Portland observer., May 08, 2024, Page 6, Image 6

Page 6
May 08, 2024
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
Photo credit to Jason Quigley
St. Johns Bizarre is Back and Bigger Than Ever!
Free Street
Festival Brings
Stacked Lineup
of Iconic Bands,
Food and More
After its joyous post-COVID reviv-
al last year, the St. Johns Bizarre — one
of Portland’s most popular street fairs
— returns May 11 for its 15th year with
a record-smashing number of local craft
vendors and a stacked music lineup that
highlights the best parts of Portland’s past,
present and future.
And, as always, the Bizarre takes place
on the same day as the historic and beloved
St. Johns Parade — another Portland fa-
vorite that roared back to life last year after
a pandemic pause. Both the Parade and the
Bizarre are all-volunteer efforts that serve
to showcase the St. Johns community and
business district by bringing people from
all around the city to dance, shop for art,
eat food and more.
The St. Johns Bizarre will take place
from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the heart of
downtown St. Johns (N. Lombard and
Philadelphia). This year, thanks to a big-
ger footprint, as many as 180 vendors
— up from 141 last year — are partici-
pating, including food carts, artisans and
community groups.
This year, we’re thrilled to announce
that Team Dresch will headline the Bizarre
— a rare and must-not-miss appearance
for the beloved punk icons, who reunited
in 2019 and picked up the baton years after
helping found the queercore movement.
They’ll be joined by Northwest pop-
rock legends The Minus 5 (with Scott
McCaughey and REM’s Peter Buck),
making a special appearance at the Bi-
zarre. (If you missed them at their sold-
out show at Polaris Hall on April 19, then
this one’s for you!)
Los Angeles-based noise-rock jugger-
nauts No Age will also appear, bringing
experimental sounds that somehow man-
age to be both angry and ethereal. Check
out once-in-a-generation hip-hop veterans
Cannibal Ox, coming from New York City.
And show us a smile for local up-and-com-
ers Growing Pains, once described by Wil-
lamette Week“ as your favorite Portland
rock band’s favorite Portland rock band.”
And that’s not all — we’ll have a bevy
of other local acts playing all through the
day, including pop/Brazilian tropicália
band Caicedo, dream-pop indie-rock-
ers Queen Rodeo, dance punk stars Rad
Max and the “hiphopera” genius of
The Gard3n.
In addition, local promoters Megalith
will kick off the day on our John Street
Stage with a special showcase featuring
dub wonk and minimalist composer Carly
Barton and the experimental drone styl-
ings of Airabout.
This year, we expanded our footprint,
allowing us to add dozens more vendors.
Our craft fair will now feature a record
180 local vendors selling an impressive
array of handmade art and craft items,
joining the many eclectic shops who help
make downtown St. Johns of Portland’s
largest clusters of independent small
businesses. And with Mother’s Day com-
ing up on Sunday, May 12, the Bizarre
provides a perfect opportunity to pick
up a thoughtful and unique gift for the
mothers in your life (or, for yourself, if
you’d like!)
The Occidental Beer Garden, just off
the Plaza Stage, will be back this year,
once again sponsored by St. Johns’ very
own Occidental Brewing Co. and their
new brand, Further Beer. We’ll also be
pouring cider as a delicious gluten-free
option. Down the way, StormBreaker
Brewing Co. will be serving beer and
other wares, sponsoring our John Street
Stage — back for a second year.
This year, the Bizarre will continue to
showcase our deep commitment to pro-
tecting our planet by once again forgoing
the use of single-use plastic cups in the
Occidental Beer Garden!
Instead we’ll offer our durable —
and highly collectible! — stainless steel
Klean Kanteen pint cups, emblazoned
with beautiful artwork by Stevie Shao.