Weekend on the Cheap:
– Coffee Taste Off this Friday, 11:00am – 2:00pm at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Taste and vote from 16 select coffee roasters; a suggested donation of $5 allows you to sample the coffee and vote for your favorite roaster.
– Friends of the Multnomah County Library 37th Annual Fall Used Book Sale (Oregon’s largest!) this weekend at the corner of 33rd and Sandy Boulevard. Members-only presale on Friday, general public sale Saturday and Sunday; wait until Monday and get an additional 50% discount.
– 2010 Portland Humanist Film Fest kicks off with a screening of Monty Python’s Life of Brian this Friday, 7:30pm at the Clinton Street Theater. Please see web site for complete schedule of this free film festival, running this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
– Free admission to the Museum of Contemporary Craft this Saturday in honor of the 35th Anniversary of Blue Sky Gallery.
– Washington County Museum Free Family Saturday from 10:00am – 2:00pm. Check out new arts, crafts and activities relating to history, culture, and the spirit of the changing seasons. Free admission, snacks and juice. Donations welcome.
– Bing.com is giving away free food all day on Monday, October 13th; log onto the special website at 7:00am, 11:00am and 4:00pm and look for the golden sporks on the map, which will reveal the exact location where you can get free breakfast, lunch, and happy hour treats. Offer good to the first 500 people to respond to each “meal” location while supplies last.
– For more ideas on cheap and free activities this weekend, please visit Aroundthesunblog and PDXPipeline!
Spotlight: Portland Halloween Haunted Houses & Attractions
It’s the witching season full of pumpkins and bagged miniature candies and that means it’s time for haunted houses and similar themed attractions for Halloween. In addition to the suggestions for saving money at the following attractions, be on the lookout for Groupon, Living Social and Portland half-off deals, as we’ve seen offers for two of these attractions in the last couple of weeks.
– Fright Town (beneath the Memorial Coliseum) offers three attractions: Baron Von Goolo’s Museum of Horrors, Elshoff Manor and The Chop Shop. Regular admission to all three attractions is $20, but the web site has a printable $5 off coupon. $5 off coupons are also available from many local retailers such as Bi-Mart, Papa Murphy’s and Cricket Wireless outlets. Similarly, show a Rose Quarter event ticket stub and get $5 off admission (sorry, you can’t combine it with the other coupons above). Valid all days EXCEPT 10/22, 10/23, 10/29 and 10/30. Listen to the radio as stations are also giving away tickets.
– 13th Door Haunted House (near SW 87th & Canyon Road): regular general admission is $15, but if you buy advanced tickets before October 7th (ie tonight), your cost is $13. Advance ticket purchases are via PayPal. If you have an October birthday, you get free general admission on October 19th.
– Hillsboro Slaughter House scares up its haunts every Thursday, Friday and Saturday beginning this Friday at 7:30pm. Located at the Hillsboro Town Center shopping plaza at 1995 SE Tualatin Valley (look for the Office Depot), cost is $10 per person. No coupons or discounts available.
– Scream at the Beach (Jantzen Beach Mall), celebrating 10 years. $20 general admission for all haunts. Web site provides a full listing of possible discounts including $5 off coupons and group rates. Sign up for their email club and have a chance to win tickets.
– The Haunted Maize at the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island: get stalked in the corn at the Field of Screams, October 8–9, 15–16, 22–23, 29–31 (7pm–10pm). $10 general admission for all ages (though not recommended to under six years of age); go to the web site to download a $1 off coupon.
– Milburn’s Haunted Manor (Hubbard, south of Portland): $9 admission to the Manor, $9 admission to Wicked-Wood Forest and $9 admission to The Dark, or pay $20 for all three attractions. No other discounts available, but if you buy a multi-pass ticket any Sunday night you’ll recieve a pumpkin of your choice from the pumpkin patch.
– Davis Graveyard (Milwaukie): Free! It’s Portland’s home-grown backyard haunted house attraction ten years plus running. Think super-awesome display that a very dedicated neighbor might put on, and multiply that by tenfold. Weeknights only the lights are up, but go on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and also see the special effects.
– Terror in the Country Haunted House, located in Warren between St. Helens and Scappose on Highway 30. $12 for ages 12 and up, $5 for children under 12. Get $2 off adult admission with 2 cans of food to be donated to the Columbia County Food Bank.
– Nightmare Factory at Oregon School for the Deaf in Salem, chosen this year for the ABC show “Extreme Makeover.” General admission is $10, or get to the front of the line for $15. Open weekends October 8th & 9th, 15th & 16th, and then nightly from the 22nd – 31st. They offer a special $5 ticket if you want to go through the attraction again during the same night. No further discounts or promotions available.
Rest In Peace / On Hiatus
– Darkest Dreams Entertainment (Pearl District): coming back bigger and better next year 2011.
– Washington County Fair Complex FriteLights and Fields of Fear, RIP 2009.
– Oregon Zoo ZooBoo; RIP mid-2000
– Screamland Oaks Park; RIP 2007
– House of Midnight, Wilsonville; RIP 2008
– OMSI Haunted Submarine, RIP mid-2000
We know we may have missed some other Halloween themed attractions, so if you know of others, please leave a comment. Thanks for stopping by!
