October Events
This month, Portland offers harvest festivals, hoops, arts events and haunted houses.
Here are some of our favorite October events in Portland. Scroll down for more picks or search the events calendar to see everything on offer.
Portland Trail Blazers
Watch the 1977 NBA Champion Portland Trail Blazers play at the Moda Center. Blazers fans cheer players on from October to April at the nearby Spirit of ’77 and other Blazers sports bars.
Portland Film Festival
Portland has its fair share of film festivals, but Portland Film Festival is one not to miss. The week-long celebration of film that MovieMaker magazine called “one of the coolest film festivals in the world” is jam-packed with networking, workshops, guest speakers, film premieres, financing talks, director Q&As and more.
Fall Arts
Portland's performing arts season comes into full swing in October.
Portland Theater
Portland has a well-established network of venues and theater companies and an increasingly dynamic and diverse small theater scene.
Classical Music in Portland
Portland's opera, symphony and other companies offer an ongoing lineup of inspiring performances, from timeless works to modern interpretations.
Dance in Portland
Portland dance has an inventive spirit that welcomes collaborations and often spills beyond the generally accepted boundaries of “dance.”
West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta
Watch as people seated in gigantic pumpkins race across a lake during the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta. This free, wacky annual event is the only one of its kind on the West Coast.
Haunted Houses
Portland likes its scares as much as any other city, and has the haunted houses to prove it. Some of the biggest annual options include Fright Town at Memorial Coliseum, and the 13th Door and Fear Asylum in nearby towns Beaverton and Milwaukie, respectively.
The Spirit of Halloweentown
The historic town of St. Helens, located 45 minutes from Portland, celebrates The Spirit of Halloweentown all month long with haunted tours, costume contests and more.
Portland Queer Film Festival
The annual Portland Queer Film Festival showcases feature, documentary and short films offering a glimpse into the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and communities in different parts of the world. The festival attracts thousands of filmgoers during its 10-day run at Northwest Portland’s Cinema 21.
Hood River Valley Harvest Fest
The counterpoint to April’s Hood River Valley Blossom Festival, this is your chance to catch the tail end of the fruit-growing process at the Hood River Valley Harvest Fest. The fruit is picked and it’s time to party with music, food, wine and a quilt raffle. One hour and fifteen minutes from downtown Portland.
Portland Open Studios
More October Events
Day of the Dead group show
“Guardino Gallery has been hosting its annual Day of the Dead group show for thirteen years, and the list of participating artists keeps growing — last year 59 artists contributed work. The show’s theme invites artists to put their own spin on this Mexican holiday that honors our dearly departed, and the gallery’s focus on…
Eiko Otake: A Body in Places
A Body in Places is the omnibus title of Eiko’s first solo project, which started with her revisiting post-nuclear disaster Fukushima and her twelve hour performance at Philadelphia Station in 2014. Its scale and modes of presentation vary radically and incorporate both performative and non-performative elements. The exhibition also features a screening of A Body…
Exquisite Creatures
Exquisite Creatures, an artistic experience that unravels humanity’s intimate relationship with the natural world, makes its Oregon debut at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) on Oct. 5, 2019. Artist, naturalist and New York Times bestselling author Christopher Marley reveals the obscure beauty in nature through his three-dimensional work with animal, mineral and…
Fighting for the Right to Fight: African American Experiences in World War II
In the years leading up to World War II, racial segregation and discrimination were part of daily life for many in the United States. For most African Americans, even the most basic rights and services were fragmented or denied altogether. To be black was to know the limits of freedom — excluded from the opportunity,…
Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal
Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal … is the first major survey of the work of one of America’s most important conceptual artists. Throughout his career, Hank Willis Thomas (American, born 1976) has fearlessly addressed racism, inequality and bias in bold, skillfully crafted works. Through photographs, sculpture, video, audience-activated digital animation and collaborative public…
Ladies and Gentlemen … The Beatles!
In 1964, The Beatles came to America for the first of the group’s three North American visits. Their journey in America began on Friday, February 7 of that year, when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr arrived from the U.K. at the newly named John F. Kennedy International Airport. With cameras flashing…
Leonard Bernstein at 100
Leonard Bernstein at 100 celebrates the life and work of Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), the great Jewish American composer and conductor who dedicated his life to making classical music a vibrant part of American culture. The exhibition features photographs, personal items, papers, scores, correspondence, costumes, furniture and audio and video recordings. A vocal booth gives visitors…
Many Shades of Being Darcelle: 52 Years of Fashion, 1967-2019
Portland’s own Darcelle XV (the stage name of Walter Cole) has been headlining the Darcelle XV Showplace cabaret club since 1973. In a career spanning over 50 years, Darcelle has worn a vast array of extravagant costumes, often designed and constructed by Walter himself. Walter, performing as Darcelle, now holds the Guinness World Record for…