Portland, Oregon - Sellwood: Portland Puppet Musuem

The Portland Puppet Museum resides in an ordinary (though good-sized) house in a quiet Sellwood neighborhood, not far from Oaks Park.

As you enter there is some signage and explanation, but mainly there are just lots and lots of puppets.

The collection contains over 300 puppets.

The brochure indicates that they change the displays four times a year, allowing different puppets to be featured and seen.

There are larger puppets that are very ornate, but you can find life-size body puppets in the South Wing.

There are puppets that recall art styles and forms from other countries.

There are also some very familiar faces.

And some that are almost familiar, but not quite. (That does not look like King Friday, but that does look like Daniel Striped Tiger. However, there is also information about the influence of Mr. Rogers there, and that is nice.)

Some are more realistic and some are more fanciful.

Admission is free, and that may be for the best as the collection can be viewed very quickly.

However, where the museum may be at its strongest is with the extras, like viewing a play or workshop where children can make puppets.

Then appreciating the art becomes personally applicable.

The web site is not great, but it is worth checking out for those opportunities. In addition, there are some downloadable craft projects.

This Lamb Chop was a gift from Shari Lewis.

Some of the exhibits may be especially interesting for people who have seen them used in Tears of Joy productions.

http://www.puppetmuseum.com/

Hillsboro, Oregon - Next Level Pinball Museum

Okay, the outside signs say "shop" instead of "museum". Maybe it's more like a club. Whatever it is, it's awesome!

The more museum-like aspects include various types of collectibles and memorabilia on display.

My favorites for that were the walls of lunchboxes - every kind you could imagine.

But the purpose is really the game playing, with both video games and pinball games available.

From the web page, at last count there are 125 pinball games, and over well over 60 new and classic video games.

I played some classic Donkey Kong and some Rampage. Rampage was actually kind of stupid, but I think it would have been unfaithful to the movie otherwise. The original Rampage game sounds more interesting. The real revelation was the pinball.

I have tried playing pinball before, and I never got very far, running out of balls just as I was starting to get the hang of it. Here you pay a $15 admission, and then game play is free.

This gives you a chance to get the hang of things without worrying about running out of quarters or embarrassment. We were three beginners and we all had a good experience.

I started out with a few rounds of the South Park pinball game, and was thrilled to keep getting the Mr. Hanky bonus.

Of course, some games prove more challenging than others.

If you hit enough points from the different movies, you unlock things. I never quite made it - at least partly because I wanted to try a variety of different games - but I am left with optimism that I can. Shoot, I believe I might be able to someday figure out pachinko now. Maybe.

The one downside is that it was quite warm in there. Of course, we went in August, which could have been a factor. They did have water and cups available, as well as some vending machines. (So, even though playing does not require quarters, there is a change machine.)

However, when you pay your admission you get a wrist band and can come and go freely, to get some fresh air or to buy food... whatever you want.

So really, I guess it's more of a pinball club. An awesome one.

http://nextlevelpinballmuseum.com/

Tigard, OR - John Tigard Apple Harvest Festival

I held off blogging today because we were going to the Apple Harvest Festival, and I thought it would be a timely post to get to it today, a concern with many of these limited-time attractions.

 There is less than an hour left of this festival as I write, so perhaps it doesn't make that much difference.

It was still interesting to go. Having grown up around here, I know many people with ties to Tigard, and this was a chance to learn a little more about founder John Tigard and see where he lived.

The house was build in 1880 and moved to its current location more recently, saving it from continued development.

The house was lived in for many years, so not everything goes as far back, but there are many old items with information about them.

There is information about other farms and families as well.

It can give a good sense of the history of the area.

This model of the former general store that was located nearby added an interesting perspective.

In a real way it seems like more of a festival of Tigard history (or maybe John Tigard history), but there were apple trees in the yard, with apples on the tree and windfall apples on the ground. A local restaurant, Davidson's Casual Dining, also provided apple pie.

There were games and displays available outside, as well as a photo booth, so there were plenty of ways to participate. However, the house is not regularly open to the public, so getting a chance to see inside may be reason enough to go.

https://tualatinvalley.org/events-festivals/john-tigard-apple-harvest-festival/

Canby, Oregon - Swan Island Dahlia Festival

For the first time this year we went and visited Swan Island Dahlia Festival in Canby. So many dahlias!

I am being careful to note that they are in Canby, because the news segment initially called it the Sauvie Island Dahlia Festival and quickly corrected himself after a pained look from the interviewee, but also because there is a major flower market on Swan Island, and these things can get confusing.

(This is even more true because while Swan Island was originally an island, landfill has connected it to the mainland.)

Nonetheless, the dahlias are in Canby, and there are thousands of them.

We only went down one path of rows in one field, but across the street there was another one.

Each field has a path cutting down the middle, with different varieties on either side.

And you are strongly encouraged to notleave that path for photos or picking. I saw many people disregarding the rules, and many trampled flowers. Don't do that.

The other thing we neglected to do was go into the covered area. There were vendors there, but also cut flower displays, and of course boards with paintings of dahlias that you could stick your head through. Every flower festival has those; we should have known and gone. (We did not park in the best possible place.)

We still enjoyed ourselves. One part of the fun is to see the different names of the varieties.

You just know some of them have a story.

One interesting contrast with the lily festival we recently attended was that we didn't notice any scent. This makes dahlias a good option for many with a sensitivity to smells.

Obviously there was variety of color, but it was also interesting to see the variety of petal arrangements, from little puff balls to more tousled ones that resembled chrysanthemums.

That led to a little bit of research that could be fun reading for you"

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/difference-between-chrysanthemums-dahlias-76851.html

https://www.dahlias.com/annualdahliafestival.aspx