Family Fun Page

Field Trip: Two Sisters Play Cafe

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Ali Wilkinson
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Ali Wilkinson
Ali Wilkinson is one of the founders of PDX Kids Calendar, and a lawyer, writer and podcaster. She loves exploring the Pacific Northwest, especially when the explorations lead outdoors, to music or to ice cream.
Ali Wilkinson
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We test-drive the pancakes, ball pit and art projects on offer at Milwaukie’s Two Sisters Play Café.      it was a sad day when Pied Piper Play Café closed in Southeast Portland. The idea was genius in its simplicity: a place for young kids to play while grown-ups had a chance to caffeinate and meet […]

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Family Supper: Drive-ins for Days

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PDX Parent Staff
PDX Parent Staff
PDX Parent Staff
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Load your family in the car for a memory-making meal at these two drive-thru restaurants.  Sugarpine Drive In By Julia Silverman I grew up on the East Coast, where soft serve in the summertime is pretty much a religion. I always get the same order: vanilla, in a cup, with rainbow sprinkles and a maraschino

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Portland’s Top Skateparks

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PDX Parent Staff
PDX Parent Staff
PDX Parent Staff
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From our friends at evo, a skate shop, bike shop, surf shop, wake shop, ski/snowboard shop, camping store, and lifestyle retailer all under one roof For many kids, sports present a great outlet for their energy, provide great exercise, and they also teach valuable life lessons of hard work, dedication, and resilience. After all, one

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The It List

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PDX Parent Staff
PDX Parent Staff
PDX Parent Staff
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Everybody loves secrets, right? So every year, as summer kicks off, we like to let you in on ours — the people and places around Portland that we think deserve your attention and applause. And if our picks are already on your radar screen (because, let’s face it, you’ve probably heard of The Unipiper), then

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Tips for a Perfect Pickathon

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Gemma Alenander
Gemma Alenander
Gemma Alexander is a Seattle-based freelance writer with two daughters. She blogs about the arts and spends too much time on Twitter (@gemmadeetweet).
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What I learned last year about making the most of your family’s Pickathon experience. The Pickathon music festival at Pendarvis Farm outside Portland turns 21 this year, but it’s still as family-friendly as ever. In fact, nearly 1000 kids under the age of 12 attend the festival for free every year, and one in eight

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5 Tips for Taking Your Kids to the Tigard Festival of Balloons

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Katie Carrick
Katie Carrick
Katie is a scientist turned stay at home(ish) child wrangler and freelance writer. She lives in Beaverton with her husband, two small children, and their yappy but lovable dog.
Katie Carrick
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I have a confession to make. Although I’ve lived in Tigard for the last five years, I’ve never been to the 3-day extravaganza, better known as the Festival of Balloons. But this year is different. Why? Because I have a kiddo that’s old enough to enjoy everything the festival offers. Since I’m still a newbie,

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Summer Road-trip Playlist

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Denise Castañon
Denise Castañon
Editor at PDX Parent Magazine
PDX Parent's editor Denise Castañon loves sharing new ideas with other Portland parents. You can find her cooking, eating, crafting and writing in Southeast where she lives with her husband, 5-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter.
Denise Castañon
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When you are hitting the road, you need tunes the whole family can enjoy. We’ve come up with a list of songs new and old that capture the spirit of adventuring together. See What We Can See — Frances England, Explorer of the World Through The Woods — The Okee Dokee Brothers, Through the Woods

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Top 5 Date Night Splurges

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Julia Silverman
Julia Silverman
Julia Silverman
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1. At the swanky Studio One Theatres cinema in SE Portland, you can settle in to a comfy reserved seat and enjoy a cooked-to-order dinner, or just share a bucket of gourmet popcorn.    2. Meet up at Portland Craft Bar for adults-only workshops, including making your own rope baskets and reusable gift wrap. 3.

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Field Trip: Gorge Hiking with Kids

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Julia Silverman
Julia Silverman
Julia Silverman
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Your family’s favorite hikes in the Gorge may still be closed after the Eagle Creek fire. But there are new adventures in store.     Nearly two years after the devastating Eagle Creek fire swept through the Columbia River Gorge — Portland’s de facto shared backyard — the beautiful, fragile ecosystem there is still recovering. That

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Tips for Timbers Games with Kids

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Erica Vo
Erica Vo
Erica Vo is a local mom who loves exploring Portland and beyond with her son and daughter. She hopes to help families make their own memories by sharing ideas and experiences on Facebook and her blog Adventures with Chicken and Nugget.
Erica Vo
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To Timbers with kids, or not to Timbers with kids? With the first home game of the season around the corner, that is the Portland question. My six-year-old son — I call him Nugget — started going to games when he was two and a half years old.  He’s a kid who has soccer in

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Field Trip: Topgolf

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Julia Silverman
Julia Silverman
Julia Silverman
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The driving range goes high tech at Topgolf in Hillsboro. Ah, Spring. That time of year when a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of … golf? Okay, that may not be just as the poet Alfred Tennyson intended that line. But it’s true enough for my son, who on the first spring-like weekend

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Oregon Coast Family-Friendly Spots to Play, Eat and Sleep

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Erin J Bernard
Erin J Bernard
Erin J. Bernard is a freelance writer and editor who lives in Northeast Portland with her husband and two rather noisy and opinionated kids. They can often be found exploring the mountains and coastlines of the PNW in their trusty green Subaru.
Erin J Bernard
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We’ve cast about high and low for the freshest, family-friendliest spots to play, eat and sleep on the Oregon coast. Oregon’s sublime 360-mile shoreline is sometimes called the People’s Coast, and the reputation’s well-earned: From its host of budget-friendly lodging options and its trove of carefully preserved marine wonders to the endless miles of pristine

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Building Outdoor Forts for Kids

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Kari Wilde
Kari Wilde
Kari Wilde is a mom of three kids, an ultra runner, and a professional photographer in Portland. She spends most of her time running in the wilderness or running after her children in the wilderness.
Kari Wilde
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We are big fort builders over here. I love a good old fort and there is nothing better then building an outdoor shelter with the kids. We are lucky to have several forests that have lots and lots of good branch stashes for fort building. We regularly truck out to the forest to play at

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Wizard World at the Convention Center

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Amy Conway
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Amy Conway
Amy Conway
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We arrived at Wizard World at the Oregon Convention Center a few minutes before 4 pm, when the doors open. There were long lines of people that had been waiting for a long time, one Convention Center employee said “all day” but I’m not sure if that’s true or if he was being hyperbolic. However,

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Behind the Scenes at a PDX Chocolate Factory

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Michelle Carew
Michelle Carew
Michelle lives in Southwest Portland with her husband and daughter. When she's not working, Michelle is watching gymnastics class or basketball practice, and checking the Kids Calendar for a new activity to explore.
Michelle Carew
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Check out the Make-a-Bar tour at Creo Chocolate—it’s part educational food-factory tour, part chocolate-designing fun and part yummy samples. Or drop by for treats or hot chocolate, plus peeks into the factory. Last week, my eight-year-old daughter Maggie and I went on the Make-a-Bar tour at Creo Chocolate, a small batch bean-to-bar chocolate factory and

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Five Hot Spots for Pre-Walkers at the Oregon Zoo

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Natalie Bodenhamer
Natalie Bodenhamer
Natalie is a thirty-something morning person who laughs hard and often. She calls the Pacific Ocean "home," but resides in Portland’s West Hills with her husband and three kids. With a light heart and serious intentions, she explores all that life has to offer at www.HelloDayBlog.com.
Natalie Bodenhamer
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Being out and about with a babe is anything but tame. They’re lively and curious, which often appears messy and sounds loud. Enter the Oregon Zoo! Because what better place is there for a youngster to be himself than in the company of wild animals?! My preschool and elementary-aged kids love to roam and play

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