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First Thursday

First Thursday Networking Holiday Party in The Pearl

December 2, 4:30pm - 7pm
 
This will be our 1st Christmas Party!!! We are so excited to offer tons of spa and hair service give aways. We will have Diva Den with their amazing pole exercises!! Also Eggnog and a FULL OPEN BAR....!!!!Portland Pearl Salon & Spa, 736 NW 11th Ave.

Acanthus Jewelry Trunk Show

December 2, 5pm - 8pm

Come see the holiday collection from Acanthus Jewelry, local Portland designer. Nichole's beautiful, elegant designs are perfect for adding sparkle to holiday ensembles or as a gift for loved ones!

Enjoy a glass of champagne and see all the latest arrivals at Mabel and Zora during the event as well! Mabel and Zora, 748 NW 11th Ave.

barre3 Holiday Shopping Event

December 2, 5pm - 8pm

Join us for some Holiday cheer and shopping at barre3 on First Thursday, December 2nd from 5PM - 8PM. We will have a special gift wrapping table set up to assemble hip and healthy custom barre3 gift baskets including a complimentary issue of the December SHAPE Magazine we are featured in. A perfect gift! Champagne and sweets will be served. Come toast the Holiday Season with us! barre3, 1000 NW Marshall St.

First Thursday at Vanillawood

December 2, 5pm - 8:30pm

Vanillawood is staying open late just for you! Come get your holiday shopping done at our First Thursday event, December 2nd. And yes, we will be serving champagne. Vanillawood, 1238 NW Glisan St.

The Art Institute of Portland's 5th Annual Holiday Bazaar & Scholarship Fundraiser

December 2, 5:30pm - December 4, 5:00pm

Give great design this holiday season! Shop for gifts handmade by The Art Institute of Portland's creative community while benefiting the Creative Arts Scholarship Fund. Cash only, please!

The Holiday Bazaar is location in The Art Institute of Portland's Gallery. It is open to the public with the following hours:

Thursday, December 2: 5:30pm-9pm
Friday, December 3: 10am-5pm
Saturday, December 4: 10am-5pm

The Art Institute of Portland Gallery, 1122 NW Davis Street

First Thursday Opening Party

December 2, 6pm - 9pm

You are cordially invited to 1st Thursday opening party. The art show of Marcela Pait's paintings/compositions starts at 6PM. Salt Grotto, 906 NW 14th Ave.

EcoVibe Holiday Party

December 2, 6pm - 9pm

Join us December 2nd during First Thursday in the Pearl from 6-9 for EcoVibe's Holiday Party, a festive evening with drinks, treats & giveaways, including gift cards to some of our favorite local spots. Also, in the spirit of giving, EcoVibe will donate 10% of all proceeds from the party to Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon. Come celebrate the season with us and get some holiday shopping out of the way while you're at it! EcoVibe Apparel, 921 NW Everett St.

International Plastic Quilt Project

December 2, 6pm - 9pm
   
Create Plenty, in partnership with the Williamette Riverkeeper, will be displaying new entries to the International Plastic Quilt Project at REI in the Pearl District (1405 NW Johnson St) as part of the First Thursday art walk on December 2. Quilt Project participants take a plastic-free challenge for at least a week. Each participant designs a 12-inch square out of their personal hard-to-avoid plastic collection during this time and contributes the work to a traveling art exhibit. Works will be displayed together at the REI store as a symbol of the growing concern and awareness of plastic in our environment. Come to the store on December 2 between 6-9pm to check out the quilts and vote for your favorite! The quilt will be on display for the rest of December. REI, 1405 NW Johnson St.

"Conversations", a group exhibition of small works

December 2, 6pm - 9pm

Waterstone Gallery opens its door in December to Conversations, a 6-week group show featuring the work of Waterstone's 15 artists and the work of 15 artist-peers. The show will offer a wide variety of art ranging from prints to paintings to sculpture.

The Waterstone artists have chosen artists whose work they respect to show alongside them in this group show. Conversation starters written by the Waterstone artists will be posted next to the work to comment on what they admire about the work of their chosen artists, encouraging the viewer to take a closer look. The comments may reflect a common aesthetic or craftsmanship, or perhaps indicate a contrasting feel or approach to art. Waterstone Gallery, 424 NW 12th St.

"Share the LOVE" Beauty and Food Drive Charity

December 2, 6pm - 9pm
 
"Share the LOVE" beauty and food drive charity event, benefiting the Oregon Food Bank. Bring 3 cans of food or money donation to receive a complimentary hair or esthetic service redeemable at anytime. Raffle baskets offered by local businesses valued up to $600.00. RSVP by emailing: info@amoresalonspa.com. Many more donations in the works.Amore Salon and Spa, 945 NW Lovejoy St.

Amy Downs "Holiday Hat" Trunk Show

December 3, 6pm - 9pm

Always fun and always delightful, Amy Downs will be showing special creations with the theme of "Holiday Hats" as well as a plethora of other chapeau concoctions that are sure to beg to go home with you. Physical Element, 1124 NW Lovejoy St.

First Thursday

December 2, 2010 6:00pm - 10:00pm

WeVillage is open late for those who want to attend First Thursday in the Pearl District. Give us a call to reserve your child's spot. WeVillage, 424 NW 11th Ave.

Student Fiber Art Exhibit Open House

December 3, 6pm - 9pm

Clackamas High School teacher Michelle Colbert challenged her students to look at nature and reflect what they saw in fiber art. The result is a collection of wonderfully creative pieces that will be on display at Urban Fiber Arts during December.

To kick off the exhibit, we're hosting an open house on Friday, December 3rd from 6:00 to 9:00. Come meet some of the artists and discover their inspiration! Urban Fiber Arts, 428 NW 11th Ave.

Bar + Food | Portland’s Happiest Hours

Frank DiMarcoNostrana is known for its addictive salads and its famed pizzas.

Add this to the growing list of reasons to visit (or relocate to) Portland, Ore.: the city’s food-focused happy hour tradition. While other towns — notably Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Charleston, S.C. — also serve cheap eats in the late afternoon, Portland has been doing it since the last recession. If you ask restaurant owners, they’ll tell you the back story: a state liquor law forbids businesses from promoting discounted alcohol, so it made sense to lure in diners with at-cost food. (Though this law has recently changed, $5 plates are more ubiquitous than ever.) And this being Portland, you’re more likely to find charcuterie plates or pig heart with quince jam on the menu than sliders and fries.

A few of our favorites:

Accanto The sister restaurant of Genoa has both a regular happy hour (3 to 6 p.m. every day) and a late-night one (9 p.m. to close on weekdays, 10 p.m. to close on weekends). Recent standouts include a perfectly dressed salad with fava beans, radishes and Parmesan ($5) and a mozzarella and preserved-tomato panini with arugula pesto served with homemade potato chips ($5). A la carte portions of cheese or charcuterie ($1.50) are generous and come with pickled vegetables and bread. Wash it all down with a Hopworks lager ($3.50) or a house-infused cocktail of the day ($5).

Clark Lewis (4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.) Located in the up-and-coming southeast industrial neighborhood, this restaurant arranges its plates by price: a ramekin of olives is $1, a plate of Grand Central bakery’s chewy bread with good butter and fleur de sel, $2. Three bucks will get you a heaping plate of spaghetti with pesto; add an ultra-fresh salad or arancini with pork sausage and lemon aioli for a few bucks more. With gimlets and house wine ringing in at $5, your check could easily come in under $12.

Wildwood (9 p.m. to close) Where else but Portland can you find a restaurant that serves locally sourced organic popcorn drizzled with truffle oil? (It hails from Ayers Creek, a farm in nearby Gaston.) For $2, this snack is yours. Two hungry people could easily be sated sharing the butter lettuce salad topped with spring onions and buttermilk blue cheese dressing ($5) and the grilled Cascade Natural beef hamburger with garlic confit ($7), served with hand-cut fries. House wines go for $5, well drinks are $4, and draft beers are $3. On Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer, the chef Dustin Clark does a “garden grilling” on the BBQ from 4:30 to 6:30. Small plates, like grilled summer squash with basil pesto and crushed walnuts, apricot and mascarpone bruschetta with crispy proscuitto and oregano, go for $5.

David ReamerOlympic Provisions’ house-cured charcuterie.

Olympic Provisions (3 to 6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.). If you’ve already exhausted Clyde Common’s deservedly popular happy hour, it’s time to try “aperitivo” at its sister restaurant. Though Olympic Provisions is known primarily for its house-cured charcuterie, its veggie dishes are what stand out for their inventiveness and fresh-from-the-garden taste: a salad of roast summer squash with chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, olive relish and pine nuts ($6), for instance, or green beans topped with garlic, sherry, slivered almonds and ricotta ($5). If you’re really hungry, spring for the messy-but-worth-it pan bagnat on focaccia ($7). Aperitifs — Campari and soda, Aperol spritz — are in the $7 range.

Nostrana (9 p.m. to close) The “late-night” happy hour makes an ideal summer’s repast. Splurge on a glass of John Paul Cameron’s rosé (though the $5 house wine is always good), then order the charcuterie plate ($5), a few of Cathy Whim’s famed pizzas (margherita or marinara, a mere $5) and the addictive insalata Nostrana (radicchio with Parmesan, rosemary-sage croutons and a Caesar-style dressing). You will leave happy — guaranteed.