March Events
Winter's end brings shopping, art and drinks to the Rose City.
Here are some of our favorite March events in Portland. Scroll down for more picks or search the events calendar to see everything on offer.
Portland Dining Month
Top eateries offer four weeks of delicious deals during Portland Dining Month. More than 100 restaurants participate, each presenting three-course menus for just $33.
Cascade Festival of African Films
Billed as the longest-running nonprofit African film festival in America, Portland’s free Cascade Festival of African Films has celebrated African achievements and hopes for the future since 1991. The month-long film festival shares stories of Africa as told by Africans. Hosted by the Hollywood Theatre and Portland Community College’s Cascade Campus, the festival also includes staged theatrical readings, talk-backs with the films’ creators, an African marketplace and a social hour with food and live music every Saturday.
Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival
The Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival is the Northwest Film Center’s annual showcase of new work by regional media artists, showing feature, short and documentary films made by artists in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Montana and Idaho every March. As the oldest and largest festival presenting regionally made work, the event offers an up-to-the-minute snapshot of a rich and diverse media arts community drawing increasing international attention.
Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival
Spanning several days every March, POW Film Fest focuses on the art and cinematic contribution of women filmmakers from around the world.
St. Patrick’s Day
It’s no surprise that always-green Portland has plenty of St. Paddy’s Day festivities. Led by Kells Irish Pub, the annual St. Patrick’s Festival includes plenty of live music, amateur boxing, Irish dance performances and plenty more inside the large pub and special festival tent outside. You might also catch locals and visitors — around 35,000 of them — taking to the street for the Shamrock Run, the second-largest running and walking event on the West Coast and a Portland tradition since 1979.
More March Events
Art and Race Matters: The Career of Robert Colescott
The first comprehensive retrospective of one of America’s most compelling and controversial artists, Art and Race Matters traces the work of Robert Colescott (1925-2009), who established his career in Portland with the support of gallery owner and philanthropist Arlene Schnitzer, then made his mark in the 1970s with a series of deconstructed art-historical masterpieces that…
PDX Jazz Festival
The Portland Jazz Festival returns every February with a stellar series of concerts and events celebrating Black History Month.
Volcano! Mount St. Helens in Art
Marking the 40th anniversary of the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, this exhibition explores the overwhelming power of nature and the epic cycles of volcanic destruction and regeneration with stunning photographs, paintings and drawings of the mountain from 1845 to the present day. Curated by Dawson Carr, Ph.D., The Janet and Richard Geary Curator of…
Northwest Filmmakers' Festival
The Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival is the Northwest’s premiere showcase of new work by leading regional filmmakers. This touchstone annual event brings artists and audiences together for a community celebration. Annually, the Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival draws hundreds of entries from Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
Submarine Tech Tour
OMSI offers a Guided Tech Tour on the second and fourth Sunday of every month. This special tour guided by an actual submarine veteran is for those who would like to learn more about the technical workings of the Blueback. The maximum tour size is eight people, so plan ahead and reserve your spot. Tech…
Whale Watching Week
Up to 20,000 gray whales migrate along Oregon’s coast every winter and spring. Spot them from these four locations.
Being Present
Being Present: Revisiting, Somewhat Unfaithfully, Portland’s Most Experimental Art Experiment, PCVA From 1972 to 1987, the Portland Center for the Visual Arts (PCVA) was a major force in the Pacific Northwest, introducing progressive forms of contemporary art from around the country to Portland audiences. Temporary site-specific installations by major, mostly New York-based sculptors, announced its…
Curator’s Choice: Japanese Print Acquisitions of the Past Decade
Retiring Curator of Asian Art Maribeth Graybill presents her personal favorites from among more than 600 Japanese prints acquired during her tenure at the Museum. The exhibition includes works by leading masters of the 18th and 19th centuries, chosen for their exceptional condition; warrior prints, a genre previously neglected in the collection; and prints by…