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  "path": "/do-this-do-that/2026/03/16/48382785/the-mercurys-do-this-do-that-your-top-events-for-march-16-22",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-16T19:30:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.portlandmercury.com",
  "tags": [
    "Do This, Do That",
    "Calendar",
    "Between the bars",
    "_more info_",
    "more info",
    "Read more in Second Run Portland",
    "Read the full review in the _Mercury_ 's Spring Arts issue",
    "_Baby in the Night_",
    "bracket",
    "View this post on Instagram",
    "A post shared by Jacqueline Novak (@jacnov)",
    "EverOut"
  ],
  "textContent": "Espresso martinis, experimental ceramics, and Elliott Smith's impact.\n\nby Lindsay Costello\n\nThe spring equinox falls on March 20! Let's lean into the new light, shall we? This week, rock mother Toody Cole scorches Star Theater, Jacqueline Novak turns comedy a little more esoteric, and, in the words of _Mercury_ writer Melissa Locker, Jessie Rose Vala's ceramics show is \"really fucking cool.\" March is also Espresso Martini Month, so sweet spots like Dear Sandy and Panther Club will sling everyone's favorite upper-downer. Between the bars, drop by PAM CUT's Tomorrow Theater for an evening tribute to Elliott Smith.\n\n**Monday, March 16** **Portland Dining Month**\n\nWe’re halfway through this year’s Portland Dining Month, where over 100 restaurants offer three-course meals at price points of $35 and $55. The lineup includes a number of Portland classics, from Jake’s Crawfish to Higgins to Huber’s, as well as newer acclaimed restaurants like Canard, Han Oak, Laurelhurst Market, and Kachka. But this is also a great way to try hot new spots at a bargain price, including vegan tasting menu restaurant Astera, Bryan Furman’s barbecue pop-up at Sousol, newly opened Italian restaurant Estes, Javelina’s Indigenous cuisine, and Lilia Comedor’s Mexico-meets-Oregon fare. _(Various locations, through March 31, $35-$55,__more info_ _, check restaurants for age restrictions)_**KATHERINE CHEW HAMILTON**\n\n****Spread at Flying Fish for Portland Dining Month. KARA STOKES Espresso Martini Month Do you like getting a good caffeine buzz _and_ alcohol buzz on? Then a month full of espresso martinis is just for you. Dozens of bars across Portland present their unique takes on the popular cocktail from a Jell-O shot version to twists on the original recipe that include Fernet. Some of our favorite Portland mainstays grace the list, like the Rambler and Pink Rabbit, in addition to newer spots we love, like Dear Sandy, Panther Club, Trouble Bar, Take Two, and LaVerne’s. Cheers to the first-ever Espresso Martini Month—that’s that me espresso. _(Various locations, through March 31,more info, 21+) _**BRI BREY** _Invention for Destruction_\n\nLoosely inspired by Jules Verne’s exploratory vision, Karel Zeman’s _Invention for Destruction_(1958)__ provides a kind of __ steampunk blueprint. The film looks like a Victorian illustration in motion, all flying gizmos and petticoats and questionable facial hair. Zeman—the great master of woozy, consciousness-shifting Czech animation—blended live actors into hand-drawn imagery, placing them into meticulously crafted frames resembling etchings from an old adventure book. The result strikes an irreplicable tone, both antiquated and totally original. Read more in Second Run Portland.  _(Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 7:30 pm, $10-$12,__more info_ _, not rated)_**LINDSAY COSTELLO**\n\n__\n\nTuesday, March 17 _Sirāt_\n\nIf you like your cinema contemplative and mysterious (i.e., you’re a film nerd or adjacent), Oliver Laxe’s  _Sirāt_ is definitely worth a watch. The Cannes Jury Prize winner follows a father searching for his missing daughter after she disappears at a rave in Morocco, setting off a slow-burning odyssey across the Atlas Mountains. Along the way, he and his young son fall in with a drifting band of ravers, transforming this would-be fireside tale into something closer to a spiritual pilgrimage. Shot on 16mm,  _Sirāt_ , inspired by the bridge of Islamic tradition that separates hell from heaven, leans into existential questions and the uneasy line between wandering and finding your way. _(Cinemagic, 2021 SE Hawthorne, through March 19, $7-$9,more info, R) _**LANGSTON THOMAS**\n\n__\n\nToody Cole / Forty Feet Tall / Chatter Box\n\n _For fans of Thee Headcoatees, Iguana Death Cult, The Traditional Fools_\n\nPortland legend Toody Cole embodies a long-lived life of rock 'n' roll, true love, and doing it herself. Founding member of our city’s greatest rock 'n' roll punishers Dead Moon, there’s no praise that can be showered on Toody that’s undeserved. Toody’s got lifetimes—plural—worth of stories, so buy her a whiskey and see if you can get a few out of her. Towing the line between angelic post-punk and hard-hitting post-hardcore is where you’ll find the Forty Feet Tall bad boys. I popped my knee so hard in their homecoming show pit at Mississippi Studios last month I thought I was going to pass out—that's what's up with FFT. The Chatterbox garage-punks round out this perfect Portland bill. _(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th, 8 pm, $30.36,more info, 21+) _**NOLAN PARKER**\n\n****\n\n**Also worth it:**\n\n**Oregon Book Awards finalist reading** , Literary Arts,_more info\n_Award finalists in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and graphic literature—including Ling Ling Huang, Jonathan Bach, and Justin Hocking—will read from their nominated works.\n\nWednesday, March 18 Jessie Rose Vala: _The Pollinators_\n\nWhen you walk into Jessie Rose Vala’s show at Chefas Projects, you’ll quickly realize these aren’t your average ceramics. Instead of raku fired pots or pastel hand-thrown vases, Vala’s work transforms clay into mission statements about the state of the world. Combining sculptural ceramics with neon and metallics, Vala’s pieces feel chimeric, bringing in elements of earth, animal, and the human form to deliver a discourse on humanity’s disruption of the natural world with a side of myth-making. In short, it’s really fucking cool. Read the full review in the _Mercury_ 's Spring Arts issue. _(Chefas Projects, 134 SE Taylor Ste 203, through Apr 4, FREE,more info, all ages) _**MELISSA LOCKER**\n\nTwo pieces by Jessie Rose Vala, on view in _The Pollinators_. CHEFAS PROJECTS _Paris, Texas_\n\nA disheveled Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) meanders out of the matte desert, where he's reunited with his eight-year-old son, Hunter, and his billboard-designing brother in the neon canyons of Los Angeles. He tries on different roles and imagines becoming a rich father, accomplishing nothing but to chase after his son's affection. A road trip guides Hunter and Travis back to the roots of their trauma. The result is _Paris, Texas_ , a neo-Western that feels spiritually in tune with _Twin Peaks_ , _Repo Man,_ and—if I'm honest—the myth of Odysseus. Sure, you might balk at a 147-minute runtime. But Wim Wenders' simmering filmmaking (and Robby Müller's cinematography) requests a slow read. _(Performance Works Northwest, 4625 SE 67th, 7 pm, FREE,more info, R)_ **LC**\n\n****\n\n_La Llorona_\n\nFew films manage to fuse folkloric terror with social ethics—in fact, though it’s billed as horror, Jayro Bustamante’s _La Llorona_(2019) might be in a category all its own. A retired Guatemalan general implicated in the genocide of native Maya communities cowers like a baby in his mansion as protests rattle the walls. But don’t worry: A supernatural force—the vengeful kind—penetrates his barricade. Note:  _La Llorona_ is  _not_ the schlocky _The Curse of La Llorona_ , also released in 2019. Bustamante’s film is an atmospheric and far superior demand for justice.  _(Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 7:30 pm, $10-$12,__more info_ _, not rated)_**LC**\n\n****\n\n**Also worth it:**\n\n**Kevin Sampsell in conversation with Kimberly King Parsons** , Powell's City of Books, _more info_\n\n_Baby in the Night_ is Sampsell’s second novel—a surprisingly slight number, considering the author and micropress publisher’s prolific and varied output. In it, a child wanders the nighttime world, observing without the learned judgement of adulthood.\n\nThursday, March 19 NCAA March Madness If you’re still on a competitive sports watching kick after the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, turn your attention to March Madness. College basketball comes to the Moda Center as Portland hosts the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. If you’ve been keeping up this season (I haven’t), it looks like Michigan has emerged as the top-ranked team, leading the power rankings over Houston and Duke. Do you know ball? Fill out your bracket and get ready to exercise your bragging rights. _(Moda Center, 1 N Center Court, through March 21, $40-$440,more info, all ages) _**BB** Rose Colored Moon: An Evening Tribute to Elliott Smith in Film and Music Here’s my pitch: Elliott Smith’s song “Rose Parade” should be declared Portland’s official anthem. Smith’s soft spoken authenticity and tragically endearing songs grew straight from the mossy cracks of Portland sidewalks in the '90s, and his influence on music and the history of our city can still be felt today. This special night honoring one of Stumptown’s favorite sons screens two rarely seen short films that feature him—Steve Hanft’s _Strange Parallel_ and Jem Cohen’s  _Lucky Three_ —and invites a slew of Smith’s pals and collaborators to speak on his legacy. _(PAM CUT's Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division, 7 pm, $25,more info)_ **BB** ****\n\n**Also worth it:**\n\n**Live Wire with Luke Burbank,** Alberta Rose Theatre, _more info_\n\nThe homegrown live talk show hosted by Luke Burbank returns for another scintillating night of conversation and fun, including his special guest, the amazing (and amazingly funny) comedian/actor Atsuko Okatsuka!\n\nFriday, March 20 Depths of Wikipedia\n\nOne of the main reasons to research history and the world around you is to prevent fuckups that have come before. But I personally read history because it's hilarious. Annie Rauwerda created Depths of Wikipedia as an Instagram account in 2020 to share funny facts she was finding with friends. The project was so beloved that cross-platform accounts, an ongoing newsletter, and regular live show tours eventually followed. Rauwerda's live shows—replete with presentation slides—cram laughter and facts into an evening that often doubles as a local Wikipedia editor meetup event. We know Portland has more than a few of those. (_Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 7 pm, $32.21 - $56.33,more info, all ages_) **SUZETTE SMITH**\n\nThe Sisters of Mercy: Jam-Packed\n\nIt’s another new sketch comedy show from one of the best femme-forward laff-makers in the city, the Sisters of Mercy. Starring the always reliably hilarious Shelley McLendon, Laura Sams, Erin Jean O’Regan, and Lori Ferraro, you can expect a brand-new, wild array of sketches and characters—the likes of which you’ve never experienced. The theme for their latest venture is “Jam-Packed”... which means at the very least you’ll see a load of whip-smart sketch comedy that’s sure to be jam-packed with laughs. Miss at your peril! (_Siren Theater, 3913 N Mississippi, through April 4, 8 pm, $20-$30,__more info_ _, 14+)_**WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY**\n\n**Also worth it:**\n\n**Portland Roadster Show,** Expo Center, _more info_\n\nHot rod and custom car lovers assemble! Check out the coolest rides from across the country, paired with exhibits, awards, vendors, and special celebrity guest star Erik Estrada (_CHiPs_)?\n\nSaturday, March 21 Portland Thorns vs. Seattle Reign\n\nIt’s the season home opener for the mighty Portland Thorns, and things are looking up, up, UP! Coming off a third place finish last year, the team has a lot to be hopeful for in 2026—including a brand new coach, a talented roster, and an absolute superstar in Sophia Wilson, who has scored 45 goals in just four measly seasons (!) and is returning from maternity leave. In their first game of the year at Providence Park, the Thorns will be going nose-to-nose with bitter rivals the Seattle Reign, who finished in fifth place last year, and is still searching for a top-notch striker to step up if they want to advance in the league this year. Grab your scarves and show your support for the hometown gals! _(Providence Park, 1844 SW Morrison, 7 pm, $24-$139,__more info_ _, all ages)_ **WSH**\n\nJacqueline Novak\n\nNovak is a comedian interested in pursuits of the spirit—past life regression, Jungian dream analysis, _Women Who Run with the Wolves._ She blends amla powder into her smoothies, prioritizes beauty in the home (vintage Christmas blow molds), and channels self-optimization at all costs (through her Hobonichi planner). Yes, she’s particular and product-craving and also a podcaster (she co-hosts  _Berlant and Novak_ with fellow genius Kate Berlant), but Novak’s mind spins so quickly that you, too, will get caught in its centrifugal force. Her Emmy-nommed 2024 special  _Get On Your Knees_ was, on the surface, “about blow jobs,” but actually offered a dense philosophical exploration of sexual firsts. What will be the target of Novak’s obsession this time?  _(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 8 pm, $50.14-$73.75,more info_ _, all ages)_******LC**\n\n>  View this post on Instagram \n>\n> A post shared by Jacqueline Novak (@jacnov)\n\n****\n\nSunday, March 22 Ibram X. Kendi\n\nHistorian and author Ibram X. Kendi won the 2016 National Book Award for his stark, massive _Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America_ , which changed contemporary culture’s thinking on racism from a view that rooted it in personal prejudice to something continually reinforced by policy and power structures. His bestselling memoir  _How to Be an Antiracist_ showed readers the impact of prejudice across vast facets of our lives. Now Kendi’s newest work digs into great replacement theory and its many ghastly visages, which have existed through history but rarely been revealed revealed with the incisive gaze that Kendi wields. (_Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 7:30 pm, $67.36 tickets include a copy of the book,more info, all ages_) **SS**\n\n**Also worth it:**\n\n**Trans Rights Readathon Reading Party** , Dream House, _more info_\nPen supportive letters to trans youth and drop off queer book donations during this warm and fuzzy shindig, which'll be set to a backdrop of ambient music.\n\nLooking for even  _more_ events happening this week? Head on over to EverOut!",
  "title": "The Mercury’s Do This, Do That: Your Top Events for March 16-22"
}