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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2011)
J«£_ü WWW.JUSTOUT.COM MARCH 18, 2011 Get Out, Stay Put Three cool vacations, all within PDX city limits B Y A N D R E W C O L L IN S That notorious groundhog already had his say. It’s a fortnight plus past, um, Febru ary. And we certainly need not wait for those April showers. O ur allergies, and anxious “get here already!” rumblings, prove positive: Spring is in the air—and, right about the moment you’re reading this, officially on the calendar. W ith that in mind, we step back into the yard with the return o f our resident Sassy Gardener, LeAnn Locher. And into the closet— not that way, folks— for a little spring cleaning courtesy of fashion maven Kevin Lennox. Since the season starts at home, we’ve asked local designer Michael Reper for the best ways to bring spring indoors. And because we’re all a bit stir-crazy at this point, travel guru Andrew Collins offers a few suggestions for getting out and about, in town, on a budget, overnight—or over a long weekend. That’s not all. From planning ahead for an LGBTQ_family-friendly summer camp (p. 30) to a wary tale about raising chickens (seriously, just turn to p. 26), this issue is everything you need to venture forth as the temps warm and the clouds break. And stay tuned—our spring sports spectacular is just around the corner. In the meantime, visit justout.com for more seasonal scuttlebutt. — A m a n d a S c h u r r I’d be perfectly happy never again to see the word “staycation.”The odious, gimmicky term became popular in 2008, following the eco nomic downtown, a rise in gas prices, the U.S. dollar’s poor rate o f exchange against many currencies and worries about crime or insta bility in a number of erstwhile international hotspots. These conditions still apply to vary ing degrees, especially with gas prices back on the up, but I’ve never agreed with the notion that we should only consider vacationing near home based on a negative perception o f trav eling afar. If you’re a regular reader of Just Out, you probably either live in the Portland vicin ity or you enjoy visiting the area. And you already know that P-Town’s a cool spot for a vacation, whether or not you’re a resident. If the idea o f spending the night or two at a local hotel sounds odd, or at least extravagant, consider all the fun reasons for doing so: I t’s a chance to get to know a neighborhood you might otherwise rarely visit, it frees you from having to drive home late at night after seeing a show or enjoying a few cocktails, it’s a wonderful way to celebrate a special occasion or impress a date, and it’s also a festive way to party with a few friends, per haps before or after seeing a concert or at tending a social event (the Red Dress Party, for example, is coming up on April 16). W ith that in mind, here are three ap proaches to vacationing right here in Portland, be it for a simple overnight or perhaps even a long weekend. East Side Offbeat Portland has no shortage o f lively, pedestri an-friendly East Side neighborhoods that enjoy a strong following among nonconform ists— the retail and restaurant strips along Hawthorne, Belmont, Division and Missis sippi immediately come to mind. The challenge is finding a noteworthy hotel th at’s within walking distance of one o f these interesting neighborhoods. The funky Kennedy School (m cm en a m in s.co m /4 2 7 -k e n n ed y -sch o o l- home), a reasonably priced hotel and enter tainment complex carved out of a vintage 1915 former elementary school, is one lodging that fits the bill. It’s a four-block walk from the slew o f queer-frequented coffeehouses, loung es, galleries and shops in the Alberta Arts District. And it’s even closer to the smaller pod o f revered restaurants around Killings- worth Street and NE 30th that include such standouts at Beast (beastpdx.com), Autentica (autenticaport- land.com) and Yakuza Japa nese Pub and Izakaya (yakuzalounge.com). There’s actually plenty to keep you busy right on the premises of Kennedy School, which is operated by the weirdly endearing McMenamins family of hotels, restaurants, bars and theaters (many of which are kooky, if occasionally creepy, old buildings that have been imaginatively re adapted). Inside the Kennedy School, you can dine in the old school cafeteria, now the sun ny— and still very old-school—Courtyard Restaurant. A bar has been installed in the for mer boiler room, and other lounges are themed after detention and honors halls (I know which one I’m better suited for). One former class room currently houses the Theater Bar, which adjoins the old school auditorium— now a cin ema screening mostly second-run movies (you can sip McMenamins ales brewed at the on site Concordia Brewery and eat pizzas and burgers while watching the flick). 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