Portland in the News: Jerry Garcia Celebration, Fighting Monoculture, Clown Scholar & More | July 30, 2026

Herb Greene

Portland’s love of Jerry Garcia is well documented. McMenamins takes it a step further with Days Away, a festival with 40+ Jerry-centric events beginning August 1. 

A local group seeks to get Portlanders away from monocultures like lawns and create ‘food forests’ in their own backyards.

And the Willamette Week profiles Portland’s own clown scholar and political radical, Quinn the Clown.

Here’s a roundup of the goings-on in Portland this week:

• WWeek: Portland’s best clown scholar and political radical
• PDX Monthly: Ursula K. Le Guin’s house is listed on national historic registry
• OPB: Three Portland comic artists nominated for prestigious Esther Award
• KGW: Community members paint mural in SE Portland
• WWeek: Portland’s best strip club culture journal
• OPB: Women across the Northwest compete in the Larry Bell Memorial All Girls Rodeo
• Here Is Oregon: America’s best winery restaurant is found in Portland
• PDX Monthly: How bitter radicchio became Portland’s 21st century sweetheart
• Street Roots: PDX Food Forest is waging war on lawns
• WWeek: Portland’s relationship with Jerry Garcia is especially thick