Julie Montaigne and the Barony Ball

Happy Pride Month! To celebrate, we spotlight the Barony Ball, a drag queen pageant that was a groundbreaking event for the LGBTQ+ community in Tacoma, WA, from 1975-1985. It was held in the grand spaces of what is now McMenamins Tacoma Elks. These days, all visitors are welcome and encouraged to peruse artwork, photos and…

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Happy Juneteenth!

Mural of Clara Peoples

In 2021, Juneteenth was designated a federally observed holiday, and the next year, Juneteenth was officially recognized as an Oregon state holiday on June 19th, 2022. Juneteenth celebrates the abolishment of African American slavery in the United States. But attaining that freedom was not as simple as President Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862.…

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Exquisite Meals & Decadent Desserts

Black Rabbit Dessert

Winter at the Black Rabbit Bar & Restaurant at Edgefield is everything you dream of – cozy, warm, full of creative cocktails, delicious comfort food and extravagant-yet-homey desserts. We sat down with Executive Chef Jaime Shultz and Pastry Chef Chuck Dugo to taste and talk. Black Rabbit Executive Chef Jaime Shultz After a stint at the…

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Seeing the World at 15 Miles per Hour

Bike Blog

Stephanie and Merrick McGinnis have ridden their bikes from Key West to Nova Scotia, Boston to Seattle and up and down the West Coast. Now these two-time Cosmic Tripsters are taking McMenamins by bike on a quest to fill their third Passports in a ride that may not be their longest (Boston-Seattle gets that honor…

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Meet Thursday Jane

Either you’re on the bus or off the bus In 1983 Mike McMenamin had just opened the Barley Mill Pub on Portland’s Hawthorne Boulevard when a recent California transplant, Thursday Jane, applied for a job waiting tables. She danced into the pub in her high tops, ready for her interview, but the manager was out,…

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