Happy Thursday, Vancouver!

Wednesday rain with no warning? Check. ✅

Hundreds of ZoomInfo employees updating their LinkedIn in real time? Check. ✅

A giant sale for a local favorite thrift store? Check. ✅

A new seafood market rising from the ashes of a burned-down Mongolian grill? Check. ✅ 

Two (count 'em, TWO) volcano events this weekend as Mount St. Helens approaches the 46th anniversary of the day she absolutely lost it? Double check. ✅ ✅

Vancouver has been busy, and we have a lot to cover. The good news: the weekend event lineup is so packed it almost makes up for all of it. Almost.

Anyways, here's what to expect in today's edition of The PNW Report (Vancouver):

📰 Local News
☁️ Weather
🎉 Events & Things To Do
🤔 Lateral Thinking Puzzle

Let’s get started!

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LOCAL NEWS

🐟 East Vancouver Is Getting a Brand New Seafood Market

The old Gobi Mongolian Grill spot on Southeast Mill Plain is trading sizzling stir-fry for seafood towers, because Ocean King Market is officially moving forward with plans for a brand new seafood market next to Mountain View Ice Arena. Ocean King’s current Mill Plain location already has a loyal following among seafood lovers and home cooks who know their way around a fish counter. The new market will rise from the former Gobi property, which burned down in 2023, proving that sometimes life really does give you a fresh stART…or at least a fresh halibut. No opening date yet, but things are officially o-fish-ally in motion.

🐶 Everything Will Be Half Off at Retails This Weekend

Ready for some un-fur-gettable deals, Vancouver? Our favorite thrift spot, ReTails, is throwing a sale so big we’re practically howling. This weekend, May 16th and May 17th, they are slashing prices by 50% across the entire store. Yes, you heard that right: 50% off everything…clothing, furniture, antiques, games, everything. If it’s got a price tag, it’s 50% off. See you in the aisles!

💔 ZoomInfo Lays Off Hundreds of Employees

Vancouver-based ZoomInfo has reportedly laid off hundreds of employees in another round of cuts, proving once again that no phrase strikes fear into the corporate heart quite like “quick sync.” The tech company, one of Clark County’s biggest employers, has seen multiple layoffs over the past couple years as the industry continues its ongoing “do more with less” era. Thoughts go out to everyone affected…may your LinkedIn profile be updated, your severance be generous, and recruiters suddenly become very interested in your “synergy-driven leadership experience.”

WEATHER [5/15 - 5/17]

If you packed away your rain jacket, we suggest you go find it. She's baaaack!

Friday, 5/15: 59/46 ☁️ Cloudy
Saturday, 5/16: 60/43 🌧️ Showers
Sunday, 5/17: 66/45 ⛅️ Mostly Cloudy

EVENTS AND THINGS TO DO [5/15 - 5/17]

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? You’re in the right place! 🎉

Stay tuned for Monday morning’s newsletter, where we’ll give the lowdown on all the cool upcoming weekday events for next week!

FRIDAY, MAY 15th

🏠 Marshall House Tour @ Officer’s Row | 10AM (FREE)
Step inside the Marshall House, where Queen Anne elegance meets military history. Once home to General George C. Marshall, this turreted treasure features stained glass, intricate woodwork, and a peek into the past with period furnishings and a recreated study. Walk-in tours available Wed–Fri, 10–2, and select Saturdays, 11–3.

🎭 "Footloose" @ Magenta Theater | 7PM ($19 – $30) 
Everybody cut, everybody cut…everybody cut Footloose! Metropolitan Performing Arts is bringing the iconic story of small-town rebellion, big-city moves, and a truly excellent soundtrack to life this weekend. If you don't leave humming at least one song, you were not paying attention (sorry, no Kevin Bacon included).

SATURDAY, MAY 16th

🎣 Kids Fishing Fest @ Columbia Springs | 8AM – 3PM ($8) 
Grab the kiddos and head to Columbia Springs for the reely awesome annual Kids Fishing Fest. Kids ages 5–14 get a fishing pole, expert mentors, and the chance to catch and take home up to two fish.

🛒 Vancouver Farmers Market @ Esther Short Park | 9AM - 3PM (FREE)
Your weekly reminder that vegetables can be aesthetic and bread is always the answer. Stock up, stroll around, and try not to spend all your money on honey and hot sauce. But, if you do, at least you’re spending local?!

🌱 Community Garden Club Plant Sale @ Zion Lutheran Church | 9AM – 2PM (FREE) 
Ready to turn your yard, patio, or planter pot into something worthy of compliments from strangers? Head to the Community Garden Club Plant Sale, where you can browse locally grown plants, chat with people who actually know what “hardiness zone” means, and convince yourself that this is the year you’ll keep everything alive.

🌿 Plant Sale @ Two Rivers Heritage Museum | 10AM – 3PM (FREE) 
Another plant sale?! Look, we don't make the calendar, we just report on it…and apparently May is Plant Acquisition Season. Two Rivers Heritage Museum hosts their own sale in what is shaping up to be the most well-planted weekend of the year. Bring a wagon. You know the drill.

🪴 "Life Afterlife: The Wonders of Death in the Garden" @ CASEE Building B | 10AM – 12PM (FREE – $15) 
Okay, this title. Chef's kiss. This talk by the owner of Goodyear Farms explores the beautiful, slightly macabre cycle of decomposition, fungi, soil life, and renewal that makes everything grow. It's the circle of life, but, like…horticultural. We're dying to go.

🌋 Mount St. Helens After the Eruption @ Fort Vancouver Visitor Center | 1PM (FREE)
Do you ❤️ lava ❤️ volcanoes?! This free talk digs into what happened in the days, months, and years after Mount St. Helens blew its top, and how the landscape (and the people) adapted. With volcanoes on the brain this weekend (see also: Sunday's event at Dovetail), this is a perfect double feature.

💧 Water Safety Day @ Goldfish Swim School | 3PM (FREE) 
Free water safety education at Goldfish Swim School…a genuinely important event for families with little ones. Also: free. Also: probably fun for the kids. Win, win, win.

🎷 Jazz Afternoon with Bill Cunliffe Trio @ St. Luke’s | 4PM ($25 Suggested Donation) 
Grammy Award-winning pianist Bill Cunliffe brings his trio to a beautiful Vancouver church for a Saturday afternoon of live jazz. This is the kind of afternoon that makes you feel like you have a very sophisticated life (spoiler: you do). Wear something nice. Sip something warm. Let the piano do the rest.

🎭 Vancouver Master Chorale: "Around the World and Home Again" @ First Presbyterian Church | 7PM ($10 – $30) 
The Vancouver Master Chorale has been around the world and home again (at least musically) and they're bringing every stop of the journey to you. An evening of choral music spanning multiple continents, cultures, and traditions, performed by one of Vancouver's finest vocal ensembles.

🤣 Next Stop Comedy @ Wyld Pines Restaurant | 8PM ($27)
All aboard the laugh track! Next Stop Comedy will be pulling into Wyld Pines, delivering a brand-new lineup of comics every time. The best part? No drink minimum!