Things to Do in Vancouver

For nearly a quarter-century, the Portland Fall Home and Garden Show has showcased the wares and talents of hundreds of local nurseries, landscapers, and contractors. Widely acknowledged as the best time to plant and prepare for spring blooms, the fall season is ideal for consulting with professionals on upcoming projects and putting seeds and bulbs to ground. Attendees can glean inspiration from 11 onsite garden displays before shopping the extensive selection of trees, azaleas, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs, as well as garden gnomes that don’t steal your socks while you sleep.

When chemist Gary Gougér first started making wine, he was an amateur who was simply translating his love of vino into a pleasurable hobby. Soon, his passion took over, and he began racking up numerous International Gold awards for his red blends. His science background, coupled with training at one of the world’s finest winemaking schools in Australia, helped Gougér take his wines to the next level. Now the proprietor of his own Cascadian winery, he crafts blended creations, along with single-varietal bottles, that take center stage at tasting-room events ranging from holiday events to varietal samplers.

Marmalade Skies' helpful staff, extensive project selection, and comfortable crafting space provide an artsy nest for the newly inspired. The brainchild of studio owner Debbie Tawse, Marmalade Skies marries education and creativity with parties focusing on do-it-yourself art such as mosaic, decoupage, glass painting, and more.

Cinetopia's super-high-definition digital projectors, wide leather seats, fresh market-to-table cuisine, selection of local microbrews, extensive wine list, and art gallery have earned the cinema acclaim from multiple media outlets. The Mill Plain location boasts five Grand Auditorium theaters, each equipped with 50-foot, 2048p screens. Reclining seats ascend diagonally for unimpeded views, and ejection buttons allow audiences to escape the theater during too-scary shower scenes. The venue also houses three living-room theaters for patrons aged 21 and older with footrests, pillows, and waiters on hand. Live music performed from an overhead balcony fills these spaces before Friday and Saturday shows. View the schedule of current and upcoming showings here.

Oregon Inflatables' fleet of bouncy chambers, water slides, games, and obstacles courses brightens birthday parties, graduations, and backyard barbecues with an old-school carnival flair. Each bouncy structure decks out air-filled cavities with themed decorations, dressing up playpens to resemble sunny stacks of crayons, turreted castles, or formidable pirate fortresses. Water slides and dunk tanks cool off partiers with romps through refreshing molecules of H2O, while obstacle courses, sumo suits, and games add a touch of friendly competition to gatherings. Oregon Inflatables couples its castles and water spouts with rentable cotton candy and snow-cone concessions that entertain taste buds with the sweet notes of spun sugar and flavored snowman meat.

Bella Organic Farm's 100 acres of picturesque rural farmland yield a cornucopia of produce, which its workers cheerily harvest and sell directly to Portland residents. Not content to keep customers well fed, the farm also draws families, music lovers, and food aficionados to its pastoral atmosphere with a plethora of seasonal activities. A series of harvest festivals fill the air with blues, rock, bluegrass, and country music and simultaneously sate the appetites of guests with food-cart fare, local microbrews, and wine from Bella's own organic winery, which include creations made from berry, cherry, rhubarb, and traditional grape wines. Sun-soaked youngsters can take refuge on cow and grain trains, relax on a hayride, or explore a petting zoo stocked with barnyard animals and friendly carpet samples.