Let’s shamrock + roll 🍀

2023 Kells Irish Festival will be 2 weekends of festive fun

A group of people playing bagpipes and wearing green/black plaid kilts march down a sidewalk at night.

The cat’s out of the bag(pipe). | Photo by Kells Irish Festival

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned festival complete with dancing, music, and food to lift the spirits after many long winter months. And we love an excuse to wear even more green than usual.

Iconic Irish pub Kells is gearing up for not one but two full weekends of fun (Friday, March 10-Saturday, March 18) in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day. The 2023 Kells Irish Festival will be bigger than ever with many of its top events taking place at the Southwest Waterfront and both Kells pubs for the first time.

Kells has also teamed up with the Shamrock Run this year to throw a finish-line celebration. The entire festival will raise money for Kells for Kids, benefiting the Providence Center for Medically Fragile Children.

A crowded pavillion of people wearing green for Kells' St. Patrick's Day Festival. — Be sure to wear something green — no one likes getting pinched. | Photo by Kells Irish Festival

Here’s where you’ll find the festivities:

Southwest Waterfront

Ireland vs USA Boxing | Friday, March 10 | 5-11 pm | $35 | Watch athletes duke it out while sipping a Guinness. Contact Kells to book a VIP table.
Live Music and Dancing | Saturday, March 11 | 12-11 p.m. | $20-$50 | Enjoy performances by groups like Beglan & Murray, Yeates Irish Dance Academy, and Coming Up Threes.
Shamrock Run | Sunday, March 12 | 8 a.m.-1 p.m. | $20-$100 | Even if you don’t join a race (from the one-mile Leprechaun Lap for kids 10 and under to the half marathon), you can still celebrate at the Finish Line Festival featuring a green beer garden and live music.

Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub (112 SW Second Ave.)

Live Music | Friday, March 10-Saturday, March 18 | Times vary | Even if it’s pouring outside, the pub and outdoor tent in the back will be warm and cheery thanks to Sami & The Groove, Cúl an tí, and other groups.

Kells Brewery (210 NW 21st Ave.)

Live Music | Friday, March 17 + Saturday, March 18 | 12-10:30 p.m. | Tap your feet and get into the spirit of the season as Irish dancers and musicians fill the brewery with revelry.

Click here to have your event featured.

Thursday, March 2

Live Wire with Luke Burbank | Thursday, Mar. 2 | 7:30 p.m. | Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., Portland | $30-$45 | Experience a taping of “the fastest-growing entertainment show on public radio” which will be broadcast on NPR stations across the US.
Black Restaurant Week | Thursday, March 2-Sunday, March 5 | Times vary | Locations vary | Price of purchase | Explore more than a dozen Black-owned restaurants, bakeries, food trucks, and more for delicious dishes, from Ethiopian cuisine to Southern comforts.

Friday, March 3

Portland Golf Show | Friday, Mar. 3-Sunday, Mar. 5 | Times vary | Portland Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Dr., Portland | $15-$16 | Shop for equipment, try the driving range, compete in a skills contest, take a lesson from local pros, and more at this event billed as the West Coast’s longest-running golf show.

Saturday, March 4

Ho’ike | Saturday, Mar. 4 | 5:30 p.m. | Multnomah Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland | $30-$40 | The 15th annual fundraiser event Ka’ana ‘Ike A Ka ‘Ohana Foundation will showcase Polynesian dancing, live music, a silent auction, and family style dining.
The Portland Mercury’s Highball 2023 | Now-Sunday, March 5 | Times vary | Locations vary | Price of purchase | Find $8 cocktails crafted by some of Portland’s best bartenders at 34 bars around the city.

Sunday, March 5

SheBrew Festival | Sunday, Mar. 5 | 11 a.m.-7 p.m. | The Redd on Salmon, 831 SE Salmon St., Portland | $30-$60 | The fundraising event is a celebration and opportunity to showcase the work of female-identified beer and cider makers.

We have a calendar filled with events and activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

FIND MORE FUN

Weather

46º | Cloudy with showers | 65% chance of rain

Sunrise + Sunset

Rise: 6:47 a.m.
Set: 5:58 p.m.

Cause

Black men in need of housing support, addiction recovery, and/or mental health services can find help at a new facility in Southeast Portland. Karibu, which means “welcome” in Swahili, opened this week. It’s operated by Central City Concern and aims to guide people back to stability within their communities. (KGW)

Number

5,749. That’s how many people in Portland’s Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood reported experiencing food insecurity in 2020, according to new research from the city and PSU. Census data shows nearly 77,000 people across the city did not have enough food for an active, healthy life. Here are ways to help. (KOIN + Eater Portland)

Civic

Last month, Portland City Council passed a policy requiring the city to assess the impacts of its use of surveillance-related technologies, like license plate readers and traffic cameras. Learn more and sign up for updates and notifications about upcoming public events from Smart City PDX on the program’s progress. 📷 (Bloomberg)

Music

The newly released lineup for the 2023 Waterfront Blues Festival has us all jazzed up. Buddy Guy will headline the fest, taking place Saturday, July 1-Tuesday, July 4 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Get your tickets to see him and other acts, like The Mavericks, Cory Wong, and Curtis Salgado. 🎶 (KOIN)

Opening

Get ready for more Less and More Coffee. The shop, known for slinging Instagram-worthy drinks with Chinese and Korean flavors from inside a former downtown bus shelter, will open a second location in April. The new spot at 811 SW Sixth Ave. will offer more premium coffees, like single-origin espresso. ☕ (Portland Monthly)

Plan Ahead

Wu-Tang Clan and Nas will bring their 2023 N.Y. State of Mind Tour to Portland’s Moda Center on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Tickets to see the hip-hop icons are available now for American Express holders; general ticket sales open Friday, March 3. 🎟️ (KGW)

Sports

The Portland Pickles’ 2023 promo schedule is proof there is indeed more where last year’s Exploding Whale Night came from. People with two first names (like Amy Adams) and California transplants will get in free on select nights. Other games will celebrate Portland tap water, “The Goonies,” and zoo animals. ⚾ (Here is Oregon)

Outdoors

A potentially invasive frog that belongs nearly 3,000 miles to the southeast was found this week on a plant sold at a Beaverton-area shop. The hitchhiking Cuban tree frog is one of three the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has recorded entering the state within the last few years. 🐸 (OPB)
What’s a person gotta do to frolic through a meadow these days? Although permits to hike Dog Mountain during peak wildflower season were originally scheduled to be released yesterday, it appears that date has been pushed back to Wednesday, March 15. 🌼

Wellness

Our go-to product to relieve tension and decrease under eye puffiness: an ice roller. Not to mention, it’s the perfect way to cool off your face after an intense workout or morning run. These ice globes are also a great skincare addition to help soothe and depuff. *

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Crosswalk closed 🛑

Transportation officials to close 181 crosswalks around Portland

A marked crosswalk on a residential street.

ODOT said crosswalks will be closed for various reasons, such as ending too close to a driveway. | Photo via city of Portland

Crosswalks around the Portland metro area will close this year over safety concerns.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) said it plans to close 181 crosswalks they’ve deemed “unmarked, unsafe, and inaccessible.” Signs stating “crosswalk closed” will be set up at the locations in batches within the coming months and most will remain in place, though a few crosswalks may reopen in the future. That will depend upon whether the state decides to rebuild them, adding new signals and improving accessibility.

Every intersection is, by law, a crosswalk in Oregon — even if it’s unmarked. But once a crosswalk is closed by the state, responsibility for right-of-way shifts: a pedestrian could face a citation if they cross an intersection marked “closed,” or drivers may not be held liable in a crash.

ODOT said people can, in most cases, find safe, accessible crosswalks within 300 ft of those that will be closed.

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Cambrie.

Editor’s pick: Are you planning a party for when the weather improves? Kulfi PDX can park its bike or push cart at your location and serve frozen dessert pops to your guests. With flavors like Vietnamese iced coffee and mango lassi, it will definitely be a big hit.

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Editorial: Cambrie Juarez, Ben McBee, Britt Thorson, Emily Shea, Jessalin Heins-Nagamoto, Dayten Rose, Sarah Leonhardt, Katie Smith | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

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