Weekend on the Cheap:
– Submission: Final weekend of the 12th annual City Repair Village Building Convergence, located at St. David’s of Wales (2800 SE Harrison) and featuring free activities to create and build art. Please see web site for schedule.
Friday, June 1st:
– Krispy Kreme National Doughnut Day, stop by and get a doughnut of any variety, no purchase necessary.
– 28th Annual Festival of Flowers celebration starts today at Pioneer Courthouse Square, see this year’s theme ‘Container of Essence.’
– Ellington Warehouse Sale, 10:00am – 4:00pm at 2034 NW 26th Avenue, save up to 90% off original prices on handbags, totes, travel organizers, wallets and more.
– Target First Friday free admission to the Children’s Museum, 4:00pm – 8:00pm.
– Central Eastside Arts District First Friday Art Openings, 6:00pm – 9:00pm, free.
– Toro Bravo and Tasty n Sons Open House Anniversary Party, 4:30pm starting with a marching band at Tasty n Sons and ending at Toro Bravo with free tapas.
Saturday, June 2nd:
– National Trails Day is celebrated in conjunction with State Parks Day — get free day-use and one-night of free camping at Oregon State Parks; click on this link for other free events such as guided hikes, volunteer trail restoration and more.
– Bank of America’s Museums on Us program offers free admission to the Portland Art Museum, Pittock Mansion and the Lan Su Chinese Garden. To qualify for Museums on Us, customers must present their Bank of America or Merrill Lynch credit or debit card along with a photo ID to gain free general admission.
– St. Johns Farmers Market opening day, 9:00am – 2:00pm with vendors, live music, kid’s activities and more.
– Next Adventure 2nd Annual Summer Splash, 10:00am – 6:00pm at Sellwood Riverfront Park. Demo over 50 different kayaks for free!
– Ellington Warehouse Sale, 10:00am – 2:00pm at 2034 NW 26th Avenue, save up to 90% off original prices on handbags, totes, travel organizers, wallets and more.
– 9th Annual Buddhist Festival in the Park: Transforming the Heart, 11:00am – 4:00pm at Colonel Summers Park, free. There will be workshops, speakers, kid’s activities, prize drawings and more.
– Bob White Theater opening, 4:00pm with a talk by Doug Kenck-Crispin from Kick Ass Oregon History, free for all ages. 6423 SE Foster Road.
– Rose Festival Starlight Parade, 8:30pm in downtown Portland, free to watch.
Sunday, June 3rd:
– Bank of America’s Museums on Us program offers free admission to the Portland Art Museum, Pittock Mansion and the Lan Su Chinese Garden. To qualify for Museums on Us, customers must present their Bank of America or Merrill Lynch credit or debit card along with a photo ID to gain free general admission.
– OMSI admission is just $2 per person as part of their First Sunday program.
– ADX one-year anniversary open house and all day barbecue, free and open to the public.
– Woodstock Farmer’s Market opening day, 9:00am – 1:00pm with vendors and live music.
– Bob White Theater opening, 4:00pm with a talk by Doug Kenck-Crispin from Kick Ass Oregon History, free for all ages. 6423 SE Foster Road.
– Oregon Viola Society concert, 7:00pm at the Old Church, admission is by donation. The concert will feature 20th century chamber music written for the viola and diverse instruments, performed by 26 talented musicians. A wine and cheese reception follows the concert.
– For more listings of free and cheap things to do this weekend, please visit Aroundthesunblog and PDXPipeline.
SPOTLIGHT: WALMART NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET
Had a chance to take a quick look at the new Walmart Neighborhood Market, located near the intersection of NW Cornell Road and NW 173rd in Beaverton. KATU has a quick blurb about the opening; here are our first impressions:
– Bright store, wide aisles, well-stocked (better be for opening day!) and helpful staff.
– The emphasis is on groceries, so you’ll find no electronics, hardware, housewares, clothing, etc. However, you will find a pharmacy, personal care products, household staples and a limited selection of baby products. If you order something online, you can choose to have it shipped to the store for pick-up.
– Located at the front of the store is a Redbox DVD kiosk, Rug Doctor rental, Coinstar, HP photo kiosk and some self-checkout areas.
– No go on an in-store bakery or a meat counter — all meats are individually packaged. Although there is no formal deli like you’d find in a Whole Foods or Albertsons, there is a self-service area to buy roasted chicken and accompaniments.
– Pricing is on par with other grocery stores — nothing screamed super deal or rip-off, as prices are pretty competitive with other retailers. Sample pricing includes bananas for $.52 a pound, whole cantaloupes for $1.50, a dozen eggs for $1.19, $6.98 for a Tillamook 2-pound cheddar cheese and $2.58 for a gallon of milk.
– We didn’t see any in-store ads or newspaper inserts; rather, we found ‘Rollback Pricing’ for special buys and deals specified by a sign.
– The store does carry some organic items, though they are not all centrally located.
Overall we thought the store was well-laid out with a good variety of products at competitive pricing. Would we go back? Probably not, simply because we enjoy planning our shopping excursions based on other stores’ weekly specials and loss-leaders, along with the potential for double-coupon savings offered by retailers such as Safeway. At the time of our visit, we did not find this possibility at Walmart; we could be wrong, but until we start seeing weekly specials on fliers or ads, we’ll stick to our regular supermarkets and Wincos. One more negative — the latest the store is open is until 10:00pm, and although we tend to head to bed early, there are occasions when we’ll need to run to the store late at night. Freddies and Safeway are open until at least 11:00pm, and that extra hour makes a big difference to us.
