The Mercury’s 2026 Sauvie Island Corn Maze Reviews
Sauvie Island is Portland’s seasonal source for you-pick berries, nude beaches, and corn mazes where you might actually get lost. As fall’s spooky-autumnal air creeps in, we’re drawn the island’s three major corn mazes—all found within its southern portion, just on the other side of the Wapato Bridge. One is a long-running institution, another is a relative newcomer, and the last is a labyrinth of nightmares filled with bloodthirsty psychos who will chase you through corn. But which is right for you? The Maize at the Pumpkin Patch Billing itself as Portland’s original corn maze, the Maize at the Pumpkin…
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Pearl District Abandons Forum After Brushing Up Against Elections Law Violations
If you didn’t know any better, you might think downtown’s City Council district is down to four candidates vying for three seats. “Final four square off,” reads a headline announcing a downtown candidate forum set for next week. Bruce Studer, the president of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association, and Allan Classen, the editor of the neighborhood newspaper the NW Examiner, were scheduled to moderate the October 5 event the Armory. Now, the event is in flux after the Pearl District was forced to abandon the forum due to legal requirements for neighborhood associations and nonprofits. Only four candidates were initially…
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SAVAGE LOVE: Group Dynamics
I’m a 37-year-old (mostly) straight man who has been in and out of a series of committed, monogamous relationships for most of my adult life. I’m now at a point where I am feeling torn in two, and it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone in my life who I can ask for help who won’t judge me. I am getting old, and I want to have kids. I have always known I wanted to have kids, but it just hasn’t happened yet, mostly because I keep moving for my career and I stayed in some long-distance relationships longer than I…
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Good Morning, News: A Breakthrough in Early Cancer Detection, Shark Caught Swimming Around Jersey Shore, and Trump’s Rollback of Fuel Efficiency Standards
The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good morning, Portland! Today, expect cloudy skies and a high of 69 degrees, then buckle up because we could be in for some unseasonably warm weather going into the weekend. Highs are currently forecasted to reach the low 80s. Let’s get you caught up on what else is happening in the world! IN LOCAL NEWS: • The…
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Black Zombie Will School You Like a Real-Life Monsters High
The Republic of Haiti was born of one of history’s only successful slave rebellions, and yet somehow I sat through many interminable, boring history classes without learning this real-life Star Wars shit. When I first heard the story, I felt betrayed. Where was the big-budget spectacular retelling? Instead, Haiti became the source of a different Hollywood box office engine: the zombie flick. Black Zombie, a documentary by Jamaican French Canadian director Maya Annik Bedford, lays out how the zombie went from existing as a local nightmare at the edge of Haiti’s vodou religion to a globalized big-ticket brains eater genre. …
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The Mercury’s Do This, Do That: Your Top Events for Sept 28-Oct 4
There’s no shortage of sense-indulging ways to fill your calendar this week—craft chocolate, Greek donuts, and poetry are all on the docket. Plus, Tricky of Massive Attack shows up with a tantalizing new album, Alicia Witt nods to your Twin Peaks nostalgia, and a new production of Pride and Prejudice explores Regency courtship mores. All that and a new festival at Art Design Xchange? Keep readin’. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 Benefit Concert for Immigrant Worker Justice Here’s a show that benefits both Northwest Workers’ Justice Project and your ears. Feast upon the sounds of new supergroup Ruminants (Marisa Anderson, Sam Coomes, and…
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All Aboard the Indian Flavor Express
At the very first drop of an autumn leaf, I start to crave Indian takeout even more often than I normally do—creamy sauces, warming spices, fluffy rice, and pillowy naan. Now, there’s a new cart I’ll be adding to my regular rotation: Indian Flavor Express. Upon first glance, the menu includes dishes offered at lots of other Indian carts around town: samosas, tandoori chicken, butter masala, vindaloo, and tikka masala. But look closer, and you’ll find other dishes rarely seen in restaurants around Portland. Kalimiri, a tangy, light yogurt-based curry with black pepper showered in fried onions, gets a lift…
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Good Morning, News: Mayor Campaigns Against Progressives, Cyclists Protest Moda Deal, and Trump Uses YOUR Money to Spread Hate
If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution to the Mercury, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! Expect a mostly sunny week ahead with a chance of showers on Wednesday, but otherwise highs will start around 68 today and by Saturday it might reach… 78? Sorry, thong! You’re not getting packed away just yet! And now? Let’s pack away some NEWS. IN LOCAL NEWS: • My friends, we are now solidly in ELECTION SEASON, and Portland is a political town with…
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Meet the Multnomah County Commissioner Candidates For District 2
Seven candidates are running to serve District 2 on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. The district covers most of North and Northeast Portland. The seat is currently held by Shannon Singleton, who is running for county chair. This November, voters will use ranked choice voting to select candidates in the county commissioner race. Bruce Broussard Professional background: Bruce Broussard is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam. He and his wife now run a nonprofit called No Veterans Left Behind Oregon, Inc. Previously, he ran a talk show on KBOO radio and now hosts a video program via…
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The Best Bang for Your Buck Events in Portland This Weekend: Sept 25–27, 2026
It’s officially fall, and Portland’s weekend docket is anything but boring. Pay tribute to a country queen at the Celebration of Dolly Parton, cheer on the Beavs at OSU Beaver Game Day, make some feline friends on the Cats of Sunnyside Field Trip, and dig into the roots of our modern woes with Thom Hartmann. For more ideas, check out our top picks of the week. For more ideas, check out our top picks of the week. FRIDAY LIVE MUSIC A Celebration of Dolly PartonSeptember 25 is officially Dolly Day (Nine-Two-Five), and Portland will gather to celebrate the recently departed…
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Spin Cycle: Feel the Pain
It can be tough to focus on new music releases when you’re mired in the hell of aches and pains. I’m lucky to have been almost entirely free from it the vast majority of my adult life, but as I descend into the dreaded middle age (gagged a little bit writing that), the looming fangs of discomfort have begun to gnash out in ever-increasing acuity. I’ll spare the details, but the section of the Venn diagram where the below three albums overlap is something like the ebb and flow of pain as it’s affected the past month or so of…
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Good Morning, News: Human Being, Police Dog Shot and Killed in Portland; Clean Energy Fund Goes to Eugene; Is Trump Playing to His MAGMA Base?
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! It was a windy one last night, wasn’t it? Well, it’s supposed to calm down a bit, but we’re looking at rain, rain, rain for a bit today before things clear up over the course of the weekend. Let’s get to the news 📰 IN LOCAL NEWS: It isn’t uncommon for big business interests to throw cash at elections in hopes of moving the electorate—and…
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Portland Vampire Novel Coffin Moon Will Be Adapted for a TV Series
Portland horror author Keith Rosson is having a good week. On September 22nd, the same day his new novel Crone hit shelves, Deadline announced that Paramount has taken the first steps to turning his vampire novel Coffin Moon into a TV series. “Jessica Biel heard it and suggested it on her Audible account,” says Rosson. “She’s apparently a fantastic reader and a big fan of horror.” According to Deadline, Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue, the writing and production team behind the Fred Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, are attached to write, develop, and showrun the project. Rosson…
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Eugene Voters to Weigh Clean Energy Fund Modeled After PCEF
The landscape for climate funding has turned bleak since President Trump returned to office. But Portland’s dedicated clean energy fund has stood out as a remaining source of income for emissions reduction efforts—and other communities have taken note. The Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) was adopted by voters in 2018 to create a revenue stream for local climate justice and emissions reductions projects. PCEF, which is funded through a 1 percent surcharge on local sales at big businesses, has raised about $200 million a year since tax collection began in 2019. Environmental advocates in other cities are taking…
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Will Billboard Attacks Be Enough to Oust Portland’s Progressives?
It isn’t uncommon for big business interests to throw cash at elections in hopes of moving the electorate—and not just at the federal level. Amid growing wealth inequality and ongoing affordability crises, some Portland City Council candidates are also facing an onslaught of vicious election tactics from groups who appear motivated to take out progressive incumbents vying for a second term. In the weeks before the upcoming election, Portland’s moneyed opposition appears to have their sights set on District 4 Councilor Mitch Green, a democratic socialist who took office in January 2025. One tactic they’re employing is billboard messaging. Earlier…
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