Feeling a bit lost since Covid lifted? We might be on track to returning to business-as-usual, but what does that even mean anymore? During Covid, many creators bonded online through collaborations, impassioned venting, or showing support to each other when an emphasis on art quickly vanished from the radar of public concern.

Welcome to A Walk On The Weird Side – Mermaid Edition. For this adventure, the Barbie Corvette is staying in storage, and we are borrowing Cher’s mermaid car from the movie … Mermaids. You will also be issued a mermaid tail, shell bra, and trident.

Una The Mermaid has been bringing magic and entertainment to the Pacific Northwest since 2012. She is the organizer and host of the annual Portlandia Mermaid Parade, Siren’s Ball, and The Traveling Fanta-Sea Cove.  She performs live underwater shows in her traveling mermaid tank, and if that wasn’t enough, is currently completing her PhD in Transformational Psychology.

The St Johns Neighborhood in North Portland is one of those neighborhoods I often kick myself for not visiting as often as I should. It’s a quirky little neighborhood with lots of history and nooks and crannies needing attention and frequent visits.

When most people think of mermaids, they tend to think of Disney’s Ariel; a pretty maiden with
long flowing hair, sea shells, and a glittery tail. However, this is a western romanticized version
of what is really an ancient elemental being that has been in existence since the first drop of water. Merfolk exist in almost every culture around the world, and they vary in their historical and mythological depictions.

This month’s A Walk on the Weird Side is a request from a WPU reader named Carl. It makes me happy he reached out and suggested it because that means people other than my mom are reading this column. Not that my mom reading this is a bad thing, but she is required. Hi MOM!!

The Goose Hollow Neighborhood is one of Portland’s oldest neighborhoods with a rich sense of history and place. Remnants of the neighborhood’s history can be found on the sidewalks, MAX stations and art installations. For this trip to Goose Hollow, I suggest leaving the Barbie Corvette in the garage and taking the MAX as parking is at a premium. Tri-Met has a very informative guide to the art installations along the MAX lines and I recommend you pick up a copy.

Portland, we love you and all that you have stood for over the last few months. Weird Portland United has granted over $3,000 to Portlanders dedicated to bringing joy to our community during COVID conditions. However, we feel we can do more. We will be looking into how Weird Portland United can support our community in the current climate. 

We brought you Carlos the Rollerblader and Spencer Sprocket last month, but the weird just keeps coming! We are honored and excited to announce the winners of our second round of #KeepWeirdAlive grants. Strawberry Pickle and Sundari Devi Franklin aren’t wasting any time while Covid-19 and systemic racism plague our city… they are hard at working making Portland a better place to live.

Beside the occasional drug bust and abandoned meth house, ours is a fairly quiet place. The neighborhood is a mix of old and new construction. The houses behind ours are older homes with large, spacious backyards which are often the settings for loud, drunken social gatherings and forest fire-inducing bonfires. If you look at the grass in the southwest corner of our yard, you will see a small path leading from one fence to another. We call this the Kitty Highway and it is used by the neighborhood cats and trash pandas to get from point A to B.

Virginia Rankin loves bright colors and wacky costumes complete with tiaras and sequins, so it makes sense that she’d be a member of Weird Portland United. But what sets Virginia apart from the rest is that she is about to celebrate her 101st birthday on Friday, May 22nd. Indeed, Virginia is Weird Portland United’s oldest member, so in honor of her special day we are asking the community to help us celebrate with a drive-by birthday procession from 3-4 PM.

In 2008, Forbes Magazine named the Rose City Park Neighborhood the 9th most overpriced neighborhood in the country. This comfortable neighborhood of mid-century homes plays host to plentiful bars, coffee shops, restaurants and a historic golf course. It is a warm and welcoming neighborhood to visit with plenty of iconic businesses and quirky finds.

Our friend and fellow creative Rob Corpuz isn’t taking the extra time he’s spending at home for granted, he’s up to something BIG! You know Rob, he’s the photographer behind our Spirit of Portland photoshoot last summer, a project that brought together luminaries of Portland’s past, present and future for a bright and shining moment during the Proud Boys/Antifa protest.

During these crazy times of social distancing, our community can still come together by helping support local businesses and makers. It’s the small businesses, food carts, local galleries and gift shops that make Portland the weird and wonderful place we call home.

Portland is notable for achieving all sorts of world records such as Evil Knievel’s motorcycle jump over 17 vans, as well as the world’s smallest city park. But did you know we were Keeping Portland Weird all the way back in 2006 when a special Drag Queen Chorus Line took place in Pioneer Square? Indeed, the World Record Chorus Line attracted 69 men of all ages and sexual orientations who danced their hearts out with Darcelle, Poison Waters and Jinkx Monsoon!

With the Covid-19 pandemic taking the world by storm, these are unprecedented times to say the least. With much uncertainty about what tomorrow may bring for our nation, our families, and our own personal health, Samantha’s Hess’ work is more important than ever. For information about Skype or telephone sessions, contact her here.

If I were ever to write a gritty crime novel, I would set it in the Montavilla Neighborhood. Not because it’s scary, but because it’s very eccentric and very Portland. There are old classic houses proudly flying pride flags next to dilapidated crumbling homes with sheets for curtains. There are old apartment buildings that could easily be the setting for an intriguing crime novel where drug dealers, sex workers, flat broke college students (and an alcoholic P.I.) cohabitate together. Like a dirtier, sexier Tales of The City.

We were very pleased to announce the inductees to the Weird Portland Hall of Fame at the Weird Portland Gala on November 7th. The crowd went wild when we announced each of the names, echoing our love and respect for each of the individuals. Read more about our inductees here!

If Dr. Seuss were to design a neighborhood, it would be Piedmont. Each house my husband and I passed on our tour of this very walkable neighborhood was my new favorite.(Specifically in the Gainsboro Subdivision) There are hobbit homes, homes with turrets, bungalows, condos, homes where trolls probably live, homes for middle-aged goth children, factory workers and more.

Located east of the Willamette River, the Brooklyn Neighborhood snuggles up against Reed College and is home to popular attractions such as Edelweiss, Pok Pok Wings, Original Hotcake House and everyone’s favorite superfund site, Ross Island. Since most people know about those destinations, I’m not going spend any time on them, and instead feature some of the more interesting places worth a visit.