Categories
Opera

Portland Opera’s The Barber of Seville

Portland Opera's Barber of Seville
Portland Opera's Barber of Seville

I really didn’t know what to expect taking my 8 1/2 year old son to the opera. When I first asked him if he wanted to join me to see Portland Opera’s production of The Barber of Seville, he gave me an energetic and brief “sure!” Did he know what he was in for? I hesitated telling him that The Barber of Seville is sung entirely in Italian, and that it runs well over two hours. I held off on dragging out summary sheets or doing any opera prep work. Part of me honestly believed that all that would scare him off.

It’s not all that unreasonable an assumption. There are a great number of people who are intimidated by opera – they live under the misconception that opera is somehow too fancy, unapproachable or requires some sort of pre-requisite knowledge or home work.

Categories
Events

Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival – Saturday May 8th

Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival
Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival

While I spend a lot of time with Portland’s cocktail and micro-distillery world for DrinkSpirits.com, I can’t help but be drawn to all the amazing wine and beer festivals and events that take place in Portland year round.  One event which has always been on my radar screen is the Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival. Now in its sixth year, this home-grown event has blossomed into one of Portland’s more notable culinary expos.

The festival features 40 of the top wines selected from a pool of Oregon craft wineries which produce no more than 2,500 cases or more. This year they’ve added a special section to spotlight top scoring reds under $25 and whites under $15. Judges for the 2010 festival include Claud Mann of TBS’ Dinner and a Movie, journalist and author Alice Feiring, James Beard nominated Chef Cathy Whims of Nostrana, and Bernie Sun, Corporate Beverage Director at Jean-Georges Management, LLC. Portland’s top chefs will join the selected 40 craft producers and serve up sophisticated wine-friendly bites.

The 2010 Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival will take place at the Bison Building (19 NE 10th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232) on Saturday, May 8th from 2 – 6 p.m.   Tickets are $75/person and include one tasting glass, festival passport and access to pours from all wineries and food from all the featured restaurants.