Darth Vader wearing a kilt riding a unicycle.
You may or may not have heard Portland, Oregon’s motto, slogan, tagline, whatever you wanna call it: “Keep Portland Weird.” Portland is known for its weirdness, which has been exposed by the Portlandia show, but Portlanders love it and embrace it.
I was known to be pretty weird when I was younger, very often described as “random.” Random was and probably is one of my characteristics. I seem to say and do things that people consider random. I can attest to the fact that Portland is random and weird, and I love it.
Below you will find a series of photos that I have collected since I got here over a year ago that give you just a glimpse of Portland’s slogan.
These two guys from Oregon Potatoes where happy to get some attention at their booth. (It seems they weren’t as popular as the other booths).
That is a “fishy apple” (you can’t see its fishtail), for labeling GMO foods. “Are we eating fishy food?” It was especially funny to see it drive away.
The tattoo from the cashier at the local Salt & Straw ice cream shop.
An old gas station turned into a diner.
A unique character in the street.
A man walks his Husky dog and his kid in a backpack in cold weather.
Micro houses.
The brewbike taking drunk people around a brewery tour in Portland.
A pink trolley.
The art at a teahouse.
The sign outside a barbershop.
The outdoor art sign of a coffee shop.
The hair products inside the barbershop.
And the complimentary drinks inside the barbershop.
Shirtless guy getting free ice cream.
The line to voodoo doughnuts.
Elvis setting up to play.
Guys wearing beer hats.
The Zombie truck. “Zombies don’t like fast food”
A quinceañera by the waterfront.
A security guy arresting Jack Sparrow or Johnny Depp?
The Batmobile.
Free chalk for people to use.
Tin man.
Hairdos.
Happy metal statues.
Superheroes for sale at a shop downtown.
Eating their own poop.
But I think the prize goes to Darth Vader wearing a kilt, riding a unicycle and playing a bagpipe:
And these are just things I have personally seen, I can’t imagine all the weird things that go on around.
What is the weirdest thing you’ve seen in your town?
Update: I just found out that unicycle Darth Vader guy shoots flames from his bagpipe. True story.