The Independent Publishing Resource Center helps individuals create their own personal zines…read more They offer workshops, a printroom, and an extensive library for reading other zines. This place is really wonderful and doing something great for the community. They're now celebrating their 10th year in operation. A great place to check into and support. + they offer resources for anyone - it's the only one.. we need more locations and supporters!

The IPRC is probably one of the coolest, most special places on earth. The old location felt a bit…read morelike a clubhouse in a cubbyhole (albeit a very welcoming and open-to-all clubhouse) but the new location is about 5x the size and feels like a...homey factory of awesome. There's a screenprinting studio, a letterpress studio, movable tables, a computer lab, every type of fixant and fastener you've ever needed, copiers, an art gallery, and a bombass zine library. They teach workshops on everything regarding publishing and writing, the volunteer staff are always happy to help, and the general atmosphere of friendliness is worth just hanging out at. It's a bit like a coffeeshop filled with cute and/or interesting, socially awkward people of all walks of life where you don't have to buy coffee to hang out. It's definitely worth a visit if you're trying to publish something or you just want to be surrounded by creative work.

Booked a record release party for our band and it was the greatest party ever!!! Everyone was…read moreincredibly professional and worked hard to make the event memorable. I look forward to planning our next event there soon!

I've been wandering Portland for months trying to find a musical gem like this literal musicians…read morehaven, the place is a god damn battle drum, I love it and so should anyone who stops by, just be patient, this place is the future, so yeah there's a waitlist, where do you think all the school kids are trying to go, this is the up and coming scene of Portland, hang loose you crazy diamond!

As a parent, I became concerned about my daughter's friend group at school. It seemed like many of…read morethe kids around her were starting to get involved with drugs and focusing heavily on things like boyfriends, and I really wanted her to be surrounded by positive, sober teens her age who were working toward something meaningful. I literally hopped on google and did a search. Acting for Kids & Teens popped up. Enrolling her was one of the best decisions I've made. She absolutely loves the class and looks forward to going every single Saturday. It has given her a creative outlet, a supportive community, and something exciting to focus on. Her teacher, Steph, is fantastic and truly connects with the students in a positive and encouraging way. Hallie was also absolutely wonderful during the enrollment process--kind, helpful, and very responsive. I'm so grateful to have found a place where my daughter can build confidence, express herself, and spend time with other teens who are passionate about acting and creativity. I highly recommend Acting for Kids & Teens to any parent looking for a positive and inspiring environment for their child.

We absolutely love going to class at AFKT. We have a drive coming in from Washington, but the…read moretraffic is all going the opposite way so we cruise right in. The children's program is a wonderful way for kids to express themselves in a transformative atmosphere allowing creative growth. Super fun. I would highly recommend attending a class regardless of age. They have adult classes that looks so fun, one day I to will take a class, but first the kids.

We attended the Groovin Greenhouse dance performances by 3 dance troops as part of the PDX city…read morewide Fertile Festival featuring new artistic works of all sorts (dance, theatre, music, comedy, visual art) running January 18-28. Google "Fertile Ground" and get to a show --- it may be as groovin as the one we just saw. Awesome! Thrilling! Captivating! Riveting! Great passion! Eye-popping movement are words popping into my head about how I was moved by the dancers. Seeing is feeling it! The aerial A-WOL dance team was particularly incredible --- incredible strength and stamina combined with graceful movements on apparatus' hanging from the high-bay ceiling. And all the floor dancers were as well gifted, in shape, movin and groovin to the beat. The theatre itself --- is a big black box in a renovated warehouse in the up and coming Slab-townish district Good lighting and sounds surrounded and filled up the dance space. Seating was about a 100 and your seat is next to the stage. You could see the sweat, chest pumping and feel the passion of the dancers in action. I would definitely keep an eye out and attend more performances at Polaris Dance Theatre. Check out the Polaris schedule and see what it is all about --- it's all about creative dance dance dance!

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending my first show at Polaris Dance Theatre and it was…read moreabsolutely spectacular! Every dancer moved in such a beautifully talented unique way. They really did an amazing job in their preformance of Avalanche definitely worth seeing!

We had been taking creative ballet classes on Saturday morning since October and our daughter has…read moreloved them up until the last month. She still is interested in ballet but suddenly started to become hesitant to stay inside the room during class. She is a very independent child so we were surprised, she loves preschool and attends every day. Her ballet teacher here has always been quite business like and not overly warm. At times the teacher has been understanding since our daughter has a tendency (as many 3 years old do) to want to be her own person and not necessarily follow routine but at other times we can sense frustration from the teacher. This last weekend when we took our daughter to class and faced resistance from our three year on staying for class the teacher suggested that we not only take a break from class but that we should also look for a new teacher. We're in agreement that a break is needed for our daughter but we were very taken aback by the coldness of her teacher. I was quite shocked that she openly admitted to not wanting to teach our daughter. For this we're avoiding this school in the future.

I am not reviewing the quality of the classes, but my registration and customer service experience…read more I registered online my two toddlers (3 and 4 years old, respectively) for the Creative Ballet course. My 4 year old subsequently refused to go to soccer for a few weeks in a row, so I decided that both my 3 and 4 year old were probably too immature to start ballet where parents are not present. Since this was 6 weeks before the beginning of the class, I thought it would be no problem to request a refund. I called a few times within a week of registering to request a refund. They then emailed me declining to refund but suggesting (reasonably, I think) that my children try the first class. I believe they also offered to give me a credit for a future class. Everything in their tone was respectful and courteous, however, I am absolutely appalled that more than 6 weeks before a class begins they will not refund for children as young as 3 or 4 years old. This policy seems reasonable for older children or adults or when a class has already started (or is within a week or so of starting). Frankly, I am not going to use the credits they have offered me. I have many expenses with my young children and to lose money needlessly like this is mortifying to me. I feel very disregarded and disrespected over this experience. I even requested a refund through my credit card and they declined to accommodate me. A very frustrating experience for me. My cheeks still burn writing this.

I try to stay up with a lot of local theater, but just discovered this little gem today. I saw…read moretheir production of "The Taming" today and it was great! Everything about it was first rate...the three actresses were outstanding, the script was so well written, witty, timely. I will now be sure to research other productions there. The theater itself is a hidden gem. Small, so intimate that you feel you are part of the play, not a bad seat in the place. No assigned seating so get there early and I imagine they sell out due to limited seats. They can count me in for future productions.

As has been said by many reviews prior to mine, this is an intimate theater. That can be very good…read moreand also, have a few negatives. I am going to address the ADA situation here first so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle, and you know what you're getting into. The ADA spaces are a chair which can be removed but the chairs they have are something from the 90s - a half moon wrap around situation which is possibly one of the worst things I've sat in. I was looking around at all the other seating and their normal seats seem to be velvet have several inches more room than the monstrosity I was in + cup holders! I saw another device user (she had a walker versus my cane) sitting in a normal seat and I was very envious. The same lady accidentally triggered the screen on her cellphone which illuminated much of the theater for a solid 20 minutes until she was finally prompted by one of her party the situation. I was not in the mood to scream to the other side of the theater but seriously folks... the screen is at floor level though so you really feel immersed in the production. I cannot imagine any seat in the theater being bad for the view! Warning that this area doesn't have the best parking options so you are gonna want to factor in that. I was closer to the start time, then I would have liked especially since they seem to have a really happening snack bar! I smelled and saw popcorn! The bad part about the intimacy is when you get an audience like the one I did. I have misophonia so you wrestling around your bag or trying to open your candy makes me twitch. I am used to it and I power through but this was a bit much. Let's talk... we were in it together - the London production of Dangerous Liaisons. FYI - this is not a play about good people & is about a lot of sex, grooming and people being absolutely horrible to each other! There's a warning out front! Have you not seen the very well known movie... apparently the whole row behind me had not so I was immersed in listening to them, clutch their pearls through the entirety of the production. When they were not audibly sharing their disapproval of behavior, a man off to the side of me was making very odd throat sounds. A dear friend went to the same production a few days later (we couldn't align our schedules to go together). I was so glad she did not have my audience experience at all. Hysterically during the intermission I could hear the group talking about Aiden Turner, who is one of the main bad people. They were saying that they were used to seeing him as Poldark and as good... umm, that character pines after a married woman while being abusive and gaslighting his wife the whole series. That's not my idea of a good guy, but you do you. ANYHOO... I needed to restroom and waited. I personally don't mind that there's a very open urinal next to the ADA stall but it did surprise me a moment as a gentleman came in to use the urinal when I was washing my hands. So, just an FYI if you are uncomfortable in a bathroom situation with open stalls.

A community of artists and makers, very welcoming and accepting of other artists…read more I hope to be a part of this scene one day

Past Lives Makerspace is an ideal facility for hobbyists, inventors, craftspeople and artists…read more There are studios and workspaces for all kinds of activities: metal shop, wood shop, ceramics studio, glass and stained glass studio, textile arts studio and so much more. Every work area is well equipped with the tools of the trade and the tools are well maintained. It's the kind of makerspace where you can spend all day. There's a full commercial kitchen and communal eating/meeting area, so no need to leave in the middle of a project. And the community of makers is phenomenal. The member-teachers I've learned from so far have been top notch - I look forward to taking classes in ceramics, stained glass and art framing next. I highly recommend Past Lives LLC for quality, community and learning.

I went to this venue last night for an associate's curated celebration and the space was absolutely…read moreincredible. It's a very open and airy studio space that has a really great concept. There's a loft type of area and it opens into the bottom. It's very much giving high rise. I can only imagine the types of events and other things that can be had here. The potential is amazing and I feel that it's something needed in this area. It's a recording studio as well and I imagine wonderful photographs can be taken here. It definitely made me feel like I was in a cinematic space, I really enjoyed it and it made a special evening feel even more memorable.