City Cast Portland
✊ Why downtown businesses welcome protests now
August 5, 2025 · — Rachel Monahan
Oregon is one of the best places in the world for stargazing, because we have some of the darkest night skies, free of light pollution. With the annual Perseids meteor shower reaching its peak next week, Norther Emily of Wild Solitude Guiding shares some of the best spots for catching the meteor shower, and offers a few tips for learning more about stargazing here in the city:
- Official DarkSky-certified locations in Oregon
- Rose City Astronomers and OMSI’s Perseid Meteor Shower Watch Party | Aug. 12
What's CITY Talking About?
Skidmore Fountain Stop Is No More
TriMet is getting rid of the Skidmore Fountain stop on the MAX line starting Aug. 24 to speed up the MAX’s slow commute through downtown. It's the same reason that the public transit agency closed three other Portland stops in 2020. The latest change shouldn't impact commuters too much, though: another stop is just two blocks away from Skidmore. [KGW]
Downtown Businesses Like the 2025 Protests
So far this year, Portland’s protests have brought a welcome increase in foot traffic to downtown, with vandalism and destruction limited to the U.S. ICE Building in South Waterfront. The Midtown Beer Garden, for one, stocked up for the Aug. 2 protests. [KGW]
Downtown Is Still Emptier
The Pearl District and the Central Eastside have bounced back since the pandemic; they're now seeing 84% of the foot traffic they had before COVID struck. But Downtown is still at only 58% of previous foot traffic. [Oregonian]
What To Do
Tuesday, Aug. 5
- 🏖️ Audrey McCall Summer Beach Party | Central Eastside
- 🎵 Dennis McNally | Bagdad Theater (Southeast Hawthorne Blvd)
- 🍻 Mixed Messages (Black Affinity Group) | Holgate Library
- ☕ Taylor Swift Night | Coffee Beer (Creston-Kenilworth)
Wednesday, Aug. 6
- 🎵 Music on Main: BrassRoots Movement | Downtown
- 😆 Love Isn't Blind Comedy Dating Show | Helium Comedy Club
- 🎥 Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology | OMSI
- 🌲 Forest Storytime | World Forestry Center
Thursday, Aug. 7
- 💚 City Cast Portland Night at Portland Pickles | Walker Stadium (Lents Park)
- 🎬 Cape Fear in 35mm | Hollywood Theatre
- 🍳 Summer in the Mediterranean Cooking Series | Sellwood Community House
- 🧺 Inside Out 2 | Wilshire Park
- 🖼️ Free First Thursday | Portland Art Museum
- 🎨 First Thursday Street Gallery | Pearl District
- 🎥 Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology | OMSI
🥩 If you’re looking for a classic old-school evening out on the town, you have one more option: Ringside Steakhouse reopened yesterday. It had been closed for repairs since an April fire.
- Related: Portland’s best steakhouses and their must-try dishes [City Cast Portland 🎧]
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