Ten whole years of Portland Art and Heritage. We’re honored, and we’re endlessly thankful to every visitor, vendor, volunteer, performer, sponsor, and collaborator who made our tenth anniversary celebration the best it could be. Which is to say, it was amazing! Just like every year we put our everything into celebrating our Portland neighborhood community, and this year the love was felt all around perhaps more than ever before. Here’s to ten more fairs! Keep reading to see some of the things that made this year one-of-a-kind:
2023:
Tin-Ten Year Anniversary
The story of this year’s Fair actually starts the Thursday before it, as the Filson Historical Society put on a trolly tour of some of Portland’s most storied sites led by two of our favorite neighborhood treasures: Danny Seim and Ed “Nardie” White! Stops included historical favorites like Shippingport Island, the Marine Hospital, and the Portland Memorial Baptist Church alongside modern favorites like Love City and Louisville Visual Art. Attendees versed in neighborhood history and completly new to it alike were treated to Seim and White’s expertise and fun banter.
Fair day started as has been tradition for five years now: the Portland Almost 5K. New this year though was the starting line, now housed in Lannan Park, and the entry price of $4.99, or almost $5. The course ran over the bridge and onto Shippingport Island and back, and winners were awarded with gift cards from Fleet Feet. While some winners were the overall fastest, other awardees included tenth place for the Fair’s tenth anniversary, the fastest with a stroller, the fastest with a pet, the runner with the oldest Fair t-shirt, and more!
Right after the Almost 5K was the returning Kentucky Yoga Initiative‘s free yoga course in the Portland Museum’s front yard! Participating visitors were treated to an hour of intense, yet relaxing, exercise. You can also peak in the photo the returning Louisville Fire Department, who handed out fire-safety goodies and information to visiting kids.
Moving into the museum, this year’s Fair sported the debut of what some are calling our best rotating exhibit yet: Made In Portland. Composed entirely of artists with homes, studios, or family roots in Portland this show sure showed both Portlanders and neighborhood visitors just what creativity is possible and happening in our community.
We wanted Made In Portland to produce from it even more creativity, so we got busy in Beech Grove Press and put together an interactive AHOY Catfish Club activity! Visitors used crayons to answer why they love Portland, and what adventure means to them.
Outside and shedding the mask this year was DJ Shawn Hennessey from Squallis Puppeteers, who spun vinyl all day and treated our visitors and vendors to an eclectic mix of sound! DJ Shawn then followed-up the Fair with another live performance at Portland’s own Shippingport Brewing, who was also present at the Fair serving delicious beer.
At 2PM the main event of the Fair began with a live performance by the Louisville Leopard Percussionists. This outstanding group of kids hauled in all their keys, drums, sticks, and more then took the stage for a massive crowd! They played rock hits and cleverly delegated different instruments to different age groups. For the finale, the youngest Leopards took to the lawn and had an adorable egg-shaker dance party!
Keeping the music going all day was the Louisville Academy of Music, who brought back their instrumental petting zoo bigger and better than ever! Visiting kids got the opportunity to learn a crash course in various acoustic and even electric instruments from experienced players. Multiple impromptu concerts broke out in the backyard!
A new activity at this year’s fair was a calligraphy workshops with the fantastic Jen Grove from Lettersong Calligraphy Studio. She is an absolute pro, and everyone who got the chance to learn from her or just see her in action was blown away!
Also working with ink was Shannon Delahanty, who spent the day teaching kids the wonders of the letterpress in Beech Grove Press. This year’s custom poster was themed after the Leopards’ performance, and many of the performers got to take home the memento after finishing it themselves!
New to the Fair, but also the oldest print project on the scene, was the Portland Anchor Newspaper! Tabled up by the returning Printed zinemaking workshop, Anchor volunteer Elijah Humble proudly represented the neighborhood staple and brought in a few new subscriptions too!
Squallis Puppeteers also returned with their beloved fingerpuppet workshop, which was a huge hit with the kids as usual! Some of their puppets, including Colonel Sanders, were even spotted perusing the fairgrounds.
And hey, as we say every year in these write-ups: what’s a Fair without food? This year visitors were treated to fine barbeque meats from Haitian Exotica, shakes and sweets from the Hip Hop Sweet Shop, and lemonade from Amiracle Ade and Mz. Vee’s.
This is just a small sample of all the different people and organizations who were working out of Portland Museum’s backyard that day. New and returning faces alike shared their art, clothes, jewelry, information, massages, and more with our community! Find the full list of vendors her.
Before we end this recap, we have to mention that on Sunday the Louisville Ballet premiered the filmed version of their Portland-themed 2021 #CHORSHOW featuring multiple unique dances themed around treasures from our archive and neighborhood figures. It was a delight to see our neighborhood’s past, present, and future brought to the world of performance.
As always, all of this is possible thanks to support from our community. Huge thanks to everyone who visited, participated, or spread the word. This is all for you, and we’re thankful that you all come out and enjoy every year.
Before we go, we’d also like to thank this year’s fair sponsors. Without them, this would all be a lot less possible!
See you all next year, and the year after that, and the year after that!
