Spotlight: Ignite Portland

Weekend picks on the cheap:

– Handmade Northwest downtown holiday artisans fair at the World Trade Center Plaza this Friday, 10:00am – 6:00pm. Over 50 local vendors. Free coffee, free pastries and free admission.

– 23rd Annual Fix-It Fair at Roosevelt High School, Saturday 8:30am – 2:00pm, Free. Go for the how-to classes on various home and garden topics; the money-saving, cost effective tips; and the free giveaways.

– Rain Dance Art Festival in Newberg this Saturday and Sunday, free parking and free admission.

– The Wild Arts Festival for Art and Nature Lovers, this Saturday and Sunday at Montgomery Park. Features 70 artists and 35 authors, benefits the Portland Audubon Society. Admission is $5, but go online to download a 2-for-1 coupon.

– Tonight, Thursday 11/19 is an advanced screening of Robert DeNiro’s new film “Everybody’s Fine.” 7:00 at Regal Broadway Metro. Get your free pass here. If this is too last minute, they’ll have another screening on Wednesday, December 2nd at Tigard Cinemas.

– Preview screening of the movie “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” While it is not this weekend, you’ll want to register early for the 7:30pm Tuesday, November 24th screening at Bridgeport Village.

– Since we are in free movie mode this week, here’s one more: 2 free tickets to the NW Film Center. Just email contest@portlandonthecheap.com with the subject line “NW Film” and we’ll draw from all entries this weekend and post the winner on Monday.

– Willamette Week’s new Cheap Skate Deal Box features the Homeschool Affordable Art sale, a free guitar concert, free yoga classes, Optical Brokers 30th anniversary sale and more.

– For more FREE weekend events and happenings, please go to Aroundthesunblog for your roundup.

Spotlight: Ignite Portland

We had the chance to attend Ignite Portland 6 this past summer, and we had a most excellent time (to quote from Bill & Ted)! What is Ignite? Basically, think 5-minute speeches brought to you by your local friends and neighbors. But it is much more than just listening to a lecture or a topic that you have no clue about. Ignite is an experience to experience. And the best part is the cost: absolutely FREE thanks to Ignite’s sponsors and volunteers.

Each speaker gets 5 minutes to talk on the stage. Above them is a big movie screen where a slide will appear every 15 seconds. The slide might be a picture, a diagram, written word or who knows what!? You’ll see polished speakers, and first-timers who are obviously nervous. You’ll get topics that will interest you, and those that you might not care for. But hey, it’s only 5 minutes.

Ignite Portland happens TONIGHT at 7:30pm 7:00pm at the Bagdad Theater. There is no cost to attend, doors open at 5:30 and while the choice seats will fill up, we still found seats at the start time. This time around, they are accepting donations to the Oregon Food Bank and Toys for Tots, so if you are able, please bring non-perishable food, or a new, unwrapped toy(s) and drop it off in the lobby. To see more about what Ignite is, go to the web site and watch a video. Then get ready for these topics:

First half:

* Rick Huddle – Why we love DB Cooper
* Ward Cunningham – Becoming Bike Oriented
* Elena Moon – How to Capture and Eat Your First Roadkill Deer
* Mike McClure – Roasting Coffee at Home: It’s easier than you think!
* Clifton B – Why Highway Communication Sucks and How We Can Make It Suck Less
* Douglas Wolk – Kant’s “Critique of Aesthetic Judgement”: Drastically Condensed Awesome Version
* Michael Weinberg – Thanksgiving 2.0
* Crystal Beasley – Ecstatics, Zealots & Mass Hysteria : How we collectively lose our minds
* Jason Duerr – Pump Up Your Volume: Building a Pirate Radio Station
* Adam DuVander – The Donkey Man is not on Facebook

Second half:

* Colleen Wainwright – My bloody epiphany
* Lou Alvis – Human Systems Analysis. What Are People Doing?
* Brett Stern – Rural mailboxes
* Phil Earnhardt – Robots Growing Up: The Future of Robotic Movement
* Marcus Miller – How to cultivate a wisdom of craft.
* Curtis C. Chen – How to Solve Any Puzzle in Less Than 47 Minutes
* Kelly Jo Horton – Confessions of a Dating Ninja
* Randal Schwartz – Karaoke for fun and profit
* Kent Bye – The Resurgence of Hula Hooping

If you cannot attend live in person this evening, then watch a live video stream on their web site in the comfort of your own home. Of course, you can’t get any McMenamins beer or pizza, so test it out online and plan to make it in person for the next go-around at Ignite Portland 8! Enjoy!