Linda Graybeal talks softly but powerlifts a big weight

Linda Graybeal’s neck hurt.

She had stenosis, a cramped nerve in her neck that caused her arm to go painfully numb. She was told physical therapy would only do so much, but an operation was dead last on her list of options.

That’s why the 72-year-old Lake Oswego woman took up powerlifting two years ago. In a life filled with sports, powerlifting was one exercise she had never tried. Many people would have chosen to mask their pain with pills, but not Graybeal.

“I believe in dealing with issues,” she says, “instead of giving in to my ailments. I didn’t even know what powerlifting was.”

But Graybeal has always been a great natural athlete, and she had an outstanding trainer in Kyle Young at Boom Fitness Health Club in Tualatin. So her rehabilitation progressed very well. The pain and dysfunction in her neck and arm became less and less.

And she also noticed something else.

“In the process, I was becoming pretty sturdy,” Graybeal says.

In fact, Graybeal became so sturdy that in June 2014, she set a combined total of 16 state and U.S. records in her age group in the squat, bench press, dead lift and total score. Then in October, she proceeded to set world records in the squat, bench press, dead lift and total weight lifted.

Sturdy is putting it mildly.

Still, Graybeal is so reticent about her achievements that nobody would have found out about what she had done if some of her friends hadn’t blabbed the news. Graybeal was a little abashed, but also pleased and proud. Most of all, “I’d rather live, not just exist,” she says.

It’s a philosophy she carried with her into the gym on the first day she met with Young.

“I didn’t want a namby-pamby program for an old lady,” she says. “That is what someone my age always gets stuck in. I wanted something that would challenge me.”

Young was just the guy to do that. He is a world-class weightlifter who can squat 675 pounds, more than four times his own weight. Young says he sees everybody as a potential weightlifter, and he was happy to recommend such a strenuous rehab program for Graybeal.

“When I described powerlifting to Linda, she said, ‘I could totally do that,’ “ Young says.

As a feeling of sturdiness came over Graybeal, she greatly desired to step up her rehabilitation program. That’s when Young told her about the upcoming powerlifting competition in Portland — the APF-AAPF Primal Strength Fest.

“I thought, ‘That’s what I need! I need a goal!’” Graybeal says.

But she wasn’t quite as gung ho as she sounded. The prospect of competing in her first powerlifting contest made the reserved side of her personality kick in.

“Kyle said, ‘OK, you’re in.’ I said, ‘OK, I’ll do it,’” Graybeal says. “I only had one and a half months to train for it in earnest. There’s a lot of stuff you have to learn for powerlifting. It’s not just lifting weights. I was very afraid that I would be watched on Youtube and that I would chicken out, and I don’t like to chicken out. At age 71, you don’t envision yourself in a singlet.”

But last June, Graybeal did indeed wear a singlet in a huge gymnasium filled with the clanking sound of powerful men and women lifting a whole lot of weights.

“The thing that shocked me most was that the equipment there was different from what I had been working out on,” Graybeal says. “Then they called my name out. I was the very first person in the very first event.”

But the worst shock of all was still to come. Just as Graybeal began setting her jaw, gritting her teeth and gripping the bar, a tiny woman standing nearby let out an unearthly scream that sent a lightning bolt of alarm up Graybeal’s spine.

“I jumped a mile in the air,” Graybeal says. “Later, I found out that yelling is what you do to encourage your teammates. That woman later became a good friend.”

Now thoroughly traumatized, Graybeal seemed to be more in danger of dropping the weights on her feet than of setting records. Instead, the gutsy Graybeal lived up to all of those wonderful clichés about athletes coming through in the clutch.

“I told myself, ‘OK, go now!’” Graybeal says. “I did it successfully. I went on through the whole day. I was in everything — the squat, chess press, dead lift.”

Her results were awesome, and they propelled her to set world records a few months later at the APA-WPA Elite Fall Classic in Portland.

“They were no longer seeing me as an old lady doing rehab,” she says with a smile. “I felt like an athlete again.”

Graybeal has accomplished similar feats many times in her life. Even before she was a teenager, she found herself stunning others — and herself — with her athletic performances. As a 12 year old, she played second base for the Rosebuds, a farm team of the then-famous Erv Lind Florists softball team.

“I was pretty darn good,” she says.

A few years later, while a student at Lake Oswego High School, she heard there was going to be an AAU track meet. “That sounded like fun,” she says, so Graybeal whimsically entered the 100-yard dash and broad jump — with no training at all and wearing her P.E. uniform. She didn’t even have any track spikes.

“My sister Julie asked me, ‘What are you going to do?’ I told her, ‘I don’t know,’ “ Graybeal says. “The other athletes looked like they really belonged out there. In the broad jump, I told Julie to stand by the pit so I would have a target to shoot for, and I flew past my sister.”

Having had enough track for one day, Graybeal left the meet early to go to a dance.

“I learned several months later that I had beaten the state broad jump record by a couple feet,” Graybeal says. “My friends made me a paper crown.”

Soon, Graybeal was surprising herself again. After a quick lesson from her brother on how to do the hurdles, Graybeal decided to enter that event at a big summer track meet. At first, it was extremely frustrating.

“I just could not catch this one girl,” Graybeal says. “Afterward, my friends ran up to me and said, ‘You did great!’ I told them, ‘But I couldn’t catch that girl.’ They said, ‘She’s an alternate on the Olympic team.’”

Years later, Graybeal and her husband, Roger, were vacationing in Scotland and decided to play golf at a magnificent Scottish golf course. Graybeal had never played golf before. But she simply teed the ball up and smacked an awesome drive straight down the middle of the fairway. The golf pro could not believe his eyes.

“How long have you been golfing?” he asked. “An hour,” Graybeal replied, then added, “I just did what you told me.”

The pro then demanded that her husband never come back to that course again unless he brought Graybeal with him. But before the dazzled pro could steer her to the LPGA, Graybeal gave up golf.

“It was boring,” she says.

Graybeal isn’t giving up powerlifting, though. She is no longer surprised by her own success, and besides, she still needs to do rehabilitation to defy the onset of age and injuries — to live, not exist.

In any case, lots of fun things are happening for her.

“It’s sounds so funny when I hear that I’m a world-record holder,” Graybeal says. “I couldn’t believe it when I was in a muscle magazine.

“It’s kind of great, isn’t it?”

Contact Cliff Newell at 503-636-1281 ext. 105 or email cnewell@lakeoswegoreview.com.

Reelz network saves the day for Miss Oregon USA, who hopes to be crowned Miss USA on July 12

Bridget Wilmes, Miss Oregon USA, is probably breathing a sigh of relief, now that Reelz has announced it will broadcast the Miss USA pageant on July 12.

And she’s not alone. She and 50 other women from every state and the District of Columbia are competing in the Miss USA pageant, and all, no doubt, were worried when NBC cut ties with pageant owner Donald Trump because of perceived insensitive remarks he made recently. Controversy has swirled around the pageant, and several people have opted not to be part of it.

But the pageant will go on in Baton Rouge, La., and Wilmes, 22, can continue to pursue her dream to represent Oregon and “have the chance of being hired for the job of Miss USA.”

The winner of the Miss USA pageant will go on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant.

Wilmes was crowned Miss Oregon USA in November. She is a 2011 graduate of Jesuit High School and attended Texas Christian University for two years, majoring in film, television and media production.

“Currently I am focusing on my job as Miss Oregon USA, modeling and planning on transferring to an online program next year,” she says.

She and the other contestants have been in Baton Rouge since late June, competing in preliminary events in swimsuit, evening gown and interview. On the night of July 12, the finalists will be announced and a TV audience can watch the young women, with a new panel of judges, compete in those events live onstage.

Before she left for the competition, Wilmes said she wanted to be Miss Oregon USA to “help empower girls and women through promoting a focus on making their own happiness a priority. I especially like to visit schools to spread messages about self-awareness, positive body image, and anti-bullying. Throughout the year, my duties include appearances and volunteerism.”

Volunteerism is important to her, Wilmes says, “because I firmly believe that any act of kindness truly makes the world a better place. When people take time to help those in need, the positive impact is amazing.”

Talent, modeling

Although the Miss USA pageant does not have a talent component, Wilmes has been singing classical music for five years and finds a lot of enjoyment in it.

“I especially love opera because it is a really beautiful, timeless art form, and I find it very relaxing,” she says.

She also has been pursuing a side career in modeling for a little over a year and says she loves every moment.

“My favorite job was for a Harley-Davidson clothing campaign that appeared online and throughout stores in Europe. I would like to continue modeling until I run out of opportunities,” Wilmes says.

She adds, “I have participated in a lot of theater over the years and am looking forward to pursuing more acting opportunities in both television and film after my pageant career is complete. I truly find great enjoyment in the arts and feel that it is a great means to express myself.”

Watch the Miss USA pageant at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 12, on Reelz. For more information about the pageant, visit missuniverse.com/missusa.

Last week, July 1, 3

“Magic Mike XXL”; “Terminator Genisys”; “Aloft”

This week, July 10

“Minions” (Universal), PG, 91 minutes

About — Stuart, Kevin and Bob are hired by a supervillain and her husband to help take over the world; Stars — Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Pierre Coffin; Director — Kyle Balda/Pierre Coffin

“The Gallows” (WB), R, 116 minutes

About — An attempt to resurrect a 20-year-old tragic school play goes all wrong; Stars — Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos, Cassidy Gifford; Director — Travis Cluff/Chris Lofing

Next week, July 17

“Ant-Man”; “Infinitely Polar Bear”; “Mr. Holmes”

Movies in the Park

Pre-movie entertainment at 6:30 p.m., music, popcorn and movies at dusk at Portland parks:

Wednesday, July 8: “Despicable Me 2,” Peninsula Park, 700 N. Rosa Parks Way

Thursday, July 9: “The Princess Bride,” Woodlawn Park, N.E. Claremont/Oneonta

Friday, July 10: “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” Wilshire Park, N.E. 33rd/Skidmore

Saturday, July 11: “The Lego Movie,” Kenilworth Park, S.E. 34th/Holgate

Sunday, July 12: “The Book of Life,” Glenhaven Park, N.E. 82nd/Siskiyou

Home rentals

The latest top 10 digital movie purchases based on transaction rate, by Rentrak:

1. “Kingsman: The Secret Service”

2. “The Duff”

3. “Focus”

4. “Jupiter Ascending”

5. “McFarland, USA”

6. “Get Hard”

7. “The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water”

8. “American Sniper”

9. “Project Almanac”

10. “Wild Card”

Other recent favorites: “Chappie”; “Run All Night”; “Survivor”

Doc spotlight

“Whitelandia”

It could be an interesting documentary about race and Portland. Producer Matt Zodrow wants to create an accurate documentation of the black experience in Oregon. It’s scheduled for a late 2015 completion; producers are running an Indiegogo campaign. For info: whitelandia.com.

Upcoming event

Gearing up for its play “Time, A Fair Hustler” (a re-imaginging onstage of “My Own Private Idaho”), Hand2Mouth presents a monthlong celebration of filmmaker Gus Van Sant with screenings of his movies, through Aug. 5. It started last weekend with “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.” The remaining screenings: Clinton Street Theater (2522 S.E. Clinton St.) — “To Die For,” 4 p.m. July 11; “Good Will Hunting,” 2 p.m. July 12; “Psycho” (both Van Sant’s and Alfred Hitchcock’s), 2 p.m. July 18; “Paranoid Park,” 4 p.m. July 26; “Promised Land,” 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1. McMenamins Mission Theater (1624 N.W. Glisan St.) — “My Own Private Idaho,” times to be determined Aug. 5 through 7. For more info: hand2mouththeatre.org.

Indulge in guilty pleasures with some light summer reading

During the time I was living in Fairbanks, Alaska, I developed a theory about why the Russian classics are so long. See, when you’re in Siberia without a television, there’s not much to do other than read LONG novels.

The works of Leo Tostoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky certainly provide hours worth of reading to ease the boredom of a long winter inside. But when the weather turns warm — as it certainly has in Portland the past few weeks — sitting around and reading “War and Peace” or “Crime and Punishment” are not exactly what you want to be doing.

Summer is a time to read light, or even trashy, books while you’re sitting at the beach, or on your deck with a cold beverage. So now that summer is here, it’s time to put down the Russians and pick up some easy reads. There will be plenty of time to read the hard stuff once the rain returns to the Rose City.

Here is a sample of some books to indulge in over the next few months:

• “Ghostman” by Roger Hobbs ($14.95, Vintage 385 pages): This first novel is a stunning achievement by Hobbs, a Reed graduate. It is beautifully written, fast-paced, action packed and exciting. The writing is very technical and intricate; however, Hobbs lays everything out for the reader in a easily digestible way. Hobbs takes a novel about crime, a subject we have seen and read about countless times, and makes it seem new and different.

• “The Shell Collector: Stories” by Anthony Doerr ($15.00, Scribner, 240 pages): With so much to do during the summer, sometimes you just don’t want to take the time to read an entire novel. If you’re looking for a book of short stories, “Shell” is a great place to start. Doerr recently achieved literary immortality by winning the Pulitzer Prize for his novel “All the Light We Cannot See.” Before that, though, Doerr wowed audiences and critics alike with this gorgeous collection of shorts. Like the very best short stories, the ones in “Shell” do not take long to read, but stick with you long after you’ve read them.

• “Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian” by EL James ($15.95, Vintage, 576 pages):

This series has been universally panned. Ask just about anyone and they’ll tell you what total trash it is. And that’s all fine. No way to really argue that it’s well written, or is anything but trash. But there’s a reason the retelling of the supernova erotica novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” is the No. 1-ranked book on Amazon right now. It’s the ultimate guilty pleasure. And what’s more, if you decide to buy the book on your Kindle, you can keep the summer steamy and no one will ever know.

• “Springsteen: Album by Album” by Ryan White ($27.95, Sterling, 288 pages): There is no musician who embodies summer quite like Bruce Springsteen. A hot summer day is made complete by listening to The Boss croon about life in New Jersey, girls, cars and everything all things uniquely American. White, a former music critic at The Oregonian, gives deep insight into the music that makes summer complete. “Springsteen” is the perfect thing to read while listening to summer anthems like “Born in the U.S.A.” or “Backstreets.”

• “The Thrill of the Grass” by W.P. Kinsella ($12:77 used, Penguin Books, 128 pages): Nothing feels like summer more than baseball. And no one has written better fiction about baseball than W.P. Kinsella. While he’s best known for his novel “Shoeless Joe,” which was later turned into the movie “Field of Dreams,” Kinsella’s short story collection is my favorite of his work. The magical realism short stories are captivating.

• “Who Shot the Water Buffalo” by Ken Babbs ($25.95 The Overlook Press, 320 pages): Babbs is best known as the sidekick for legendary Oregon writer Ken Kesey. After working for decades on his first novel, Babbs finally published it in 2011 and proved himself to be a phenomenal novelist in his own right. The novel about the Vietnam War is wonderfully written, funny, heartbreaking and a must-read.

• “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald ($15, Scribner, 180 pages): Why would I include a classic in a list of great summer reads? Especially one everyone was forced to read (or maybe pretend to read) in high school? Well, “Gatsby” is one of the most approachable classics out there. The writing is easy to read, the story is fast-paced, and the love story is timeless. The book also is short and takes place during a single summer.

July 12

Funky fete

Holocene hosts a veritable mini-festival, called The Takeover, of funk, soul and hip-hop with this show, which features sophisticated Portland lyricist Champagne Duane backed up by six-piece brass ensemble Free Thought Takeover.

Meanwhile, Dope Kine plays hip-hop, reggae and funk, Murder Vibes plays synth-pop in the spirit of Depeche Mode, and Double B & Laces perform rap and hip-hop. Rounding out the bill is producer Jonny Cool, who’s worked with John Legend, Astor Chambers, Kanye West, and Juan Harris, as well DJ Jupiter Williams.

The Takeover, 6 p.m. Sunday, July 12, Holocene, 1001 S.E. Morrison St. $5. Info: 503-239-7639, www.holocene.org.

July 14

Caught you dreaming

L.A. singer-songwriter Eleni Mandell has a lovely on-the-edge-of-husky voice that echoes Karen Carpenter and sounds especially wonderful when she sings about love, its promise, pitfalls and peculiarities. Her music would appeal to fans of the gentler side of Gordon Gano, Lou Reed, PJ Harvey or Tom Waits.

Mandell’s like that funny girl who all the high school boys took for granted while chasing other girls who disdained them. In the end, the smart guy finally figured out she was the real prize and decided to listen to what she was really saying in between the jokes.

Combining folk, circus rock, jazz, pop and country, Mandell has released several albums since she hit the scene back in the late 1990s, and has made waves with the folk group The Living Sisters, which includes Inara George (half of The Bird and The Bee and daughter of Little Feat’s Lowell George) and Becky Stark. The trio has released two albums. For the uninitiated, check out Mandell’s “Right Side.”

Eleni Mandell, Courtney Marie Andrews, 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N. Mississippi Ave. $12. Info: 503-288-3895, www.mississippistudios.com.

Space is the place

Can you dance to progressive rock? Dopapod certainly thinks so, combining prog rock and classic rock concepts with jazz, metal and other influences all wrapped up in a rolling electronic dance music approach that has earned the band kudos for reinvigorating the jam band scene.

Hailing from Boston originally and now based in New York, Dopapod is Eli Winderman on keyboards, Rob Comba on guitar, Chuck Jones on bass, Scotty Zwang on drums, and Luke Stratton on sounds and lights. You know it’s a tripindicular band when they include the sound/light guy as a member. Opener Vokab Company is a seven-piece indie electro hip-hop outfit (with a fiddle player) that uses catchy hooks and rhythm-based harmonic vocal delivery to create an alternate take on the MC approach.

Dopapod, Vokab Company, 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, Doug Fir, 830 E. Burnside St. $13 in advance, $16 day of show. Info: 503-231-9663, www.dougfirlounge.com.

Project Pabst pours on refreshing brew of shows at Zidell Yards

Terry Six muses for a moment on his life after The Exploding Hearts, the star-crossed Portland power pop band who had three its members die in a 2003 van accident just after the release of their critically acclaimed debut album “Guitar Romantic.”

The crash took the lives of Adam Cox, Matt Fitzgerald and Jeremy Gage. Six survived the crash, but his emotional life suffered enormously.

“I think I was extremely mad and angry and very upset for a very long time, and I thought the world owed me something,” he says. “I don’t think anybody had any sound advice for a 21-year-old who went through it.”

Married now, living in Oakland and working with autistic students, Six is in a much better place, he says.

“Things have been really good, and I can’t really find one thing to complain about.”

Among the good things that have happened are his reunion with fellow Hearts bandmate King Louie Bankston (who left the Hearts prior to the accident) in Terry and Louie. The duo, along with Chad Savage on bass, Julian Fried on guitar (and a fellow bandmate of Bankston in Missing Monuments), and Aaron Hill of Eyehategod on drums, will perform at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 19, at Project Pabst.

The music festival takes place in the South Waterfront District at Zidell Yards, 3030 S.W. Moody Ave., between the new Tilikum Crossing and the Ross Island Bridge on Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19. Acts include Weezer, Blondie, TV On The Radio, and Run the Jewels.

Zidell Yards’ shows take place from 1-9 p.m. each day, and Pabst brand ambassador Matt Slessler wanted Terry and Louie on the outdoor bill.

“’Guitar Romantic’ is my favorite record to come out of Portland,” Slessler says.

Interestingly, Six notes in their heyday the Hearts were not all that popular in their hometown. Sadly, it was only in the years after the crash that Six realized how much the Hearts meant to others in the power pop and punk worlds. Fans include Green Day, who’ve played their tunes live, and Portland-based acts like The Cry, who have recorded such tunes as the anthemic “Modern Kicks.”

Six says he and Bankston — who lives outside New Orleans — hope to record a full album. The duo already have released two singles, the songs of which echo tunes like those the Hearts wrote, as well as those penned by Six’s other band, The Nice Boys. Six has started his own label, Tuff Break, an allusion to his past — “It definitely kind of sums up my existence” — and despite his hardships, he can’t help but continue to write upbeat rock ‘n’ roll in the tradition of such bands as Cheap Trick, The Raspberries and The Undertones.

“Nothing hit me really as hard,” he says of ‘70s-era power pop and punk. “It just felt right. It felt normal.”

Jukebox bar at midnight

Slessler says last year’s inaugural fest drew 14,000 people to Zidell Yards and 3,000 more to the club shows.

“We were more than pleasantly surprised,” he says, adding Project Pabst’s buzz “had a significant impact on sales” of PBRs in the area, which he credits for helping the beer company’s revival over the past several years.

This year’s festival will feature more seating and more shaded areas than last year’s, he adds, noting the company wants the festival to sound “like a jukebox bar at midnight.”

The Zidell Yards site also will feature a PBRcade, a “dive bar” with pinball machines and arcade games, including Nibbler and Pac Man, as well as “Eye Candy VJs.” You also can indulge in “Pabst VANdalism,” which includes drinking beer and spray painting a van.

Meanwhile, Clean Vibes is recruiting volunteers to keep the site clean. Volunteers must commit to seven total hours to earn a two-day ticket. All positions require a registration fee and deposit.

More music

In addition to the Zidell Yards shows on Saturday and Sunday, separately ticketed evening shows take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday July 17-19 at the Crystal Ballroom, Dante’s, Ash Street Saloon, Doug Fir, Mississippi Studios, Revolution Hall, Bunk Bar and Star Theater. Acts include Ghostface Killah, The Sonics, Roky Erickson, The Coathangers, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Pierced Arrows, Chrome, and Brothers of the Sonic Cloth.

STAGE

The Brody Theater

One of Portland’s improvisation companies puts on “High Five,” (July 3) “Fly-Ass Jokes” (July 3) and “My Country ‘Tis of Me” (July 4) this weekend, and then gets ready to host “Flip the Bird,” a show by Domeka Parker and Kerry Leek — “just two gals, ladies, birds making sweet, sweet music, or improv comedy, from nothing,” Parker says. They’ll hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at The Brody Theater, 16 N.W. Broadway ($10, www.brodytheater.com).

‘Dancing With the Stars: Live!’

The ABC show, after its 10th anniversary season, hits the road with champion Rumer Willis and all-star dancers Melissa Rycroft, Witney Carson, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Artem Chigvintsev, Keo Motsepe, Peta Murgatroyd and Emma Slater.

8 p.m. Friday, July 10, Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St., www.portland5.com, $48.50-$91

Disjecta

Disjecta presents a multimedia installation and love performance, “Tales of the Ancient-Future,” by The Spacesuits, an international collective of musicians and artists organized by Anais Duplan and Winston Scarlett. They use the work of jazz musician and Afrofuturist Sun Ra and explore concepts of apocalypse, afterlife, invented creation mythology, and the rewriting of history through music, performance and art.

8 p.m. Friday, July 10, Disjecta, 8371 N. Interstate Ave., www.disjecta.org (check for complete info)

Risk/Reward Festival

The cutting-edge festival celebrates its eighth year and will feature works of less than 20 minutes by eight artists in theater, music, dance and performance art. The schedule: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday, July 10-12 — Markeith Wiley, “31 & Counting”; Faith Helma, “I Hate Positive Thinking”; Nancy Ellis, “Nancy’s NANCY”; “Eowyn Emerald & Dancers, “Will You Take This Balloon.” 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday, July 17-19 — Tim Smith-Stewart, “Awaiting Oblivion ...”; Katie Piatt, “Springfield Today (LIVE)”; Dani Tirrell, “The Beautiful”; “Jessica Jobaris & General Magic, “Great Hunger.”

July 10-19, Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 S.W. Morrison St., www.risk-reward.org, $14-$18 advance, $20 door, $30 both weekends

‘Unnecessary Farce’

Lakewood Theatre Company, beginning its 63rd season, puts on a show about an embezzling mayor, his female accountant, undercover cops and questions: “Who’s in which room? Who’s being videotaped? Who’s taken the money? Who’s hired a hitman? Why does the accountant take off her clothes?”

7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, assorted other times/days, July 10-Aug. 16, Lakewood Theatre Company, 368 S. State St., Lake Oswego, www.lakewood-center.org, $32, $30 seniors

‘Proscenium Live’

The Portland Shakespeare Festival is putting on a new play-reading series in partnership with Proscenium Journal at the Artists Repertory Theatre Alder Stage, 1515 S.W. Morrison St. On three evenings, there’ll be staged readings of new plays — 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, “Pericles Wet” and “Pericles — Act 1”; 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 19, “An Evening of Original One-Acts”; 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 20, “The Widow of Tom’s Hill.” They are free. For more info: www.prosceniumjournal.com and www.portlandshakes.org.

Five Oregon Oldtime Fiddlers’ Association fiddlers won awards at the National Grand Championship Fiddle Contest at Weisler, Idaho, including Luke Price of Portland, who repeated as the 2015 National Oldtime Fiddle champ. Price is an instructor of fiddle and jazz violin at Lewis & Clark College.

The others who placed high: CJ Neary, a 9-year-old from Bend; Kian Dye, Portland, Young Adult Division; Starr McMullin, Corvallis; Donna Foreman, Estacada.

Velodrome racing

Many things happen at the Alpenrose Dairy property, 6149 S.W. Shattuck Road, including some high-level bicycle racing, especially in the Velodrome Challenge, a 16th annual event that will be held July 17 through 19. It draws riders from around the world, including some Olympians.

The Velodrome is one of only 25 bicycle racing tracks in the nation, and it’s known for its incline — 43-degree angles on the corners, meaning racers must maintain a speed of 12.5 miles per hour to remain upright. It’s also a unique track because it’s concrete; most others are wooden.

Velodrome bikes have no brakes, and they have a single fixed rear gear, or cog.

For info: www.alpenrosechallenge.com.

Garden art

Want to take a road trip and enjoy some art? “Art in the Garden” will be featured again at The Oregon Garden in Silverton, and it includes outdoor art installations by David Hillesland, Tyler Brumfield and Paul Jenkins, July 10 through Sept. 30 (www.oregongarden.org).

Matthews’ 50th

A lot of Portland music fans venture to the Gorge Amphitheatre near Quincy, Wash., for concerts — and many will likely be there Sept. 4 through 6 for some milestone events. The Dave Matthews Band returns to the venue for its traditional Labor Day weekend shows, and Sept. 6 will mark the band’s 50th show there. For more: www.davematthewsband.com.

Nikkei benefit

The Oregon Nikkei Endowment celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Japanese American Historical Plaza and Bill of Rights Memorial with a benefit banquet at 5 p.m. July 18 at the Hillton Portland and Executive Tower, 921 S.W. Sixth Ave. Special guest remarks will be made by Gov. Kate Brown.

Cost is $125 per person. To register, contact the Oregon Nikkei Endowment at 503-224-1458 or info@oregonnikkei.org, or register online at www.oregonnikkei.org.

State of Oregon Craft film

The Portland Tribune last month wrote about the Museum of Contemporary Craft’s “State of Oregon Craft” exhibit, which runs through Aug. 15. The museum also partnered with a local filmmaker and producer, Blacktop Films, to document and engage selected makers in the exhibition, illustrating the uniquely Oregon story of craft.

The nine films can be viewed online at www.mocc.pnca.edu and on Vimeo (www.vimeo.com/craftmuseum); info on Blacktop can be found at www.blacktopfims.com.

Mermaid by the river?

Marina Duran-Anderson, who plays a mermaid and entertains people in tanks and pools around the nation, will stop in Portland this week — no confirmation, yet, on whether she’ll be sliding up from the depths of the Columbia River to perform at the Red Lion at the Quay in Vancouver, Wash., July 10 through 12, at the Tiki Kon event.

A native of the Caribbean, she’s an avid diver, aquarist and boater, and a retro artist whose tank features underwater dance and theater. According to a news release: “Once submerged, her long, flowing black hair frames her angular face in slow motion as she glides effortlessly across the glass viewing area. Quickly she’ll appear, flicking her long, multicolored tail fin. Perhaps she’ll pause for a moment or two; then and with the snap of her tail she disappears off stage. It’s a mesmerizing game of hide and seek as patrons strain their necks hoping she’ll soon reappear. Occasionally, when cavorting for her audience, she’ll stop and knock on the glass, quickly followed by a wink or to blow a bubbly kiss at a startled patron.”

Duran-Anderson, nicknamed the “Fishtailed Floozy,” performs mostly at the Wreck Bar at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel in Florida. For more: www.tikikon.com.

Oregon Brewshed Alliance taps into green ethos, launches education effort

You’ve heard about farm-to-table, even farm-to-cone (in artisanal ice cream speak).

How about forest-to-pint?

It refers to the link between clean watersheds and craft beers, since beer is (gasp!) more than 90 percent water.

Considering Oregon’s reputation as Beervana, it makes sense that Oregon’s craft brewers have teamed up to lobby for clean watersheds and forest protection in the state.

Through events like pint nights, special brews and beer fests, 11 Oregon breweries — including five in Portland — have pledged to do outreach, education and fundraising as part of a new coalition called the Oregon Brewshed Alliance.

The group formed in April and slowly has been adding members. On July 1 they held a kickoff event for the Oregon Brewers Festival at Migration Brewing.

“Portland is so green; a lot of people are aware (of the link between beer and the environment),” says Julia Person, sustainability manager at Widmer Brothers Brewing, one of the coalition members.

“But I don’t think everyone makes that connection when they’re sitting down and having a beer. I think it’s a really cool nexus, a fun way to bring the causes together, to get people to start thinking and take action.”

The Brewshed members have signed a pledge to support efforts to maintain rivers and streams flowing through unspoiled public forest lands amid threats of degradation by pollution, dams, logging and other development.

Besides Widmer, the other members are Portland’s Migration Brewing, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Ex Novo Brewery, McMenamins, Claim 52 Brewing in Eugene, Elk Horn Brewery in Eugene, Fort George Brewery in Astoria, and GoodLife Brewing in Bend.

The nonbrewery members include the Portland nonprofit Oregon Wild, and Beers Made by Walking — a program that invites brewers to make beer inspired by nature hikes and urban walks.

“The (Brewshed) Alliance has the potential for being a model for craft brewing nationwide,” says Marielle Cowdin, outreach coordinator for Oregon Wild, which has been advocating for conservation in the state since 1974.

The seeds for the Oregon Brewshed Alliance go back to 2009, Cowdin says, when Oregon Wild worked with Widmer to lobby City Hall to protect the Bull Run Watershed from chemical treatment.

“Around that time we made the connection — of course, it makes sense for brewers and breweries to advocate for clean water and watersheds,” Cowdin says. “They have a lot at stake.”

The Oregon Brewshed Alliance follows in the footsteps of the two-year-old Washington Brewshed Alliance, which now includes more than 30 breweries.

That group trademarked the word “brewshed,” which hasn’t yet come into vogue elsewhere.

“Water efficiency is a big, big thing for us,” Person, says. “Brewing is very water intensive.”

In fact, the industry standard is to use about seven gallons of water to produce each gallon of beer.

Through various conservation measures in the past year, Widmer has been able to cut that in half.

They reuse their bottle-rinse water, and they worked with the Portland Water Bureau to do an audit, which led to moving toward low-flow faucets and spray valves.

They’re also piloting a live metering system, so instead of waiting to see their water usage each month on their water bill, they can see it in real time.

Hopworks, meanwhile, is known for its uber-green ethos and has taken similar steps.

They’ve also been able to cut their water usage to half the industry standard — not by process, but with a new piece of equipment, called a “cleaning-in-place skid.”

The custom-built unit allows them to reuse the water and cleaning solution for their fermentation vessels about five times.

“It saves us tons of water,” Steen says. “Without the skid it goes down the drain.”

The other major water saver is HUB’s recently installed centrifuge — a filtration system that spins the beer at 7,000 RPMs and removes the yeast from the beer.

“Previously we would have a yeast sludge at the bottom of our fermentation tanks,” Steen says. “About five barrels of yeast sludge, we would give to farmers (for animal feed).”

Now they’re able to use that beer, squeezing 5 percent more beer out of every tank.

As news about the alliance spreads, Cowdin expects membership to grow. Brewers in the coalition will host sustainability workshops and brewfests to share best practices, and keep on making beer — with a side dose of education.

Last time we checked, more beer is always a good thing.

janderson@portlandtribune.com

@jenmomanderson

The 2015 GLA45 AMG is the latest entry in an automative niche that didn't even exist a few years ago — high performance luxury compact crossovers.

In fact, luxury compact crossovers are still relatively new. Mercedes just introduced its first, 2014 GLA-class. The AMG version adds everything a modern hot rodder could wants, including a twin turbo 2.0-liter engine that cranks out a whopping 355 horsepower and 332 pound feet of torque, a unique seven-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, all-wheel-drive to deliver all that power to the road, and huge disc brakes to keep everything under control.

Naturally, the 2015 GLA45 AMG comes with a leather interior and excellent sound system. But our test version featured over $18,000 worth of options that included everything from a $1,950 Aerodynamics package with a spiky front air dam and huge rear wing to a $2250 AMG-Recaro seats and a $1500 Black “Red Cut” leather package (black leather seats, red stitching and seatbelts, and a black headliner).

The result is not only a compact crossover that goes incredibly fast, but a compact crossover that looks like it goes incredibly fast standing still — both inside and out.

We only had the 2015 GLA45 AMG for a few days, but every one of them was entertaining. The engine and transmission were incredibly responsive, encouraging aggressive (but never illegal, of course) driving on even the most routine errands. And because it is a crossover, the higher ride height improved visibility, even though it was a "only" a compact.

The 2015 GLA45 AMG isn't the first sporty compact crossover Sports Utility Vehicle. The original cute utes — like the early Toyota RAV4 and Subaru Forester — weren't much fun to drive. But as their popularity grew, some manufactures began adding performance features, including Subaru, which dropped a turbocharged Boxer engine into the first generation Forester, and Acura, which put a turbocharged engine in its first generation RDX.

There's a big difference between sporty and honestly high performance, however, and it took a while for the real deals to show up. One is the Porsche Macan Turbo with the optional turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 rated at 400 horsepower. And the BMW X1 xDrive35i comes close, although its turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 generates "just" 300 horsepower.

Of course, even the base GLA250 is an excellent luxury compact crossover, which comes standard with a 208-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a seven-speed automated manual transmission with shift paddles, and, at least initially, 4Matic all-wheel-drive. But if you really want to have fun, the outrageous AMG version is the way to go.

2015 GLA45 AMG

Base price: $48,300.

Price as tested: $66,975.

Type: Performance luxury compact crossover.

Engine: turbocharged turbocharged 2.0 L4 (355 hp, 332 ft-lbs).

EPA estimated mileage: 23/29.

Overall length: 175".

Curb weight: 3,589 pounds.

Final assembly: Rastatt, Germany.

Packard that chauffered King George VI and Queen Elizabeth will be at Concours d'Elegance

It’s not every day you see an automobile that is literally fit for a king and queen. A 1930 Packard Model 740 with a Super 8 engine that was used to chauffeur King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their stay in Victoria, B.C., will be displayed at the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, July 19.

But it’s not the royal connection that makes this automobile so fascinating. Instead, it is the current owner’s quest to locate, purchase and restore the Packard.

The story begins in 1930, when Victoria, B.C., resident Chris Yarrow’s grandfather, Norman Yarrow, visited the Plimley’s dealership in downtown Victoria. In the wake of the Great Depression, sales of luxury cars were slow and Norman was able to strike a favorable deal for the car. He sold it to a new owner after a few years.

In 1939, King George VI of England and Queen Elizabeth were scheduled to visit Victoria on their tour of the Dominion and the United States. The stately Packard became their transportation from their ship’s berth to the Empress Hotel to Government House.

Fast forward to 1972, when a 14-year-old Yarrow went searching for his grandfather’s car. His first stop was the old Classic Car Museum in downtown Victoria. Murray Gammon, the owner of the museum, provided the name of the Packard’s owner — and his phone number.

Yarrow contacted Art Fulawka and began a friendship between the two families. He visited the car in storage in Port Coquitlam and reunited the original trunk and fitted luggage with the Packard.

Many years passed, until one day Fulawka called out of the blue. “I always promised you first refusal,” he remembers the owner saying. “Do you want it?”

After 14 years, Chris Yarrow’s quest was over.

The Packard was fully restored and will be on display at the Forest Grove Concours, held on the grounds of Pacific University. It will be part of the Grand Classic, a premier show for Classic Car Club of America members, being held in conjunction with the show. More than 50 “full classics” are expected from all over the west coast and Canada.

Special thanks to Chris Yarrow’s Packard friends, Bhagwan Mayer and Michael May, for arranging to transport the automobile from Victoria, B.C., to Forest Grove.

Allen Stephens is chairman of the organizing committee for the 2015 Concours d’Elegance.

Milwaukie resident Doug Naef and his girlfriend will bring 1956 model to Forest Grove show

Over the years, Milwaukie resident Doug Naef has occasionally attended the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance car show with his dad. But this year he and his girlfriend, Christine Merris, will be presenting her car — a 1956 Ford Thunderbird previously owned by the late western singing star Gene Autry.

The Forest Grove Rotary Club will host the 43rd annual Concours, a classic and vintage car show on the Pacific University campus, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 19. This year, the Classic Car Club of America will be part of the event, showcasing American or foreign-made classics from the years 1925 to 1948.

There will also be several sub-themes, including “Celebrating 60 years of the Ford Thunderbird.” Almost 300 cars are registered, including more than 10 Thunderbirds.

Registration chairman Geoff Johnston of Forest Grove is looking forward to seeing the classic cars. “They are a little more exclusive,” he said, adding that “it’s not unusual to have million-dollar cars on campus.”

Like Johnston, Naef is excited for the car show as well. He was raised around cars and remembers helping his dad fix up vehicles to use and sell.

Four years ago he became a part of the Touring Club of Oregon, a longstanding car club. But it wasn’t until he met his girlfriend, Merris, that he was able to present a car in a show.

“I would have never done this on my own,” Merris said. “I’m excited to have someone as excited about this as I am.”

And Merris’ car, in particular, has a history. In 1975 the car was sold to a family member associated with the Wrigley Gum company, a business associate of Autry’s. And Autry himself — who was known as “The Singing Cowboy” during his heyday in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s — came to possess the vehicle in the early 1980s. A couple years later a friend of Merris’ father, Michael Pilosi, bought the vehicle but decided he didn’t have time to work on it — so he asked her dad if he wanted it. The answer was yes.

The car, which at the time was in extremely poor condition, was stored in her family’s barn in Molino, Ore., for 20 years before Merris decided to oversee the restoration in Portland.

“I wanted the car to be as original as possible,” Merris said. “I’m not a modifier.”

In 2012 the car’s restoration was completed with help from Merris’ family business, Main Street Collectors Mall & Soda Fountain in Milwaukie, where the car is used in local parades to promote the business.

In addition, both Naef and Merris participated in the Monte Shelton Northwest Classic Rally — a four-day time/speed distance event — in 2013.

“It was a lot of fun and it was very challenging,” Naef said. “I didn’t realize that people got involved in all these different activities.”

Naef currently owns six cars — one being the oldest registered Portia Volkswagen in Oregon — as well as several motorcycles.

“I’m a firm believer in using the cars so I will use them with the Touring Club of Oregon,” Naef said.

Aside from his many vehicles, Naef also owns Doug Naef Insurance Agency in Milwaukie. He enjoys traveling, spending time with his two children — ages 25 and 27 — other family members and gardening.

He loves motorcycling on back roads throughout Oregon and Washington and recently enjoyed a rafting trip on the Deschutes River with a Volkswagen van club — anything to get him outdoors or on the water.

But most of all, Naef — who will also be a judge during this month’s Concours — says he anticipates “seeing all the other cars and enjoying the company of like-minded people” at the show.

“I’m looking forward to sharing the Gene Autry car with the public because a lot of people of the era that appreciate older cars were big fans of his,” Naef said. “He was the only one to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He [was] a versatile guy, so to be able to share the car with the public is very rewarding.”

All proceeds from Concours d’Elegance will go toward scholarships and community service projects, mainly in western Washington County.

“I think that’s why I’m involved,” Naef said. “I’m a big believer of giving back to the community and supporting things that help other people.”

Project plays it forward with rescued pianos set up around Portland — and the help of an app

“When I started, I didn’t even have a piano at home,” said Megan McGeorge, founder of Piano.Push.Play.

“I was an undergrad at PSU and hadn’t had my own piano since living in my parents’ house as a teenager. I was in that situation of needing a piano to play on.”

Started with just one donated piano from the Portland Piano Co., Piano.Push.Play has eleven pianos in parks around Portland — more than double its five pianos in 2014 — and is in its fourth summer.

To keep track of the locations, Piano.Push.Play. developed a map app in coordination with developers from Portland Code School and Urban Airship.

“I’d be interacting with someone at one of the pianos and start telling them, well we have four other ones — they’re here, here and here,” McGeorge said. “I was looking at them and seeing in their face, they’re forgetting everything I’m telling them almost as soon as I’m telling them.”

McGeorge came up with the idea for a map app that pings users when they’re close to one of the pianos, and reached out to Portland Code School, where her idea became a capstone project for two students Misty DeGiulio and James Stiehl. DeGiulio is a technical support engineer at Urban Airship, taking classes to increase her skills.

“The main feature of the app is the map that displays all the locations of the pianos along with their descriptions,” DeGiulio said. “The app also has a camera feature on it so you can easily take a picture and share your experience on social media.”

The app has been submitted to the iOS App Store for review, and is expected to go live this month.

“We’re placing Gimbal beacons in all the pianos so when an app user comes within a certain radius of the piano, it sends him or her a notification,” DeGiulio said. “That’s essentially the user experience — users receive a message from a nearby piano, encouraging them to come play it.”

This year, Portland Parks & Recreation has partnered with Piano.Push.Play., offering 30 parks as locations. As a result, some pianos will spend two weeks at each location, making the app vital to keeping track and finding them, especially since this is Piano.Push.Play.’s first year expanding to the east side of the city at locations including the Sellwood riverfront and Mount Tabor Parks.

“We do want to keep it this big, we’ve been planning intensely since January,” McGeorge said. “The more people hear about us, the more collaborations we have.”

Each piano is sponsored by local companies, which this year include Portland Piano Co., Struck, ADX Portland, Gimbal, Awesome Portland, Lucid, Umpqua Bank, Hilton Portland and Executive Tower, Becker Capital Management, and Urban Airship. Each sponsor donated $1,000 during the summer, which goes toward transportation and weekly tuning before Friday night concerts.

Every Friday through the end of August, concerts are booked using the park pianos. One concert will have a graffiti artist decorating a fresh piano live during the performance. A piano is scheduled to be delivered to the Jade District Night Market, supported by commissioner Nick Fish.

Each summer, Piano Push Play begins with fresh pianos. “The pianos are destined for dumps,” McGeorgen said. “Every single piano this year was destined to be recycled.”

“We’ve discovered there are so many pianos out there that don’t have homes,” McGeorge said. “Every year, there has been more community support.”

The pianos, all donated from the Portland Piano Co., are uniquely decorated by local artists including Struck, the Doug Fir Lounge, ADX Portland, Awesome Portland, Roundhouse Portland, Lucid Design, Open Eye Art, the Bureau of Betterment, North and Splash Worldwide. One, the Debussy, has a plexiglass front and seat, exposing a design of rolled sheet music. The Haydn has a solar-powered lamp.

“Some local artists and design studios chipped in their services to really make the pianos works of art,” DeGiulio said. “This whole project is about creating an experience and giving the public a chance to share their talent and appreciate music in and around the community.”

“Next year’s version may also include gamification elements,” DeGiulio said.

Game ideas for future development of the app include a “collect them all” social media challenge, taking pictures of yourself playing at each piano across the city. Winners could receive one of the pianos at the end of the summer. Other ideas include a live video to play duets simultaneously at different locations.

“The app is mainly about drawing people in to share the experience,” McGeorge said. “I’m absolutely not done: constantly, more people want to play. More pianos, more designers, they’ve kept this installment happening and continued to grow the map.”

“It will be a fun way to get people involved in this public arts project that is all about growing music appreciation outside of typical venues and concert halls,” said DeGiulio. “After the summer months, the refurbished pianos find a new life within nonprofits, schools and community centers to inspire the next generation of musicians.”

Many things happen at the Alpenrose Dairy property, 6149 S.W. Shattuck Road, including some high-level bicycle racing, especially in the Velodrome Challenge, a 16th annual event that will be held July 17 through 19. It draws riders from around the world, including some Olympians.

The Velodrome is one of only 25 bicycle racing tracks in the nation, and it’s known for its incline — 43-degree angles on the corners, meaning racers must maintain a speed of 12.5 miles per hour to remain upright. It’s also a unique track because it’s concrete; most others are wooden.

Velodrome bikes have no brakes, and they have a single fixed rear gear, or cog. For info: www.alpenrosechallenge.com

Garden art

Want to take a road trip and enjoy some art? “Art in the Garden” will be featured again at The Oregon Garden in Silverton, and it includes outdoor art installations by David Hillesland, Tyler Brumfield and Paul Jenkins, July 10 through Sept. 30. For info: www.oregongarden.org

Matthews’ 50th

A lot of Portland music fans venture to the Gorge Amphitheatre near Quincy, Wash., for concerts — and many will likely be there Sept. 4 through 6 for some milestone events. The Dave Matthews Band returns to the venue for its traditional Labor Day weekend shows, and Sept. 6 will mark the band’s 50th show there. For more: www.davematthewsband.com

Nikkei benefit

The Oregon Nikkei Endowment celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Japanese American Historical Plaza and Bill of Rights Memorial with a benefit banquet at 5 p.m. July 18 at the Hillton Portland and Executive Tower, 921 S.W. Sixth Ave. Special guest remarks will be made by Gov. Kate Brown.

Cost is $125 per person. To register, contact the Oregon Nikkei Endowment at 503-224-1458 or info@oregonnikkei.org, or register online at: www.oregonnikkei.org

State of Oregon Craft film

The Portland Tribune last month wrote about the Museum of Contemporary Craft’s “State of Oregon Craft” exhibit, which runs through Aug. 15. The museum also partnered with a local filmmaker and producer, Blacktop Films, to document and engage selected makers in the exhibition, illustrating the uniquely Oregon story of craft.

The nine films can be viewed online at mocc.pnca.edu and on Vimeo (www.vimeo.com/craftmuseum); info on Blacktop can be found at: www.blacktopfims.com

Last week, July 10

“The Gallows”; “Amy”; “Cartel Land”; “Minions”

This week, July 17

“Ant-Man” (Disney), PG-13, 117 minutes

About — Scott Lang goes from con man to (sometimes) tiny superhero teaming with his mentor; Stars — Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Hayley Atwell, Michael Pena; Director — Peyton Reed

“Infinitely Polar Bear” (SPC), R, 88 minutes

About — A bipolar man tries to win over his wife by taking care of their daughters while she attends grad school; Stars — Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky; Director — Maya Forbes

“Mr. Holmes” (Roadside), PG, 105 minutes

About — Retired, Sherlock Holmes frets about one unsolved case; Stars — Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hattie Morahan; Director — Bill Condon

“Trainwreck” (Universal), R, 125 minutes

About — A career woman (Amy Schumer) meets a good guy, destroying her belief that monogamy wasn’t possible; Stars — Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn; Director — Judd Apatow

Next week, July 24

“Paper Towns”; “Southpaw”; “Batkid Begins”

Movies in the Park

Pre-movie entertainment at 6:30 p.m., music, popcorn and movies at dusk at Portland parks:

Thursday, July 16: “The Karate Kid,” King School Park, N.E. Sixth Ave./Going; “Jason and the Argonauts,” Portland Art Museum, 1219 S.W. Park Ave.

Friday, July 17: “The Imitation Game,” Irving Park, N.E. 10th Ave. and Fremont St.

Saturday, July 18: “Back to the Future,” Glenhaven Park, N.E. 82nd Ave. and Siskiyou St.; “Annie,” St. John’s Park, 8424 N. Central

Sunday, July 19: “The Goonies,” Lents Park, S.E. 92nd Ave. and Holgate Blvd.

Home rentals

The latest top 10 digital movie purchases based on transaction rate, by Rentrak:

1. “Kingsman: The Secret Service”

2. “Chappie”

3. “Run all Night”

4. “The Duff”

5. “Unfinished Business”

6. “American Sniper”

7. “Focus”

8. “Jupiter Ascending”

9. “Get Hard”

10. “McFarland, USA”

Other recent favorites: “Spongebob Movie: Sponge out of Water,” “Annie,” “Project Almanac”

Doc spotlight

“The Seeds: Pushin’ Too Hard”

It’s a documentary about the band, fronted by charismatic lead singer Sky Saxon, that produced such teen anthems as “Pushin’ Too Hard” and “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine,” and layed the groundwork for punk. It tells of the bands ups and downs through TV and concert clips, photos and interviews with original members, fans and observers, including Iggy Pop, Kim Fowley, Gene Norman, The Bangles, Johnny Echols of Love, and Bruce Johnson of The Beach Boys. It screens at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 16, at the Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd. (www.hollywoodtheatre.org). Director Neil Norman will take questions and give answers after the show.

Upcoming event

Presented by the Northwest Film Center, the Top Down: Rooftop Cinema returns to the Hotel deLuxe’s parking structure at Southwest 15th Avenue and Yamhill Street for the 11th year. There’ll be seven nights of screenings on Thursdays, starting July 16. doors open at 7 p.m., movies show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $11 general, $10 students/seniors. For more info: www.nwfilm.org.

Announced last week at San Diego Comic Con: Darren Davis, a Portland comic book creator and publisher, has signed a deal to develop a comic book property into a television program.

“Insane Jane” is based on a cult comic book by Davis’ Bluewater/StormFront Productions. It currently is in development and features Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” alum Miracle Laurie as the eponymous Jane. She’s a deluded, yet well-meaning heroine who believes she has superpowers.

The TV series will be produced by Bohemia Group Originals and Laurie. Screenwriter Tracy Morse (“Creature”) also has signed on for the project.

“When Jane was introduced to me, I was floored,” Laurie says in a news release. “She is an actor’s dream, filled with complexity and laced with tremendous amounts of fun.”

Adds Davis: “What Miracle, Tracy and and the folks at Bohemia Group are doing with Jane is simply off-the-charts cool.”

Production will start later this year; a distribution deal has not been secured.

For more: www.bluewaterprod.com.

Janet Jackson

The rock diva has announced the second North American leg of her “Unbreakable World Tour,” and she’ll be kicking it off with a performance in Portland at the Moda Center on Jan. 12.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, July 20 (www.LiveNation.com, www.Ticketmaster outlets, 1-800-745-3000). There have been 27 cities added to the tour. To pre-order her new album, go to www.janetjackson.com.

‘The Biggest Loser’

Contestants for the 17th season of the popular weight-loss show will be considered in nine cities, including Seattle. The theme: Teams of two who have at least 80 pounds each to lose.

The Seattle auditions will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 18, at Planet Fitness, 17171 Bothell Way N.E., Lake Forest Park, Wash.

For people unable to attend the auditions, information on how to apply for the show can also be found online at www.nbc.com/casting and www.thebiggestlosercasting.com.

Pittock Mansion

The historic mansion has an upcoming exhibit, “Ball Gown to Bloomers: Spotlight on the Clothing Collection,” featuring clothing from the late 1800s and early 1900s and what it can tell us about the past.

The details: July 18-Nov. 15, Pittock Mansion, 3229 N.W. Pittock Drive, www.pittockmansion.org (check for

complete info).

Roots music hums at Northwest String Summit July 16-19

Many of us have a songwriter we love. But Nicki Bluhm doesn’t just love Tim Bluhm’s songwriting, she’s married to it — literally.

“He’s my favorite living songwriter right now,” she says of her husband, who plays with her in The Gramblers, one of several acts set to grace the stages at Horning’s Hideout, Thursday through Sunday, July 16 through 19, for the Northwest String Summit.

The acoustic-friendly festival is expected to draw up to 5,000 people to see such acts as festival anchor Yonder Mountain String Band, Greensky Bluegrass, the Del McCoury Band, David Grisman, The Infamous Stringdusters, Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass, The Greyboy Allstars, Nahko & Medicine For The People, Left Coast Country, Elephant Revival, Fruition, Rising Appalachia, the Shook Twins, Frank Fairfield and many others.

The Bluhms sometime write together, though more often than not, separately, Nicki says, and work to keep their love lives and performing lives in harmony.

“We’re pretty good about being professional,” she says. “The music is very important to both of us, and it definitely takes a front seat in our lives.”

The couple shares songwriting duties with lead guitarist Deren Ney, and rhythm guitarist Dave Mulligan. The other Gramblers are bassist Steve Adams and drummer Mike Curry.

Combining folk, rock, country, psychedelia, blues and pop, The Gramblers have become one of the Americana crowd’s favorite acts over the past few years, garnering numerous festival gigs and appearances on such TV shows as “Conan” and “CBS This Morning.”

Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers take the main stage at 2:20 p.m. Saturday, July 18, and will share cuts off their latest album “Loved Wild Lost.” The record echoes Little Feat, the Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow and Fleetwood Mac, among others. Bluhm says one waltzlike ballad off the record, “Queen of the Rodeo,” seems to be garnering new fans every time The Gramblers play it live.

“That’s been getting a really cool response from people, which I didn’t expect because it’s a slower song,” she says. “It’s really nice to get a whole bunch of people digging on a slow song.”

Describing their music as “vintage modern,” Bluhm says the band likes to record, but really enjoys honing its songs live.

“Finding your sound is what you really want to do, and I think it’s a lifelong journey,” she says.

Yonder ponders

Adam Aijala plays guitar with the progressive bluegrass Yonder Mountain String Band. The summit has its roots in a festival the band organized. Yonder Mountain String Band anchors each event, and will play the Main Stage three times. The group features newest members Allie Kral on fiddle and Jake Joliff on national award-winning mandolin, as well as veteran members Dave Johnston on banjo and Ben Kaufmann on bass.

Aijala says this year’s summit is looking to draw its biggest crowd ever. His group will play several cuts off its new album “Black Sheep.”

“Between the three nights we’ll do the album,” he says, adding, “We have some new stuff that we’re almost ready to play.”

Aijala adds that the band has enjoyed working with Kral and Joliff, who came in after founding member Jeff Austin amicably left last year.

“Musically they’re really enjoyable, and they’re good people offstage as well,” he says of Kral and Joliff. Having a female voice in the formerly all-male outfit makes a difference, he says.

“She likes to sing in (the key of) of C, whereas I like G, Bb and A,” Aijala says, noting Kral’s higher-pitched voice allows the harmonizing group to explore new vocal territory. “It’s less singing for Ben and I. My voice doesn’t feel cashed at all.”

He adds that indie roots, Americana, acoustic music — whatever you wanna call “it” — just seems to be growing in popularity, a trend he credits to having started when the soundtrack for the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” became popular in 2000. Roots music has resurged in an era of auto-tune and electronica, he says, noting “there’s room for everybody.”

“We can attempt any style of music,” he says of his own band. “Whether its gonna work or not is another story,” he adds with a chuckle.

NORTHWEST STRING SUMMIT

• Festival gates open at noon Thursday, July 16.

• Acts play on four different stages, including the Further/Furthur bus, used by Ken Kesey and The Pranksters on their cross-country jaunts.

• In addition to live music, the String Summit offers several workshops, on such topics as singing, guitar-playing, songwriting and fiddling.

• Horning’s Hideout is located just 35 minutes west of Portland in North Plains.

• Although certain “tiers” of tickets have sold out, there are still tickets to be had.

• The bluegrass site JamGrass.net named last year’s Northwest String Summit “Best Festival."

• Web: www.stringsummit.com

Three days of free music on tap at park

Matt Tabor’s next concert will be a walk in the park.

Pianist for The Blueprints Trio, Tabor will join drummer Dave Averre and bassist Craig Snazelle for the 35th annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, Friday through Sunday, July 17 through 19.

The longest-running free jazz festival west of the Mississippi River, the event expects to draw up to 1,000 people its first day, and about 5,000 fans overall, says Mitzi Zilka, president of the event’s owner, the Jazz Society of Oregon. The park is located at North Edison Street and Pittsburg Avenue, on the east shore of the Willamette River.

“It’s pretty prestigious from everything I’ve seen as an audience member,” Tabor says of the fest. “It will be really great to engage with a crowd of that magnitude.”

The Blueprints hit the stage from 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday and play jazz that should appeal to fans of Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea and McCoy Tyner. The last gentleman in that list, particularly, influenced Tabor’s approach to tickling the ivories.

“He was the reason I started playing piano,” Tabor says of Tyner. “I was a drummer, and he has such a percussive attack that I really responded to that style coming from the drums.”

Formed in 2012, the trio has released two CDs, “Blueprints” and last year’s “Evoke.” The latter contains a Tabor arrangement of the Cole Porter tune “Just One Of Those Things.” The Blueprints Trio “all seem to love his stuff,” Tabor says of Porter.

“I think there’s a cleverness to the melody,” he adds of Porter’s songs.

Sax ‘n’ soul

Portland native and Brooklyn resident Hailey Niswanger closes out the Saturday lineup with her PDX Soul band, set to play at 9 p.m. The 25-year-old musician is among the brightest stars in the young jazz world, and says her third album, “PDX Soul,” features her funkier R&B side after her first two albums were written more as straight-ahead jazz.

“It’s just another side of my passion,” she says of PDX Soul, which features 16 Portland musicians. “It’s not like I’m stepping off my path entirely. I’m just making a new trail.”

Her trail has taken the saxophonist to numerous jazz festivals, gigs with Esperanza Spalding, Christian McBride, McCoy Tyner, Maceo Parker and Wynton Marsalis, late-night TV shows hosted by Jimmy Fallon and David Letterman and into the critics’ hearts. In 2013 and 2014, Niswanger was named a “rising star” on alto and soprano saxophone by the famed jazz magazine DownBeat.

Niswanger says although the jazz audience tends to skew older, she sees signs of jazz making a comeback among the younger crowd by fusing into other genres. For example, she says, hip hop performer Kendrick Lamar’s recent album “To Pimp a Butterfly” contains some swingin’ jazzy moments, and she adds that many of her peers are into jazz now.

“It’ll be interesting to see how genres fuse even more in the future,” she says, although she says she doesn’t care if you’re 9 or 90.

“I’m there to play for whoever is going to listen, no matter what age they are.”

And there’s Moore

One of Portland’s hippest cats, singer-trumpeter-harmonica-player Robert Moore, will be expanding beyond his usual live Wildcats combo to bring 15 other musicians on stage for a 5:30 p.m. set Sunday. The big band includes singer Bre Gregg — whom Moore calls “Bonnie Raitt incarnate” — as well as pianist and co-arranger Dan Gaynor. Additionally, Bobby Torres, percussionist for Joe Cocker, Tom Jones and others, will be on stage, as well as Alan Jones, a drummer who’s worked with everyone, including Spalding, Andrew Hill, Leroy Vinnegar, Red Mitchell, Jim Pepper and Miroslav Vitous.

“I’m pretty damn excited,” Moore says. “We’ve taken a lot of our standard Wildcats material and expanded the horn section. You need to listen more carefully to make sure the arranged parts and the lines of the larger ensemble are not conflicting with a solo,” he says. “You need to leave space, you need to play around the space.”

He laughs when asked if he’ll be doing more trumpet-playing than singing.

“I’ve got 15 players to turn to for a solo,” he says. “Why should I hog the damn microphone?”

Among the tunes he’ll perform are cuts off his CD “Outta My Soul,” as well as such numbers as “Top 40,” a Mose Allison tune that pokes fun at the steps one must take to get a hit record, including dressing provocatively. Moore chuckles when asked how funky his onstage getup will look.

“If you think shorts and a Hawaiian shirt are provocative, we should talk.”

CATHEDRAL PARK JAZZ FESTIVAL

Friday, July 17

5-6:30 p.m.: Ben Rice

6:50-8:10 p.m.: La Rhonda Steele

8:30-10 p.m.: The Dover Weinberg Quartet & Master Guitar Jam

Saturday, July 18

Noon to 1 p.m.: Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra

1:30-2:30 p.m.: Chris Parker Quartet

3-4 p.m.: Blueprints Trio

4:30-5 p.m.: Kung Pao Chickens

6-7 p.m.: Pa’lante

7:30-8:30 p.m.: Toni Lincoln Quartet

9-10:15 p.m.: Hailey Niswanger’s PDX Soul

Sunday, July 19

1-2 p.m.: American Music Program

2:30-3:30 p.m.: Todd Bishop Group

4-5 p.m.: Kelly Broadway Quartet

5:30-6:50 p.m.: Robert Moore and The Wildcats

7:20-8:35 p.m.: Paul Creighton Project, Tribute to Stevie Wonder

Web: www.cpjazz.com

July 16

Google their choogle

Banditos’ bio notes this sextet uses “the populist choogle” of Creedence Clearwater Revival, in addition to “garage punk scuzz,” “hill country mojo,” and “Slim Harpo’s hip shake baby groove.” We decided to try to top alt-country-rockers Banditos’ self description with one of our own, after we listened to their tunes.

Our take? Originally from Birmingham, Ala., Banditos burst into your ears and eyes like a drunken bachelorette party so rowdy they’re being tossed from an outlaw biker bar because the bikers can no longer take their silliness. That’s right — hell hath no fury this band wouldn’t find laughable.

Banditos, 9 p.m. Thursday, July 16, Duff’s Garage, 2530 N.E. 82nd Ave. $10. Info: 503-234-2337, www.duffsgarage.com.

July 18-19

Gentlemen prefer Blondie

Chris Stein, guitarist for Blondie, says part of his to-the-point guitar style is rooted in his aesthetic.

“I’m a big believer in less is more,” he says. “Endless guitar solos can be kind of daunting. You don’t need 48 bars.”

Stein will be able to practice what he preaches at 7:45 p.m. Saturday, July 18, when Blondie headlines Project Pabst at Zidell Yards. The fabled New Wave band’s set will wrap a day that includes performances by Hustle and Drone, Priory, The Velvet Teen, Against Me!, Thee Oh Sees, TV on the Radio, Run the Jewels. On Sunday, July 19, Weezer similarly closes out a day that includes sets by Wampire, Wild Ones, Terry and Louie, Alvvays, The Both, Passion Pit and Buzzcocks

Stein will be joined by original members singer Debbie Harry and drummer Clem Burke, as well as bassist Leigh Foxx, keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen, and guitarist Tommy Kessler.

Although the band often is lumped in with punk rock CBGB denizens like the Ramones, Blondie actually was more akin to Talking Heads, exploring rhythmic and sonic possibilities that went beyond “1, 2, 3, 4!” From the disco throb of “Heart of Glass” to the bells-a’ringing proto-hip-hop of “Rapture,” Blondie was more about writing songs that simply worked, whatever the style, in the best tradition of pop tunesmiths.

“It just happened, it was not anything planned,” Stein says of the group’s eclectic catalog, which includes rockers like “One Way or Another” as well as the propulsive dance hit “Call Me.” “It’s just what we were drawn to. People we admired, like Bowie, were always reinventing themselves.”

The band will play about two-thirds old hits and one-third newer stuff, including music off its “Ghosts of Download” double CD released last year. Stein also is coming off a successful year as a photographer, having published “Chris Stein/Negative: Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk.” The book contains photos Stein took of Blondie, the Ramones, Talking Heads and other punk and New Wave pioneers of the 1970s New York City scene.

“I tell kids to take pictures of their friends, you never know which ones will become famous,” he says with a chuckle. When reminded that young people actually take a lot of pictures these days of themselves and their friends, he laughs and says, “That and cats. And food.”

Project Pabst, Saturday-Sunday, July 18-19, Zidell Yards, 3030 S.W. Moody Ave. Single-day tickets $40, weekend passes $75. Separately ticketed evening shows take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday July 17-19 Info: www.projectpabst.com.

Quick hits

• Hot on the heels of their latest single, the dance-happy “Crave,” Parachute plays a stripped down acoustic set, along with Mikey Wax, at Lola’s Room at the Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside St., at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 19. $18 in advance, $20 day of show. Info: 503-225-0047, www.mcmenamins.com.

• Spokane Americana rockers The Marshall McLean Band, as well singer-songwriters Anna Tivel and Jeffrey Martin, share a bill at Secret Society Ballroom, 116 N.E. Russell St., at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 19. $10. Info: 503-493-3600, www.ticketfly.com, www.secretsociety.net.

• Best-selling jazz vocalist Catherine Russell, backed by Matt Munisteri on guitar, Mark Shane on piano, and Tal Ronen on bass, performs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23, at Jimmy Mak’s, 221 N.W. 10th Ave. $10. Info: 503-295-6542, www.jimmymaks.com.

MISC.

Suburban fun

It’s a big weekend (July 17-19) for events out in the suburbs:

• The Gresham Arts Festival goes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (www.greshamoregon.gov).

• The Portland Highland Games features strong men doing great things, Friday and Saturday at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham (www.phga.org).

• The Oregon International Air Show excites with trick airplanes, aerobatics, skydivers and more, Friday through Sunday in Hillsboro (www.oregonairshow.com).

• The Robin Hood Festival includes everything medieval, Friday and Saturday in Sherwood (robinhoodfestival.org).

• The 43rd Concours d’Elegance car show features more than 300 vintage cars, and other fun, Sunday at Pacific University in Forest Grove.

Sand in the City

The annual event features teams carving giant sculptures out of sand on Friday morning, July 17, and then showing them off to the public through Sunday, July 19, at Pioneer Courthouse Square. It’s free to attend; donations suggested. For info: www.sandinthecitypdx.org.

Connick Jr., Mellencamp

Want to see a big-time concert? Harry Connick Jr. plays at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 8 p.m. Friday, July 17 ($57-$139) and John Mellencamp also plays at the Schnitz, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21 ($52.50-$123). For info: www.portland5.com.

Oregon Brewers Festival

There’ll be nearly 90 craft breweries serving numerous styles of beer to an expected crowd of nearly 90,000. The International Beer Garden will feature 15 beers from brewers ranging from New Zealand to The Netherlands. Music will be staged each day.

Noon-9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, July 22-25, noon-7 p.m. Sunday, July 26, Waterfront Park, www.oregonbrewfest.com, free, $7 tasting cup, $1 beer tokens

Hood River County Fair

Want a day trip to enjoy an old-fashioned, family-oriented fair? Head to the scenic Hood River County Fairgrounds, 3020 Wy’east Road, south of Hood River near Odell, for one of the best in the state, Wednesday through Saturday, July 22 through 25. Gates open at noon each day, and carnival rides start at 1 p.m. For more: www.hoodriverfair.org.

STAGE

‘The Elixir of Love’

The Portland Opera’s 50th anniversary season closes with the Donizetti romantic comedy featuring a great cast and beautiful music, performed at the Newmark Theatre; it’ll be the opera’s seventh performance at the Newmark. This version of “Elixir” is set in the American Wild West of the 1880s.

7:30 p.m. Friday, July 17, July 23, July 25, July 30 and Aug. 1, 2 p.m. July 19, Newmark Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway, www.portlandopera.org, starting at $25

‘Imago Soiree No. 1’

The event features the work of five directors in Baudelaire movement theater, surreal animation, classic experimental theater, and eccentric original works.

7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, July 17-18, 2 p.m. Sunday,

July 18, Imago Theatre, 17 S.E. Eighth Ave., www.ticketswest.com, $10-$20

‘Much Ado About Nothing’

Post5 Theatre puts a 1950s twist on a Shakespeare comedy.

8 p.m. Fridays-Sundays, July 17-Aug. 16, Post5 Theatre, 1666 S.E. Lambert St., www.post5theatre.org, $20, $15 seniors/students

Northwest Dance Project

Two award-winning choreographers (Banning Bouldin, Yoshito Sakuraba) had 18 hours of studio time to produce works with 38 dancers. The results will be performed on one night in “Pretty Creatives Showing.”

7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18, Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 S.W. Park Ave., www.nwdanceproject.org, $20, $25 at door