Although it’s suspiciously sunny outside, the goths are still out in full force, channeling the season with darkwave roller skating at Oaks Park and creepy, crow-centric theater staged in a 120-year old home. Izaak Opatz shows up this week to rail against tech overlords through his signature dirtwave, and immune system-nourishing opportunities are also on the schedule with a radicchio-themed event and the Portland Fermentation Festival. Plus, if this time of year pumps up your nostalgia, a Lost Boys parody and a Twin Peaks reunion have your emotional bases covered.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 19
Izaak Opatz
Izaak Opatz spent years bullseyeing narrative subterranean folk on a trio of fantastic releases on Portland label Mama Bird. Through the quirky prism of his self-described “dirtwave,” Opatz is flipping the script on his lovesick back catalog by taking aim at tech overlords, climate change, and the general epidemic of distraction on his upcoming album, Hail Satan!, due for release in early 2027. The album’s lead single, “Get Behind Me, Satan!” is a hysterical/frightening plea for the preservation of the natural sweetness of life in the face of neverending surveillance culture. Ditch the doomscroll and get rowdy on a Monday with one of the best songwriters doing it these days. (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, 8 pm, $19.27, more info, 21+) RYAN PRADO
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20
You Can See Everything
The hotly discussed documentary about Theranos co-founder Elizabeth Holmes, You Can See Everything hit its opening weekend so hard that Deadline compared it to both Borat (2006) in terms of dark horse success and Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008) for its staggering revenue in the face of limited theater release. If you’re one of the few yet to see Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s deeply intimate doc, Mercury critic Dom Sinacola wrote a spoiler-free review to heighten your appreciation for the work. Pro tip: See it on a weeknight; the weekend is going to be crowded again. (wide release, various theaters) SUZETTE SMITH
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21
Portland Trail Blazers Home Opener vs. Phoenix
There are many questions looming at the beginning of this Blazers season, so here’s my rapid-fire free association before their first official home game against Phoenix: Dame? Back. Ja Morant? Has arrived. Moda Center funding? Questionable. Tom Dundon? Cheap. Micah Nori? New. Shaedon Sharpe? Injured. Point guards? Many. Momentum? Cooking. City? Ripped. A new era? Fingers crossed! LFG Blazers! (Moda Center, 1 N Center Ct, 7 pm, $65+, more info, all ages) BRI BREY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22
Portland Fermentation Festival
Portland sure loves its pickles, but we get down with plenty of other fermented things, too. This annual funk fest celebrates it all, “whether you’re a longtime home fermenter, fermentation-curious, or simply love pickles, cheese, kimchi, kombucha, miso, cider, and sourdough.” Think of it as a living, learning lab where attendees can sample and share ferments from home, swap recipes and pro tips, adopt a sourdough starter or SCOBY, watch demos from experienced fermenters, and partake in lots and lots of mouth-puckering samples. Get ready for a gut reset! (Ecotrust, 721 NW 9th, 6-9 pm, $15-$20, 12 and under FREE, more info, all ages) JANEY WONG
Spain
Profile Theatre has a gimmick—or a mission. The longstanding local theater company picks one or two playwrights to produce each season, digging deep into a single view or vision. This idea can be tricky to promote—come see this popular work and her lovely, lesser-known stepsisters—but if audiences commit to the whole arc, the practice pays brainy dividends. Last season, the company produced works by both Jen Silverman and Mike Lew, and this season they’re actually doing that again! Jen Silverman’s Spain opens the 2026-27 season as a piece pulling in partnerships with both Portland Opera and 45th Parallel. Expect singing and sweeping visions of the Spanish Civil War. Preview showings begin Thursday, but opening night is Saturday! (Ellyn Bye Studio, 128 NW 11th, various times Thurs-Sun, $55 w/ $5 Arts for All tickets available, more info, all ages) SS
Also worth it:
The Witch, Tomorrow Theater, more info
Robert Eggers’ folklore-with-precision style was already fully visible in his first major feature, which permeates a dreary Puritan farm with supernatural dread and suspicion, plus period-accurate roof-thatching techniques.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23
Goth and Roll Skate
Calling all goths on wheels: This night at Oaks Park Skating Rink is tailor-made for you. Pull out your best all-black outfit and memorialize it in the Gloom and Glamour photo booth, skate around to your favorite post-punk, industrial, and darkwave music, and test your knowledge in the Dead Serious trivia competition. The organizers also promise skate games like Dance Macabre, whatever gloom and doom that entails. (Oaks Park Skating Rink, 7805 SE Oaks Park, 7-10:30 pm, $13, more info, all ages) KATHERINE CHEW HAMILTON
Twin Peaks: A Conversation With the Stars
David Lynch tributes have been in no short supply since the director’s passing in 2025, but this multimedia fan celebration of his haunting masterwork, Twin Peaks, is a proper homage to a show I still can’t believe aired on network television. Original cast members Ray Wise (Leland Palmer) and Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs) reunite for a live panel discussion while Sabrina S. Sutherland, executive producer of Twin Peaks: The Return, takes audiences behind the scenes. Plus, there will be a special and touching film tribute to Lynch himself. Filmmaker Josh Eisenstadt hosts the panel and will also moderate an audience Q&A session, so bring your burning inquiries. Just don’t ask, “Who killed Laura Palmer?” (Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 7:10 pm, $62.61, more info, all ages) BB
Black Belt Eagle Scout
If you haven’t yet been graced by Katherine Paul’s dreamgaze-y tones in Black Belt Eagle Scout, you’ve got another chance to redeem yourself. Portland-based, Paul is a Swinomish/Iñupiaq songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist who blends a gritty Pacific Northwest grunge with equal parts poignant and haunting vocals. Her performance is magnetic, writing all at once of grief and joy. Black Belt Eagle Scout is both heavy and soft, touching on the complexity of the human spirit and how it intersects within identity and community care through resilience. The culmination is a unique, must-hear sound. (Glenn and Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center, 527 E Main, Hillsboro, 7:30 pm, $35-$40, more info) STARLY LOU RIGGS
Also worth it:
Fonograf Editions 10th Anniversary Fundraiser, Atrium Movement and Events, more info
The local literary record label/indie press celebrates 10 years and over 50 publications with a two-night fundraiser, featuring readings and performances by Eileen Myles, Rae Armantrout, and Dao Strom, among other heavy hitters.
Pride and Prejudice, Portland Center Stage, more info
This adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, by contemporary playwright Kate Hamill, turned out to be both hilarious and true to the material. Mercury critic Candace Taylor called it “so rife with wit and silly details, you’ll want to buy another ticket and catch the innuendos you know you missed.”
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24
Sagra del Radicchio e Fagioli
If you’ve noticed radicchio all over Portland restaurant menus over the past few years, you have Lane Selman, a professor of practice in horticulture at Oregon State University, to thank. The founder of the Culinary Breeding Network, she connects seed breeders, farmers, chefs, and eaters to help breed and promote fruit and vegetable varieties that grow well locally and taste good. Radicchio has been a primary focus—Selman works with Italian seed breeders to bring heirloom varieties to the Pacific Northwest, from the light green pink-speckled Castelfranco to the long-leaved treviso tardivo that resembles a burgundy-colored Buddha’s hand citrus. At the Sagra del Radicchio, attendees can sample 40 radicchio dishes from local chefs—even radicchio gelato—and this year, the focus will also extend to fagioli, AKA beans. (The Redd on Salmon, 831 SE Salmon, 3-7 pm, $55-$70, 12 and under FREE, more info, all ages) KCH
The Lost Boys Parody
Shelley McLendon and the motley crew behind Bad Reputation Productions have been a staple of Portland’s comedy scene since 2010, earning a devoted following with their hilarious, wildly creative stage parodies of ’80s films. Last fall, they took on Dirty Dancing with She’s Like the Wind, a side-splitting musical coming-of-age tale. They’ve performed the gritty, throat-ripping Road House: The Play, a haunted rendition of A Nightmare on Elm Street Live, and slapstick holiday specials so subversive that they’ve even received copyright cease-and-desist warnings. Now, they’re reviving their Lost Boys spoof just in time for Halloween. Party with a gang of teenage vampires played by fully grown adults—most of whom are old enough to have seen the film in theaters when it was originally released in ’87. The famously shirtless Sax Man will be there, along with the ultimate ’80s villain David the vampire, the Frog brothers, and grandpa, too! (Siren Theater, 3913 N Mississippi, various dates and times through Nov 7, $28+, more info, all ages) BB
Crow Manor
Portland’s creepy crows descend on downtown every fall and winter to roost, adding an eerie ambiance to the city. It’s easy to imagine the birds are entangled in a rash of disappearances and conspiracies—which is exactly the premise behind Crow Manor, a small-scale immersive theater experience set in a 120-year-old Irvington home. Visitors are invited to explore the house and uncover clues to the murder mystery. Join for the full haunting, which features live actors improvising scares. If you’re a nervous Nellie, you can opt for a strictly scripted experience or even attend an actor-free matinee with the lights on. Every detail of the set has been meticulously handcrafted by volunteers, and proceeds from the tour benefit Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. (Crow Manor, 2116 NE 18th, time slots beginning at 6 pm Fri-Sun through Nov 1, Sun “not-so-scary” tours 4-5 pm, $20, more info, all ages) BB
Also worth it:
Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp., Shaking the Tree, more info
“Shaking the Tree and Caryl Churchill are a match made in theater heaven,” wrote critic Robert Ham of the Portland company’s season opener. There are only a few shows yet to sell out for this prescient, unsettling staging.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25
Pepper Pepper: Listening Exercises
Alberta gallery Souvenir has been quietly curating some of the most intriguing exhibitions in Portland over the last few years. Pepper Pepper’s Listening Exercises continues that trend—the show is billed as a “collection of 2D performances on paper,” with dizzying patterns formed in ink, soot, and wax. Pepper’s typically known for his multimedia performances and drag work, so this move to repetitive, durational compositions on paper is a curious surprise born of the artist’s desire to sustain his attention. (Souvenir, 1233 NE Alberta, Thurs-Sat noon-5 pm through Oct 31, FREE, more info, all ages) LC
Also worth it:
Synth Petting Zoo, Beaverton City Library, more info
Channel your inner Aphex Twin at Synth Library Portland’s free “petting zoo,” which starts with a synth performance and demo, followed by free time to explore their instruments, no experience necessary.
Frankie Cosmos, Aladdin Theater, more info
Millennial indie rock royalty Frankie Cosmos celebrates a decade since the release of her album Next Thing with a full play-through.
Looking for even more events happening this week? Head on over to EverOut!
