Oregon finishes up spring break this weekend with a few family-friendly events including the Gem Faire in Hillsboro and the Amity Daffodil Festival. We’ve also got some classical music performances and other musical events, as well as the kickoff of the 20th anniversary of the PIR Swap Meet beginning Thursday, April 3.
The Gem Faire will be held in Hillsboro the weekend of March 28, 2025. File photo. Yooy Nelson
Gem Faire
Head to Hillsboro for the largest selection of jewelry, crystals, gemstones, gold and silver, beads and minerals that the metro area sees each spring, according to organizers. You can buy directly from importers and wholesalers, as well as score supplies and tools. Have your jewerly repaired and rings sized while you shop. There will also be educational displays and demos by the Portland Bead Society.
Noon-6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, March 28-30, Westside Commons, 801 N.E. 34th Ave., Hillsboro; admission $7, ages 12 and younger are free; gemfaire.com/event.
“Hedda”
Artistic Director Sarah Slipper’s acclaimed work returns to the stage in this spring performance. The dark, theatrical, and vivid dance takes on Henrik Ibsen’s play “Hedda Gabler,” canonized as a masterpiece within the genres of literary realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama. Slipper premiered this work in 2018.
7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, March 28-29, Newmark Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway; tickets start at $29; app.arts-people.com/index.
Spring wraps itself in the colors of a field of daffodils. Oregonian file photo. LC- THE OREGONIAN
Amity Daffodil Festival
Tulips often take spring’s center stage, but the first splashes of color are usually the trusty daffodil. Head to Amity for this annual festival showcasing the numerous varieties. Bring a home-grown daffodil prior to judging that starts at 1 p.m. There’s also a plant sale, live music, children’s art show, and vendors.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, March 29, Amity Community Center, 401 S. Trade St., Amity; free admission; visitmcminnville.com/events/amity-daffodil.
Cappella Romana
“Requiem for the Forgotten”
Cappella Romana and 45th Parallel Universe present a program that includes Frank La Rocca’s work for choir, organ, and strings that commemorates the displaced and the homeless, championing the inherent dignity of every person. The program also includes a work by Josef Rheinberger.
2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1739 N.W. Couch St., and 3 p.m. Sunday, March 30, Our Lady of the Lake Parish, 790 A Ave., Lake Oswego; tickets start at $33; cappellaromana.org/concert.
“Why We Sing”
Satori Men’s Chorus offers a concert honoring the words of American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou. The songs offer a message of social justice and personal fortitude. The program also includes songs by Eric Clapton, a work from “Dear Even Hanson,” and “This Is Who We Are” from the New Mexico Peace Choir.
7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29, Unity of Portland, 4525 S.E. Stark St.; tickets $7-$15 at door.
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live
Are you a fan of the Sailor Moon franchise? This is your show. The stage musical brings the iconic Sailor Moon universe to life with a dazzling world of magic, friendship, dance, and music. It’s billed as a 2.5D musical, a style born of Japanese manga, anime, or video games where actors portray the characters in a way that emulates the 2D style of the original work. Aimed at fans of all ages.
8 p.m. Saturday, March 29, Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.; tickets start at $45; portland5.evenue.net.
Gordon Lightfoot performs onstage during 2018 Stagecoach California's Country Music Festival. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Stagecoach)Getty Images for Stagecoach
“Sundown – a Salute to Gordon Lightfoot”
This Canadian treasure penned numerous gold and platinum albums and helped define songwriting in the 1970s. Lightfoot’s biographer Nicholas Jennings wrote, “His name is synonymous with timeless songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness.”
Revisit the era with a celebration of Lightfoot’s music performed by Tom May, Dave Ross, Kristen Grainer and Dan Wetzel, Kate Power and others. The show is also a benefit for The Jeremy Wilson Foundation.
5 p.m. Sunday, March 30, Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta St.; tickets $25 advance, $30 at door; etix.com/ticket.
The passenger side tail fin of a 1957 Ford Thunderbird at the PIR Auto Swap in Portland, OR. Dave Killen / The Oregonian LC- The OregonainLC- The Oregonain
PIR Auto Swap Meet
This year marks the 20th annual Portland International Raceway Auto Swap Meet where vendors from all over the Pacific Northwest, Canada, Alaska, California and other places gather, set up a table, and sell their wares mostly consisting of car parts, collectibles, custom items, antique toys, vintage signs and other memorabilia. It’s a well-attended event, rain or shine and takes up the entirety of the nearly 2-mile track at PIR. There is limited parking on site for $15 a day. Other options are carpooling or taking TriMet’s Yellow Line to the front gate.
7 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, April 3-5, PIR, 1940 N. Victory Blvd; admission $13, ages 12 and younger free; portlandraceway.com/?/events.
The Portland Swap Meet at the Expo Center is held in conjunction with this event but has different days and times. There’s still plenty for automotive enthusiasts, but under cover inside the Expo Center.
7 a.m.-6 p.m. April 4, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. April 5, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. April 6, Expo Center, 2050 N. Marine Drive; admission $13 Friday-Saturday, $5 Sunday; expocenter.org/events/portland-swap-meet.
National Folk Organization annual conference
Folk dance fans gather in Portland to celebrate traditional cultural arts with three days of activities and events. Watch folk dancing performances, learn about folk culture from the Balkans to Japan, and get moving during three nights of folk dancing parties with participatory dances for beginners.
Various times Thursday-Saturday, April 3-5, Burlingame Water Tower Dance Hall, 8936 S.W. 17th Ave.; session fees vary. Evening open dances start at $10; nfo-usa.com/annual-nfo-conference.
The history of Bob Dylan and his music is told through story and song in Vancouver this week. Getty Images. Alice Ochs/Michael Ochs Archives | Getty Images
“Blowin’ In the Wind: Songs and Stories of Bob Dylan”
Musician and historian Joel Underwood grabs his guitar and offers the music and history of “the Shakespeare of his generation,” Bob Dylan. Hear stories of the Nobel Prize-winner’s early years in Minnesota and New York, and his movement from folk to rock and blues music through the years.
6 p.m. Thursday, April 3, Providence Academy, 400 E. Evergreen Blvd., Vancouver; $12 in advance; thehistorictrust.rezdy.com.
“Rubberband”
For more than 20 years this Montreal-based group has been creating and developing a unique style that blends break, ballet, contemporary techniques and dance-theater into one awe-inspiring show. Choreographer and artistic director Victor Quijada highlights the incredible versatility of the dancers with humor and athletic grace. This performance, hosted by White Bird Dance, is set to a score of favorites by iconic composers including Vivaldi, Bach, and Prokofiev.
7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, and 7:30 p.m. April 4-5, Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, 12625 S.W. Crescent St., Beaverton; tickets start at $49.50; thereser.org/event/rubberband.
- If you have events you’d like to see highlighted at OregonLive.com or in the weekly printed A&E section of The Oregonian, please email submissions to events@oregonian.com at least three weeks prior to the start of your event. Digital images or links to videos are helpful.
— Rosemarie Stein
503-221-4376, events@oregonian.com
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