The rules + details:

• Free First Thursday | Thursday, Jan. 4 | 10 a.m.-8 p.m. | Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., Portland | Free | Explore the museum’s permanent and visiting collections, along with programs at the newly opened PAM CUT Tomorrow Theater, without paying a dime.

• 80’s New Wave Video Dance Attack | Friday, Jan. 5 | 8 p.m. | Polaris Hall, 635 N. Killingsworth Ct., Portland | $12 | Groove to music and videos featuring artists like Depeche Mode, Yaz, The Cure, and more at the next edition of the city’s “longest running video dance night.”

• Free Christmas Tree Drop & Hot Chocolate | Saturday, Jan. 6 | 10 a.m.-12 p.m. | Topaz Farm, 17100 NW Sauvie Island Rd., Portland | Free | Donate your Christmas tree to this Sauvie Island farm to be turned into soil-enriching biochar; while you’re there, visit the animals or shop for farm-made goods.

• O-Shogatsu Festival, Japanese New Year | Sunday, Jan. 7 | 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. | Portland Japanese Garden, 611 SW Kingston Ave., Portland | $15.95-$21.95 | Celebrate the start of a new year with family-friendly activities, performances, and traditional arrangements (kadomatsu) of pine, bamboo, and plum branches made by the gardeners.
• Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past: The Guermantes Way | Sunday, Jan. 7-Sunday, Feb. 4 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington St., Portland | $200 | In this five-session seminar, participants will dive into part of the famous novelist’s magnum opus and work together under professional guidance to peel apart its deep lessons.

• Candidate Learning Sessions | Monday, Jan. 8, Wednesday, Jan. 10 | 6-8 p.m. | Community Music Center, 3350 SE Francis St., Portland + Online | Free | If you’re passionate about the City of Roses and committed to shaping its future, learn how to run for a city office at one of two sessions, one of which is virtual.

• A fire ripped through the Portland Mercado early Wednesday morning, leaving much of the open-air food court on Southeast 72nd Avenue and Foster Road badly charred. No one was hurt and the blaze is under investigation. For now, all of the businesses at the Mercado are closed. (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)

• It’s shaping up to be a cold, wet start to 2024. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts above-average rainfall and colder-than-average temperatures for the first half of January. Portlanders can expect daytime highs in the 40s, while skiers and snowboarders will get some much-needed snow in the Cascades. (KOIN)

• By this fall, Portland will have at least 60 new substance use disorder and behavioral health treatment beds. Central City Concern is spearheading the development of the treatment facility — set to be housed in the Lolo Pass hotel at 1616 E. Burnside St. — with financial support from local governing agencies. (Willamette Week)

• A Queen Anne Victorian built in Portland’s Sunnyside neighborhood in 1893 is for sale. The building, which housed Pied Cow Coffeehouse for 30 years, boasts 3,166 sqft of mixed-used space with a one-bedroom apartment on the second floor, an inset porch, and plenty of decorative styling. (Portland Monthly)

• $400 million. That’s how much Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, pledged last year to local racial justice group the 1803 Fund, making it one of the top 10 publicly announced charity donations in the US in 2023. The money is expected to boost the historic Albina area. (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)

• If you made New Year’s resolutions (and plan to keep them), then you’re in good company. Portland is the No. 15 best city for sticking to those goals — particularly the ones related to physical well-being — compared to over 180 US cities based on metrics like exercise opportunities and income growth. (WalletHub)

• Ready to start your wellness journey at the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette? Today is the best day to get started. Why? Throughout January, your join fee = the day you join. Read: The sooner you join, the more you save. Explore the Y’s programs and start building your membership.*

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