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 […]
c3Fundable — Yes
Posted inTBA
The Time-Based Art Festival Is Still Alive
With virtual landscapes, textile talismans, and sonic architecture, TBA 2025 centered artists who reshape space.
If this year’s Time-Based Art Festival (TBA) had a goal, it might’ve been to twist our perceptions of the everyday. Angelo Scott’s Omni Rail turned the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) into an echoing instrument; Freddie Robins’ Apotropaic elevated cardboard and wool into high-concept reflections on folk ritual. San Cha’s Inebria me made religious […]
Posted inDo This, Do That
The Mercury’s Do This, Do That: Your Top Events for September 22-28
The autumn equinox brings fuzzy textiles, Spike Lee joints, and Portland Playhouse’s season opener.
Warmish days be damned, because Christian Girl Autumn has officially begun. This week offers many reasons to head indoors, like Spike Lee’s Kurosawa-inspired film Highest 2 Lowest, Amanda Lepore’s club kid glamour, and ’70s art rockers Sparks. Plus, Freddie Robins installs knitted horses at Cooley Gallery, and the storytelling show Be Gay, Do Crime centers […]
Posted inBooks
A Silent Treatment
Jeannie Vanasco’s new memoir grapples with the agony of mother-daughter love.
This piece was first published by our sister publication The Stranger. Jeannie Vanasco has unintentionally built a reputation for an unusual degree of grace and forgiveness than your average human (me). Most notably, her second book, Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl, is one in which she investigates her rape and […]
Posted inGood Morning, News!
Good Morning, News: Christian Nationalists Hold Memorial/Pep Rally, Lillard Thrills Fans, and Trump Won’t Keep Portland’s Name Out of His Mouth
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 […]
Posted inNewsblast!
YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: ICE Breaks City Rules, Merkley’s Trip to the West Bank, and the Punkiest Punks Around!
Catch up on the Mercury articles you may have missed this week!
GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It’s the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being “the last to know,” then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to […]
Posted inAlbum Review
Album Review: The Barbaras Take Us For A Ride
Rollercoasters has it all: The ups and downs of yearning, self-awareness, and boobs!
In your teens and 20s, there’s a pervasive feeling that love and having your shit figured out will undoubtedly happen for you in some distant future, manifesting out of nowhere—or somewhere, depending on your style of falling in love and problem solving. On Rollercoasters, The Barbaras remind us it’s okay—and often more fun—to not have […]
Posted inEverOut
The Best Bang for Your Buck Events in Portland This Weekend: Sept 19–21, 2025
Rip City Reunion, Freeform Portland’s Record Sale, and More Cheap & Easy Events Under $15
This coming Monday is the first official day of fall—so get your last hurrah of summer in at weekend events from Rip City Reunion to Scandals’ Farewell For Now Party Weekend and from the Portland Polish Festival to Freeform Portland’s Record Sale. Check out our top picks guide for more suggestions. FRIDAY LIVE MUSIC SYLM […]
Posted inVisual Art
Anatomy of a Sculpture
Peek inside Portland ceramics artist Erika Rier’s world of mischievous, mythical monsters.
This piece was first published by our sister publication The Stranger. Each one of Erika Rier’s ceramic creatures has its own story, and most of them are at least a little unsettling. There’s the vampiric little girl with several sets of eyes, and the crowned and horned woman clenching what appears to be a not-very-alive […]
Posted inMusic
PDX Pop Now! (More Than Ever)
Portland’s free, all-ages, volunteer-run music festival celebrated its 21st birthday!
Festival coordinators faced a big, silly problem the first night of PDX Pop Now! 2025: They were already running low on silly straws. “The Jurassic Sunset” and “DinoSour”—custom cocktails for this year’s dinosaur theme—were hitting. By the time tropical dream pop group Caicedo hit the stage at 6:30 pm, nearly every complimentary squiggly straw had […]
Posted inGood Morning, News!
Good Morning, News: Portland Speed Cameras Unplugged, Olivia Nuzzi Is Failing Up, and Wing Week Starts September 29
If you appreciate the Mercury‘s interesting and useful news & culture reporting, consider making a small monthly contribution to support our editorial team. Your donation is tax-deductible. You can also subscribe and have our papers delivered! Good Morning, Portland! Pacific Northwest weather really shines as we approach hoa hoa time. This weekend starts off with an amuse bouche balmy Friday […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Eleven Films to Argue About in Fall 2025
The season is stacked with the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson, Kelly Reichardt, Lynne Ramsey, Chloé Zhao, Kathryn Bigelow, Yorgos Lanthimos, a Safdie, a Tron movie, and more!
September A Big Bold Beautiful Journey: In the yawning aftermath of After Yang, writer/director Kogonada tries again with Colin Farrell, this time welcoming Margot Robbie to another potential wad of corn, giving it a horrific title, and going for the tearjerking jugular. I’m sorry, but it grows harder every year to cheer for the man who […]