Let’s Get Together

83 parties, hikes, and other ways to play in Portland right now. Plus: library reinventions, how donated placentas help train search-and-rescue dogs, and the area’s top dentists.

In this issue:

Arts & Culture

Q&A

Ripping the City with Bocha

From Red Grapes: Volume 1 to major brand collaborations, Bocha is shaping Portland’s hip-hop scene with intention, visuals, and West Coast energy.

03/11/2026 By Dalila Brent Illustrations by Betty Turbo

Roll the Dice

The Best Portland Venues for Tabletop Role-Playing Games

These bars and breweries host sessions for players of all levels.

03/09/2026 By Alex Frane

Words with Friends

How to Make Book-Loving Friends IRL in Portland

Recite poems from memory. Share a work in progress. Read to Clive the dog. Nerd out on graphic novels.

02/20/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

Arias & Librettos

What Does Portland Want from Opera?

To bring the ancient art form into the present, local companies are queering the canon and moving offstage, while others hold to tradition.

02/18/2026 By Isabel Lemus Kristensen Illustrations by Klaus Kremmerz

The Big Screen

The Movies We’re Actually Going To

Inventive and personal one-off screenings are bringing Portland back to the theater.

02/09/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

gimme five

5 Oregon-Made Comics to Know

Northwest Museum of Cartoon Arts’ Michael Rosen shares his essential list of superheroes, war journalism, and redrawn American classics.

01/26/2026 By Alex Frane

Words with Friends

The Open Mic That Counts Amateurs and Award-Winning Authors as Regulars

One-Page Wednesdays, hosted by Portland novelist Emme Lund, feels like a public writers’ group.

01/22/2026 By Matthew Trueherz Illustrations by Stephan Dybus

Puck Yeah

Portland Is Thirsty for Heated Rivalry

The megahit Canadian show about gay hockey players has inspired trivia, wine pairings, and a growing number of dance parties.

01/15/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Arts & Crafts

8 Low-Stakes Craft Classes and Workshops in Portland

Sew something. Cook something. Make some perfume. Feel human again.

01/13/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

Profile

Ralph Pugay Is Troubling Paradise

The Portland artist’s collages capture the fractured beauty of his own queer, immigrant experience.

11/13/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

Eat & Drink

Dish Exploder

Güero’s Hamburguesa Is a Beautiful Mess

Jalapeños, grilled ham, queso, and morita chile mayo make an amazing sandwich.

01/20/2026 By Alex Frane Illustrations by Amber Day

Superfan

Momos and Moms at Himalayan Dumplings by Kyikyi

For 3-year-old Luna, noodles taste better in a cup.

01/14/2026 By Alex Frane Photography by Michael Raines

Restaurant Review

Bar Nouveau Is an Endearingly Scrappy Send-Up to French Cookbook Cuisine

Chef Althea Grey Potter’s long-gestating vision puts down roots in St. Johns with style, bronze peacocks, roast duck, and all.

01/13/2026 By Jordan Michelman Photography by Thomas Teal

Fine Dining

Why Portland Chefs Are Going All In on Omakase

Local Japanese restaurants are turning more and more to the traditional tasting-menu format.

12/10/2025 By Andrea Damewood

Editor's Note

Editor’s Note

Building Community Isn’t Always Fun. Do It Anyway.

How fighting for a working elevator taught me how to talk to strangers.

03/17/2026 By Brooke Jackson-Glidden

Health & Wellness

Best of the City

Top Dentists 2026

Our annual list of the best dental practitioners in the Portland area.

03/10/2026 Edited by Portland Monthly Staff

Thermophilia

Portland’s New Riverside Saunas Invite a Proper Cold Plunge

Warm up, then take a brisk dunk.

02/11/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Lace Up

A Guide to Portland Run Clubs

The scene is booming, and there's a group for every speed.

02/03/2026 By Alice Wolfe

Tooth To-Go

Mobile Dentists and Hygienists Bring Oral Care to Portland Seniors

Older adults often miss out on crucial dental care. These are the people trying to change that.

02/02/2026 By Brooke Jackson-Glidden

Home & Real Estate

Real Estate

Property Watch: Vacation Homes in Oregon and Beyond for About $500K

From a dreamy riverside cabin in the woods to a sunny desert condo, this is the vacation experience that half a mil buys you.

11/14/2025 By Melissa Dalton

Real Estate

Property Watch: What Does a Million-Dollar House Look Like in Portland?

From an Alphabet District condo to a Sellwood houseboat to a Beaverton five-bedroom, this is what a mil will get you in Portland today.

10/17/2025 By Melissa Dalton

News & City Life

Dance Dance Revolution

How a Pandemic-Era Dance Party Grew Up

Now a full-blown pop-up festival, Tabor Dance remains as vital as ever.

03/23/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Branching Out

Multnomah County Retrofits Its Libraries for the People

A $387 million bond, designs informed by hundreds of patrons, and a radical shift in what libraries are for.

03/09/2026 By Brian Libby

PDX Index

The Past 35 Years of Portland Protests, by the Numbers

In so-called ‘Little Beirut,’ civil disobedience remains a claim to fame.

03/04/2026 By Brooke Jackson-Glidden

Photo Essay

Welcome to the Lloyd Center’s Hangout Era

Its retail days are numbered. But for the moment, the half-empty mall is a great hang.

03/03/2026 Photography by Michael Raines By Matthew Trueherz

Local Legends

A Big Whoop-Whoop for the Portlandia Statue

Who? How the belle of 1985 fell out of favor.

03/02/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

Get Together

Four Portlanders Explain Why Gathering Matters

A death doula, a priest, a union organizer, and a therapist on the importance of convening.

03/02/2026 By Brooke Jackson-Glidden

Level Up

The Rise of Public Tabletop Role-Playing Games

A once-niche hobby exits the basement and enters the bar.

02/17/2026 By Alex Frane Illustrations by Stephen Dybus

In Short

Hot Takes on Portland’s Latest News

Real news in small packages.

02/16/2026 By Brooke Jackson-Glidden

The Organ Trail

How Doulas and Dog Trainers Help Find Oregon’s Dead People

Using donated placentas, local cadaver dogs train for search and rescue missions.

02/10/2026 By Rebecca Grant Photography by Kristina Barker

Room for More

Potlucks Are the Feasts That Meet the Moment

They ask for our participation twice: first as cooks, then as diners.

12/22/2025 By Lola Milholland

Giving Back

20 Ways to Make a Difference in Portland

Volunteering opportunities across the city, from serving lunch to planting trees.

11/26/2025 By Isabel Lemus Kristensen

Travel & Outdoors

IRL

22 Free Ways to Connect with Your Fellow Portlanders

Dance lessons, movie clubs, sea shanty sing-alongs, and more no-cost ways to be where the people are.

02/24/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Long Story Short

At 80, Photographer Sergio Ortiz Is Still Seeking Wonder

The tour guide, raised in the South Bronx and an Oregonian since 1979, remains in awe.

02/17/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson Photography by Michael Novak

Coast Is Clear

The Burly All-Terrain Wheelchairs Rolling Across Oregon’s Beaches

David’s Chair helps people with mobility challenges access the joys of the shore.

08/19/2025 By Amelia Arvesen