Pick up a pumpkin or be chased by a chainsaw-wielding maniac—which Portland corn maze is right for you?

If you didn’t know any better, you might think downtown’s City Council district is down to four candidates vying for three seats. “Final four square off,” reads a headline announcing a downtown candid...

I’m a 37-year-old (mostly) straight man who has been in and out of a series of committed, monogamous relationships for most of my adult life. I’m now at a point where I am feeling torn in two, and it ...

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly c...

A new documentary lays out how the zombie went from a local nightmare at the edge of Haiti’s vodou religion to a globalized big-ticket brains eater genre.

At the very first drop of an autumn leaf, I start to crave Indian takeout even more often than I normally do—creamy sauces, warming spices, fluffy rice, and pillowy naan. Now, there’s a new cart I’ll ...

What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury’s 2026 Fall Arts Issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep thes...

Seven candidates are running to serve District 2 on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. The district covers most of North and Northeast Portland. The seat is currently held by Shannon Singlet...

If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution to the Mercury, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for you...

Portland horror author Keith Rosson is having a good week. On September 22nd, the same day his new novel Crone hit shelves, Deadline announced that Paramount has taken the first steps to turning his v...

It can be tough to focus on new music releases when you’re mired in the hell of aches and pains. I’m lucky to have been almost entirely free from it the vast majority of my adult life, but as I descen...

The landscape for climate funding has turned bleak since President Trump returned to office. But Portland’s dedicated clean energy fund has stood out as a remaining source of income for emissions redu...

If you appreciate the Mercury‘s interesting and useful news & culture reporting, consider making a small monthly contribution to support our editorial team. Your donation is tax-deductible. You can al...

It isn’t uncommon for big business interests to throw cash at elections in hopes of moving the electorate—and not just at the federal level. Amid growing wealth inequality and ongoing affordability cr...

Inhabited by Robert Pattinson, Chris Hansen is possessed.

Alma seemed like it was doing just fine. But chef-owner Vedran Jordan shut his Northeast Portland restaurant down this spring after less than a year in business.  Turns out it was all part of Jordan’s...

Who’s ready to have some fun? Well, the Mercury is here to help with FREE TICKETS to see some of Portland’s best concerts and events; our way of saying thanks to our great readers and spread the word ...

We attend the Rose City’s new romance pop culture convention Romancing Portland and break down the three days of drama.

CALLING ALL BRAINIACS! It’s time to put that brainy-brain to the test with this edition of POP QUIZ PDX—our local, sassy-ass trivia quiz. And this week we’ll see how much YOU know about the latest loc...

If you appreciate the Mercury‘s interesting and useful news & culture reporting, consider making a small monthly contribution to support our editorial team. Your donation is tax-deductible. You can al...

Mayor Keith Wilson on Wednesday used his power to break a tie City Council vote for the second time on his watch, this time to facilitate a massive fossil fuel deal. Wilson joined six councilors in voting to transfer a contract the city has with Houston-based fossil fuel company Zenith Energy to a Miami-based international […]

Two city councilors are likely to infuriate a handful of CEOs in their quest to address the city’s perennial budget issues.  District 4 Councilor Mitch Green and District 3 Councilor Angelita Morillo introduced what they call the “Fair Share Tax” on Wednesday, seeking to increase existing business taxes on 405  large corporations—and cut taxes for […]

Tuesday night’s game against the Valkyries, the No. 2 team in the league, began brutally—the Fire were down 17-0 with only three minutes left in the first quarter before they scored. But the second th...

After speaking out against a city councilor over recently resurfaced social media posts from 2020, Portland Police Chief Bob Day is now the subject of at least three state complaints. The complaints a...

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly c...

Portland is highly regarded as a weird city nestled in a pretty weird state, so it’s not too surprising the city has a festival devoted to celebrating this weirdness. This year’s Weird Fest kicked off...

Like many great epiphanies, Anthony Hudson realized it in the shower—shortly after he fell off Jeffery Gibson’s massive sculpture of red pedestals, the space in which to place me.  Hudson had been invited to perform in the US pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale where Gibson, a queer Choctaw and Cherokee artist, had created an […]

I’ve wavered on sending this but I need advice. There’s this woman I’ve known most of my life. We are very close and we have as close to an open book friendship as I can think of. We’ve shared everyth...

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly c...

Like the rest of the WNBA, the Portland Fire had a two-week break while Team USA won a gold medal at the FIBA World Cup. Or, at least, about half of the Fire had a break, since six players departed to play in the international tournament (Carla Leite helped France win the silver medal, Megan […]

The seasons are changing—this week marks both the Portland Fire’s final regular season game of the year and the Winterhawks home opener. We’ve got some unusual musical guests coming into town, too, like English art-rockers Everything Everything and Japanese synth-pop queen Poison Girl Friend. Hispanic Heritage Month revs up with a Latin American film festival […]

Hellooooo, Trash Pandas! Welcome back to the Trash Report. I am Elinor Jones, thriving once again now that it’s officially fall. My forearms are sick of being exposed to fresh air and I’m ready to get...

If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution to the Mercury, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for you...

Wildwood couldn’t be a more local endeavor. Set in Portland, the film is based on the 2011 novel written and illustrated by Portlanders Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis and adapted by Hillsboro-based stop...

Although this year’s Time-Based Art Festival (TBA) ended September 13, one of its most interactive offerings is still available for download. Designed by German theater group Rimini Protokoll, compose...

A neighborhood bar is a sacred space. It’s where you go when you have something to celebrate, something to mourn, or just don’t feel like cooking that night. Taking one over is high-risk, high-reward....

If you appreciate the Mercury‘s interesting and useful news & culture reporting, consider making a small monthly contribution to support our editorial team. Your donation is tax-deductible. You can also subscribe and have our papers delivered! Good morning, Portland! It’s looking to be a nice weekend, with highs in the upper 70s and no rain until next week. Let’s […]

The police are supposed to keep protesters safe as they exercise their rights to free speech—not retaliate by shooting them with rubber bullets, striking them with batons, or spraying tear gas at more...

Who’s ready to have some fun? Well, the Mercury is here to help with FREE TICKETS to see some of Portland’s best concerts and events; our way of saying thanks to our great readers and spread the word ...

Portland horror author Keith Rosson has been turning Oregon into a horror setting for a while now, most notably with his duology of Fever House (2023) and The Devil by Name (2024) which transformed th...

As the weather cools, the rains return, and the verdant hues change into crimson and gold, the restaurant industry shows no signs of slowing down itself. This month, two buzzy residencies are packing ...

This story first appeared in Bolts, and is republished with permission. In 2020, when Fernando was shot twice in the street outside the old Portland Meadows Racetrack, where he was working as a construction flagger, it was actually fortuitous that he tore a tendon in his knee while trying to run away. He says that’s […]