Dear amazing listeners-                                                                                                                                                                                                    This week we’re trying something a bit different. To listen to individual parts of this week’s portrait, simply explore and  click each of the photos below. If you’d rather listen to the piece in its entirety, you can still find that at the bottom of the post!

“We look at places where people aren’t and they seem more pristine, they seem wilder. But every place on earth is wilderness and is nature when you look at it in a particular light.” – Becky Lerner

This week we’re exploring the hidden wonders of Portland’s sidewalks and alleyways.  Rebecca Lerner is an Urban Forager…. she finds foods, medicines, even smokeables, growing in places that most of us walk, bike, or drive by everyday.

Walking down a city street with Becky is like going on a nature-walk, as she is constantly spotting seemingly normal plants and revealing their hidden ‘talents’. Whether you’re hungry, feeling sick, or looking for something to roll up and smoke, this week’s post has something for everyone.

 As a young, smart, funny woman, Becky has helped bring a great deal of attention to Urban Foraging.

Her blog about Urban Foraging, First Ways, is extremely popular. She’s also been featured in magazines, newspapers and websites, and even has a viral video on YouTube!

So join us this week as we explore the sidewalks and back-alleys of Northeast Portland.

Click on the in-picture links to listen to segments of this week’s piece

Distracted by pictures? Here’s the piece in its entirety for ya!

Check some beautiful beer photography here and here!

This week we’re exploring a subject very close to my heart, and (quickly growing) belly.

Beer is to Portland as wine is to France. Yea, you folks in Germany or Belgium may think you’ve got centuries of tradition on your side, but as the new kid on the block, Portland is quickly becoming recognized as one of the beer capitals of the world.

Portland has more than 40 breweries within its city limits, more than any other city in the world!

Portland beer has been receiving a lot of attention recently, but beer is worthless without great people to drink it! So this week, we’re focusing on some of the people who help define drinking culture here.

Join us as we toast this great city and the great people in it.

Cheers!

Big thanks to everyone who helped with this week’s episode.

You can check out John Foyston’s blog here. Create your own hoppy masterpiece at Portland U-Brew, or simply grab a cold one at Coalition Brewing.

Alright people. Put your spandex shorts on, tighten those helmets and oil your gears, because this week we’re focusing in on bicycling in Portland!

For anyone who may not know, this city is freakin’ obsessed with biking. In fact, we’re ranked as the world’s second friendliest bike city (after Amsterdam…go figure). Within the city you’ll find bike lanes, bike-up coffee shops, biker bars (not the Harley Davidson kind), bike parties, bike festivals, and, as we’ll hear, bike races.

One of the best parts of cycling in Portland is all the different type of people you find yourself pedaling next to. You may end up biking alongside people headed to work, getting some exercise, picking up their kids, or just heading to the bars (my personal favorite).

Portland has also gained a reputation for its infamous ‘freak bike’ scene. Freak bikes, like a few of the ones pictured below, encompass anything hand-made and out of the ordinary.

The eccentricities on display every day in any given bike-lane definitely contribute to the city’s theme of:

‘Keep Portland Weird’.

So hop on that bike, pop in those ear-buds, and take a leisurely cruise with us as we explore the PDX bike scene.

Check out some more pictures while you listen!  

For more information on biking in this fine city of ours, be sure to check out the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

Big thanks to ‘The Contractor’ for the Portland homegrown music!

This week’s portrait focuses on two Portlanders at very different points in their artistic journeys, yet both deeply inspired by our city.

Obo Addy is a Ghanaian Master Drummer, and credited as one of the first Africans to popularize the genre that became known as “worldbeat”. He settled in the Northwest more than three decades ago, after becoming popular in Ghana and Europe in the early ‘70s.

Ben Larsen, only 23 years old, has been living and working as a professional musician in Portland for around a year. A mandolin virtuoso, Ben is proof that determination, hard-work, and perhaps a bit of God-given talent can allow a performer to stand out, even in a city with thousands of musicians.

This week’s portrait is an experiment in comparison. What happens when you intertwine the thoughts and aspirations of two performers at very different stages in their lives and careers? What striking differences do you hear? What similarities?

Listen and find out, on this week’s edition of the Portland Portrait.