The Portland Saturday Market (and Sunday too)

By: Laura Sabo  Not to be confused with the plethora of Portland Farmers Markets that bless our metropolitan area, the Portland Saturday Market is a marketplace unlike any other.  Founded in 1974, the Portland Saturday Market is the largest continually operating outdoor arts and crafts marketplace in the United States featuring over 250 artists from across the Northwest.  Centered in Portland’s historic Old Town District, the market has expanded and spilled across the street onto the waterfront of the Willamette River.
 

You won’t find a head of lettuce or flowers here, but what you can find are artisans selling their handmade works of art; everything from candles to musical instruments to garden art to glass pieces to wood and metal works.  My personal favorite is Spoonman Creations where metal master, Mike Kelly, will make anything out of recycled flatware and other kitchen utensils.  Mike is one of the few original vendors still at the Portland Saturday Market.  Perfect for that hard-to-buy person is the fork or knife headwear.  I’d say this stuff is priceless but it’s really reasonable.  Both of the fork or knife headwear will set you back $7.00.  Now that’s recession proof.
 

Thirty unique food vendors set up shop every weekend, each trying to lure us in with sweet scent of whatever’s cooking on their grills and stoves  wafting through the air.  Among them are Chowder Heads who make homemade clam chowder, hand breaded fish with fresh sliced chips or Angelina’s Greek Cuisine who craft gyros made of beef and lamb traditionally grilled on a spit.  Cloud Cap Coffee Works custom blends espresso drinks and coffee made from locally roasted coffee beans from sustainable sources.

Don’t even think about leaving without the ubiquitous elephant ears.  Sugar rush anyone?
 

Portland Saturday Market

108 W. Burnside, Portland
(503) 222-6072
 

Saturday 10:00-5:00 pm, Sunday 11:00-4:30 pm (February 28th-December 24th)