Oregon Festivals. John Shewey

      McMenamins Crystal Ballroom and Ringler’s Annex, 1332 W Burnside Street

      Early February

       www.sabertoothpdx.com

      Not surprisingly, the annual Sabertooth music festival is a McMenamins event—brought to you by the brewpub kingdom whose founders have always acted a bit outside the box, from helping to change Oregon law in the early 1980s to literally creating the craft brewery scene we enjoy so much today, to preserving nearly two dozen historic structures big and small and converting them into artistic pub masterpieces.

      Sabertooth celebrates psychedelic culture in general and psychedelic rock music in particular, the genre inspired by the mind-altering states produced by psychedelic substances—notable greats in this style of rock music, which appeared in the 1960s, include iconic acts such as the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, the Doors, Velvet Underground, the Who, and even the Beatles.

      Sabertooth annually assembles nearly a dozen of the hottest regional bands of the genre for a two-day rockfest at the beautiful and historic McMenamins Crystal Ballroom in Downtown Portland. At the same time, McMenamins Ringlers Pub, located on the main floor of the Crystal Ballroom, serves special beers created onsite by a collaborating team of McMenamins brewers specifically for Sabertooth—samples are free, and when you find the one you like best, you can buy a pint (there’s free admission to the tasting event at Ringlers, with the brewers on hand to talk beer, rock, and more). Of note, although this event celebrates psychedelic culture, no illegal activity of any sort is permitted. Also, visibly intoxicated persons are not allowed on the premises.

      Tables full of swag at Sabertooth Psychedelic Rock Fest.

      Both one-day and two-day tickets to Sabertooth are reasonably priced and available in advance (recommended) via the festival website or at the door. There are two price levels: general admission and VIP, which includes early concert entry, and close-to-stage seating in a reserved area with its own bar access. Lodging options are legion in the area, of course, but a room at McMenamins Crystal Hotel (www.mcmenamins.com/crystal-hotel), home to fifty-one guest rooms, a saltwater soaking pool, and the outstanding Zeus Café, is conveniently located two blocks away.

       PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

      Portland

      Various venues

      February

       www.nwfilm.org/piff

      For more than four decades, the Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) has delivered a tremendous billing of films from around the world, showcasing the work of both established and up-and-coming filmmakers, and providing an amazingly diverse wintertime event across the Rose City. The festival features dozens of films representing myriad genres, shown over a two-week period in February at some half-dozen Portland movie houses, including iconic landmarks such as Bagdad Theater, Laurelhurst Theater, and Cinema 21, as well as Whitsell Auditorium, which is home to the Northwest Film Center, host of this much-anticipated festival.

      Each year, PIFF selects a wide range of films—powerful dramas, thought-provoking documentaries, whimsical comedies, unique animated creations, kid-friendly movies, and much more. The festival website categorizes the films and provides a synopsis of each, making it easy to decide what movies you want to see. Included in the lineup is a late-night series of films screened at the beautiful Bagdad Theater (opened in 1927 and renovated by McMenamins in 1991); the late-night movies, special treats for adventurous devotees of late-night thrills, include genre-bending films that provocatively push boundaries. Moreover, PIFF annually highlights the works of many first-time and up-and-coming directors from around the world, providing an outstanding opportunity for attendees to enjoy films difficult to find outside of special festivals like PIFF. All told, PIFF annually screens more than 100 films. Audience members at PIFF screenings enjoy the rare privilege of voting for their favorite works to decide winners of the Audience Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best New Director, Best Documentary, and Best Short Film.

      A full house enjoys a screening at the Portland International Film Festival.

      All films are screened in their original languages with English subtitles unless otherwise noted in the PIFF program. Modestly priced general-admission and student-price tickets to individual films are available in advance (see website) as well as the day of at the theater box offices pending availability of seats—though advance purchase assures you’ll have a seat, as many films sell out. The PIFF also offers ticket bundles as well as full festival passes. Most films are shown twice during the festival, but some are shown only once—all the more reason to leave nothing to chance by purchasing tickets in advance.

      The film festival kicks off with an opening-night extravaganza featuring a special film screening, and co-hosted by a handful of well-known regional wineries, breweries, and food vendors. Tickets for opening night (advance purchase only via the website) sell out very quickly when they go on sale midwinter.

       BREWSTILLERY FESTIVAL

      Portland

      Stormbreaker Brewing, 832 N Beech Street

      Late February

       www.stormbreakerbrewing.com/brewstillery.html

      The pairing of food and beverage—the supposed art of choosing just the right drink to complement a particular edible—may well reach its zenith in the Northwest. Culinary aficionados, or “foodies,” often go to extreme or perhaps excessive lengths to match just the right wine with favorite foods. And it hardly ends with wines; foodies also seek the perfect harmony between cuisine and beer, spirits, saké, and even ciders.

      Such enthusiasm for pairing is part of what makes the annual Brewstillery Festival so much fun—it’s partly a whimsical nod to the infatuation with pairing in the Northwest and entirely an enthusiastic celebration of the region’s vibrant craft beer culture and burgeoning, increasingly creative distilled spirits infatuation. In this one-of-a-kind event, the brains behind Stormbreaker, Dan Malech and Rob Lutz, invite nearly twenty of the region’s best brewers and a like number of the state’s top distilleries to team up for the perfect pairing of ale and spirit. Attendees enjoy the unique opportunity to taste the results, sampling the duos in the form of a four-ounce beer pour and a quarter-ounce sampling of the associated distilled spirit.

      Brewstillery Festival features intriguing pairings of ales and spirits.

      Modestly priced tickets to the event are available by advance purchase and at the door, and include a logo beer tasting glass and ten tasting tickets; VIP tickets include both a branded beer glass and branded whiskey glass, fifteen tasting tickets, and early entry to the event, which is held at Stormbreaker Brewing, a Portland favorite perhaps best known for its Mississippi Red dry-hopped red ale. The brewery’s excellent food from a diverse menu is available throughout the Brewstillery Festival, which runs from noon to 8 pm. Leading up to Brewstillery, Stormbreaker runs a special mission in which the public is asked to help find the festival mascot, Tank-O; look for him at the tap and tasting rooms of the festival participants starting in January. Once you find him, take a photo and post to Instagram with #wheresTankO. Prizes are awarded for those who find the most Tank-Os.