of co-dependency and buried secrets balances hilarious moments with heavy grief and drama. Filmed in Portland, there’s plenty of local scenery to enjoy, making it a fun and heartfelt watch not only for the fantastic storytelling, but for the closeness to our city’s heart. At its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, it won the Audience Award for US drama, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Take this opportunity to see it on the big screen (for free!) if you missed it during its first run. (PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division, 7 pm, SOLD OUT, more info, R) BB

Also worth it:

Drugstore Cowboy in 35mm, Hollywood Theatre, more info
Gus Van Sant’s 1989 film channels Old Portland with black humor and a William S. Burroughs cameo. A Q&A with the Portland Critics Association, celebrated local author-screenwriter Jon Raymond, and a surprise cast member follow the screening. 

Black Nativity, Alberta Abbey, more info
Penned by Langston Hughes, this gospel play first premiered in 1961 and was one of the first off-Broadway plays composed by an African American person.

Looking for even more events happening this week? Head on over to EverOut!