- The Orenco Press
- Posts
- #7: A classic car show with heart!
#7: A classic car show with heart!
A cheeky, charming local newsletter serving up Hillsboro, Oregon’s best events, eats, and everyday magic — one joyful issue at a time.
Amanda Marcott
August 13, 2025
Hey there Reader!
This week’s issue is made possible by a local business we think you’ll love. Keep reading — we’ll spill the details just below. 🫶
This edition is sponsored by The Viable Source
☕ The First Sip
“Before you scroll… let the vibe steep.”
Hellooooooooooo Hillsboro!
The summer is winding down - much to the chagrin if this fire dragon in human form. I must have been the only one gleeful about the super hot days we’ve had recently, I even chilled outside for hours with my iced drink and a good romcom novel, but that heat wave never slowed Hillsboro down one bit! So this week’s newsletter is jam packed with all the fun happenings around town for the last dregs of summer. But first! Some new things are hatching at The Orenco Press… and they’re going to be so much fun!
 |
I’m really excited to introduce these new features into The Orenco Press, as well as a referral program with bonuses! Stay tuned for that announcement. Because when you spread the love and help us grow this community, you’ll get some fun bonuses as a thank you! More details (and how to snag your bingo card) coming soon! |
But that’s for another day, and this edition has a LOT of fun stuff happening this week. So let’s get into it, shall we?!
📻 What’s Brewing (also known as: Events)
Your go-to list of local happenings, side quests, and a few excuses to put on pants.
Find the full forecast at Weather.com
🍻 Happy Hour Recap: The week in review, the weekend in sight.
Did you know there were a bunch of FREE live music performances throughout the week?? Yeah. Me either!!! These are definitely worth checking out!
Tuesday, August 12 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm. Live Jazz Jam at Pizzario
Wednesday, August 13 @ 5:30 - 7:30 pm. Vibes, Wine & Sunshine - Live Music with Dawid Vorster at Helvetia Winery
Wednesday, August 13 @ 6 - 8:30 pm. Vibes, Wine, & Sunshine - Live Music with Zach Marshall at Danu Wines
Wednesday, August 6 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm. Live Music: Bluegrass Circle Jam at Pizzario
Thursday, August 14 @ 5:30 - 7:30 pm. Live music at 808 Grinds
Thursday, August 14 @ 7:00 pm - close. Live Music at Pizzario
Friday, August 15 @ 6 - 8:30 pm. Friday Night Bites - Live Music with Katherine Rhee at Danu Wines
Friday, August 15 @ 7:00 pm - close. Live Music at Pizzario
Friday, August 15 @ 6:00 - 9:00 pm. Live Music with Mike Abang at Hillsboro Downtown Station
Saturday, August 16 @ 6:00 - 9:00 pm. Live Music with Half Grass Trio at Hillsboro Downtown Station
Saturday, August 16 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. Live Music at Pizzario
Sunday, August 17 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. Acoustic Open Mic at Pizzario
Real quick! A big shoutout to our main sponsor this month!
One thing I can honestly say I am excited about is the website! We’ll have a space where organizers will be able to submit their events, a blog with in depth articles, interviews, and stories from your neighbors, and a directory of our favorite businesses! Thankfully, The Viable Source is building it out for me and I don’t even have to worry about all the SEO stuff because they do that too!! |  |
That means for every business that decides to support The Orenco Press, their website links will also get a little boost because of the amazing SEO, marketing, and web design work from the team members at The Viable Source. They are even setting up my website so that when The Orenco Press has grown, I can invite local contributors to write about their adventures in Hillsboro! (And a few other surprises coming this fall!) It has been a joy working with The Viable Source team. They are all very kind, patient, and thorough. If you’re looking for a beautiful, fast-loading, and professional website, some monthly marketing support, or need better Google ratings I highly recommend sending Jeremy a message for a consult!
Sponsored by The Viable Source
🎡 Out & About: Local fun for all ages.
Even more Park Pop-Up Hosted by Hillsboro Parks & Recreation, this adorable family event is free for everyone! Park Pop-Ups Dogs are welcome at the parks, but please make sure they are leashed! (And remember to pick up after them!)
This week’s Park Pop-Ups will be:
Wednesday, August 13 at Butternut Creek Park from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Features include: Rollin’ Rec, Wetlands on Wheels, and Library on the Loose
Bonus! There is a Splash pad at this park!
Thursday, August 14 at Bicentennial Park from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Features Include: Library on the Loose
Summer Reading Performances: Friday, August 15 at Butternut Creek Park from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm. Library on the Loose Outreach Live Music with Andy Z and his puppets
Get a aheads up for next week!
Wednesday, August 20 at UJ Hamby Park from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Features include: Rollin’ Rec, Wetland on Wheels, Mobile Makers, and Library on the Loose
Thursday, August 21 at Hidden Creek Park East from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Features Include: Mobile Makers, and Library on the Loose
🎉 Even more events!
Comedy Open Mic Night - (1st and 3rd) Monday, August 18 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm at Pizzario
Bingo Night - (2nd and 5th) Monday, August 11 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm at Pizzario
Bingo! - Wednesday, August 13 from 6:30 pm at Hillsboro Downtown Station
Board Game Night - Thursday, August 14 from 5:00 pm at Hillsboro Downtown Station
Pix in the Park: Toy Story 2 - Friday, August 15 from 7:30 - 10:00 pm from at Shadywood Park
CosPlay Meetup - Saturday, August 16 from 10 am - 11 am (ages 12-18) at Brookwood Library
Trivia Night - Tuesday, August 19 from 6:00 pm at Hillsboro Downtown Station
Check out the list of free events at the Hillsboro Libraries!
Kiddo cooking classes
Pajama Storytime
Wellness, science, and language classes
even “Read to the Dogs"!”
🍓 Hillsboro Farmer’s Markets
Saturday, August 16 @ 9:00 am - 1:00 pm at Downtown Hillsboro
Sunday, August 17 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm at Orenco Station (No dogs allowed at this one)
🎪 This Week’s Main Event: Big crowds. Big vibes. Big fun.
Bring the kids, bring a camp chair, and definitely bring the sunscreen!
🚘 Family Promise Motor Classic Car Show
When: Saturday, August 23 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Where: Wingspan Event & Conference Center
A community car show featuring classic cars, local vendors, live music, food trucks, and family-friendly activities, all to support families in Washington County on their journey to stable housing.
Join us for the first-ever Family Promise Motor Classic!
This exciting community car show brings together vintage car lovers, local businesses, and supporters across Washington County to make a difference for families working toward stable housing.
Proceeds from this event directly support Family Promise of Greater Washington County and our mission to help families experiencing housing instability find shelter, resources, and long-term stability.
While admission is free, we would appreciate it if you could bring a donation of household items or paper goods to help support local families in the shelter. Every roll of paper towels, pack of toilet paper, or set of dishes helps create a more comfortable, welcoming home for those starting fresh.
Classic and custom cars on display
Family-friendly fun, food, and games
Local vendors & community booths
Prizes for crowd favorites
Donate here: https://givebutter.com/xefgpn
Remember!
Bring refillable water bottles and snacks for the kids
Shade seating is limited—consider a blanket or folding chair
MAX Tuality station is nearby for convenient transit
🍴 Bite Club (Food & Drink)
Craveable bites, fork-worthy finds, and snack-sized updates from around town.
🌮 Taco Index Report
Our cheeky rating system using 5 tacos instead of stars.
This Taco Index Report is all about a staple in Hillsboro! Ochoas Mexican Grill is one of those places my husband wanted to go to forever - but being Celiacs means you avoid places where flour might get onto everything (like a place that makes their own flour tortillas). But then we saw the SIGN…
This infamous sign made my husband throw caution to the wind and take me on an impromptu date one night. It was SOOOOO worth it!! And he had no problems at all! 🎉 Double YAY!
🎉 = GF or Gluten-friendly 🍭 = Kid-approved Ochoas Mexican Grill offers 2 pounds of Carne Asada with rice, beans, soda, tortillas, and salsas for only $35. Not bad right? We thought “that’s a meal for home, maybe leftovers for a small lunch”…So we also got an actual meal each as well - he got the fajita plate and I got the wet burrito with chicken. I knew it would be like grandma’s-cooking-good when I realized we were the only non-melanated humans in the building. (As anyone living in a cultural melting pot can tell you: the more people from that culture in the restaurant, the better the food. Always.) But we were NOT prepared. There was SO. MUCH. FOOD. We kept getting the side-eye from the person bringing us plate after plate like she was expecting 4 more people to join us! 😂 And it was ALLLLLL delicious! Boasting an impressive 1,524 4-star reviews on Google, this delightful little restaurant was AHHHH-MAZING! The chips were fresh, the salsas were fresh, the guacamole had chunks of avocado, and the burrito took me THREE MEALS to finish - no exaggeration! We got creative with the unbelievably delicious carne asada once we got home…the next day, and the next one after that: tacos like they provided, double-decker nachos, and then putting everything leftover after that together in a bowl. THEN! I found out this was the same place that has a vendor booth at Tuesday Night Market where my son got nachos he REFUSED to share because they were so good. (He wasn’t wrong - but I had to ninja one from his plate when he was occupied with the dog to try them!) My biggest regret is that we waited so long! 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮 5 tacos, hands down. |   This burrito took THREE MEALS to eat! |
🏆 Big Deal Energy
Because the little things are the vibe.
🌈 Best Advice You’ve Ever Gotten: Crowd-sourced wisdom
“Take that day off and go on that hike, go to the spa, or go visit the coast. Play hookie to have a lunch date with your love, take your kid on a picnic, or treat yourself to a day in the park. No one gets to the end of their life and feels excited they missed everything they wanted to do to get a perfect score on attendance.
But the moments you take to LIVE your life will be the best memories you’ll ever give yourself.”
💖 Volunteer Vibes — “Small actions. Big impact.”
Tidy Up Downtown Hillsboro - Every 3rd Monday of the month
Monday, August 18 from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, starting at East Main Street. RSVP is required to assist.
🛋️ Meanwhile, in Real Life (Lifestyle)
The good stuff we’d tell you over coffee — grounded, practical, and actually helpful.
🛠️ Ask A Local Pro — “Tips and tricks to make life easier.”
Now that we are in the midst of our sunniest time of year, it is a great time to take care of some of the outdoor maintenance on our homes. You can always hire a local small business to handle these projects for you, but if you have the DIY spirit and are willing to spend some time in the heat, you can tackle these on a day off!
  | Power Washing Power washing is a quick way to make a big impact on your driveway, sidewalks and concrete patios! Most power washing equipment can be hooked up to your hose- and the machines are easy to use- just point and shoot. If you want to get really fancy, you can even put a stencil down on the cement and power wash over it and repeat for a fun design! If you don’t have a power washer, you can rent equipment from a big box store, or a local rental company like Bottens Equipment in Cornelius. You can also ask your local Buy Nothing Group- a neighbor may have a power washer they are willing to lend you for the day! Important safety tip- be sure to wear closed toe shoes! The spray may seem refreshing, but it’s definitely strong enough to injure toes in flip flops. If you find a project that is too big to tackle on your own, please feel free to reach out to us at Callahan Custom Construction and Design. You can email us at [email protected]. Rachel Callahan Sponsored by Callahan Construction and Design |
🌿 Stay & Wander: Escape to nature without leaving Hillsboro.
Have you ever walked in the Orenco Woods Nature Park? This lush 42-acre park offers open meadows & forest plus walking paths, picnic tables & a playground and you can bring your dog for a hike (for everyone’s safety, keep them on their leash and on the trail ONLY please!)
The trail itself is a 1.6 mile walk and there are spots for geocaching, blue heron watching, bike riding, and you can often spot wildlife like beavers, red-tailed hawks, and black-tailed deer! The trails at the park are made of compacted crushed gravel, which is firm and stable, though portions of some trails exceed 5 percent slope.
Grab a backpack, your water bottle, some snacks and sneakers and enjoy the micro-forest in the center of the city!
There’s plenty more planned, and lots more to do so I can provide the bestest neighborhood newsletter this side of the tunnel! But for now I just want to say thanks. Thanks for joining my very long group chat in my brain, for all your future suggestions to share with others, and for hanging out all the way to the end.
I’ll see you next Wednesday, and I hope you have a GREAT week!
Reply