Last night my wife and I went to Last Thursday, an event here in Portland, located in the Alberta district, that's fairly new but gaining followers.  

First, A little background: Every month, Portland hosts First Thursday, whereby dozens of art galleries, mostly in the Pearl district, open new shows.  The public is invited to hob-nob with other art enthusiasts to peruse the new exhibits where running into the artist of a particular show is common place.  Oddly enough, my wife and I went to our First Thursday together this month as well.  

Back to Last Thursday:  A few years ago, a few smaller galleries in North East Portland decided to snub First Thursday and begin its own tradition.  You guessed it, Last Thursday.  As its name entails, Last Thursday happens on the last Thursday of every month.  Supposedly, so many people show up in the warmer months, that the streets are teeming with festivities and swarming with people -not what you'd find happening First Thursday.  Sadly, last night was cold and rainy but to our surprise this didn't perturb Portlanders from enjoying themselves (rain never does).  Granted, the streets weren't abuzz and the swarms of people were smaller groups trying to stay warm and dry but Last Thursday was still happening, and a happening place to be.

When we first got there, we decided to grab a bite to eat at the Vita Cafe, a local organic, vegan restaurant.  To those of you who just read that and huffed, you obviously haven't eaten there.  Despite my love of cheese and everything dairy, the food was nothing short of stupendous.  Not wanting to over stuff ourselves (we are both skinny), we ordered one meal and split it.  Glad we did because the portion was big and the meal itself was delicious.  Noticing that they also had good looking deserts, splitting the meal allowed us to enjoy our own desert.  We both love desert, then again, who doesn't.  As the dinner, the desert was to die for; rich, creamy, sweet, we couldn't finish.  Let me remind you, the desert in a vegan restaurant is also vegan.  I must admit, I was a little skeptical but that quickly vanished once I took my first bite.

Once that was over, my wife and I took to the streets and started hitting the galleries.  The art work was surprising good for the price.  Not to say everything was affordable, but there were pieces that we could afford, not that we were out art shopping... not that night at least.  It's just nice to know that I "could" buy something rather than see works from artists that start out in the tens of thousands of dollars.

In between the galleries, people had tents set up and were selling their wares.  From food to arts and crafts to a few brazen artists setting up their own sidewalk studios displaying their master pieces, some of which I noticed were exceptional pieces worthy of gallery space.

Despite the rain and cold weather, my wife and I LOVED going to Last Thursday and look forward to making it a regular stop from our hectic lives.  Who knows, perhaps one day, I'll be going not to look at other artists but to support my wife as she displays her art in a gallery.  I'll say this now, when that day comes I'm going to be the proudest person in the crowd.