The Mississippi Street Fair

For one day over the past 12 summers, North Mississippi Avenue becomes the epicenter of Portland. Roads are blocked off, biergartens are built and artists lay out their wares under vinyl tents - all in the name of Street Fair-dom lore. It's the f'ing Mississippi Street Fair.

If you're unfamiliar with this neck of the woods, Mississippi Avenue is the hipster mecca in a city overly fond of cut-off skinny jeans, unicorns and canning local goods.  Think of it as what Devils Tower was to Richard Dreyfuss' character in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The pull is too hard to resist.

Billed as Portland's largest street fair, it draws more than 200 vendors, 40 bands and a wagon train of food carts all for one glorious July day.  The best part? Proceeds go back into the neighborhood and help fund Boise-Eliot Elementary, the Boise Business Youth Unity Project, and Self Enhancement, Inc.

If you didn't make the fair this year, sit back and relive the fair revival in sweet, sweet photos...

 

Photos by Jedidiah Fugle.

My Summer Vacation: 85 Miles South

Welcome to our summer blog series - My Summer Vacation. During the next three months, watch for our visual travel diaries showcasing places that inspire us outside the studio.

Traveler: Alise Munson

About 85 miles south of our studio sits Corvallis, Oregon –  home of Oregon State University, about 55,100 people and the teen home to animation legend Brad Bird.

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The region is know for its agriculture and horse community, which is why world-famous horse trainer Buck Brannaman hosted a horse clinic at the Benton County Fairgrounds on July 6th. Documentary nerds, like me, will know Buck from his movie, Buck, starring Buck. The film won the 2011 Audience Award at Sundance and was the major influence for this trip south into farmland.

Once you learn about Buck's tenderness toward horses and that it grew from an abusive, violent childhood, you are smitten by this cowboy. Part of his charm lies in his one liners of Western common sense –  like something you'd see stitched and hanging in a Montana kitchen.

“The horse is a mirror to your soul. Sometimes you might not like what you see. Sometimes you will.” - Buck Brannaman

More Buck gems:

"I call it WasteBook."

"He probably can't ride a swing in a wind storm."

Most of the people clustered in metal bleachers were there to see Buck in action and glean horse tips from his clinic and hands-on workshop. Some, like me,  just wanted to see the magic man, wear shitkickers non-ironically and spend a day pretending to be a cowpoke.

For more about Buck and just an overall good read, try The Faraway Horses. You can also catch him this summer leading clinics in horse towns throughout the West.

Good on Wheels

We {heart} Portland. Sure that means that we love our city as much as New Yorkers love theirs, but it also means that our hearts play a central role in guiding our city's consciousness. We are green, we adopt our pets from shelters and we eat local, well-treated plants and animals. Portlanders care.

If you scratch beneath the surface  of our skinny jeans and vintage dresses, you'll find a design community eager to use their talents to help. One org is Megabolt.

"Founded in 2009, Megabolt is a independent organization that specializes in art projects and workshops for kids. We create one of a kind projects that are designed to let kids be kids and enjoy their lives through the power of art."

The idea is simple. Use art to make kids, who are having a hard time, momentarily happy. The creed has attracted design notables like Aaron Draplin, John Vogl of The Bungaloo and OMFGCO to make goods to make funds to make the projects happen.

Megabolt's latest fundraiser "teamed up with 47 artists and designers to create one-of-a-kind skate decks to be part of a silent auction to help fund future workshops."

The event on June 29 attracted artists, skaters and parents. Many walked away outbid and empty handed, but all left with an impression on their hearts.

Here's to next year... and our invitation to play. Hint. Hint.

Photos by Jedidiah Fugle.

Want to know more? Visit Ride On PDX.

Ride On Teaser from Megabolt on Vimeo.

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Eat Your Heart Out - part 2

This post is the second in a two-part series by Jedidiah Fugle, who took full advantage of Portland Dining Month - the month where more than 80 top-notch restaurants offer three courses for just $29 . Genoa was first.

Now up, Biwa.

On the menu: Red pepper toasted popcorn with sesame oil

Second Course: Roasted beef and mushroom skewers

Third Course: Asian pear salad

Fourth Course: Dumplings

Finally: Pickled Vegetable Plate

Local Tip: Don't miss the Biwa Burger (seasoned ground beef, kimchi mayo and chasyu). It's served only on the late-night-after-10 pm menu.

Eat Your Heart Out - part 1

 

Portland is awesome for many reasons: Livability, nature, design AND DINING MONTH. During the entire month of June more than 80 top-notch restaurants offer three courses for just $29. Unlike the $1 menu at Wendy's, these plates are are filled with mouth happiness.

Price-reduced set menus also allow more people (those without a large dining budget) to try some of the dished from some of the best chefs in the world.

This post is the first in a two-part series by Jedidiah Fugle, who ate at two of Portland's finest.

First up, Genoa. 

Genoa was here before the food scene was making national attention way back in 1971. Having a milestone birthday? Celebrating a special anniversary? Just won the lottery? Genoa is traditionally expensive, but well worth each dollar spent.

First Course: Beet cured salmon, nasturtium pesto, brioche

Second Course: Cappellini – pancetta, broken egg, black pepper

Third Course: Moulard duck, sumer squash, tomato jam, melted onion

Dessert: Mini Hood strawberry shortcake

From Genoa's website: Genoa is a culinary crossroads where the Pacific Northwest intersects with masterful rustic and modern Italian cuisine. The Italian eatery has a rich heritage of acclaimed chefs including Cathy Whims, John Taboada, Tommy Habetz, Daniel Mondok and David Anderson. That tradition continues as Chef Jake Martin’s five-course tasting menu changes monthly and is approached with thoughtful playfulness, reinvigorated energy and seasonality.  Chef Martin runs a collaborative kitchen where the best ingredients and techniques are employed to offer a complex menu with balanced plates full of peaks, valleys and complexity. The menu is expertly paired with a carefully curated list of wines that complement Genoa’s nuanced flavors.

Local hint: If you're here any other month but June and are on a budget, try Accanto next door to its big sister Genoa. The menu is filled with Italian surprises, but is much more informal. Brunch is your best time to taste everything.

Next up: Biwa.

Pedalpalooza: Knights of the Round

In celebration of our cycling culture, Pedalpalooza is a culmination of the weirdest of the weird in human-powered transportation. Throughout the entire month of June, naked people, Morrissey fans, sexy hippie zombies and unicyclists take over the streets and ride wild and free via the wheel.

One of the month's highlights is Bicycling Jousting (yes, those two words go together like pickles and peanut butter) and is a beloved event for the more aggro cyclists. These knights hop on their altered bicycles, aim their homemade lances and pedal straight toward each other ala Game of Thrones style. The winner remains on his bike despite the onslaught. The loser falls to the laughter of the court.

Fair maidens cheer for their heroes or wait to get on the bike themselves.

Portland is indeed weird. We have no trouble keeping it freaky in the Rose City. For tourists and Portlandia writers, our fair city is quaint and quirky – full of characters and oddities. For locals, it's just the way we like it.

Young Silent Filmmakers

One of Portland's claims to fame is her annual Rose Festival. We are talking a month packed with events that celebrate the culture of our Rose City including the new addition of the International Youth Silent Film Festival.

Last week at the Hollywood Theater, Northwest filmmakers (20 years old and younger) competed with three-minute short films set to a collection of live scores played on a classic theater pipe-organ by Nathan Avakian.

Last year's winner.

Keep Portland Weird

UFOs are nothing new for Oregonians. For the past 14 years, believers and skeptics have turned the small town of McMinnville (known for vineyards and berries) into a celebration for non-Earthlings. This year's UFO Fest brought out the weirdos despite the rain.  Luckily, Director Mike Wellins, who is indeed odd himself, captured these aliens for investigation.

According to the The Portland Monthly: "Oregon has recorded more than 1,500 reported UFO sightings, making it third on the list of sightings per capita, close behind neighbors in Washington and Montana."

Outdoors: Heading due east

Oregon has attracted adventure seekers, nature lovers and famous explorers for a couple of centuries. Some headed West to find new lives or to escape troubled ones. This weekend, the goal was to head east into the dry high desert near Maupin (mop-in) and search for unforgettable images.

The lower Deschutes' dry climate is home to life not found in the soggy Portland area. Along the hike, bumblebees, butterflies, mule deer, red-tailed hawks and a few too-close-for-comfort rattlesnakes made the wildlife reel. The best part? Birds outnumbered people.

Mason, the dog, joined the hike, too.

WhiskeyFest Northwest

Portland's first WhiskeyFest Northwest took over downtown Portland last Saturday. The event featured more than 65 of the world's finest whiskey distillers from around the globe - not just our fair state. While sipping scotch and Bourbon, we enjoyed tunes from a continuous rolling set of bands, tasted plates from Portland's best food carts, browsed local handcrafted wares, sampled cigars and attended mixology classes. Here's to doing it again next year!

Below: spirits from 1512, George Dickel, Eastside Distilling, & CW Irwin.

Handcrafted jewelry from Yeahwea Wood

Custom leather work from Tanner Goods

On site straight razor shaves, and scissor-only haircuts from The Modern Man

Fine flasks from Trixie & Milo

Bowtie how-to from Bowyer & Fletcher

Music from Sassparilla

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Carlos on Portland

We asked Carlos Andre Stevens to summarize his take on Portland in 12,000 words or fewer, so he gave us 12 pictures.

Carlos is our newest Director and landed here via NYC. This artist spent many years in the wild traveling the Western States with a ski racing team.  Now he's back soaking it all in.

  

Let the eagles cry...

Willamette Valley Spring Wine Tasting

Two busloads of LAIKAns ventured to the Willamette Valley on Saturday for the Yamhill/Carlton Spring Wine Tasting event. About 30 local wineries were present with more than 75 different vinos to palette. A handful of local foodie-inspiring restaurants kept the place full of happy bellies as they tasted their way around the event space at Anne Amie Vineyard.

LAIKA NIGHT - PTFC: Back in green

A little sparkle of futbol gold resides in Portland at Jeldwen Field.

LAIKA Night at the Timbers in April proved nothing less than a saga. The Timbers finished 2-0 over the Houston Dynamo.

Tip: If excessive beer consumption and hooligan choruses aren't your thing, sit a few sections away from the Timbers Army (Section 106.) Win or lose, a trip to see the Timbers will never disappoint.

 Care to Check out their schedule?

Outdoors: Oxbow Park Overnight

Enjoy this snapshot of an Oregon spring at Oxbow Park (a 1,000-acre natural area park just outside Portland in the Sandy River Gorge). All photos captured during a weekend camping trip. The park is a well-known salmon fishing site for local native tribes and is home to black bears, osprey, cougars and escaping  Portlanders.

Eat: Tasty 'n' Alder Eatery

The Hero:

A high-flyer in Portland’s food scene, John Gorham (Toro Bravo and Tasty 'n' Sons) just opened his trifecta eatery: Tasty 'n' Alder.  This latest restaurant features a similar family-style, pro-sharing atmosphere, but with an entirely reworked menu from its sister restaurant, Tasty 'n' Sons.

Menu Hidden Gems:

The dinner menu has hit the PDX streets and here are our recommendations.

The Steakhouse Sandwich isn't really a sandwich. It's more like ordering an award winning butcher shop on a bun. The tenderly grilled house smoked beef coppa, topped with freshly-battered shoestring onions and engulfed by a local artisan's bread bun, is enough to make you carve your name into a table to claim it as your daily spot.

The Cowboy Beans are a must. Upon first bite, you will wonder why you haven't cooked beans like this all your life. This is the way legumes were meant to be consumed - in heaven cooked with ham hock & bacon fat & topped with cotija cheese. (Tip: Order the house-recipe maple cornbread served in the smallest skillet you've ever seen).

The Brazillian Fish Stew is like biting into an intricate cloud of complex flavors. The fresh, light cod is melt-in-your-mouth smooth and packed with salty, sweet sea flavors.  This dish is easy to shy away from since the name isn't all that appealing, but it is a must order for every visit. Seafood and land-food lovers alike will enjoy this masterpiece.

The Vibe:

Tasty 'n' Alder not only gets the food right, the dining space is equally inviting. Exposed woodwork, carefully selected textiles, thoughtfully paired dinnerware and a staff that isn't just there for a paycheck all with one rule: simple quality everywhere.

While you are in PDX, be sure to catch a bite at Tasty n’ Alder or one of John’s other restaurants:

Tasty 'n' Alder  - Toro Bravo - Tasty 'n' Sons

Outdoors: Sun River Spring Snowshoeing

Snow does something strange to familiar terrain. With white everywhere, the pace slows and life becomes simpler. That is if you aren’t slipping, sliding and falling on your ass, or plummeting foot first into snow banks as slushy ice crystals are shoved into your shoes.

Mt. Hood is pictured above, but the following photos were taken in Sunriver, a resort town located about three hours south from Portland near Bend.

The weekend conclusion: Snowshoes are for everyday winners, not just people with names like Bear Grylls.

- Jedidiah F

Semi-Permanent PDX

  For the first time, international traveling creative event Semi-Permanent hit Portland. Speakers included photographer Michael Muller, Bradley G Munkowitz (Gmunk), AKQA's Rei Inamoto and favorite Director/Artist Gary Baseman.

We got lucky and touched Gary's doll.