Portland Last Thursday, or freak-show on Alberta

I had heard about Last Thursdays in Portland, before. It is an open-air market along Alberta street in Northeast Portland on the last Thursday of summer months. It sounded like a great place to check out local, hand-made crafts, and perhaps sample some street food. After experiencing this street fair for myself, however, I would describe it much less as an opportunity for shopping and much more as an endless display of the human imagination coupled with desperate pleas for attention.

The evening started off innocently enough. Brent & I were enjoying some dinner at the adorable Parisian-inspired bakery Petite Provence, when a caveman dressed only in a loin cloth and a spattering of mud, set up shop in the middle of Alberta street, right near our table. He took out a bow and started making fire in the middle of the street. Closer inspection proved that he was selling a book called "Be Wild or Die." This was already shaping up to be an interesting evening...

As we wandered east on Alberta, we came across a red double-decker bus belonging to Rose city Vaudeville.

Then we came upon a secret alleyway which promised wonders, should we travel down it's dusty path. Of course, we had to see what was happening, so we followed the path to see the wonders ahead. What we found was this...

3 hipsters playing light switches like musical instruments (they were making obnoxious squelching sounds while 2 men-in-black style hipster body guards sprayed fake smoke around the garage). Needless to say, this secret alley excursion didn't live up to the magical expectations I had in my head.

After we returned the Alberta, we saw the infamous March 4th marching band parading down the street towards the Hollywood theater, where they were performing later that evening.


March Fourth also made an appearance in the music video i edited for Ramona Falls "Russia"




Once it got dark, the REAL freaks came out to play, including this raver chicken man I came across...


The final freakish straw in the evening was when we came across a DJ with a spinning hubcap obscuring his face.


He was selling T-shirts...


Finally, I'll leave you with this mysterious video of Brent's water glass at Petite Provence. I think our table might have been situated over a mystery spot.