MISC.
Fourth of July
It's decision time where to watch fireworks, with the Portland area's biggest displays at Fort Vancouver (Wash.) on the Columbia River, the Waterfront Blues Festival on the Willamette River, Oaks Park on the Willamette, Corbett, North Plains and the St. Paul Rodeo. Among the big events to consider: Estacada Timber Festival, 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, July 3, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, July 4 (estacadatimberfestival.com); Independence Day at Fort Vancouver, 8 a.m. Saturday, July 4 (4th.fortvan.org; entertainment starts at noon). And, the newly open World of Speed, 27490 S.W. 95th Ave. in Wilsonville will be hosting "Hoods Up! Fire Up!" from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 4 the museum plans to lift the hoods on each of its 93 cars in the collection and fire up the 1979 Markley-Bruins Top Fuel Dragster and 1995 Jeff Gordon No. 24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. A great place to identify other Fourth of July activities: www.pdxpipeline.com.
GearCon
The Steampunk convention returns to the DoubleTree by Hilton Portland, 1000 N.E. Multnomah St., July 3 through 5. It includes the Victorian Martial Arts Symposium, put on by Academia Duellatoria, as well as a fine art salon and marketplace, a gaming room, a variety of panels, and evening entertainment featuring Aurelio Voltaire.
Activities on Friday, July 3, take place at various venues in Portland, so there should be some interesting people-watching going on. For info: www.pdxgearcon.com.
Van Sant films
Gearing up for its play "Time, A Fair Hustler" later this summer, Hand2Mouth presents a celebration of filmmaker Gus Van Sant with screenings of his movies, July 5 through Aug. 5. The series is curated by Mario Falsetto, author of "Conversations with Gus Van Sant."
The screenings: Clinton Street Theater (2522 S.E. Clinton St.) "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," 7 p.m. July 5; "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: www.hand2mouththeatre.org.
STAGE
'Thoroughly Modern Millie'
Broadway Rose puts on the show, directed and choreographed by Lyn Cramer, an endowed professor of musical theater dance at the University of Oklahoma and starring Portland's Claire Avakian as Millie (Cramer taught Avakian at Oklahoma).
"Thoroughly Modern Millie" was the most awarded show on Broadway in 2002. It's based on the 1967 Academy Award-winning film, and it takes you back to the height of the Jazz Age in New York City and flapper Millie Dillmount. It's a delightful valentine to the long-standing spirit of New York City and the people who seek to discover themselves there.
7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays (and July 18, 25), July 2-July 26, Deb Fennell Auditorium, 9000 S.W. Durham Road, www.broadwayrose.org (check for tickets)
The Brody Theater
The theater touts its upcoming "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.
7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 9 at The Brody Theater, 16 N.W. Broadway, www.brodytheater.com, $10
'Twelfth Night'
The Portland Shakespeare Project stages the bard's romantic comedy, directed by internationally acclaimed actress and director Lisa Harrow, and starring Allen Nause in the role of Feste, Michael Mendelson as Orsino, along with a slew of Portland actors. The play follows the journey of Viola and Sebastian, twins separated by a shipwreck, as they encounter loss and love in their new homeland, the mythical island of Illyria.
7:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, July 8-Aug. 2, Artists Repertory Theatre/Alder Stage, 1516 S.W. Morrison St., www.portlandshakes.org (check for tickets)
MUSIC
Sundown Concert
Portland Cello Project cuts loose with a free all-ages dance party, for the third consecutive year, to open the Ecotrust concert series on First Thursday, July 2. It's a monthly series of free outdoor concerts at the landmark green building. The Portland Cello Project's party will be part of a celebration that includes a street fair-style Innovation Showcase with a climate theme and more than 40 local organizations sharing their work. Joy Now Project will gather its troupe of kids for a series kickoff march.
5:30-8 p.m. Thursday, July 2, Ecotrust Natural Capital Center parking lot, 721 N.W. Ninth Ave., www.ecotrust.org, free
Elvis Costello
The alternative rocker comes to Portland with one of his bands, The Impostors.
8 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway, www.portland5.com, $46.50-$89