Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in May 2013

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May 012013
 
Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in May 2013

In Portland, Oregon, in May? Check out these wonderful Central/Eastern European events! All info comes from organizer’s website and is edited for clarity/length. Bulgaria: Horo Dancing with Portland’s Bulgarians, 5/3 Friday, May 3, 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. Podkrepa Hall, 2116 North Killingsworth St, Portland, Oregon $5 suggested donation and finger-food potluck Come and join us for a fun night of dancing and learning. Poland: True Life Trio, 5/4 Saturday, May 4, 7:00 pm Polish Hall/St. Stanislaus Church, 3916 N. Interstate Ave., Portland, Oregon Tickets: $10 Band website and Facebook page […] Continue reading >

Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in April 2013

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Apr 012013
 
Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in April 2013

When it comes to Central/Eastern European events here in Portland, Oregon, April’s looking a bit slow. I will update the list as I discover new events. Updated 4/19/2013 Czech/Slovak Republics: Hospoda, 4/2 Tuesday, April 2, 6:00 p.m.–close McTarnahans Taproom, 2730 NW 31st, Portland Free The monthly gathering of Portland’s Czech and Slovak community. Guests welcome. The Balkans: Kafana Klub, 4/2 Tuesday, April 2, 7:00 p.m. dance lesson, 8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. live music Al Forno Ferruzza, 2738 NE Alberta St., Portland, Oregon $3-$5 cover Join us for the unbeatable combination of […] Continue reading >

Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in March 2013

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Mar 012013
 
Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in March 2013

Don’t believe everything you hear about March being dominated by St. Patrick’s Day. These Central/Eastern European events in March will delight just as well, if not better, even sans green beer and whiskey. All information comes from event websites or organizers. The list will be updated, if needed. Update: 3/21/2013 Eclectic: March Fourth Marching Band, 3/3 and 3/4 Sunday, March 3 at 4:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.; Monday March 4, 9:00 p.m. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside, Portland March 3 all ages, March 4 only 21 and over 3/3 […] Continue reading >

Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in February 2013

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Feb 012013
 
Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in February 2013

A nice plethora of Central European events this month. All information comes from event websites or organizers. Updated 2/6/2013. The Balkans: Krebsic Orkestar, 2/1 Friday, February 1, 8:00 p.m. doors and DJ, 9:00 p.m. concert Mississippi Pizza,  3552 N Mississippi Ave., Portland 1 for $7, 2 for $10; 21+ only The 14-piece gypsy brass band the Krebsic Orkestar teams up with DJ E3 for a night of music, dancing, pizza, and beer! Ajde!!! Czech Republic: Jan Švankmajer, Conspirator of Pleasure, 2/1-2/4 Various times from 2/1 to 2/4 – see […] Continue reading >

Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in January 2013

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Jan 092013
 
Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in January 2013

With a bit of a delay but by popular demand, here’s a list of upcoming Central European events this month and February 1. All information comes from event websites or organizers. Bulgaria: Dancing with the Bulgarians, 1/10 & 1/24 Thursday, January 10 and 24, 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. Podkrepa Hall, 2116 North Killingsworth St, Portland Free [American Robotnik note: bring something to share for the potluck] Come and join us for a fun night of dancing and learning.

Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in November 2012

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Nov 012012
 
Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in November 2012

Enjoy these Central European events. Czech/Slovak Republics: Hospoda, 11/6 Tuesday, November 6, 6:00 p.m.–close McTarnahans Taproom, 2730 NW 31st, Portland Free The monthly gathering of Portland’s Czech and Slovak community. Guests welcome. The Balkans and Beyond: Krebsic Orkestar with Moh Alileche and MWE, 11/15 Thursday, November 15, 9:00 p.m. Mississippi Pizza,  3552 N. Mississippi Ave., Portland, OR $10; 21+ only Event page A Very Special evening of Eastern Music: the big Balkan brass of Krebsic Orkestar with Moh Alileche and very special guests from the Bay Area, MWE, supplying “a […] Continue reading >

Great Difficulty in Translating Observations

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Oct 172012
 
Great Difficulty in Translating Observations

What he refers to as the “stupidity” of the American masses, who are satisfied by the purely material advantages of this new civilization, is exceptionally irritating to the Eastern intellectual. Raised in a country where there was a definite distinction between the “intelligentsia” and the “people,” he looks, above all, for ideas created by the “intelligentsia,” the traditional fermenting element in revolutionary changes. When he meets with a society in which the “intelligentsia,” as it was known in Central or Eastern Europe, does not exist, he has great difficulty […] Continue reading >

Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in October 2012

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Oct 012012
 
Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in October 2012

Just when you thought September was a busy month for Central European events comes a packed October. Enjoy these wonderful events! Event copy and images are from the local media and event organizers. As usual, the list will be updated as I learn of additional events. Czech/Slovak Republics: Hospoda, 10/2 Tuesday, September 2, 6:00 p.m.–close McTarnahans Taproom, 2730 NW 31st, Portland Free The monthly gathering of Portland’s Czech and Slovak community. Guests welcome. The Balkans: Kafana Klub, 10/2 Tuesday, October 2, 7:00 p.m. (7 p.m. dance lesson, 8 p.m. live […] Continue reading >

Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in September 2012

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Aug 272012
 
Central European Events in Portland, Oregon, in September 2012

‘Tis the festival season! Plenty of Central European fun in and around Portland in the coming weeks, starting this Thursday, all the way through October. Event copy and images are from the local media and event organizers. Bulgaria: Angel Nazlamov & Daniela Ivanova-Nyberg, 8/30 Thursday, August 30, 7:30 p.m. Podkrepa Hall, 2116 North Killingsworth St., Portland, Oregon Suggested donation $8-$10 at the door A great warm-up for balkanalia 2012! In honor of our Thursday dances we are going to treat ourselves with live music by special guest, accordion player Angel Nazlamov from […] Continue reading >

Ashia & The Bison Rouge Records an Album

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Jun 212012
 

For one more day you can support the effort of Portland’s and Poland’s own Ashia Grzesik to raise money for the recording of her debut album with Ashia & The Bison Rouge. The project’s “meat and potatoes” in Ashia’s own words (edited for length/clarity by American Robotnik; details are at Kickstarter): As a child of Polish immigrants growing up on the West Coast of the United States, I was raised in two cultures, and my music and art is an extension of that upbringing. This will be an album of […] Continue reading >

Where to Taste Central Europe in Portland, Oregon

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Jun 032012
 

In the diaries and letters they left behind, immigrants made it clear that next to their families and their family homes, they longed most for their native foods. — Susan Matt writing about 1870-1920 immigration in “Homesickness: An American History” Of the connections an immigrant has to his original home, food is the strongest of those that he can enjoy in his new country (music comes a close second). There’s a reason heritage festivals take place amid food booths. Ethnic food sites like Lubos Brieda’s Slovak Cooking bring the old country […] Continue reading >

My Homeland Was a Feeling

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May 192012
 

“My homeland,” says the guest, “no longer exists. My homeland was Poland, Vienna, this house, the barracks in the city, Galicia, and Chopin. What’s left? Whatever mysterious substance held it all together no longer works. Everything’s come apart. My homeland was a feeling, and that feeling was mortally wounded. When that happens, the only thing to do is go away.” —Konrad, a character in Sándor Márai’s novel “Embers” (1940)

Portland, Central Europe

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May 052012
 
Portland, Central Europe

Central Europe came to Portland, Oregon, last week. In the span of five days, from Friday, April 27th, to Tuesday, May Day, I experienced at least 7 Central European countries and Russia without leaving the East Side of town. Who said there’s only one America? Stop 1: Serbia, Bosnia, and Thereabouts at Mississippi Pizza The Krebsic Orkestar is a 14-piece local brass band that plays about a gig a month at various venues around town. I don’t know much more about The Krebsic Orkestar,* other than it is the brainchild […] Continue reading >

Like the Danube

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May 012012
 
Like the Danube

No matter what we call it and whether or not we speak of it as such, Central Europe was, is, and probably continue to be. Like the Danube, which existed long before it was called the Danube. Central Europe may well outlive us. The existence of Central Europe is thus a given. And yet Central Europe is transitory, provisional. It is neither east nor west; it is both east and west. —George Konrád in “Melancholy of Rebirth: Essays From Post-Communist Central Europe, 1989-1994”  

Between East and West Is a Long Road

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Apr 232012
 
Between East and West Is a Long Road

Eighteen years ago Anne Applebaum traveled through the flat lands between Russia and Poland and documented her journey in "Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe."  At first glance, it was a different time: Communist governments had toppled a few years before and the chaos of transition to democracy pervaded all life. But, Applebaum presages what Anne Porter documented in last year’s "The Ghosts of Europe": history casts a long shadow across time. Shifting borders, clashing empires, and old conflicts turn making sense of the borderlands into a daunting […] Continue reading >

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