Great place to dance! There's always something going on every week. I'm a dancer of ballroom, swing, latin, and country. There's almost always some sort of social dance here every single day. The venue is gorgeous, there's a small parking lot behind it but it fills up quick. Only street parking after that. Not a fan of the actual area, I make sure I am always carrying when I do go here. There's a huge foyer/entryway to get yourself situated before entering the ballroom. It's MASSIVE and has a nice sound system set up. There's a stage too. read more

I came to Norse hall for ecstatic dance to honor the year of the firehouse. It was fire The space was really such a beautiful space to hold this dance. I would love to attend other dances here. read more

Norse Hall - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Portland, Oregon

It's a nice big spacious hall with different flags of the Nordic countries. I have been there before for the Salsa, Bachata nights and last time was the 1st time for the Nordic festival. It was nice to see a new cultural celebration, people with Nordic roots gathering. There is a cute little store which also have some collectibles and chocolates new stuff to try out. They also have a spacious bar area on the side. read more

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Get thee to a dance evening!! For a fun-filled night of good music and kind partners who enjoy sharing their knowledge. Plus a full bar in a side room with reasonable prices ($7 for a lemon drop). There is a cover charge of $12 (cash) which applies to an included hour's lesson, quite reasonable. Plenty of parking out back and in the neighborhood, so don't worry about that. This was only my fourth time dancing in Portland. I'm learning so many steps (hello rumba this time), only to promptly lose them in my memories banks; but then when you hit the floor, your body goes, like, ah, I know this stuff, let's sway to this rythm. I will also share another couple of tips-with-good-things-to-know-beforehand: 1. there are special shoes but anything without a pin heel and that slides on a wooden floor will do: this is A Must, because unless you can slide, you will not be able to turn well enough and you may hurt yourself, so grab your old ballet slippers and put them to good use again 2. wear clothing you can sweat in (so washable) but that still looks dressed up 3. bring a BIG bottle of water 4. the dancing room will be cold when you first arrive so bring a sweater -- trust me, the room will heat up quickly after your first dance and with 60 people dancing!! So get out there and enjoy an affordable evening of exercise with good people and music!! Just google Portland swing dancing for locations every night of the week. Photo of NORMANDIE - Portland, OR, United States. Saturday Night Fever ballroom swing dancing read more

Norse Hall - Son de Cuba live - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Portland, Oregon

This place is horrible, three homeless people one doing drugs at the front entrance. my expectations were low but still not met. I still tried to ring the doorbell but the person that made my tour was not there and never came, I called them with no answer. Very disappointed and frustrated. read more

Norse Hall is a mainstay of the dance and Norse communities in town. I'm going to focus on the dancing aspect. On any given night, you can find some form of it here. The main ballroom is large and spacious. Stage front and center for live music, plenty of tables around to sit and watch. There's a bar. There's an upstairs room for more dancing. There's a kitchen downstairs if your event needs a place to prep food. Easy to find, lots of street parking, plenty of places to rest your dancing feet. If you're a dancer, please do come on out to Norse Hall! read more

We rented this hall for an event. They were a pleasure to work with, professional and friendly. We used the large hall and the bar. The hall has some echo and the stage is shallow, but it worked great for us. The bar is a little worn, very homey. The bartenders are sassy and flirtatious middle aged women, not the usual inked Portland hipster hotties, what a relief! The main room has a great dance floor, there are additional meeting rooms upstairs and downstairs, with a full commercial kitchen. The Portland Sons of Norway Grieg Lodge is 100 years old in 2010. They built the hall in 1928. They are repositories of Scandinavian culture in Portland. They are always recruiting Scandinavians to join up in their many activities and events. When I explained I was Irish, the leader of the Lodge didn't miss a beat, explaining that since Norway invaded Ireland, we were Norse too! Their web site lists ongoing activities including a variety of inexpensive all you can eat meals - those Norse get hungry. I would recommend renting this place for larger events when you want some history, a great staff and organization, and a central location. read more

Many years ago, we stopped here for their Bazaar in the Fall. I still have it, beaded red girl ornament with white fur. Sunday, we're back for the 2nd time, this time to visit longer. You see, I'm always looking for a new place to meet people, a place where FOOD is plenty, and music or fundraising are optional. My husband's family was from Norway. We wanted a 'taste' of Norway.The room was decorated with murals of some Norway scene. Very nice! See photo on my profile. We could have gone earlier, but our schedule didn't allow us to do that, so we went during the last 2 hours of the event. I was told, there would be plenty left to eat, so we're OK with that. I didn't care, but since I've been planning to go for years, if not this week, we'll probably never will! The even started about 8:30AM, and we got there @ Noon. So, there were 1/4th of the people left, eating and mingling with everyone, and the service was fast. It was a brunch and plenty of food. The menu was all you can eat pancakes, with scrambled eggs, sausage, au gratin potatoes, ham/asparagus strata, seasonal fruit, riskrem (rice pudding but I didn't care to add the berries sauce, I wanted to take their version of rice pudding), coffee, tea, & OJ. The scrambled eggs, the lady was gonna give me half a portion of that on my plate, I had her remove half it was like 6 eggs' worth, then I realized there's also the strata which I'd rather have than plain scrambled eggs, but they looked like they came from an egg-beater package. I could be wrong! Since it was a Birthday Scholarship Fund Brunch, there's also a Blotkake (Norwegian birthday cake). The riskrem was a bit tasteless, that's why I should have added the berry sauce. Next time, if there is a next time. LOL We bought raffle tickets. I wanted to win the horn wine goblet, it was worth A LOT I heard and it was on a stand. It wasn't for me, but my hubby can have it, if he's good. The raffle tickets were put inside this wire & wood rectangular container, but when it was time to pick the winners, he wasn't shaking it well. Like he's looking, while moving them around with his hand like hand-picking names. When I do that @ my church, I rotate the thing again and again, to make sure they're fully shaken, then have a blind-folded child put her/his hand inside then draw a ticket. I felt he rigged it. Doesn't matter, we went for the food, a taste of Norway. We weren't sitting alone, we have one member came by and mingled with us, took us to the gift shop, introduced us around and gave us a copy of the Grieg Notes. I thought that was nice hospitality for her, since we've never been there before! That's a plus. read more

I loved this place! We came here on a Sunday night (our first while vacationing in Portland,) for the swing night. My girlfriend is an avid dancer and I'm an avid, uh, let's just say I'll review the selection at the bar... Seriously, swing night was fun. I've experienced many swing nights and there was a decided lack of pretension here--just people out having fun. I even got the courage to get up and do my thing. You know, movin', groovin, like a...like a sex machine, man. You know, doin' it. Can I count it off? The hall was kitschy and fun: It had the typical feel of a VA lodge. If you were a veteran of the Viking raids, this would be where you would go. And the bar? I asked for a B&B and she poured me about 3/4 cup worth. And charged me $4. I'll give that 5 stars. read more

Remember, in Back To The Future, when Marty goes to the ~Enchantment Under the Sea~ dance at his parents high school...? THAT'S what it feels like at Norse Hall..! There was a swing night here while I was on vacation (courtesy of this awesome guy, Larry from west coast swing!) and, well, you know I love to swing...The hall itself is nice and open and big! Theatre seats align the walls, reminiscent of earlier days when gals would sit awaiting for a young man to ask them to dance...~sigh~ And there's booze downstairs! Just like highschool in the 50's... Except now-a-days, anyone can ask anyone to dance! That's why I love it! No matter where you go, the language of dance is universal... and that includes Norse Hall! read more

Great, huge old ballroom floor, excellent sound, and an old school bar make this one of Portland's best places to dance. However...(and it's a big however), the place is usually very cold. This does not go very well with skimpy tango dance clothes. Or any other clothes besides wool. And it's not due to leaking insulation--in summer they crank up what has to be the City's most powerful air conditioning system and keep things quite chilly. Me, I'm a man, and as a descendant of my longboat-rowing forefathers, this cold isn't a problem; but to my wife (and most of her friends), it's nearly a deal killer (unless the magnificent Alex Krebs is playing with one of his tango bands). So, there you go---excellent venue, but your womenfolk need to dress warmly! read more

Can't wait to go back! I attended the last Friday of every month ballroom social dance. We had an hour lesson of East Coast Swing before the dance started and it was the most informative, fast-paced and overall fun lesson I've ever had. The real treat of the evening was getting to dance to big band! The cost was $7 total and they also have a bar! Please go support, enjoy, and dance! read more

It's like a museum of Norse artifacts. The have dances, dinners, pancake breakfasts, and a host of other events. Come on down and check it out. read more

Norse Hall - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I came here with my friends as well as my service dog (wearing a clearly indicated SERVICE DOG vest)... I was verbally assaulted in a very hostile manner by an elderly man working in the kitchen... He would not back down even though I even showed him the service dog ID I had for my dog. The food was soso and as I was about to leave I was once again aggressed by an elderly lady who didn't even bother to look at my dogs service vest before launching her tirade. I pointed out the non service dog on the floor nearby and left before she could comment. These people need to verify the service dog laws before spewing their vitriol. The food was mediocre and the people AWFUL. read more

Their pancake breakfast might be the best kept secret in town. Great food, nice people, and fantastic value. They don't check your Scandinavian credentials, so anyone can just stop in when they're serving up pancakes. You won't regret it. :) read more

I haven't tried other places in Portland yet, but Norse Hall is as good as it gets for swing dancing. I'm sure it's great for other forms too. The entry fee is nominal (cash-only), the crowd is really nice and the music is great. They always have some Sinatra playing, so that just makes my evening. The instructors/volunteers are more than willing to dance with you and teach you a few moves along the way. The impromptu Shim Sham/Big Apple performances are fun to watch. Ooh, and I love the couches and the full-sized mirror in the ladies' rest room and the the coat hangers outside! Very well-thought out design. read more

This is my favorite place to go contra dancing. I wish contra were held here more than twice a year! It's a HUGE ballroom with nice floors (but not so nice that I'm worried about ruining their floors with my subpar dance shoes). I forget the window situation but I definitely felt cool and comfortable, even with a room full of a couple hundred people dancing. It wasn't stuffy at all, and that's hard to do. There was a bar, but I didn't try it. The Portland Country Dance Community rented this hall out and brought their own food and nonboozy beverages. It's also basically right across the street from Sizzle Pie. Not enough bike parking though, sadly. I always have to lock up to a ramp railing. read more

How quaint. How perfectly delightful. It's spacious and echo-y. I can imagine myself dancing, prancing perfectly across the floors. I imagined sliding around in my shoes and performing on stage. The set up is big enough for a great concert, small enough for an intimate feel and classy. It classic and very well maintained. The acoustics were right and you can't have a bad seat anywhere. It's such a nice hall. There is a lounge that will usually have some musicians enticing you to tap your feet and have another drink. I really liked this place and hope to come to more shows here. read more

Norse Hall Association that operates Norse Hall is a not-for-profit organization with absentee management and Board members. They have a bartender and rental manager(musician) run the Norse Hall, schedule events, and supervise activities. There is considerable lack of oversight. For example, the Norse Hall and Dance Eclectic have been cited and restricted to non-prepared food by the County Environmental Food Safety due to food bone illness and unlicensed food handlers. Norse Hall has been cited twice in the recent past. The building was required to clear trash and vegetation because of a rat problem. The parking is limited to dark street parking sometimes very far from the building and therefore car break-ins are common. Norse Hall will ban or trespass dancers for no reason if they do not like you or you ask to many questions about the food, or the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). You will not see many disabled people in the Norse Hall as the ramp and other ADA accessible helpers are very limited. The building is very old with limited structural improvements and many people question the safety in the event of a fire or earthquake. read more

I remember when I went here almost ten years ago for some private gathering. I was there again last weekend for a dance event. The place was just I the way I remembered. One thing that I really like about this place is that they have a big parking lot in the back. The wooden floor is also good for dancing. If you're thinking about having a big event, consider renting this place. read more

One of the best dance halls in the city of Portland. They do all sorts of dances. The Bar also is full of personality and serves a good drink. It also does private parties and weddings and the such along with heritage of the Norwegains. If you're loking for a place to rent out this is a great place to keep in mind! read more

Great floor and place to dance tango! The bartenders on staff are very nice as well!

Great place for country dancing