Secrets of Living the Good Life—For Free! Secrets of Living the Good Life—For Less! THE Portland is full of free and ridiculously inexpensive stuff—you just need to know where to look. Leave it to “The Cheap Bastard” to uncover all the ins and outs and exclusive bargains to be had, and to tell you the real deal with wit and humor. The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Portland, Oregon, shows you how to fnd free or low-cost: • Entrance to plays, flms, concerts, open mics, and museums, as well as the zoo, pools, and other great places for family fun • Recreational activities of all sorts, including skiing, snowboarding, golfng, and yoga • Food—from burgers, banh mi, small plates, and tacos to gourmet food carts and breakfast favorites. Portland, Oregon • Haircuts, manicures, and massages With The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Portland, Oregon, anyone can enjoy the good life! Rachel Dresbeck is a writer, editor, and the author of Oregon Disasters and Insiders’ Guide to Portland, Oregon (both Globe Pequot Press). She lives in Portland. Cover design by Bret Kerr | Cover images licensed by Shutterstock.com Printed in the United States of America ® US $14.95 / Canadian $16.95 ® GPloPb Ter Paveeqlu ios ta nP riemssprint of ® Guilford, Connecticut www.GlobePequot.com CheapBastard_Portland.indd 1 ® GPloPb Ter Paveeqlu ios ta nP riemssprint of 10/3/11 4:12 PM Guilford, Connecticut www.GlobePequot.com 1st Dresbeck Portland, OR Edition Rachel Dresbeck Live Large for Less! Think you have to earn big bucks to live big in the City of Roses? Think again. CheaP BasTarD’s® serIes ® CheaP BASTArd’S Portland, Oregon secrets of living the Good life—for Less! First edition rachel dresbeck ® Guilford, Connecticut an imprint of Globe Pequot Press CBPortland_3pp_CS5.5.indd 1 9/29/11 10:31 AM The All the information in this guidebook is subject to change. We recommend that you call ahead to obtain current information before traveling. Copyright © 2012 Morris Book Publishing, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437. Cheap Bastard’s is a registered trademark of Rob Grader. Text design by Sheryl P. Kober All photos licensed by Shutterstock.com Map by Daniel Lloyd © Morris Book Publishing, LLC ISBN 978-0-7627-7302-2 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CBPortland_3pp_CS5.5.indd 2 9/29/11 10:31 AM This book is for Flannery and Cleo, who make this book both possible and necessary. CBPortland_3pp_CS5.5.indd 3 9/29/11 10:31 AM CONTENTS Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi SECTION 1: Entertainment in Portland Theater: In on the Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Usher Yourself In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Always Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Cheap Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Youth & Children’s Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Theater Festivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Discount Tickets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Film: Cheap Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Independent Theaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Alternative Theaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Free Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Film Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Dance: Cheap Moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Dance Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Music: Of Thee I Sing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Keeping Up: Local Music News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Favorite Venues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Classically Cheap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Community Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Festivals & Concert Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Readings & Open Mics: Free Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Regular Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Readings at Bookstores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Cheap Readings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Grab the Mic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 CBPortland_3pp_CS5.5.indd 4 9/29/11 10:31 AM SECTION 2: Living in Portland Food: Cheap Eats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Happy Hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Food Carts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Free Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Cheap Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Drinks: Cheap Buzz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Wine Tastings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Beer Tastings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Beer Festivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Brewery Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Distillery Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Transportation: On the Road Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Public Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Car Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Walking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Biking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Biking Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Bike Repair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Heading Out of Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Child’s Play: Cheap Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Great Playgrounds, Parks & Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Farms & Fairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Arcade Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Skateboarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Story Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Museums & Attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Shopping: Bargain Basement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Trash or Treasure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Cheap Fashion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Consignment & Thrift Stores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Gear on the Cheap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Contents v CBPortland_3pp_CS5.5.indd 5 9/29/11 10:31 AM Discount Shops & Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Do-It-Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Health & Medical: An Apple a Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Health Clinics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Alternative Health Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Sexual Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Outdoor Recreation, Sports & Fitness: Cheap Thrills . . . . . . 139 Cheap & Free Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Golf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Ski Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Cross-Country Skiing & Snowshoeing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Swimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Tennis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Nosebleed Seats: Spectator Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Beauty Services: Cheap Is in the Eye of the Beholder. . . . . . 153 Beauty School Drop-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Cheap Barbers & Salons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Cheap Relaxation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Soaking & Saunas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Apartments & Accommodations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Free Rental Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Cheap Sleep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 House-Sitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 SECTION 3: Exploring Portland Walking Tours: A Cents of Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Nature Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Guided Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Free Self-Guided Nature Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Free Self-Guided City Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Free Gallery Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 vi Contents CBPortland_3pp_CS5.5.indd 6 9/29/11 10:31 AM Gardens & Forests: Free Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Free Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Sometimes Free Gardens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Gardening Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Foraging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 Museums, Public Art & Libraries: Free Access . . . . . . . . . 186 Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Sometimes Free. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Cheap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Art Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Escaping the City: Free at Last . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Camping in Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Day Hikes, Swimming Holes & Waterfalls . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Hot Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Appendix A: Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Appendix B: Parks & Recreation Community Centers . . . . . . 213 Appendix C: Library Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Contents vii CBPortland_3pp_CS5.5.indd 7 9/29/11 10:31 AM ABOuT ThE AuThOr Rachel Dresbeck is a writer and editor and the author of the Insid- ers’ Guide to Portland, as well as Oregon Disasters and the f rst edition of the Insiders’ Guide to the Oregon Coast. When she is not researching and writ- ing about ways to be frugal and still have fun, she teaches science writing and writes about research for Oregon Health & Science University. She has lived for nearly twenty years in Portland, one of the best cities in which to live well for much, much less as the best revenge. Join the conversation at http://chezportland. tumblr. com. viii CBPortland_3pp_CS5.5.indd 8 9/29/11 10:31 AM ACKNOWLEdGMENTS Living well while being frugal is simply not possible without a strong community—without them, this book and many other things would not be possible. I would like to thank my bargain-minded friends who have made thrifting fun. Especially, my thanks to Cara Bolles, who has shared many adventures in and conversations about frugality over the years. Thanks also to Linda Colwell, Nancy Forrest, John Grochau, and Kerry Kelvin, who are my guides to the feasting part of the feast of life that is Portland, Oregon. In the years that I have lived in and written about Portland, I have met a multitude of experts who are willing to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for free because they just love this city so much, and I am truly in their debt. When I asked my daughter who should go in the acknowledg- ments, she said, “Portland, because it’s such a beautiful city and it’s so easy to live here.” I agree! Thanks, Portland! A big shout-out is also due to my wonderful neighbors, who helped out with their amazing support, including bringing me chocolate, driving my daughters places, and feeding them dinner, half the time without my know- ing (Me: I need to stop writing to make you dinner. Them: We ate at Chris’s already). Thanks especially to Chris Frost, who is the inspiration for many of these bargains, to Ann Marcus, to Steve and Patty Banchero, and to Kayleen Shiba for partially adopting my younger daughter in these past weeks. When my editor at Globe Pequot, Kevin Sirois, offered me the chance to write this book, I was thrilled, since I f gured I had in fact already written this book. At least in my head. It turns out that it was not quite as simple, so thank you to Kevin Sirois for being a great and patient editor—and to the rest of the thoughtful editing team at Globe Pequot. Finally, thanks are especially due to my darling, neglected family—my husband Tom and my daughters Flannery and Cleo, and our long-s uffering, tennis-ball-game-deprived dog, Lily. Without your encouragement, I couldn’t do anything I do. ix CBPortland_3pp_CS5.5.indd 9 9/29/11 10:31 AM