The Best Bang for Your Buck Events in Portland This Weekend: Mar 13–15, 2026

Portland Mercury 3/13 9:15A EverOut Staff

CSA Share Fair, St. Patrick's Day Parade, and More Cheap & Easy Events Under $20 by EverOut Staff It's gonna be a soggy weekend, but you shouldn't let a little rain stop you from heading to events like the St. Patrick‘s Day Parade and...

Introducing Spin Cycle, the Mercury's New Album Review Column

Portland Mercury 3/13 8:30A Ryan J. Prado

Three albums to lock in with every two weeks: local, international, whatever we want! by Ryan J. Prado Welcome to Spin Cycle! It’s the biweekly aural hygiene you deserve in a handy-dandy cheat sheet format for albums of particular note from...

Good Morning, News! Moda Center Lobbyists' Money Grab, Crappy Willamette News, π Day, Iran War Going...

Portland Mercury 3/13 5:40A Jeremiah Hayden

by Jeremiah Hayden 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...

The Mercury's 2026 Spring Arts Preview: We Need Art to Survive

Portland Mercury 3/12 1:00A Suzette Smith

The arts need us. And we need the art. by Suzette Smith It was staff writer Lindsay Costello who inspired this issue’s theme. During a new year discussion about our team’s goals, she mentioned: “More and more, I am realizing that we need art to...

NEA Cuts: One Year Later

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:54A Abe Asher

Five local arts organizations on coping with the chaos of cancelled National Endowment for the Arts grants. by Abe Asher When Donald Trump reassumed the presidency in January of 2025, arts organizations around the country anticipated changes at...

Jessie Rose Vala Channels Ecological Grief Into The Pollinators

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:48A Melissa Locker

They are kind of moth-like and plant-like. But they also have neon coming out of their eyes. by Melissa Locker When you walk into Jessie Rose Vala’s show at Chefas Projects, you’ll quickly realize: These aren’t your average ceramics. Instead of...

Reading the Room at Cooley Gallery’s IF

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:46A Lindsay Costello

The new exhibition unites three artists, including a former nun. by Lindsay Costello What does it mean to write in space? At Reed College’s Cooley Gallery, new director and curator Derek Franklin thinks about it, bringing together three eloquent...

Find Your Passion for Graphic Design at Volumes

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:42A Taylor Griggs

Volumes isn t a library where you have to be quiet. by Taylor Griggs Michael Ellsworth wants to make the often-opaque world of graphic design accessible and collaborative. The co-founder and creative director of Seattle-born studio Civilization,...

Kevin Sampsell's New Novel Looks at the World Through a Baby in the Night

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:40A Jeremiah Hayden

When we find stuff to hate it means we re becoming more like grown-ups. by Jeremiah Hayden Tony Ventura, the main character of Kevin Sampsell’s surreal novel Baby in the Night, doesn’t have the words or the context to understand his surroundings;...

Spring 2026 Movies To Put on Your Calendar

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:38A Dom Sinacola

ceaseless banter machine Ryan Gosling must remember his past to save humanity s future by Dom Sinacola March Project Hail Mary: Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller serve up fresh sci-fi sap for the first day of Spring. Trapped on a...

Portland Center Stage and Portland Playhouse Team up To Serve Fat Ham

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:36A Joe Streckert

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play is a Black and queer spin on Shakespeare s Hamlet . by Joe Streckert Hamlet can be a lot of things: A sad boy who can’t make up his mind. A philosopher plumbing the mysteries of the human condition. A guy with some...

Queer Joy in the House of Danger

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:32A Courtney Vaughn

Pro wrestling is already heavily queer-coded. by Courtney Vaughn On the top floor of the Swan Dive in Southeast Portland, wrestlers are grappling, slapping, and slamming each other around in a dimly lit room. From a modest stage, comedians crack...

Meet the 2026 Mercury Undisputable Geniuses of Comedy!

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:30A Wm. Steven Humphrey

Ten of Portland s shiniest stand-up talents, with special guest Matt Braunger coming March 27! by Wm. Steven Humphrey It’s no secret that Portland is a veritable hotbed of comedic talent. Thanks to local audiences who support comedy in all forms,...

Philip Glass Spreads His Wings on the First Complete Recording of 1000 Airplanes on the Roof

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:28A Nolan Parker

Portland s Third Angle played the piece under an airplane in McMinnville, the subsequent recording is pure science-fiction. by Nolan Parker The power of place and context are not lost on Third Angle New Music. Founded in 1985, the Portland...

This Portland Bookstore Has Really Good Breakfast

Portland Mercury 3/12 12:26A Suzette Smith

There are few things in this life that motivate me as much as a good breakfast sandwich. by Suzette Smith There are few things in this life that motivate me as much as a good breakfast sandwich. In my 20s, it was the only way to get me anywhere...