Thursday night's opening reception at the Portland Art Museum: Mingle with other AAN-types while sipping Widmers, wine or 360 Vodka and munching on light hors d'oeuvres in the museum's outdoor sculpture garden. The big Rembrandt show is just a few steps away.

Friday's rooftop reception at Wieden + Kennedy: One of the world's top ad agencies will entertain conventioneers with Motown music and a transcendant view of the Pearl District, and AAN and Willamette Week will provide the drinks and light hors d'oeuvres.

Saturday’s "Dinner in the Sky" at Oregon Health & Science University's Kohler Pavillion: Take a streetcar to the Portland Aerial Tram, where a private car awaits convention delegates. During the three-minute ride that climbs 500 feet, you'll have birds' eye views of downtown Portland, the Willamette River and Mt. Hood. Up on top, you'll find a salmon dinner, with drinks and dessert.

Continue ReadingThe Big Evening Events: Booze! Food! Need We Say More?

Megan Wennberg was named winner of the Greg Clark Award by the Canadian Journalism Foundation on Wednesday night. The award is "designed to offer working journalists a chance to gain insight and meet key decision-makers on their beats." Wennberg will spend some time with newsmakers in Iqaluit, Nunavut, where "she will gain insight into understanding the daily realities in Canada's north and be better equipped to tell stories" about that community.

Continue ReadingThe Coast Writer Wins Canadian Journalism Award