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This week in Portland art and culture news, two reopenings and a barbeque. by Suzette Smith Welcome to Art Snack. This round-up is a continuation of a newsletter I wrote during the pandemic, which started out focused on remote art before softly transitioning to short updates on local arts and culture scene happenings. The idea was: Would you like a short, digestible culture news snack? Portland's arts and culture scene has so many moving parts that it can be a little hard to get everything in one place. If the thing you want to read about isn't in this week's Art Snack, check back next week. And it never hurts to put it on my radar. Anyhoo, let's snack! Portland Frog Brigade debuts a dance and an LLC On Saturday, January 10, approximately 10-15 protesters wearing inflated frog costumes performed a not-very-synchronized dance beneath the bright lights of the South Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. Heralded on a flyer as the "Original Frog Dance" the loose choreography—set to "We’re the Frogs,” an AI-created ballad by local lyricist Delanae Elle Eanaled—lasted just over three minutes. An organizer with the Frog Brigade, Will—also known as "Ribbit Wrangler"—told the Mercury that the costumed dancers had practiced only that day and for “not very long.” The performance consisted of “moves someone could make in a frog costume.” Portland Frog Brigade formed an LLC in December, and the group now has an extremely green website with tips and guidelines for those trying to build out their own surreal brigade infrastructure. A portion of the site titled How to Frog: The Inflatable Resistance Handbook contains advice on deescalation and practicality issues associated with wearing a giant inflated costume. (e.g. "Practice walking, crouching, and sitting beforehand.") On January 19, which was Martin Luther King Day, Urban League of Portland made the group an honorary member due to the frogs' commitment to nonviolent protest. "We acknowledge there are different ways of protesting," the group wrote. "Everyone needs to find the way that works for them. Ours will always be creative peaceful dissent." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury) Whitsell Auditorium reopens Two months after Portland Art Museum unveiled its finished Rothko Pavillon, the Whitsell Auditorium began offering screenings again, exclusively on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm. Now called PAM CUT at the Whitsell, the subterranean theater reopened with ★ by Johann Lurf and continued with programing that includes Fantasia (1940), All That Jazz (1979), The Substance (2024), The Holy Mountain (1973), and Mulholland Drive (2001). It's not the most head-turning line-up of repertory films, but at least Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) feel a little off the beaten cult classic path. PAM CUT invited an assortment of personalities to help program this initial series, called Maximalist Dreamscapes. Among those who picked out films are documentarian and music video director Lance Bangs, TV writer and content creator Remy Solomon, and an Instagram account devoted to Hollywood fits called Looks on Screen. Northwest Library reopens on NW Pettygrove That was fast! Multnomah County Library's little, corner spot on NW Thurman closed to the public on Nov 25, 2025, and just over a month later opened a newly revamped 11,000 square feet space at 2030 NW Pettygrove. While the move felt swift, it was part of a series of ongoing upgrades—partly funded by a 2020 county bond measure voters approved to expand, modernize, and build new library facilities. That money came with a time limit, which is why the library system has seen a flurry of construction over the past few years. The new space is over twice the size of the old location, which was a leased space. The system purchased the Pettygrove building in 2021 and renovated it before moving the popular location, which is…

Dans ces prologues très courts avec des vélos de route, comme en Romandie ou au Tour d'Allemagne, il est toujours très intéressant de suivre la totalité des participants : Départ de saison et tous ou presque se donnent à fond et les forces ou faiblesses de chacun se révèlent de manière impitoyable. Inéos et Watson l'avaient préparé au mieux, recherche matérielle et énorme développement pour Watson, Welsford bodybuildé, etc... Autre britannique rapide et sorti des pistes, Vernon second, etc... Grossièrement les forces d'équipe se dégageraient déjà, en particulier par les qualités et différences de leurs vélos et matériels, et en ce dernier domaine, certains sont à la rue, pour eux c'est plié pour la saison...Quoi qu'il en soit, observons tous ceux arrivés à moins de dix secondes de Watson, tous assez impressionnants...

by Anonymous The winds are 7 to 12 mph in Portland. Doesn't seem like a lot but observing by all the "delicacy" in my yard, it is rather destructive and stressful. I look up at the tall pines in the distance and listen to them shake, rustle, swoosh, and dance with only them knowing when they'll fall. It's just a matter a time before Mother Nature has the final words. It happens all over the world from time to time, natural disasters. It's just a matter of time before mass hurricanes, tornadoes, rising tides, tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires, eruptions, flooding, extreme cold or extreme heat destroy human nature. "Man" thinks the world was made for them. How naive and entitled. On a small scale, I see all these complete worthless and total oblivious humans at work tossing cans into a garbage can. All these cars running with precious little Troy or Karen sitting comfortably inside. It's just a matter of time. All these little things, all over the world adds up to mass irresponsibility and neglect of the warnings. It's just a matter of time.

After an All-American season in 2025, Jaxon Smith has elected to medically redshirt the 2026 campaign. Statement from Jaxon Smith and Head Coach Alex Clemsen. pic.twitter.com/lNQyKDJggG— Maryland Wrestling (@TerpsWrestling) January 20, 2026 The loss is a crushing blow for Maryland wrestling, a program that has already struggled to hit the ground running after an 0-4 start to conference play. Smith hasn’t hit the mat since a Nov. 15 matchup at The Citadel. The Terps have since gone 2-4 overall. Smith’s 2024-25 season was nothing short of historic, becoming Maryland’s first All-American since 2019. Smith ended his season sixth overall in the nation and posted an outstanding 24-10 record in the 184lb weight class. Smith also finished second in the U23 Nationals and third in the U23 Pan-Am Championships, wrestling at 86kg.  Smith was the most decorated athlete in College Park last year, earning awards such as 2025 NWCA Scholar All-American, Maryland Male Medal of Honor and Maryland Student-Athlete of the Year. With this season serving as Smith’s final year of eligibility, Maryland will need to appeal to the NCAA for a medical waiver in order to retain his services for next season. In other news Maryland men’s basketball will face No. 11 Illinois Wednesday night. Matt Germack previewed the conference bout. Guard Diggy Coit has been named National Player of the Week for the second time this season after his 43-point performance against Penn State. Diggy Coit 🤝 2x National Player Of The Week📰: https://t.co/QCSAvkpsHX https://t.co/PLaltJeMtt pic.twitter.com/eFTgEXxej8— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) January 21, 2026 Maryland defender Luca Costabile signed a professional contract with Toronto FC II. Congratulations to Luca on signing with @TorontoFCII 🐢🔥📰 https://t.co/gbCHEPI2Ta pic.twitter.com/HUQWeglMIg— Maryland Men’s Soccer 🐢 (@MarylandMSoccer) January 20, 2026 Three Maryland women’s lacrosse players received preseason All-American honors. Preseason All-Americans 🇺🇸Kori, Kayla, and Neve named Preseason All-Americans by USA Lacrosse! 🔗: https://t.co/07vA6jDFaN pic.twitter.com/JPaJCmUKvL— Maryland Women's Lacrosse (@MarylandWLax) January 20, 2026 Maryland track & field released its 2026 schedules. Mark those calendars for the outdoor season! pic.twitter.com/qMb6EkMSGL— Maryland Track & Field (@MarylandTrack) January 20, 2026 Kicker Sean O’Haire re-signed with Maryland for 2026. Sláinte to year two.@SeanOHaire4 is back‼️ pic.twitter.com/fPehBNQ7tz— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) January 20, 2026