Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The 5000s Prepare to be Cultured

In times past, I have often written about various cultural delights that Mrs.5000 and I enjoyed the previous weekend, causing those of you outside the City of Roses to applaud our excellent good taste but making our neighbors along the mighty Willamette wring their hands in despair at the arts and entertainments that they just missed.

So this time, cleverly, I am telling you in advance about the cultural delights that Mrs.5000 and I will enjoy this coming weekend. In theory! Of course, one can never truly know the future, and it's certainly possible that a bus accident or a sudden-onset plague or an atomic bomb could intervene to spoil all of the fun. But barring these extreme possibilities, this weekend will involve:

A concert by The Portland Columbia Symphony!

Portland's second-tier orchestra plays in smaller venues than the major-league Oregon Symphony. That puts you much closer to the big noise, and the PCSO is a very high-quality band with a rich, warm sound. And not insignificantly, tickets are a fraction of the cost of the OSO.

The concert this Friday night combines two winners. In my favorite Beethoven Piano Concerto, the Fourth, the soloist will be former Beaver State Governor Barbara Roberts!!! She is sure to.... what? Oh. OK, apparently this is a different Barbara Roberts, more of a pianist type. But hey, I'm sure she's good!

And then, there's one of my very favoritest symphonies, the Sibelius Second. It has been a long, long time since I heard it live, so you know that I am looking forward to grooving out with my man Jean.

So the concert is Friday night, Oct 16, at 7:30 pm, at 1838 SW Jefferson St. That's a big church in Goose Hollow, for those of you who know where "Goose Hollow" is. Or, if you prefer to enjoy your classical music without any risk of encountering the 5000s, there's a Sunday afternoon show at 3 pm out at Mount Hood Community College.

Portland Open Studios!


Every fall, 100 of Portland's most extroverted artists open their studio doors to the great unwashed public, hoping that people will thrust sweaty fistfuls of currency at them in exchange for their work. Mrs.5000 & I will be making the pilgramage again this year, sans sweaty fistfuls of course but ready with all sorts of complements and helpful encouragement.


Perhaps we'll revisit favorites from last year! Perhaps we'll have an actual encounter with Bridget B. in the biospace! And we'll almost certainly swing by the studio of Honorable Vice Dork Emeratus fingerstothebone -- not because we'd want to embarass her by purchasing more of her work or anything, you understand, but she usually has a good spread of snacks.



[Right: Actually, I might have to get one of these]


But What Are You Doing Sunday?

Oh, probably just hanging out. Stop by, we can crack open some beers!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Morgan and Ben are men on their own this weekend (Morgan is taking the PSAT on Saturday, so can't go to the church retreat on the coast that Leah and I will be at) -- this sounds like the PERFECT weekend for them, including the beers on Sunday. Ginger beer for Morgan, please. Send Ben a message...

Elizabeth said...

I'm doing French films on Friday night but plan to be a homebody on Saturday (after the market, of course). Oh, and put November 1st on your calendar for the Bach Cantata Choir, please!

fingerstothebone said...

Warning, Warning -- due to concerns over swine flu in places where people congregate, we're reduced to serving pre-packaged snacks this year! Everything neatly packaged in aluminum foils and no fears of contaminants from sweaty paws.

I know, I know, this SO does not fit my rule of not eating anything that can't eat me back, but there you go.

Dug said...

I have not made any Sunday plans yet but the wife is going to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. Perhaps you might want to make the 2947 mile trek to Dutchess County. Maybe you need that county?

Michael5000 said...

@fingers: I'm ready to just have swine flu and get it over with. Can I have strangers paw my snack?

@Dug: The... Sheep and Wool Festival? Hmm. You know, I like Mrs.Dug -- she's a woman of many interests.

Michael5000 said...

Oh, and not only do I have Dutchess County, I was there last month! Tell her to check out Dia:Beacon if she's into somewhat arid contemporary art!

Nichim said...

I would love to go to the Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Festival. I'm still bummed at having missed the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival last month. But if I were in Dutchess County this weekend I wouldn't miss the Beacon Pumpkin Festival, at the other end of the county from the fairgrounds: http://www.pcnr.com/news/2006/1004/cultural_events/003.html
and I'd be sure to get a Beacon Fire Tower centennial patch. But maybe I'll settle for the symphony.

DrSchnell said...

And for those of you out east (and more specifically, Kutztown, Berks County, PA, you can stop by the Pennsylvania German Heritage Center's Harvest Festival at which you can learn about all kinds of nearly-vanished folk skills, wisdom, and crafts of the Dutchy variety. And you can top it all off with a concert later that evening by none other than They Might Be Giants, who will be gracing our borough with their presence for not one, but two shows (a kids show and a big-people's show). Take that, Portland!

Jenners said...

I feel so ... inadequate and uncultured.

But I did go to our library book sale tonight and loaded up with some treasures ... including a library book that I think I accidentally stole.

Rebel said...

Gah - my erudite comment "Portland Rocks" never posted. Fotunately I'm here to recomment on that, and to say that the Oregon Flock and Fiber festival can hold it's own in any wool-based-festival comparison. I'm really sad I missed it.

Jennifer said...

I'm going to be at They Might Be Giants!

Bridget said...

Hello, Cultured Portlandians! I am delighted to say that after two years of on-line exchanges, I met Mr. and Mrs. 5000 LIVE and IN-PERSON at my domicile during Open Studios - and, after Michael5000 handed me bottle caps and took off his hat, I even recognized them!

I gotta say, real life is pretty cool!