What is Lights Out Portland?

How can I participate?

• Turn off non-essential outdoor lights.
• Aim outdoor lights down toward the ground.
• Install motion sensors on outside lights to limit their use.
• Close blinds to reduce light emission to the outdoors.
• Use warm outdoor lights (less than 3,000 Kelvin).
• Switch to lighting products that are DarkSky Approved.

When is fall migration?

• Wheelchair Maintenance Workshop | Tuesday, Sept. 12 | 6-8 p.m. | Bike Farm, 1810 NE First Ave., Portland | Free | Get hands-on entry-level experience in tinkering with and maintaining your own wheelchair; bicycle technicians are also invited to share their expertise.

• Friends of Laurelhurst Park Work Party | Wednesday, Sept. 13 | 9 a.m.-12 p.m. | Laurelhurst Park, Southeast Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard and Stark Street, Portland | Free | Pitch in to help prune shrubs, pull invasive weeds, plant new greenery, and spread mulch to keep this beloved park looking its best.

• Mt. Angel Oktoberfest | Thursday, Sept. 14-Sunday, Sept. 17 | Times vary | Various locations, Mount Angel | $0-$50 | Put on your lederhosen and drive south (about 50 minutes) to the largest festival of its kind in the PNW.
• SnackFest | Thursday, Sept. 14-Sunday, Sept. 17 | Times vary | 100 SE Alder St., Portland | $0-$175 | Sample delectable morsels from local vendors, stumble upon secret pop-ups, and meet the makers behind your favorite foods and drinks.

• “Tesla City Stories” - Season 8 Premiere | Friday, Sept. 15 | 7:30 p.m. | The Old Church Concert Hall, 1422 SW 11th Ave., Portland | $22-$50 | Cast members will perform live radio theater — “pop archaeology,” if you will — with original 1940s tales ranging from sitcom to mystery.
• “Ancient Aliens LIVE: Project Earth” | Friday, Sept. 15 | 7:30 p.m. | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, Portland | $45-$79 | Familiar faces from the long-running HISTORY Channel series will probe fan-favorite theories on whether Earth has been hosting extraterrestrials for millennia.

• 11th Annual Neerchokikoo Powwow | Saturday, Sept. 16 | 1 p.m. | Native American Youth and Family Center, 5135 NE Columbia Blvd., Portland | Free | Gather together to enjoy dancing, music, art, and food celebrating the history, culture, and arts of 380 different Native American tribes.

• Nike has officially closed its factory store on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard — permanently. The shop first opened in 1984 and was quietly put on an indefinite hiatus last year amid a surge in shoplifting. The company said it’s “reimagining Nike’s retail space” and considering future locations within the community. (KGW)

• Rolling a right turn through a red light could literally cost you in various parts of Portland. Nineteen cameras designed to either catch drivers running red lights or speeding are already in place and more are on the way. Over a dozen officers will resume traffic patrols after a two-year absence. (Portland Monthly)

• Within the next two weeks, Recovery Works NW will open the region’s first medically managed detox center partly funded by Oregon’s Measure 110. The new Foster Road Detox Center will offer 16 beds by appointment for people who need help to withdraw and aims to serve about 1,200 people a year. (Portland Mercury)

• If you love brunch a bunch, then get ready to visit Dolly Olive. The coastal Italian-inspired restaurant in Southwest Portland will start serving brunch on Thursday, Sept. 21, every day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. You’ll find items like housemade yogurt with pistachios, eggs with polenta, and breakfast ravioli.

• Watch elite athletes tackle the snowy peaks of Patagonia, the Sierra Nevada, and Jackson Hole from the comfort of a chair at the Aladdin Theatre. That’s where Teton Gravity Research will screen its 28th-annual ski and snowboard film, “Legend Has It,” on Friday, Sept. 22. Tickets are available for two showings.

• Drive to the southern end of Tillamook Bay to visit the site of Bayocean, a community built in the early 1900s. The resort dubbed “the Atlantic City of the West” demonstrated why sand isn’t a good foundation — and became Oregon’s own Atlantis when the sea swallowed homes within a matter of decades. (KGW)

• $580,000. That was the median sale price of a single-family home in the Portland area in the second quarter of 2023, down by about $19,000 from the same time last year. Take a look at these local homes that are listed at approx. half-a-million bucks. (Portland Business Journal)

• According to licensed psychologists John and Julie Gottman, the “four horsemen of the apocalypse” in a relationship are criticism, contempt, defensiveness + stonewalling — all of which seriously threaten a marriage. A Gottman Method trained therapist at the Couples Clinic of Portland can help couples break these patterns for a better relationship. See open appointments.*