portlandia: something for everyone

My previous blog showed the idealistic, serious, earth-loving type of Portlander that can be found everywhere. However, what I love about the city is the variety of quirky, crazy people who congregate there. You can find something for every fringe group. I once went back to visit and planned to meet some friends of mine at a local bar. I called an hour ahead to reserve a table for 12 of us and was told that there might not be room because the "Pirates were in town." I had no idea what they were talking about. My friend told me that yes the pirates of Seattle and Oregon gather once a month in Portland and take over the town, acting raucous and piratey. Supposedly the Seattle pirates sail down (although I bet a few of them cruise down IH 5 on 4 wheels) and meet their Portland comrades and they proceed to drink and party all weekend in their pirate get-up. We saw plenty of pirates that night.

The show Portlandia creates hilarious caricatures of the different types of people who live in Portland. The first show started with this song which captures it well. Enjoy.