(🎨: Bridgeliner illustration)
😋 Eat: Happy Hour at Bar Maven
Why: Can we just gush about this happy hour menu? Because it has a delicious selection of Middle Eastern bites like their falafel plate and baba ghanoush in addition to a cheeseburger which you can upgrade with bacon, and vegan Greek dolmas for our plant-based folks. Also, we’re talking $4 well drinks and $1 off microbrews. You can sate your appetite here.
📚 Read: Godshot by Chelsea Bieker
Why: OK imagine if you took Flannery O’Connor’s gothic parables, sent them to California, and mixed in deserts, witchcraft, and cults — you’d probably wind up with this book. This is also the first novel from Portland author, Chelsea Bieker, which placed her on the2021 Oregon Book Awards in the Ken Kesey Fiction category. The book takes place in Peaches, California where a drought has run rampant and a local preacher is promising to bring back the rain. After the main character, Lacey, watches her mother run off with a man she hardly knows, she moves in with her grandmother and begins a journey to find where her mother went through the stories of the women that knew her. You can buy the novel here.
🎶 Listen: Live music with La Bella Rue at Stem Wine Bar
Why: We’ve all briefly imagined what it might be like to stroll along a cobbled Parisian street past bakeries with the smell of freshly baked bread and buttery croissants wafting through the windows, and small cafes serving up garnet-colored glasses of wine to chatty patrons (anyone? Just me? All good, I'll keep all these macarons to myself😤). And while this music doesn’t necessarily come with a baguette (although props if you bring your own), this romantic French-inspired music from La Bella Rue, featuring an accordion, clarinet, and dreamy vocals will have you humming “La Vie En Rose” all the way home. You can learn more about the event (and dust off your best beret) here.
🍿 Watch: “Wild Wild Christian” at the Siren Theater
Why: Ever wondered what happened to the Eastern Oregon Rajneeshee cult compound after everyone left? Apparently, it was turned into a “wholesome” Christian summer camp, and Portlander Simone McAlonen grew up on it after it was converted. This comedy picks up right where the Netflix documentary left off and chronicles how, “despite the dramatic transformation, the similarities from one dogmatic community to another are explored through the lens of an unlikely observer; a 12 year old girl.” You can get tickets here.
🎃 Go: Bella’s Organic Pumpkin Patch & Winery corn maze on Sauvie Island
Why: You’ve got 2.7 miles of dog-friendly maze to explore (take your pick if you want haunted or not), a petting zoo, and a whole host of fall-themed vendors serving up delicious treats, as well as wine and beer. Oh, and did we mention the absolutely MASSIVE pumpkin patch you can pick through? Plus, all of this is running throughout this month and next, so you’ve got time to plan ahead. You can get all “falled” up here.
Thank you to our Bridgeliner Unabridged members. Stories like these are made possible with your membership and support.
