Portland State University sprawls across more than 40 blocks of downtown Portland, creating a neighborhood that ebbs and flows with the students. Although the PSU Farmers Market brings people to the area regardless of the season, campus truly comes alive when fall rolls around: Business picks up at local restaurants, Vikings sports get underway, and concerts and lectures fill up the calendar. There’s plenty to look forward to throughout the year, but this week, we’re looking to the past.
Why You Should Visit This Week: Catrinas in the Street
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and parts of Central and South America that honors family and friends who are no longer with us. In Mexico, an elegant skeleton woman depicted in fancy attire called La Catrina is an important symbol associated with the festivities, as she represents the equality we all face in death.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., embrace the spirit at Catrinas en la Calle, a vibrant celebration of heritage and cultural expression held in Montgomery Plaza and La Casa Latina Student Center. Participants dressed in calavera makeup and traditional garb will walk in a parade and fashion contest alongside musical performances, food carts, and craft vendors. The event’s organizer, Catrinas Rising, fosters a space of belonging and healing and invites all attendees to bring something that reminds you of your deceased loved ones (such as a flower, photograph, toy, etc.) to place on the community ofrenda.
Catrinas en la Calle is a multigenerational cultural experience. (Courtesy of Catrinas Rising)
Eat & Drink: These Get an A+
Forget dorm food; there are plenty of quality restaurants off campus that appeal to students squeezing in a meal between classes — or really anyone looking for a bite in that neck of the woods.
🍗 Operating out of a food truck, Yalla Crunch serves up loaded fried chicken sandwiches 14 different ways.
🍱 Get pan-Asian fare like the Korean beef bento or the Bangkok burger without breaking the bank at Phat Cart.
🥙 Grab a lamb wrap or falafel gyro Chappell Roan style (that’s hot-to-go) at Shawarma House.
🥡 If you crave the tongue-tingling spice of Szechuan cuisine, Duck House Chinese Restaurant may just be the best in the city. Load up on xiao long bao, pork wontons, and beef noodle soup.
🇧🇿 You get warm hospitality and flavors of the Caribbean at Love Belizean.
🍸 Take in skyline views and enjoy a cocktail by the fire on the rooftop patio at Xport Bar & Lounge.
Arts & Entertainment: 1920s Vogue and Art from Down Under
From Portland Art Museum to Portland'5 Centers for the Arts, the south end of downtown Portland is a cultural corridor. Let’s take a look at what’s on right now.
Portland Art Museum: Fresh on display is “The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art” and on the way out are “Abstraction Since Mark Rothko” and “Inkling Studio: Community and Printmaking in Portland” — all are worth a visit.
PAM CUT: This month, the Portland Art Museum’s Center for an Untold Tomorrow is showing vintage horror films, including “Lost Highway,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Eyes Without a Face,” and “Night of the Living Dead.”
JSMA at PSU: Richly hued, vaguely organic forms jump off the prints at “Anish Kapoor: Dissolving Margins,” open until Dec. 5, 2026.
Oregon Historical Society: Explore a photographic time capsule of women’s fashion in the post-World War I era originally captured at Bushnell Studio and compiled for “Portraits from the Society Pages.”
Keller Auditorium: “La Traviata,” the beloved and historic opera, a performance from Beck on the artist’s Ride Lonesome Tour, Penn & Teller, and comedy from Brett Goldstein (who plays Roy Kent in “Ted Lasso”) are all coming to the stage.
Did we miss something around the PSU end of town? Send us a line to share your recs.
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