Skip to content

The Official Guide to Portland

  • Attractions
    • AttractionsView All Attractions
    • Attractions Open Now
    • Museums & History
    • Parks & Gardens
    • Family Friendly
    • Shopping
    • On a Budget
    • EVEN MORE THINGS TO DO
  • Culture
    • CultureView All Culture
    • Arts
    • Beer
    • Biking
    • Cannabis
    • Cultural Communities
    • Craft Spirits
    • Food
    • Makers
    • Music
    • Nightlife
    • Outdoors
    • Sports
    • Weird
    • Wine
    • MORE CULTURE
  • Neighborhoods
    • NeighborhoodsView All Neighborhoods
    • Alberta Arts District
    • Belmont
    • Central Eastside
    • Division/Clinton
    • Downtown
    • Hawthorne
    • Lloyd
    • Mississippi
    • Northwest / Nob Hill
    • Old Town Chinatown
    • Pearl District
    • St. Johns
    • Sellwood-Moreland
    • Williams
    • ALL NEIGHBORHOODS
  • Region
    • RegionView All Region
    • Near the City
    • Columbia River Gorge
    • Mount Hood
    • Oregon Coast
    • Willamette Valley
    • ALL REGIONS
  • Plan
    • PlanView All Plan
    • Maps
    • Where to Stay
    • Tours & Itineraries
    • Transportation
    • When to Visit
    • International Resources
    • Portland Weather
    • COVID-19 FAQ
    • Plan a Meeting
  • Events
  • Search
Primary Menu 31 Events Near Me Search
  • Attractions
    • AttractionsView All Attractions
    • Attractions Open Now
    • Museums & History
    • Parks & Gardens
    • Family Friendly
    • Shopping
    • On a Budget
    • EVEN MORE THINGS TO DO
  • Culture
    • CultureView All Culture
    • Arts
    • Beer
    • Biking
    • Cannabis
    • Cultural Communities
    • Craft Spirits
    • Food
    • Makers
    • Music
    • Nightlife
    • Outdoors
    • Sports
    • Weird
    • Wine
    • MORE CULTURE
  • Neighborhoods
    • NeighborhoodsView All Neighborhoods
    • Alberta Arts District
    • Belmont
    • Central Eastside
    • Division/Clinton
    • Downtown
    • Hawthorne
    • Lloyd
    • Mississippi
    • Northwest / Nob Hill
    • Old Town Chinatown
    • Pearl District
    • St. Johns
    • Sellwood-Moreland
    • Williams
    • ALL NEIGHBORHOODS
  • Region
    • RegionView All Region
    • Near the City
    • Columbia River Gorge
    • Mount Hood
    • Oregon Coast
    • Willamette Valley
    • ALL REGIONS
  • Plan
    • PlanView All Plan
    • Maps
    • Where to Stay
    • Tours & Itineraries
    • Transportation
    • When to Visit
    • International Resources
    • Portland Weather
    • COVID-19 FAQ
    • Plan a Meeting
  • Events
  • Search
Courtney Tait

Courtney Tait

Courtney Tait is a writer from Victoria, B.C. who lives in Portland. Read More

Revelers toast at a Nightwood Society event. Revelers toast at a Nightwood Society event.
i
Revelers toast at a Nightwood Society event.
Credit: Cheryl Juetten
Culture

The Nightwood Society: Portland’s Women-Run Food and Design Collective

This all-women team of Portlanders offers public pop-up dinners, butchery lessons and more.

Updated Dec. 4, 2020 4 min read Lloyd
Courtney Tait

Courtney Tait

Courtney Tait is a writer from Victoria, B.C. who lives in Portland. Read More

An adventurous culinary hub on Northeast Broadway, The Nightwood Society is an event space and dining hall where one-of-a-kind experiences are created around food. The seating is upholstered in blush velvet, the chandelier is made of flowers and a powerhouse collective of women brings each event to life.

We can be a new vehicle to feed people. We can be this change that we want to see.

Michelle Battista

A Women-Run Collective

Opened in October 2017, The Nightwood is the brainchild of creative consultant Michelle Battista. Wanting to create a physical space for her dual passions of food and design, she started reaching out to likeminded people. “At first it was about, ‘How do I want my life to look?’” she says. “And then I realized I want to be surrounded by women.”

That impulse led to the assemblage of a tribe of female designers, food makers, artists, farmers and other creatives, each contributing their skills in unique ways. Along with Battista (who also owns a creative agency), the day-to-day team includes co-owner and proprietress Kati Reardon, Let Um Eat co-founder Leah Scafe and former Renata chef Sarah Schneider. The full collective is composed of a dozen core members.

As Battista notes, the food industry has often lacked leadership opportunities for women. The Nightwood seeks to change that by serving as a creative incubator for women and providing support for their ideas to flourish. “We’re creating a space for women to grow, learn and develop,” Battista says. “There are all of these new ways to work in food and love food. We can be a new vehicle to feed people. We can be this change that we want to see.”

A display of various teapots and flowers for the Nightwood Society
The Nightwood’s aesthetic is loosely inspired by Alice in Wonderland.
Credit: Ashley Anderson

Events & Classes at The Nightwood

For guests, The Nightwood’s offerings fall into two categories: experience and education. On the experience side, the 3,000-square-foot (280 sq m) venue hosts public and private events, including dinners, pop-up markets and afternoon tea parties. Its first season featured beer-and-seafood event “The Feast of Seven Fishes” with Migration Brewing; fundraiser “PDX Feeds Puerto Rico,” starring Puerto Rican chefs and baristas; a holiday market showcasing the wares of women makers; and the inaugural “Farm 2 Turntable,” a dinner-turned-dance party with beats by DJ Sanju.

At the heart of The Nightwood’s approach is collaboration: Guest chefs and makers can let their visions shine. “We don’t want to impose rigid rules on collaborators,” says Battista. “This is a space where people can come and explore their own creativity.”

Related

Take a class or peruse unique locally-made goods at ceramics studio Carter & Rose on Southeast Division Street.

Makers

Portland is a hub for artists, entrepreneurs and creators alike, with community studios, warehouses and makerspaces that let you DIY your way around town.

Peruse local artwork at Alberta Street Gallery in Northeast Portland.

Arts

Galleries, public art, events and avant-garde institutions fill Portland’s vibrant arts scene.

Brunching on traditional Nordic food at Broder Nord in North Portland is a local favorite.

Food & Drink

Portland is surrounded by fertile farmland and local chefs make the most of the bounty, often letting the week’s farmers’ market hauls dictate their menus.

Camas Davis, founder of the Portland Meat Collective,  curates The Nightwood’s evolving series of culinary classes. Instruction in whole-animal butchery is on the roster, as are sessions on fermentation, preservation and inventive ways to use a single ingredient. (Can it be pickled? Can it be confit-ed?)

Though both Davis and Schneider are butchers, the venue is primarily vegetable-focused. Davis, whose culinary ethos was influenced through studying the art of butchery and charcuterie in southwest France, says, “My goal is getting people to rethink the role of meat in their everyday lives, eat better meat, eat less of it and use it as an accent.”

It’s a notion that ties in with The Nightwood’s mission to shake up the status quo. “Why is meat always masculine and vegetables feminine?” muses Battista. “We want to change that perception. When we do meat it’s an accompaniment. It’s beauty on top. The way things are presented — that’s where the magic is.”

Two women sitting and laughing while having a drink
The Nightwood Society’s Kati Reardon (left) and Michelle Battista.
Credit: Ashley Anderson

The Future of The Nightwood Society

Part of the organization’s focus on vegetables stems from its goal to partner with female food suppliers like Vibrant Valley Farm. Located on Sauvie Island, the farm was founded by Kara Marie Gilbert and Elaine Elizabeth Walker and provides most of The Nightwood’s vegetables and flowers, as well as a peaceful reprieve for the collective’s members. The collaboration also produces other projects: indigo grown on the farm will be used for dyeing aprons, and a “floral tornado” installation is in the works. (And yes, there are plans to offer floral and maker classes at The Nightwood as well.)

With so many different skill sets at play, The Nightwood is able to continually transform, with no real limits on what takes place there. (The collective also curates off-site events.) Installations and artwork by visual artist Jess Ford and floral designs by Rosemary Stafford rotate seasonally. In summer, the patio opens, offering a verdant space Battista envisions becoming “like a greenhouse.”

While The Nightwood’s internal community is made up of women, the external community, Battista emphasizes, is for everyone. “There have been so many people cheering us on every step of the way,” she says. “They can’t wait to keep experiencing these different events because they are all unique. Everyone’s excited to see what happens next.”

To learn more about upcoming events and classes, visit thenightwoodsociety.com.

Events

Female Fronted

More cultural communities
Portland\'s women-focused Gladys Bikes specializes in custom cycles for any body.

Fantastic Feminist Businesses in Portland

You may have heard about Portland’s feminist bookstore, but what about the city’s tomboy boutique, female-focused bicycle shop or radical nail salon?

Portland musician, artist, and author Amy Subach performs at Future Prairie.

Future Prairie: A Collective of Women and Queer Artists

Portland’s Future Prairie is a collective of women and queer artists that presents chautauqua-inspired live shows, as well as a podcast.

Black Belt Eagle Scout performs at Bunk Bar in 2018. Photo by Ashley Anderson.

Meet Queer Indigenous Musician, Black Belt Eagle Scout

Portland artist Katherine Paul draws inspiration from the riot grrrl movement, Nirvana and her Swinomish roots.

Meet the Woman Behind Portland’s She Shreds Magazine

Fabi Reyna's She Shreds is shaking up the music industry as the world’s only magazine dedicated to women guitarists and bassists.

All Jane founder Stacey Hallal performs at Curious Comedy.

All Jane Comedy Festival

Portland's five-day comedy festival showcases nearly 50 female comedians each October.

POW Film Fest features women-led films, workshops and moderated panels.

POW Film Fest

Every March, POW Film Fest returns to showcase films by female and non-binary directors from the Portland area.

A bartender prepares gin samples in Freeland Spirits\' tasting room.

Woman-Run Distilleries in Portland

Discover Portland’s best woman-made spirits and bitters, one sip at a time.

Laurie + MaryJane\'s  brownie bites and almond cake bites both won Dope Cup awards.

Five Women-Made Cannabis Edibles to Try in Portland

From cheese crisps to cold brew, these Portland women take cannabis edibles to the next level.

Upcoming Food Events

More events
Canceled
Portland Dining Month
Mar. 1–31, 2021

Portland Dining Month

Restaurants Citywide $33

Every March, more than 100 Portland restaurants serve up three courses for just $33 nightly. There’s no better time to visit this top culinary destination.

Canceled
Events
Food
Spring
Editor's Pick
Oregon Midsummer Festival
Saturday, June 12, 2021

Oregon Midsummer Festival

Oaks Amusement Park & Roller Skating Rink Varies – children 11 and under enter free

Midsummer continues to be a fun, family friendly and important day with centuries-old traditions and everyone is invited!​ Enjoy delicious Nordic cuisine, try traditional beverages and scrumptious sweets. Spend the day making your own colorful flower crown and other crafts. Play Kubb and other fun games, take a break in the beer garden before dancing…

Editor's Pick
Cultural Communities
Festival
Food & Drink
For Kids
Blanchet House’s Lend a Helping Hand Brunch
Sunday, Mar. 7, 2021

Blanchet House’s Lend a Helping Hand Brunch

Online Free

Blanchet House’s 7th Annual Lend a Helping Hand Brunch will be held virtually on March 7, 2021, from 11 am – 12 pm. Blanchet House has provided free meals, clothing, and shelter to thousands of people during the pandemic. Join us in celebrating and supporting the Blanchet House community while honoring the legacy many have…

Food & Drink
Lents International Farmers Market
Ongoing

Lents International Farmers Market

Southeast Portland, OR Free

Lents International Farmers Market opens on Sunday, June 2, 2019 and is open every Sunday through November 24, 2019. The Lents International Farmers Market (LIFM) is the only one in Portland with an intentional international focus. LIFM provides fresh, affordable and culturally appropriate produce to the diverse community of Lents neighbors. Founded in 2006 by…

Cultural Communities
Food & Drink
Shopping

Was this page helpful?

Visitor’s Guide

cover of Travel Portland's visitor guide, 2019-'20, featuring a woman walking through Portland Japanese Garden

Get the Guide

 

Newsletter Signup

Get your monthly guide to Portland's events, attractions and news.

Follow Us

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Information For

Local Businesses
Media
Meeting Planners
Travel Industry Professionals
Event Organizers

Brought to you by

Travel Portland Logo

We are a promoter and steward of this evolving city and its progressive values, which have the power to transform the travelers who visit us.

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Español
  • Français
  • Deutsch
  • 日本語
  • 汉语
  • 漢語
  • 한국어
Copyright © 2021 Travel Portland
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Copyright Policy
Visit The USA Logo