Support your local ping-pong players. The Summer Ping-Pong Tournament is this Sunday, July 20th. Come and pla with Portland's best ping-pong players. The fun begins at 5:00 p.m. with complimentary drinks and music by DJ Keys.

Tournament begins at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 20th.

We're proud to announce that Horny Toad has adopted a new family member. We'€™re thrilled to bring Nau into the fold with Horny Toad & Lizard Lounge and we'€™d like to introduce, or maybe re-introduce, Nau to all of our Lizard Lounge friends.

6 weeks ago Nau closed up shop due to some financing issues. But they have many, many fans and good friends who didn'€™t want them to go away. Horny Toad stepped in and bought most of Nau's remaining assets and hired a small talented team from the original Nau who will now (no pun intended) continue to create incredible product and keep alive the core philosophies. We're calling the new Nau: Version 2.0. and the business and website transition will be complete as of August 1, 2008. In the meantime you can still go to nau.com and dig around for great background info. (You will be able to buy discounted spring/summer product on the site till around July 31st but without the ability to make returns or exchanges.)

Nau is based in Portland, without a doubt, one of our favorite cities, which happens to be home to our own Lizard Lounge, a retail lounge and social hub in the Pearl. Beginning this fall, Lizard Lounge will be the go-to place to touch/see/buy Nau in Portland. Nau and LL will share office space on the corner of 14th and Irving.

Nau products are very cool - a perfect blend of outdoor & urban fashion sensibility. Their design philosophy reflects a balance of beauty, performance and sustainability - yes, they make stylish, highly functional clothing in the most environmentally and socially responsible manner. Their mission, in a nutshell, is to do well by doing good.

We're excited to be able to learn from each other, share expertise and really encourage each other to build on our parallel do the right thing and do well by doing good philosophies.

As part of the Nau: Version 2.0 re-launch, Nau's blog, The Thought Kitchen will be fired up. This is the place to go for news, stories, progress reports, and thought-provoking ideas. Another way to stay tuned is to sign up for Nau'€™s newsletter, Off the Grid, which will be re-activated soon. You can send us an email and we'll make sure you'€™re signed up.

We hosted the highly anticipated launch party of db clay’s version 3.1 that was also a ten-year anniversary tribute. To show that off we had a wallet art gallery displaying the inspiration of the new version.  Also on display was db clay’s evolution of the wallet, from the first version made 10 years ago to the new version 3.1

“We’ve taken a content based approach to product design,” explains 28 year old CEO and Creative Director Garett Croft Stenson. “Each of the wallets featured in our Version 3.1 collection is reminiscent of a life experience had by one of us here at db clay ... each of our eighteen new wallets tells a unique story.”

db clay’s designer wallets look and feel unlike anything you’ve seen before - each is made from a custom engineered and eco friendly material which db clay calls Tope. The artfully printed wallet designs in this collection vary widely from subtle black on black palettes to a far more mysterious “Slow Bugs”... a wallet covered in dead insects. The new line is truly groundbreaking and serves as evidence of a maturing process, a sophisticated evolution of thought and an introspective look into this content driven brand’s core.

Tulip Vixen was perfect background music for the laid back art gallery feel of the event.

It couldn’t be a party without drinks. We had an open bar courtesy of Widmer, Cork Wine Shop, Jameson Whiskey, and Stoli Vodka. To soak up the booze, we had fruit skewers and cup cakes available.

Stop by Lizard Lounge and check out db clay’s version 3.1 or on their website www.dbclay.com.

Cheers!

Polish the Pearl, an event to keep our little corner of the world here in Portland nice and tidy, went off without a hitch and was a great success. Trash of all shapes and sizes was wrangled and put into it’s designated place – the dump! Volunteers rallied in the streets, one of which was our very own Sean from the Lizard Lounge. Check out the write up and pics at www.neighborhoodnotes.com.

May First Thursday was the biggest yet. With Bobby Torres banging away on the bongos all night and son Arsenio Torres showing his art to hundreds that attended, everyone had a blast. The fact that it was a father-son duo was the icing on the cake.

Here's the low down on the artists and thier web links if you are interested in checking them out. 

Arsenio Torres (the son) is our featured artist for the month. The pull one feels to maintain a balance between work and play is depicted in each of Arsenio's paintings. It's a pull he regularly feels as an emerging artist and believes most everyone can sympathize with. The daily struggles depicted in his work are snapshots into other people's "pulls" and are many times specific to his Latin heritage and culture.

Bobby Torres (the father) was our musician for the evening. His music blended very well with his son’s art work.  It was a sight to see, Bobby going to town on the bongos, along with his fellow musicians playing the electric piano and chello.

The drinks were always a bonus. With free BridgePort Blue Heron beer and a variety of wine from Cork being served all night, it hit the spot for everyone. The weather was great as well and showed a bit what the summer is going to be like at Lizard Lounge, awesome of course!

More parties to come.

April First Thursday was a hit!  We packed the house, with over 200 people filtering in and out all night.

Guy Burwell is our featured artist for the month. He’s somewhat of a local celebrity. Primarily known for making rock concert posters, he brought a big crowd to the party, selling quiet of few pieces as well. His portfolio also includes album cover illustration and design, painting, clothing graphics, magazine work as well as writing and drawing comic books. He has also designed conceptual material for video games and animated projects for Nickelodeon. Visit Guy’s site to see more.

Our musician Jaycob Van Auken was perfect for the evening. His music blended really well with the atmosphere of the party. He’s a rock classicist with a singer-songwriter streak. His propensity for blending rock, blues, folk and country allows his songs to move in various directions, while keeping the same destination. His wonderful sound contributed to a fulfilling evening at Lizard Lounge.

Obviously there was ping-pong. We had people lining up to play, with the occasional beer pong matches. Why not, right?

Hope to see you at the next one!

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This post report is a tad bit delayed because we just woke up from the party that got kicked off at Lizard Lounge on Saint Patrick’s Day. The patron saint of green beer and pinching seems to have blessed The Lounge with another great time spent lounging to Irish music, ping ponging and drinking!

Paddy Schutte and Tim Debruine played live Irish music as folks came in to appreciate their northerly acoustical talents. There’s nothin’ like a good fiddler to get the toes a tappin’. A sweet four-leaf clover breeze swept through the store announcing that spring is here in Portland – everything is soooo green!

The good Irish vibrations were flowing and so was the beer and wine, provided by our friends at the BridgePort Brewing Company and the Cork Wine Shop for both Saturday and Sunday (come on folks, it was Saint Patrick’s Day after all).

On Sunday, rosy-cheeked folks were warmed up and ready to dive into the ping-pong tournament on Sunday. Dueling tables were set up so we could get through all 28 players. It seemed like all 28 players brought their own peanut gallery to cheer and jeer. The music and laughter also brought people in from the street to watch the matches. DJ Keys made the atmosphere that much more festive. The crowd grew and grew through the day until there was a hug pack of fans surrounding the finals that evening. Good times with beer pong.

Hope you all had a great Saint Patty’s Day! 

First Thursday for March was a success in more ways than one. Music, art and philanthropy made their impressions on all those that attended.

Climbing artist Emilie Lee is our featured artist for March. The art opening happened on the 6th during our First Thursday party. Prints from her collage journals, first published in Alpinist magazine are on display (and for sale!). Lee's colorful journals document her adventures in pursuit of the climber's dream: to stay on the road trip as long as possible. Powered by the discovery of free food in California's dumpsters, she and her friends embark on an unforgettable season of climbing in Joshua Tree, Indian Creek, and Yosemite. Visit Emilie's blog and her Web site.

Stephanie Schneiderman, graced the lounge with her exceptional musical talent. Stephanie has used her powerful singer/songwriter skills to make a difference too. She is the founder and director of Voices for Silent Disasters, Portland's first humanitarian concert series supporting Mercy Corps' efforts in Northern Uganda. The normally free beer and wine had a contribution jar where we collected almost a hundred bucks that was then matched by Lizard Lounge. It all counts to a better world, and we had a good time doing it!

Ping-pong, of course, was represented in full effect. It wouldn’t have been a party at the lounge until the gentle thwack thwack of the paddles was in the air as ambient noise.

Two powerful women + tons of great (thirsty) people = having fun and making a difference all at the same time. Not bad … not bad at all.

Come join us for April’s events!

New stuff for spring is popping up all over the place here at Lizard Lounge, come check it out.

John Varvatos

Original Penguin

Local God

Stitch's

Ben Sherman

Wet Cement

Tank Farm

Quiksilver

Chip & Pepper

Shirt by Shirt

Zanerobe 

55 DSL 

Horny Toad

Alpha Industries 

Obey

Camper

Carve

Element

Ezekiel 

Linq

Reef

Union 

Mosley Tribe 

Leather Island by Bill Lavin 

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Practically a national holiday, Superbowl Sunday brings out the football fan in even the most ardent bookworms. Why this happens, we don’t know for sure, but we thought it was a great opportunity to bust out the La-Z-Boy’s and kick back a couple of cold ones with our patrons.

We turned the back corner of the store into a true Superbowl-worthy lounge, complete with couches, recliners, flat-screen TV, appetizers, and, of course, a keg of beer from BridgePort Brewery. As if it couldn’t get better, we also offered a special Lizard Lounge discount so folks could shop while cheering or booing the game.

Lots of sports fans showed up to partake in this, the most sacred day of American football, crowding around the TV or taking a few minutes away from the tube to shop. During halftime we put on a ping-pong tournament, of which the winner got a $25 gift certificate. Man, these sure are good times.

We want to do it again next year, but even bigger and better. So, get ready for some football Portland!

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The first annual Portland Urban Adventure Race on November 4th was a resounding success. Together with Widmer Brothers, Salomon, Portland Rock Gym, Roots Brewery, Casey Dale and Bungee.com, Buffalo Gap saloon & eatery, Harlo Media Inc, Nau, Stephen Ashbrook, Henry’s Tavern, Oregon Active put on this great race to benefit young cancer survivors. The race consisted of ten stops along the course to participate in various “adventures” such as egg toss, pool, lemon-in-the-beer drop and ping pong (practically the religion of Horny Toad). All told 200 people showed up to race through the leaf littered streets of Portland to an eventual finish line of a beer garden, how awesome is that!? Everyone had a great time and $12,000 was raised to benefit those strong folks that have battled through cancer at very young ages.

Oregon Active’s motto is, “It’s all about getting out there, trying new things, combining good times with good people. It’s about giving something back.” Now that’s something that Horny Toad and can get behind, especially when there is beer involved. Sean, manager of the Lizard Lounge, was there to help out with the event and had this to say, “It was quite an adventure, I’m so glad we had the chance to participate and help a great cause.”

Hope that you can join us next year. Check out the following links, to both a blog of the event and Oregon Active’s site.

www.oregonactive.com

urban adventure race blog