365PDX#112: Oregon Zoo Summer Concert Series (starts Friday) with Jewel
Posted June 24, 2010
365 Things to do in Portland day #112: Head to the Oregon Zoo tomorrow night for the first Zoo Summer concert of the season, which is being kicked off with a show by Jewel.
Personally I’m not much of a Jewel fan, so I can’t comment about how great she is going to be or her songs or how awesome her voice is. If you like Jewel, I’m sure you will have a great time. If she isn’t for you, there are plenty more acts coming up this summer including The B52′s, Pink Martini, Chris Isaak, Cindy Lauper (really!?), Jimmy Cliff, Femi Kuti and more. Here is the complete Oregon Zoo 2010 Concert Series Lineup.
Zoo concerts are best for relaxing on the lawn and enjoying a beautiful Portland evening in the grass. Bring a lawn chair and a blanket, and maybe a picnic dinner. The zoo doesn’t allow you to bring beverages from home though.
The first couple of Zoo Concerts I went to (way back when), I went to catch bands I really wanted to dance to. I have to admit, this is not the perfect place for that- the ‘dance floor’ in front of the stage was a concrete floor which was usually too crowded to move, let alone dance. Step out of the concrete area, and you are surrounded by lawn chairs and little children crawling on blankets, which isn’t so great for dancing either. I’m not saying you can’t dance and have a great time, just that the venue and overall vibe can often be more relax than dance.
concerts start at 7pm, but you are allowed in the Zoo at 4pm with your concert ticket, so if you come early, you have a few hours to explore the zoo and visit the animals
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