Portland Art Museum Free Friday | Portland On The Cheap

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Spotlight: Portland Ultimate Frisbee

Weekend on the Cheap:

- Portland Art Museum free admission this Friday from 5:00pm – 8:00pm as part of ‘Fourth Fridays.’

- Energy Trust Better Living Home, Garden and Lifestyle Show this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Portland Expo Center. Free admission, though parking is $7 per space.

- Children’s consignment sale this Friday, Saturday and Sunday located in Vancouver’s Centennial Center at the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay. Many items will be half-price on Sunday. The sale is free admission and is open to the public.

- “Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice about the Meat We Eat),” book reading at Powell’s City of Books at 4:00pm, featuring musician Moby. Free.

- Next Adventure 7th Annual Spring Warehouse Clearance Sale this Saturday and Sunday, save 20%-80% off camping gear, kayaks, apparel, snow sports equipment, footwear and more.

- NBC reality show the Biggest Loser is holding an open casting call for new contestants this Sunday, March 28th at the Oregon Convention Center from 10:00am – 6:00pm.

- For a complete rundown of free activities and events this weekend, please visit Aroundthesunblog.

Restaurant.com gift certificates at 80% off now until March 31st: buy a $25 gift certificate for $2, must use the promo code ‘COOK’ at checkout.

SPOTLIGHT: ULTIMATE FRISBEE

This week’s Spotlight is on a growing team sport that is super-cheap, super-fun and super-good for you: Ultimate Frisbee!

We were first introduced to this sport in spring 2004 when we responded to an ad on Craigslist for a pick-up beginner’s game at Laurelhurst Park. Before we knew it, our Sundays were all about playing Ultimate Frisbee and hanging out with the people afterward.

The game is pretty simple: 7 players to a team on the field (with subs). The objective is to advance the Frisbee across the field to the opposing side’s goal area. Points are scored when a member of the team catches the Frisbee inside of that area (the end zone). The first team to 15 points, wins. Of course, there are other points to know about playing this game, but once you get started the rules and etiquette of the game will come easily.

We love this sport for a variety of reasons:
- Cheap: the only equipment you’ll need is a Frisbee (and those flimsy freebies with company logos on it? not recommended); official discs cost around $15-$25

- Play just about anywhere and anytime, preferably in a big, level field. A sandy beach would be perfect.

- Exercise: running around a field is very tiring, but fortunately each team has subs. Just call for one whenever you need a breather. If you aren’t in shape when you start, you sure will be after a few sessions!

- It’s for everyone and anyone: old and young, male and female, super athletes and casual athletes. On the competitive circuit, there are co-ed teams and single-sex teams with levels ranging from beginner to advanced.

- Camaraderie: people love this sport and there is a true sense of players wanting others to enjoy it. Come more than once and soon enough you’ll find that someone will take you under his or her wing to help a newcomer out with the nuances of the game.

- “Spirit of the Game:” Ultimate emphasizes fair play and sportsmanship. You won’t find any refs, as players call their own fouls. It’s a game of respect and having fun.

Wanna get started?

First stop, visit the official Portland Ultimate Frisbee Federation web site, PUFF. You’ll find information about Ultimate basics, message boards, leagues, pick-up games and resources.

- If you have a Yahoo account, you can sign up for the Yahoo group PDX Ultimate Frisbee group, which has over 300 members and frequent postings on the message board for scheduled and impromptu pick-up games.

- The community section of Portland Craigslist sometimes has postings for people recruiting newbies and experienced players for an upcoming pick-up game. Just type in “Frisbee” in the search box to see what comes up.

- A listing of weekly pick-up games can be found at PUFF and includes information such as skill level, duration and location. We recommend the Tuesday 6 o’clock-ish session at Gabriel Park in SW Portland or the Sunday 2:00pm afternoon game at Franklin High School in SE Portland. Just show up and let em’ know that you are a beginner and you’ll be well taken care of! And don’t forget to bring and light and dark-colored shirt for team divisions.

- Sign up for the PUFF Start Skillz League. At just $70 per person, the Z-league is a fun beginner league that starts in April. Participants learn throws and strategy and gradually play more and more games in the league. The fee includes league play, a Rec League t-shirt, a Portland Ultimate Frisbee Federation disc, and a barbecue during the Rec League tournament at the end of the season.

- Can’t commit to a season or still a little hesitant? Then try a Beginner Clinic through PUFF. Choose either April 17th or April 24th, runs from 8:00am – 12:00pm at only $10 per adult or $7 per student/youth. This is for women only (sorry fellas!).

Finally, check out the Wikipedia entry for Ultimate Frisbee or this short write up for these 10 simple rules.

That’s all for this week, thanks for visiting and hopefully we’ll see you out there on the field!

2010: 03/25
CATEGORY: Spotlights
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Spotlight: Saving Money at the Fuel Pump

Weekend Picks on the Cheap:

- Artist talk and opening reception for the exhibition “What Is a Trade?” this Thursday afternoon 4:00pm at the Lewis and Clark Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art. From web site: “Donald Fels and Signboard Painters of South India exhibits 16 large-scale paintings that explore trade and globalization in India.”

- The Portland Art Museum offers free admission this Friday from 5:00pm – 8:00pm.

- Writers Talking: Jess of Get Sconed! Meet the author of this local vegan-blog with free samples and tips this Saturday from 1:00pm – 2:30pm at the Multnomah County Central library.

- Free benefit concert for relief efforts in Haiti this Sunday at 7:00pm at McMenamins Kennedy School. Donations gladly accepted.

- Willamette Week’s new Cheap Skate Deal Box features a free week of Kung Fu, a free avalanche clinic, deeply discounted wedding dresses, cheap beer and more.

- Taco Bell has reposted their free Fresco Taco coupon as part of their Drive Thru Diet campaign.

- For more free weekend events, please go to Aroundthesunblog

Spotlight: Saving Money at the Fuel Pump

It seemed not too long ago when we could go to practically any gas station in the Portland area and get unleaded gas for less than $1.50 per gallon. Fast-forward to 2009 and into this new decade and the norm has been above $2.50 per gallon, reaching as high as $4.50 just a couple years ago. Since the sticker shock of high gas prices, we have curtailed our daily driving use and have turned to bicycling, carpooling and public transportation. We are fortunate to drive a 91 Honda Civic and a 92 Toyota Corolla and our smaller cars can average around 30mpg. Still, we try our best to save money at the pump, and these are our thoughts on this subject:

- First off, here’s an article explaining why gas prices are predicted to increase into Spring 2010 and beyond: “More Pain at the Pump: Gas Prices High and Going Higher”

- Before heading out to fill up, we’ll check our local gas prices with PortlandGasPrices.com. This site is chock full of useful data and tips and pump prices are frequently updated by user submissions. We like that we can search gas prices by city and/or zip code; search prices by looking at a map; and one can join the community and win weekly prizes like free gas!

- Get to know your neighborhood and your frequent travel routes and soon enough you’ll remember the gas stations along the way. Keep an eye out for special incentives for “shopping” there. One of our nearby gas stations offers a free car wash with a fill-up. Another will discount the gas by ten cents per gallon with a minimum $10 purchase in their mini-mart.

- Gas savings can also be had by using your “Club Card” at area grocery stores with gas stations. Fred Meyer and Safeway are the two major food retailers here in Portland with gas stations at some locations. Albertsons also has a couple locations with fuel pumps. Swing by a Costco and you’ll see the lines of cars filling up for less; annual memberships start at $50.

- Portland edition Entertainment books include a coupon for $1.00 off 8 Gallons or more of Plus or Supreme Unleaded Gasoline at area Chevron stations. The nice part is that there is a coupon good for every month of the year.

- A few years ago we received an email regarding four suggestions for getting your money’s worth at the gas pump: read the post here, dissected and discussed by Urban Legends web site Snopes.com.

- Some road warriors swear by the savings they receive via their credit cards. We have not personally taken this route, but here is a web site that provides an overview of credit card terms and incentives: Guide to Gas Station Credit Cards

- When you travel around Portland as much as we do, you’ll notice that there are areas of high gas prices and pockets of lower rates. We stumbled across this article written in August 2009 “Where to Buy Cheap Gas in Portland, OR.” Highly recommended reading!

- There are discount no-name stations with super cheap gas; there’s also ARCO…since high school our friends have always claimed that their gas is inferior. Is it? Is there a difference between name-brand gas (ie Chevron & Shell) and the no-name places? Here are two articles (with one video) that help explain:
“Can discount gas crimp your ride?” from USA Today 06/2007.
“Fuel Wars: Is Price The Only Difference Between Name-Brand And Discount Gas?” from CBS Evening news 08/2005.

- Finally, there is only so much you can do to find the cheapest gas out there—what it ultimately comes down to is getting the optimum fuel economy out of your vehicle. And for that we turn to Consumer Reports, which explains how to get the best gas mileage including some myth busters: “Fuel economy: Save money on gas”

If you have any further tips or suggestions, feel free to post a Comment and thanks for stopping by!

2010: 01/21
CATEGORY: Spotlights
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Spotlight: Black Friday

An early Wednesday edition this week so that we may enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend. A few quick suggestions for this weekend on the cheap:

- Macy’s Annual Holiday Parade, downtown Portland from 8:45am – 10:00am. See Santa’s arrival to Macy’s Santaland.

- Portland Art Museum free admission this Friday evening, 5:00pm – 8:00pm

- This is the first full week of the ‘Holidays in the Pearl‘ promotion, where you present the free holiday Pearl Pass and get sales, discounts, food and beverage specials.

- 27th annual Wine Country Thanksgiving event at multiple Willamette Valley Wineries, this Friday – Sunday, 11:00am – 5:00pm. See web site for map and directory.

- Secret Society Sale this Sunday, 11:00am – 5:00pm.

- Willamette Week’s new Cheapskate Deal Box includes Jolly Restaurant $4 cheeseburgers, free movie showings, a free Berbati’s show and more.

- For other weekend freebies, check out Aroundthesunblog.

- And don’t forget about Cyber Monday! Beware the 12 Scams of Xmas (article from FoxNews). Come Monday, check out PCWorld.com as they usually have a feature story about the best Cyber Monday deals to be had.

Spotlight: Black Friday

Our only piece of advice is to get the Thursday edition of the Oregonian to scan and sort through all the ads for Black Friday. Some stores are open on Thanksgiving for even earlier deals, so it wouldn’t hurt to check through this morning’s (Wednesday) edition. Other than that, we think these will also point you in the right direction:

- “The Ultimate Insider Black Friday Guide: Where to Go for the Best Deals.” From US News & World Report

- “11 big Black Friday deals.” From CNN/Money

- “5 tips for saving on Black Friday.” From Bankrate.com

- “Best Black Friday Deals for Gadget Lovers.” From Fox News

- “Top 10 Black Friday Websites.” From PCWorld.com

- “Ten Black Friday Bargains.” From Forbes.com

- “Black Friday Deals 2009: The BEST Offers From Major Retailers.” From Huffington Post

- “Black Friday 2009 countdown: Final week of deals, tips, & news.” From USA Today

There you have it…enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and happy bargain hunting!

2009: 11/25
CATEGORY: Spotlights
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Spotlight: Free DVD Rentals

Plenty to do for this weekend! Among the offerings:

- Free admission to the Portland Art Museum on Friday, from 5:00pm – 8:00pm

- Hillsboro’s Main Library has ‘Groovin at the Library‘ Friday night from 7:30pm – 8:30pm, featuring the Montavilla Brass Quintet

- Saturday choose from a free Homeownership Fair; PCC’s 9th annual Harvest Festival (with free admission to the Washington County Historical Society Museum); community Health Fairs in Milwaukie, Battleground and Vancouver’s Community A.M.E. Zion Church; the Portland Zombie Walk at 3:30pm in downtown; the events of the Portland 350 Global Day of Action; and FREE waffles from 9:00am – 3:00pm at FlavorSpot during their 3rd anniversary SpotFest:09

- Sunday take part in Family Bicycle Transportation Day at Oregon Manifest Bike Union

- For more free weekend happenings, go to Aroundthesunblog

- Willamette Week’s new Cheap Skate deal box features half-off Halloween tattoos, bike mechanic school open house, a free concert and more.

Spotlight: Free DVD Rentals

We love our movies, and we go out perhaps twice a month to see a movie on the big screen, but mostly we watch on the small screen in the comforts of home. Here are some ways to score some free DVD rentals for the long winter ahead.

- Redbox rental kiosks are found at a variety of locations around the Portland area inside of Fred Meyers, Albertsons, and McDonalds. Most rentals are just $1.00 a night, but get them free by using a special code at checkout at InsiderRedBox.com, or combined with other promotions (for example, buy a certain McDonald’s value meal and get a free rental).

- A direct competitor is DVDXpress, found inside grocery stores such as Haggen, Lambs, Thriftway, Roth’s and Food 4 Less. Use the special codes listed here upon check out for your free rental. Provide your email address to the service and you’ll get you’ll also receive occasional BOGO free offers.

- Netflix: get a free 2-week trial for their mail-service DVD rentals. Great selection to choose from, but just remember to cancel before the end of the trial period! At one time they offered a 30-day trial, but they wised up and now it is limited to 2 weeks.

- Blockbuster by Mail: similar 2-week trial as offered by Netflix. The advantage is that you can sign up for their 3 DVDs at a time with 5 in-store exchanges. What that means is when you are finished with one DVD, instead of mailing it back and waiting for your next DVD on the queue, just go to your local Blockbuster and exchange it for one on the shelf and save yourself the wait.

- Borrow from your friends or co-workers, start up an exchange! Chances are that you must know somebody with a huge inventory of the latest movies…

- Columbia House DVD Club. Um, we said rentals, and Columbia House is not for that, so we do not recommend it. You know the drill: get 3 DVDs for free or for $1 each and just pay shipping and handling AND buy 3 more movies at regular price during the year…and don’t forget that you’ll get a monthly director’s featured selection mailed to you and if you don’t cancel in time, guess what?….yeah, no thanks!!!

- And drum roll please for our favorite method of getting free DVD movie rentals…ta da!…. it’s at our local library! Log-in online and reserve a copy of the DVD and just wait until it is your turn on the waiting list. Even the most popular movies like Transformers 2 will have 20 or more copies available, and if you own a Blu-Ray then you’re in the minority and you’ll get your rental much sooner. Take a spin at Washington County, Multnomah County, Clackamas County (new link for 13 libraries provided by Jon) and Fort Vancouver Regional libraries!

If you know of any other ways of scoring some free DVD rentals, we’d love to hear them so please leave a comment and share. Thanks for reading and for your support!

2009: 10/22
CATEGORY: Spotlights
Weekly Highlights
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Weekend Stuff To Do and Spotlight on Next Adventure

- First off, bummer news for those of us that signed on to become a Fan of Woody to get our free burger at TGI Fridays…yes, you’ll still get your email burger coupon, but no, you won’t be able to redeem it next month because the one and only Oregon TGIF location at Washington Square has officially closed. Good luck going to Northern California and Vancouver, Washington, cause those have also shut their doors as well.

- Willamette Week’s new Cheap Skate Deal Box includes free tastings of a Scandinavian spirit, the first ever Oregon Children’s Theatre costume sale, a free concert and more.

- Coffee lovers—get paid for your opinions. Read the details below and then click here to fill out the qualifying questionnaire.

The Sensory and Consumer Group at the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center is looking for participants for a coffee taste test to take place on Tuesday, Oct. 6th. The taste test is about 30-45 minutes and the compensation is $35. Test times run from 9:15am to 4:15pm. If you are interested, please click on the link below to submit a questionnaire. If you are selected to participate, we will contact you via email on Sept. 30th where you must confirm your intent to participate. We will then send you another reminder email the day before the test.

For those who are new to the email list, please note that we cannot contact everyone who sent in a questionnaire. You will not hear back from us for each test as each consumer will not be selected every time. We only contact those who were selected to participate and will be sending out those confirmation emails by Sept. 30th.

Photo ID will be required to participate in this test.

- There are a bevy of activities and events going on this weekend, too much to list, so check out our Calendar tab or go to Aroundthesunblog. Among the highlights: Taoist Tai Chi Society 20-year celebration, the Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day 2009 (download a pass to get free admission to various museums in the Portland area), the Oregon Polish Festival for free music, dance and polka!, free admission to the Portland Art Museum this Friday evening, McMenamins free Oktoberfest festival at the Grand Lodge and Edgefield, and Welcome the Rain celebration at Rigler Elementary School.

- And don’t forget, tonight from 5:00pm – 8:00pm is the world’s largest ice cream social at Cold Stone Creamery, where you can score a free 3 oz. Make-A-Wish® Creation™ with a Donation.

POTC Spotlight: Next Adventure

Portland is a mecca for outdoor sports and adventures, so naturally we have a wide selection of stores to choose from for general purposes like Sports Authority, REI and Dick’s Sporting Goods. For other specific pursuits, you could also choose stores that specialize in bicycling, camping, water sports, running and more. There are not a lot of places for used gear, however (try Goodwill or Play It Again Sports). Thankfully, 12 years ago two guys named Deek and Bryan set up shop in SE Portland that featured a bunch of used gear and equipment and very attractive prices. And through those years, the shop has grown in physical space and in the amount of offerings.

Next Adventure is that store, and today you’ll still find used gear and equipment, but you’ll also get dealer close-outs, samples and new name-brand stuff on three floors at cheap or very reasonable prices. Check out the departments: apparel, snow sports, water sports, camping/backpacking, dog gear, disc golf, climbing, bicycling, service, rentals and much more. And for additional discount savings, ask about any special gear package incentives they have for camping, skiing, kayaking, etc.

This weekend is the perfect opportunity to check Next Adventure out, since the store will be having the “Mountains to Oceans Benefit Event,” which brings Portland Mountain Rescue and the Surfrider Foundation to offer information and free educational classes. If this weren’t enough incentive, maybe the monetary one will entice you more: this weekend is also Next Adventure’s Warehouse Clearance sale for summer items and first crack at winter goods, at savings up to 70% off.

Next Adventure is open Monday-Friday 10:00am – 7:00pm; Saturday 10:00am – 6:00pm; and Sunday from 11:00am – 5:00pm. Find them at the corner of SE Stark Street and Grand Avenue. While there, walk up a block to Andy & Bax and explore their store full of military surplus and other outdoor gear. Similar neighboring stores include Bike N’ Hike, River City Bicycles, and the Portland Running & Walking Company.

2009: 09/24
CATEGORY: Spotlights
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POTC Spotlight: Metro Walk There! Guided Walks

This week’s spotlight is on Metro’s ‘Walk There!’ guided walks. But before we get to that, here’s a sneak peek of stuff for this weekend — Aroundthesunblog will have your complete list beginning Thursday evening; here are a few to consider:

- Your new Willamette Week Cheap Skate deals for this week include free wine tastings at Zupan’s, Bike Gallery’s Summer Spectacular Sale, Heathman’s new happy hour menu and more.

- Portland Art Museum will be free to everyone this Friday evening, July 24th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm.

- PDX Pop Now! runs this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, an all-ages festival that showcases Portland’s diverse musical talent. Free!

- Portland Center Stage wraps their JAW Festival with a bunch of performances all weekend. Check them out at the Gerding Theater at the Armory in the Pearl district, free.

- Eastside Portlanders, make a visit to the The East Portland Exposition this Friday, Saturday or Sunday. From the web site:

“The Expo is co-sponsored by all 13 East Portland Neighborhoods. The event will feature numerous exhibitors, lots of entertainment and food, and a wide variety of educational presentations and demonstrations designed to enhance quality-of-life for all attendees. In addition, Funtastic will be having a carnival on their property located across the street. Entry to EPO XPO and the carnival is free-of-charge.”

- For those who love their neighborhood festivals, you have a few options: go to this Saturday’s Division Clinton Street Fair , Saturday’s ‘Party in the Park‘ at Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District or head out to Estacada’s Summer Celebration this Saturday and Sunday.

- For something more educational, attend the 4th annual Native American Housing to Homeownership Fair this Saturday from 10:00am – 3:00pm; free and open to everyone, includes a free lunch and a performance by the NAYA Family Center Dancers.

- For other events and happenings for this weekend and next month, we have set up a Google calendar here. And if you know of any upcoming cheapo deals, please email us so that we can list it on the calendar.

- Finally, Restaurant.com has posted a new promotion to get 80% off with every $25 gift certificate order when you use code NAPKIN. Pay just $2 through next Tuesday, July 28th. There are about 100 restaurants to choose from in the Portland area; be sure to read the fine print details on how the certificates work.

POTC SPOTLIGHT: METRO WALK THERE!

Metro has recently published a neat little guidebook called “Walk There! 50 treks in and around Portland and Vancouver.” We recently had a chance to go on one of their free guided walks, which highlighted the homes and arbor features of the historic Irvington neighborhood.

Our walk lasted just over an hour, and was led by local author Laura Foster, who provided the historical details and interesting anecdotes. For our participation, we received a pedometer and other goodies, courtesy of Kaiser Permanente.

Free walks are scheduled throughout the week until the end of September and cover all points around the Portland area, from Hillsboro and Wilsonville to close-in SE Portland and Fort Vancouver. Walks cover a variety of topics unique to the area such as bird walks, wildlife identification, family hikes, ecology, history and more.

We highly recommend taking one of these guided walks. And if your schedule just doesn’t seem to mesh with their outings, then get the book: either check it out from the library, buy it at a local bookstore, or go to the web site and download each walk or the entire book for free. What we really appreciate about the walks is that every one of them begins and ends near a bus or MAX stop. Our favorite walk? The 4 T’s: trail, tram, trolley, train. To make it THE ultimate excursion, we rode the #15 bus from the NW 23rd streetcar stop to Lower Macleay Park, hiked up to Pittock Mansion, continued on the Wildwood Trail to the Oregon Zoo, and followed the route to Council Crest and on to OHSU. Peruse the web site for the guided walk schedule or pick one out to try on your own. Happy trails!