Citywide ‘Weird Fest’ happened in Sellwood, at Oaks Park

Published 12:00 am Sunday, December 22, 2024

For the first time ever, the Rose City’s Weird Portland United (WPU) organization held an outdoor special event on September 7th that they called the first annual “Portland Weird Festival” – and it was at historic, nonprofit Oaks Amusement Park.

The festival offered dozens of “Weird Vendors” selling unique and offbeat items – from peculiar antiques, to imaginative handmade crafts. And, throughout the day, five local “Weird Bands” performed – pushing the boundaries of genre and performance.

“In years past, WPU has done fundraising with our ‘Weird Gala’,” recalled the organization’s President and event organizer, Christine Lassiter, whose alter ego was a unicorn centaur named “Aurelia Stardancer”.

“This year we wanted to do something that touched upon all the different aspects of our mission statement: ‘Celebrate, amplify, and incubate all things weird’ – by hosting this public festival,” Lassiter told THE BEE. “So, we thought the best way to do this was by creating a ‘Weird Festival’ that features a considerable cross-section of ‘all things weird’ here in Portland, which we’re successfully doing here today.”

In addition to purveyors of the weird and wacky, the festival also featured:

Weird Pie Eating Contest: A pie-eating challenge like no other

Family-Friendly Free Weird Games: A variety of whimsical games and activities designed for kids

Pop-Up Movie Theater: Showing a curated selection of weird local short films

“In the end, the best thing that can come out of this is that people who were not part of the ‘weird community’, or didn’t know much about it, could come here and be part of it and appreciate it,” remarked Lassiter. “And, maybe, maybe by being part of our celebration, it’ll spark a little weirdness in them, too!”