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 […]
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Posted inEverOut
The Best Things To Do in Portland This Month: September 2025
The Best Day Ever Fest, Time-Based Art Festival, and More
School is starting, apples are ripening, and the days are getting ever-so-slightly shorter, but it’s technically still summer until September 22. That means you have almost the whole month to soak up those precious last golden hours of the season at outdoor festivals, ease into fall with exciting performances and book releases, and simply enjoy […]
Posted inDo This, Do That
The Mercury’s Do This, Do That: September 1–7
This week: ambient drone, lowriders, and a gay carnival. Plus garlic. Lots of garlic.
Summer’s winding to a close, but don’t even think about hibernating. This week, the city will keep your cup full and the loneliness (and vampires) at bay with a fresh hop beer fest serving whiffs of harvest heaven and festivals of the garlic-loving, rich-people-hating, and poetry-celebrating varieties. The Time-Based Art Festival gets going, too, and comedian […]
Posted inNewsblast!
YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: Cop Investigators on Strike, Portland’s Got a New Top Funny Guy, and Your Picks for TBA 2025!
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 inNews
Update: Oregon Lawmakers Make Another Go at a Transportation Funding Package
The bill, expected to raise roughly $4.5 billion over the next 10 years, was approved by the Oregon House and will now move onto the Senate—after a hiatus.
Update 9/3, 8 am: With one Democratic member of the Oregon Senate, Chris Gorsek, out for health reasons, the special session is effectively on hold. Democrats can’t afford to lose a vote, so they’ll need to wait until Gorsek is healthy enough to return to Salem and vote “aye” on the bill. The current plan is […]
Posted inEverOut
The Best Bang for Your Buck Events in Portland This Labor Day Weekend: Aug 29–Sept 1, 2025
Art in the Pearl, Oregon State Fair, and More Cheap & Easy Events Under $15
The long weekend is in reach, so take a break from your labors to hit up stress-busting events from Art In The Pearl to Flock Block Party and from the final days of Bike Summer 2025 to the Oregon State Fair. Our top picks guide suggests more fun things to do this week. FRIDAY FILM Bill […]
Posted inNews
A Month Before Classes Resume, University of Oregon Faculty Brace for More Layoffs
Despite a recent $25 million gift from the Schnitzer family, Oregon’s flagship university warns of a funding shortage and a second round of layoffs.
Following staffing cuts in June, another round of layoffs is coming at the University of Oregon, with entire departments potentially on the chopping block as the university seeks to address a projected budget deficit. In a June town hall, University of Oregon (UO) President Karl Scholz announced that the university was facing a significant budget […]
Posted inBooks
The Newsletter Trying to Turn Portland into “Tennis City, USA”
Tennis Courterly’s editors insist it’s not a secret literary magazine.
Portland might not have professional tournaments or world-class tennis academies, and many of the city’s public courts have seen better days. But Portlander Tyler Pell sees potential in the city’s community tennis culture. He wants to make sure other people see it, too. Enter Portland Tennis Courterly: The stylish, quarterly (get it?) newsletter devoted to […]
Posted inGood Morning, News!
Good Morning, News: US Border Patrol Takes PNW Firefighters Into Custody, Portland City Councilors to Fly to Vienna, and Avalos Writes with AI
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! We’re out here this morning like “Name an instance of bullshit that I went for!” Last Friday, Earl […]
Posted inTBA
At the 2025 Time-Based Art Festival, West Coast Is Best Coast
After losing federal grant funding, TBA pushes forward with queer opera, Native storytelling, and radical soundscapes.
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) turned 30 this year, making it both a millennial and the creator of the city’s shiniest experimental performance jewel, the Time-Based Art Festival (TBA). Returning September 4-14, this year’s fest brings a full-force two-weekend lineup packed with multimodal poetry, queer opera, and shape-shifting dance. You’ll find programming at four […]
Posted inFree Tickets!
FREE TICKETS THURSDAY: Enter to Win Free Tix to See Sleater-Kinney, English Teacher, Modest Mouse, and MORE!
Who’s ready to have some fun? Well, the Mercury is here to help with FREE TICKETS to see some of Portland’s best concerts and events—our way of saying thanks to our great readers and spread the word about some fantastic upcoming performances! (Psst… if you want to say thanks to the Mercury, please consider making […]
Posted inPop Quiz PDX
POP QUIZ PDX: Mystery Objects, Shit-Talkin’ Trumpers, and Crime Fighting Politicians!
See how well YOU score in this week’s super fun trivia quiz!
CALLING ALL SMARTY BRAINS! It’s time once again to put your brainy-brain to the test with this week’s edition of POP QUIZ PDX—our weekly, local, sassy-ass trivia quiz. And this week we’ll be testing your knowledge on a weird thing found in some lady’s back yard, local masked crime fighter (and Multnomah County Chair) Jessica […]