My best friend took me to Hopscotch while I was visiting Portland, and it ended up being one of the…read morebest parts of the entire trip. We went with her 3 year old, and honestly, I think we had just as much fun as him. Every room had something different to see or interact with, and it felt like there was always another surprise waiting around the corner. The mix of lights, art, music, and creative exhibits made it easy to lose track of time. One of my favorite areas was the Secrets room. You could step into a phone booth, record a secret, and then hear anonymous secrets playing through the giant speakers overhead. Some of the kid-submitted ones were absolutely adorable and had everyone smiling. The biggest hits for our group were definitely the interactive light rooms, where the lights seemed to react to your movement, and of course the giant rainbow ball pit. Watching everyone dive in and immediately turn into kids again was pretty entertaining. We also checked out the gift shop on the way out. I ended up grabbing a magnet, a postcard, and a few stickers that I thought were really cool. And I have to mention this: I was oddly happy to find out there was an actual hopscotch game inside. After walking through the whole experience, I was starting to wonder if the name was just symbolic. Nope. There was hopscotch, and it made me laugh. Overall, we had an amazing time. It's fun, colorful, interactive, and works just as well for adults as it does for kids. If you're looking for something different to do in Portland, I'd definitely recommend checking it out. For us, it was absolutely worth the price of admission.

Super interesting place! While we did have fun, I was a bit underwhelmed. Honestly, I was thinking…read moreit was more a "Meow Wolf" type of place... so I guess I should've just entered the space without any expectations. The bar in the beginning was a nice touch. You can walk around with your drinks and explore the different rooms they had. You can even take a break and grab food- once you get in your time there is unlimited! One of the best rooms was the Secret Garden. This is where you stand under a cloud like dome and hear secrets from people who have recorded them from a month or two ago. They have a recording booth within the room and you sit there and confess things. Then it plays it back after a couple of months to make sure you remain anonymous. The secrets we heard were gnarly... Won't repeat any, just go there and see! That was probably the best room we went into. The other rooms were super cool, which included a ball pit, infinity room/light looking room as well as a semi-bouncy room. Really interactive and creative space. Entrance fee is not bad for the type of space it's in [Around $22ish?]. Just don't be a jerk and be respectful of peoples' spaces. Not that anyone was disrespectful to us, just saying!

Being a successful, professional Interior Designer for 42-years has not been easy and has only been…read morepossible by contracting with the best available sub-contractors and other service provider trades. One of the BEST of my preferred vendors and service providers - consistently over the many years - is WDI Co. of OREGON, Inc. WDI has provided to me and my clients most of all the services listed on their website and I can state unequivocally there has never been any major, insurmountable or prolonged problem. More to the point, most tasks and services exceed every expectation, and I've never suffered angry clients because of any services provided by WDI Co of OREGON, Inc. All WDI's staff and crews I've delt with have been positive experiences, and Joshua Hoover, in particular, is exceptional! All good! Robert B.

We use WDI regularly for our retail store and interior design clients. They do it all! They pick up…read morefurniture from our Southern California vendors, receive and white glove deliver to our store or clients. All of their employees are very kind and professional and go above and beyond to make us and our clients happy. Couldn't be happier with their service :)

To wrap up the final week of my critical art theories class at Portland State, I visited the…read moreBiennial to connect the ideas explored this past Spring. As I enter, the first thing I see are three questions in red: What was the price our ancestors paid to call this nation home? What did they sacrifice for the American dream? What was promised to them for their blood, sweat, and tears? As I abstracted my time with DeepTime Collective's wall of many clocks, I walked along various artworks that caught my eye. Gabby Severson, Jaleesa Johnston, and Ebony Frison were a few of my favorite artists from this show. The artworks are powerful and imposing. They catch you and keep you in. The artists speak from places of nostalgia, memory and lived experience. However, I couldn't help to think that the works respond to questions that have already been in conversation for a while. 250 years, who doesn't know what the price is? And so, as Bayo Akomolafe has asked about the Black Lives Matter movement, to whom would this matter to? This certainly is nothing new for marginalized folks who live with those questions everyday, whose ancestral histories on this stolen land is defined by sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears. From struggle to preservation to perseverance, the artworks are analyzed by folks who beg for answers to questions they created.

To finish our Critical Theories course we visited the 2026 Oregon Contemporary Artists' Biennial,…read more"The Price of the Ticket". Reading the Biennial through Lorde, hooks and Akomolafe, I found myself questioning if representation alone is enough, who carries the burden of explanation and what it means to be visible. While most of the work pinpointed popular progressive words, critiques, and symbols it felt like just a critique. Some works felt like acts recovery while others pushed the boundary of visibility. I left with more questions than answers in a good way. The Center of Injustice stuck out the most to me, not only the size and familiarity of design but the archival history of police violence and the ongoing conversation around it was provoking. Some of the work felt crowded together but overall the work succeeded in prompting reflection.

The Free Little Art Gallery movement has taken the US by storm, with adorable little art cubbies…read morepopping up everywhere you look. The concept is simple, similar to the Free Little Library movement; bring your own miniature art to trade for someone else's miniature artwork. Curators of FLAG locations share a common motto, "Make Art, Take Art, Love Art!" This location in SE Portland has been the focus of local media attention, with the curator being interviewed on Oregon Public Broadcasting's "Think Out Loud" program. The galley is regularly updated with new themes, and attracts a wide variety of original works of art left by FLAG aficionados. The theme today is in the style of Yayoi Kusama, a bright orange setting accented by her trademark polkadots. Painted pumpkins accompany the gallery, each covered in black dots as well. If you'd like to find additional FLAGs around the city, you can visit FindAFreeLittleArtGallery.com for a pretty complete listing. Additionally, you can follow this specific gallery on Instagram @PDXflag.

Another stop on my tour of small galleries and by far, my favorite of all of them. The place itself…read moreis not that big. Two rooms and two different exhibits. The back room had a nudes exhibit with some paintings, sketches and photographs including a Matisse sketch which I enjoyed a lot. The front was the main exhibit. Christopher Rauschenberg, the son of famed artist Robert Rauschenberg ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rauschenberg). Christopher is a photographer and the photos being shown are a series of shots taken at various famous artists studios including Chuck Close and his father. I even notice a bottle that was painted by Roy Lichtenstein in one of the pictures. Really cool view into their worlds and very colorful pictures. This exhibit just opened recently so I believe it will be around for awhile if you get the urge to get over here. It also doesn't hurt that Christopher Rauschenberg is a Porlander and also founded Blue Sky Photography Gallery, which was my last stop of the day. Really nice work here and I plan to be back.

The Elizabeth Leach Gallery is one of the top handful of galleries in Portland for serious art…read morecollectors. The group of artists represented covers a range of styles. Most are mid career artists with solid resumes. More importantly, the art looks good. They have two major rooms, two simultaneous shows and a large back area. Leach has nurtured a relationship with German artists and created opportunities for her Portland artists to show in Germany. She has also developed personal relationships with Portland's major collectors. She has been the early champion of artists who later achieved great international careers, like Dinh Q Le and has been the Portland outlet for prints from the likes of John Baldassari, Donald Judd and Richard Serra. She has hosted spectacular shows in the past by Richard Misrach (who was first brought to Portland by Blue Sky Gallery). A great gallery and always a great education to see what is showing.

I hired Dan to hang a couple of large pictures and change the batteries in all my smoke detectors!…read moreHe was professional and did a wonderful job! I was happy with his price. I will definitely tell my neighbors about the wonderful services I received today from Dan.

Punctual, knowledgeable, communicative, well-prepared, fair and upfront pricing. Everything a…read morehandyman should be. He diagnosed and repaired several mystery outlet problems.

I had shopped around for simple framing for a couple posters and had been disappointed at the cost…read moreuntil trying Frame Central. They had a nice package going for basic framing, definitely more reasonably priced than other places. The service was great. Their input was helpful. The framing job was done on time. And I really liked the finished product. Definitely as expected, and well worth the money. I would absolutely take future framing projects to them. No complaints at all.

Walked in today and was welcomed upon entry. I was interested in a framed print that was displayed…read morethrough one of their windows. After they grabbed the artwork for me, I was able to create an account and even saved 15% off my first purchase! Woody was very helpful! My frame was wrapped up and they even gave me some complimentary hooks to hang my piece! Looking forward to framing the rest of my art pieces! Thanks again!