Field Work | Objects & Jewelry - A unique store located on the first floor of Portland's Milepost 5, Field Work deals in crafts with a third world motif, and is open to selling works on consignment. The primary focus is jewelry, but they also plan on carrying "magazines, books, re-purposed vintage, and other treasures and oddities"
Find out more here.
Last Thursday - A rollicking, ongoing experiment in free enterprise. On the last Thursday of the month, people from all over town set up on the sidewalks of Porltand's N.E. Alberta street. No set fees. Pretty much no rules of any kind. During the months from May through November, the streets are cleared of cars from 6pm to 10pm (when police come to make sure the road is open to traffic). Closed during the colder months, though there seems to be some lesser degree of activity during February to April.
This street fair has its own share of controversy. Some neighbors get peeved once a month, but politicians seem to be wary of it for other reasons. The way that some people express their freedom can be troubling to some, but when a little girl's lemonade stand was shut down by city inspectors in 2010, the public backlash served to give Last Thursday a kind of free pass for a while. It remains to be seen whether Last Thursday's anarchic nobody-in-charge style will be able to continue, or whether it will shift to hierarchy, fees and rules.
One note: Arts and craft work have been seeming to diminish in importance at this event as it seems to become more of a street party. Those trying to sell their arts and crafts might be disappointed.
A great place to find out about this venue.
For information about the neighborhood, check here.
Wikipedia thinks it worthy of a mention.
