This week: floating saunas, African filmmaking, and showing moss some love. by Lindsay Costello Hope you're into... well... everything, because this week's round-up of cultural events is like a magician's endless ribbon trick, with opportunities to hear planetary chamber music, bake bread with an Indigenous Argentine artist, aaand catch a ’90s anime sci-fi that might've inspired Inception. Plus, an all-ages venue officially opens, Milwaukie Bay Park will host a sauna in a sailboat, and Portland Japanese Garden's moss petting zoo sounds soft. Monday, February 9 Portland Trail Blazers vs. Philadelphia 76ers The Blazers hit a rough patch at the end of January, into February. Perhaps this past weekend's return of sophomore phenom Scoot Henderson will bring about a welcome change. That, and Deni Avdija unplugging for a week to heal his ailing back, completely ignorant to any glowing endorsements received from genocidal world leaders (god this has been a rugged season to be a Blazer fan). Coming to town are the Philadelphia 76ers, whose young all-star guard Tyrese Maxey has taken another astronomical leap to potentially becoming an All-NBA player this season by scoring at all three levels, in addition to solid playmaking as a passer, and good positional defense. Combined with one of the best rookies in a stacked draft class in V.J. Edgecombe, the 76ers will have a formidable backcourt for years to come. You can almost forget this team has a recent MVP winner (2023) in center Joel Embiid playing well (and healthy) after his injury-riddled 24/25 season. Come cheer on the Blazers and help send these jabronis back three timezones crying into their Cheez Whiz sandwiches. (Moda Center, 1 N Center Ct, 7 pm, $23+, more info, all ages) CAMERON CROWELL Also worth it: Moss Week, Lewis Clark EAR Forest and Portland Japanese Garden, more infoLewis Clark College's "EAR Forest," a permanent 16-channel audio installation on a wooded campus path, will pipe in Indigenous stories of moss and lichen for a tradition they started: Moss Appreciation Week. Drop by from 12-4 pm through February 13 for a multi-sensory good time; the Portland Japanese Garden will also celebrate with mossy confections and a moss "petting zoo" through the 15th. Tuesday, February 10 45th Parallel Universe presents Gustav Holst’s The Planets The chamber quartet Arcturus Winds—comprised of Oregon Symphony members—will perform what may amount to OMSI's most fitting musical program: Gustav Holst’s The Planets, an orchestral suite exploring the astrological personalities of each celestial body. Supplemented by "additional pieces inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey" and spacey visuals, the recital feels like a reminder that we are very small, busying ourselves on a twirling rock amid the universe's infinitude. Enjoy! (Kendall Planetarium at OMSI, 1945 SE Water, 6:30 pm, $35, more info, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO Also worth it: Watch the Olympics, Feb 6-22, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com, more infoIf you wait until after the Olympics to watch all the sporty excellence, it simply doesn't hit the same. I prescribe you several hours of curling, figure skating, and a sport terrifyingly called "skeleton"—and make it happen while athletes are still hitting the dating apps in the Olympic Village. A $10.99 Peacock subscription gets you access to televised coverage.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by The Olympic Games (@olympics) Wednesday, February 11 Del Water Gap Del Water Gap started as a multi-person band—including Grammy-nominated singer Maggie Rogers among its ranks for the first six months—but became the solo project of singer-songwriter and producer S. Holden Jaffe before their first release in 2012. His song "Ode To A Conversation Stuck In Your Throat" went viral during the pandemic, helped in part by actresses Margaret Qualley and Kaitlyn Dever posting a socially distanced dance party to the track in June 2020. Since then, the single has been certified RIAA Gold and the artist has worked as a writer and producer with Maggie Rogers and Claud, opened for Niall Horan at Madison Square Garden, and collabed with Arlo Parks and Clairo on his sophomore album I Miss You Already + I Haven't Left Yet. His third full-length, Chasing The Chimera, came out in November and sees the artist apologizing to past lovers and figuring out who he is on his own. The sound is somewhat scattered, flitting between synthpop and folk-rock with the occasional accents of woodwind and string instruments, but it's an easy listen that I could see bopping along to live. (Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 8 pm, $43.50 - $183.91, more info, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH   Thursday, February 12 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Listening to indie pop-rock band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah instantly transports me back to the mid-2000s. Their debut self-titled album came out in 2005 and is characterized by the yearning vocals, meandering guitar, and plodding drums of the time. Singer-songwriter Alec Ounsworth now performs under the name as a solo artist, and in 2024, he released a stripped-down Piano Voice EP of reworked CYHSY classics. While Ounsworth has always primarily written songs on the piano first (he played the toy piano for added whimsy on the band's debut album), these acoustic versions are emotional and expansive. The artist stops by the Old Church for an intimate show featuring—you guessed it—just the piano and his voice. Don't forget to pick up a tour-exclusive vinyl from his three-night residency at London’s Servant Jazz Quarters while you're there. (The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave, 7:30 pm, $35.50-$45.50, more info, all ages) SL   Cascade Festival of African Films The "longest-running annual, nonprofit, non-commercial, largely volunteer-run African film festival in the United States" celebrates 36 years, bringing more than 20 works of African filmmaking to Portland. Screened for free with the intention of encouraging American audiences' interest in African cinema, festival themes include “migration, displacement, and reinvention, unveiling the human longing for safety, purpose, and belonging.” Extremely relevant to our historic moment! The bulk of the fest’s screenings take place at PCC Cascade, but West African dramedy The Bride Price screens at the Hollywood Theatre with a filmmaker QA on opening night. Other fest highlights include a family fest and marketplace, talkback sessions, and a closing-night screening of Hanami at the Tomorrow Theater. (Various locations, through Sun March 7, more info) BRI BREY  Also worth it: WAYQEYCUNA by Tiziano Cruz, multiple locations, more infoQueer, Indigenous, Argentine artist Tiziano Cruz brings a one-man show inspired by the Andean quipu (a knotted memory-recording device) to Portland Center Stage, but the experience is multi-pronged: You can also make a traditional Indigenous bread recipe alongside Cruz at PICA's culinary workshop on February 12. Friday, February 13 The Off Beat Grand Opening Andre Middleton and the expansive community around the Friends of Noise nonprofit have finally done it—after having the keys to the old Dancin’ Bare strip club space in Kenton for almost a year, The Off Beat venue is officially opening its doors! The shows at TOB will always be all ages, continuing FoN’s mission of youth education through experience. Opening night features a mixed bill with queer punk royalty Team Dresch, beat-maker Brown Calculus, noisy shoegazers Spiderling, and the young grunge rockers Adnauseum. This opening represents a new, beautifully accessible mountain in Portland’s music topography. Let’s hike the summit together! (The Off Beat, 8440 N Interstate, 7 pm, $15-$25, more info, all ages) NOLAN PARKER Sudan Archives Sudan Archives released her third studio album last October, and it's all about rhythm. THE BPM finds the self-taught singer and violinist incorporating futuristic beats and embracing the club sounds of Chicago and Detroit. Where her past records were ethereal and gorgeous, this one is electrified and gritty—but don't worry, it still features anthemic strings performed by Chicago-based Black chamber music collective D-Composed. The artist makes what she calls "Orchestral Black Dance Music," and it's impossible not to get swept up in her vision; just compare her string-focused Tiny Desk performance for NPR (the last one before the pandemic shutdown) to the music video for her pulsating track "DEAD." Fellow unconventional violinist Cain Culto opens the show—check out his recent politically charged song "KFC Santería" featuring Sudan Archives. (Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 8 pm,  $38.11 - $126.61, more info, all ages) SL Nonbinary Girlfriend / Myriads / Femme Cell  You know when you just know about a band? Their world-building reaches somewhere inside you, pulling out a lifetime of emotions you forgot you had. James, Eric, and Pete, the trio comprising Portland’s Nonbinary Girlfriend, do just that on their new album IM NOT PRETTY. Almost as if reading from James’ diary, the songs potently dispel feelings of isolation, replacing them with enlightened understandings of self and community. There couldn’t be a more appropriate setting to celebrate the release of IM NOT PRETTY than a show at Coffin Club on Friday the 13th. Joining the party are Myriads and Femme Cell who both put out excellent albums last year. Femme Cell’s Who Wants This Unbreakable Bond? is the best-named album I’ve heard in a long time. If you can't make the medieval Friday the 13th show (or need to see them twice in one weekend), Nonbinary Girlfriend are having an all ages album release at Misplaced Screen Printing on February 15 with Aqua Celestia and Death Parade. (Coffin Club, 421 SE Grand, 8:30 pm, $20 advance, more info, 21+) NP Nick Thune Look! It’s another Pacific Northwest-born comedy kid making it big in LA and beyond! For the uninitiated, meet Nick Thune—who’s originally from our sis city Seattle, but loves Portland, and recorded his second comedy album, Good Guy, here in 2016. Thune is kind of a folk singer… in that he performs with a guitar, plucking out folky song chords… except instead of singing, he overlays his music with bone-dry, hilarious anecdotes about life, kids, and parenting, which will either make you nod your head in agreement or possibly swear to hop into a volcano before having children of your own. In any case, Thune is the comedic folk hero you never knew you needed. (Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th, 9:30 pm, $30.99-$42.99, more info, 21+) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY Also worth it: The Sleeping Beauty, Keller Auditorium, more info.There aren't many chances to see fully-produced ballet in Portland, but Oregon Ballet Theatre brought out all their belles for two weekends of this one. Don't sleep on it. Saturday, February 14 Willamette Sauna Festivaali Portland needs this. We're so seasonally depressed. Popping up for its first year at Milwaukie Bay Park, the Willamette Sauna Festivaali offers pass holders a survey of over 12 saunas—mobile, floating, mortared, and more! The pass rates of 3-hour, day, or weekend might feel a little steep, but ONE OF THE SAUNAS IS IN A SAILBOAT. Ahem, I mean, passholders also have access to a vendor village of sauna accessories, Nordic food, and a pFriem beer tent. (Milwaukie Bay Park, 11211 SE McLoughlin, Milwaukie, Sat Feb 14 10 am-10 pm, Sun Feb 15 8 am-2 pm, $85-$160, more info, all ages) SUZETTE SMITH Paprika In surreal director and manga auteur Satoshi Kon's Paprika, a freaky new piece of technology enables morally questionable therapists to observe their patients' dreams. The gadget's creator moonlights as a "dream detective" named Paprika—cool job alert—but when the device is stolen, nightmares and reality merge. The film's postmodern polish shines, employing a nonlinear structure, time distortions, and cinematic meta-commentary. (Blink and you'll miss the detective dressed as Akira Kurosawa.) Susumu Hirasawa's cacophonous bleep-bloop soundtrack is "like an apple full of Trolli worms," according to my partner; the film's crazed parade of roaming toys is also the most accurate visual depiction of a nightmare I've witnessed. (PAM CUT @ The Whitsell, 1219 SW Park, 2-4 pm, $15, more info, R) LC Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous To explore ideas of legacy, jealousy, and intergenerational conflict, playwright Pearl Cleage positions her drama around a farce: a fake collection of radical monologues taken from August Wilson's plays and performed in the buff. Anna Campbell (Faith Lavon) returns from a self-imposed European exile, after being invited to revive her controversial work, only to discover that the festival producer intends for a much younger Precious "Pete" Watson (Ashlee Radney) to perform Naked Wilson in her place. Hilarity ensues. Fair warning, this performance will have onstage nudity. (Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott, through Sun March 15 $59.95, Arts for All and CARE tickets available, more info, 13+ recommended) SS Also worth it: Bottom Feeders romantic used book pop-up, Heart Coffee, more infoHit up Heart this weekend for a solid brew and browse a special Valentine's Day selection of used books,  curated by reliable lit pickers Bottom Feeders.  David Hockney, Portland Art Museum, more infoBritain's sunniest artist—and one of the 20th century's most versatile—is celebrated in Portland Art Museum's sweeping retrospective, which brings his familiar pool scenes and more obscure works into the gallery, including collages, videos, and iPad drawings. Sunday, February 15 Ivy Wolk If you’re the type of person who loves their comedy with a lot of femme-heavy, razor-sharp attitude, then please direct your attention to comedian/actor Ivy Wolk, who you may have seen stealing scenes in the recent flick, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, as the absolutely impossibly unhelpful motel clerk. Her standup has a similar sharp, sardonic edge—though you’re much more likely to agree and laugh your ass off with her outrageously honest takes on sex, internet culture, catfishing, and more. And while the show may be sold out, it would definitely be worth hanging out at the Siren front door and nabbing the seat of someone who didn’t think it was important enough to attend that evening. Their loss will be your absolute gain! (Siren Theater, 3913 N Mississippi, Sun Feb 15, SOLD OUT, more info, all ages… but don’t bring the kids) WSH           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by ivy wolk (@wolkmindvirus2) Also worth it: Creative Exchange Lab Artist Presentation, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, more infoFans of last year's Time-Based Art Festival should make time for this talk led by PICA's 2025 Creative Exchange Lab artists, Olivia Camfield, Marcus Fischer, Woodrow Hunt, Kite, and Angelo Scott.  Illuminated Hours: 16mm Films By Nathaniel Dorsky Jerome Hiler, Sunnyside Community Center, more infoFans of avant-garde cinema will appreciate this mix of experimental montage, superimposition, and electric color from lifelong filmmaker-lovers Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler. (The pair "went to the cottage"—an idyllic one in New Jersey–to create Hiler's "In the Stone House," shown in this program.) Looking for even more events happening this week? Head on over to EverOut! ...read more read less