With summer on the way out and the cool breeze of fall moving in I’ve been trying to spend as much time outside as I can. This weekend I went to Portland’s Saturday Market. The market is an outdoor arts and crafts festival held down at the waterfront most Saturdays. There are hundreds of stalls with people selling all kinds of things, mostly jewelry though. Live bands, lots of glass beads, hemp garments, and food carts; all things Portland. And most things I’ve never found myself wanting to pay money for. But it’s nice to see people shopping locally and making art of various kinds. Not only is this a great place to shop but it’s a great place to people watch. Only in Portland can you see a man ranting about sin and the apocalypse while a girl with a Cheshire cat grin stands in front of him holding a sign that says, “Smile if you masturbate.” The above picture is of a man about to juggle knives while standing on a balance board. Nobody was cut. With the holidays coming up I might have to go back and peruse the booths more. Somebody in my life might want a hand carved didgeridoo.
After leaving the Saturday Market I stumbled onto the Belmont Street Fair. This is a once a year event and was more of the same, just held in a different part of town. Again, it was nice to see people out enjoying the weather and each others company. Keep Portland Shopping.