October 2026 Check-In's

This has been one of our busiest months ever!

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Portland Spirit
Brews Cruise, Portland, Oregon
Craft Beverage Tasting Cruise
Thursday, October 1, 2026, 6-8pm

Taste your way through some of the best Pacific Northwest craft beverages aboard the Portland Spirit! Local breweries, cideries and distilleries will be on board showcasing their latest creations. Tickets include a 2-hour sunset cruise, 10 beer/cider tasting tickets, 4 spirits tasting tickets and a souvenir tasting cup.

What's Included: 2 hour sunset cruise on the Willamette River, Views of the Historic Milwaukie Waterfront and downtown Portland, Souvenir tasting cup (reusable plastic), Ten (10) beer/cider tasting tickets each good for a 2 oz tasting, Four (4) spirits tasting tickets each good for a tasting with the onboard distilleries.

Not Included: Food (bistro menu available for purchase), Other beverages (however, a full bar is available on board).

Agrodolce Distilling Co., Bauman's Cider, Deschutes Brewery, Drop Shop Distillery, Leikam Brewing, New Deal Distillery, pFriem Family Brewers, Portland Cider Co., Sasquatch Brewing Co., StormBreaker Brewing, Terroir Incognito Community Cider, Thunder Island Brewing Co., Vice Beer and Wild Roots Spirits.

Northwest Transit Band At
Celebrities Parkway Grill, Fairview, Oregon
Shelli Tucker, Barbara & Me
Friday, October 2, 2026

The Northwest Transit Band has the right mix of instuments, including sax, trumpet and trombone, to play the songs of Chicago, Steely Dan, and others.

Innocent Men Billy Joel Tribute Band At
Billy Blues Bar & Grill, Vancouver, Washington
Saturday, October 3, 2026

Enoying the New Monthly Wine Flights, Free To Wine Club Members,
Dinner, Live Music and a View Of The Columbia River At
Maryhill Winery, Vancouver Waterfront, Washington
Monday, October 5, 2026

National Taco Day At Who-Song & Larry's Restaurant & Cantina
On The Shores Of The Columbia River, Vancouver, Washington
Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Who-Song & Larry's has a patio overlooking The Columbia River very close to the I-5 Interstate Bridge between Oregon and Washington States. I think its name is a play on the "Hussong's Mexican Cantina", the oldest and best known cantina that was established in 1892 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, where the Margarita was created in October 1941 by bartender Don Carlos Orozco. Who-Song & Larry's is owned by the same company that owns El Torito, Chevys, Acapulco, and others.

Christopher Brown Quartet At
The 1905, Portland, Oregon
Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 8:30 PM

John Nastos (Sax); Greg Goebel (Piano); Garrett Baxter (Bass); Christopher Brown (Drums).

Christopher Brown is an acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, and educator who seeks to be a voice within the advocacy of Jazz and American culture. And through the expansive range of groups that he has assembled and/or performed with, which range from duos to large ensembles across a spectrum of genres, his musical and personal experiences have led him towards an interest in synthesizing the principles of Jazz with the broader concerns of life. So given that music influences culture, and culture influences businesses--which in turn shape the global market economy we all participate in-is why he likes to say "we're all in the people business. No people, no business."

Barbara had 1 slice and I had 2 slices of the Amanda Wion Pizza Special just to try it and it was pretty good. The 1905 often features a "Musicians Choice" which is the favorite pizza of one of the musicians that play at The 1905.

Sherica's 40th Birthday Celebration At
Reunion Kitchen + Drink, Anaheim Hills, California
Saturday, October 10, 2026

Shiro Nobunaga At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Dave Fruth & Me
Monday, October 12, 2026

Jimi & Josh Smalban Playing At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Joanne Fruth, Barbara & Me
Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Ragdoll Classic Rock Cover Band At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Linda Lopez, Barbara and Me
Friday, October 16, 2026

Christina Fruth Birthday Celebration At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Saturday, October 17, 2026

Barbara's Birthday Celebration At
Hibachi Steak House, Anaheim Hills, California
Linda, Jason, Rumei & Dylan Lopez, Dave & Joanne Fruth, Sherica & Brian Chuchua, Barbara & Me
Monday, October 19, 2026, 6 PM

Ron Frumkin, who passed away this year, and myself were the very first customers when this restaurant opened in 1987.

Shiro Nobunaga Jam Session At
Barbara's Birthday Celebration At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Linda Lopez, Cher Rodriguez, Randy Garcia, Barbara & Me
Monday, October 19, 2026, 8:30 PM

Barbara's Birthday Celebration At
AC Hotel Ondus Restaurant On The Waterfront
Shelli Tucker, Barbara & Me
Wednesday, October 21, 2026

The food was great and the prices were right. There was supposed to be a view of the Columbia River, but because of construction of the new Terminal 1 Public Market next door, the view is temporarily obstructed by a fence so all we could see was the top of the I-5 Interstate Bridge.

Whiskey Experience At Black Angus, Vancouver, Washington
Thursday, October 22, 2026, 7 PM

Jodina, Nick, Isla & Jordy Visit Us In Vancouver / Portland
Saturday, October 24, 2026

Portland Aerial Tram

Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI)

The Vancouver Waterfront

The Rumors Are True, The Guard Is Changing!
The Blue Diamond, Portland, Oregon
Sunday, October 25, 2026, 3PM - 4PM

After an incredible run of unforgetable nights, great music, and an amazing community, we're handing over the keys to The Blue Diamond. Join us Sunday Oct 25th @ 3-4pm for one last toast to this chapter and warm welcome to what comes next. We'll share memories, enjoy a special farewell cocktail and celebrate the passing of the keys! Whether you've been with us since day one or are joinging us for the first time, we'd love to celebrate with you. Come raise a glass to the past and the future!

Photos Taken At The Event:

The new owner is Fenix Sanders, the Thursday evening singer and saxophone player and our favorite musician at The Blue Diamond! I guess they wanted to keep secret who the new owner is until this event. Above are photos of Sonny Hess and Fenix. Sonny Hess and Jamie Pemberton were the owners of The Blue Diamond Bar and Grill since 2017, and Fenix along with partners are now the new owners. I showed the above photos from 2013 through 2018 to Fenix. He asked if he could have a copy of them and I told him to just to keep those as I have them online. Sonny Hess, the former co-owner, said she wished to focus more on her own blues band and her performances.

Above left is a photo of Jenny Moriarty of the Mystic Mama Band, a band that we've seen perform a number of times. Since there were few seats left when we arrived, we asked a man if we could sit with him as he was sitting alone at a table for 4 people. Because the bar lighting is kept dark, we didn't recognize that it was Jim Conway, the co-owner with his wife, Barbara, of Conway's House of Jazz, another one of our favorite jazz venues! The above 2 left photos are Jim Conway and Barbara (Cepinko) waiting to talk to Fenix, the new owner of The Blue Diamond. In the above far right photo is Fenix hugging Barbara!

Bridgetown Sextet At
The 1905, Portland, Oregon
Sunday, October 25, 2026, 8:30 PM

Andrew Oliver, Piano; Sam Dechenne, Trumpet; John Moak, Trombone; David Evans, Clarinet & Tenor Saxophone;
Doug Sammons, Guitar & Banjo; Chris Shuttleworth, Tuba; Tyson Stubelek, Drums

Performing music by icons of early jazz such as Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Clarence Williams, and Bix Beiderbecke, as well as lesser known musical stylists, territory bands, and innovators such as Bennie Moten, Alex Hill, and Jabbo Smith, the Bridgetown Sextet has cemented its reputation as a favorite among both listening audiences and dancers in the Pacific Northwest. The band was founded in 2008 by Andrew Oliver and Scott Kennedy and has seen various personnel changes over the years as band members have come and gone from the Portland area. Now a seven-piece band with the recent additions of Sam Dechenne on trumpet and Tyson Stubelek on drums, as well as Andrew's return from London in 2020, the Sextet continues to refine its visceral, joyful, and authentic approach to traditional jazz, stomp, and swing. The band has performed at the Portland Jazz Festival, Portland Lindy Exchange, Camp Jitterbug in Seattle, the Seaside Jazz Festival, traditional jazz socities around the Northwest, and all the major Portland area clubs past and present including the Jack London Revue, the 1905, Jimmy Mak's, the Blue Monk, Secret Society and Duff's Garage.

Enoying The Two Free Member Wine Flights,
Dinner, Live Music and a View Of The Columbia River At
Maryhill Winery, Vancouver Waterfront, Washington
Monday, October 26, 2026

Dinner & Jazz by The Big Easy Band At
Conway's House Of Jazz, Clackamas, Oregon
Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Fenix, Singer, Saxophone Player, and New Onwer Of
The Blue Diamond, Portland, Oregon
Thursday, October 29, 2026

Laser Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon At
OMSI Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon
Friday, October 30, 2026, 7 PM

Band After Minight ABBA Tribute Band at
Billy Blues Bar & Grill, Vancouver, Washington
Friday, October 30, 2026

Bottleneck Blues Band Halloween Show At
The Blue Diamond, Portland, Oregon
Saturday, October 31, 2026

Scaryoake Halloween Karaoke Party
Including A Costume Contest At
Cliff's Tavern, Vancouver, Washington
Saturday, October 31, 2026, 7 PM - 11 PM

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