Portland Culture
Portland is well known as a hub of American DIY youth 
culture. From the late 1980s through today, Portland has been a major center for movements such as zine-making, including hosting such events as the Portland Zine Symposium and home to major zine distributors such as Microcosm. The DIY craft community has also seen a population explosion in Portland since the 1990s and now hosts such events as Crafty Wonderland and regular Church of Craft meetings.
It is home to such stores as Knittn’ Kitten, SCRAP, and many independently-owned stores such as Bolt, Yarn Garden, and the downtown Fiber District. Portland, is also home to radical feminist and lesbian activist movements as well as the home city of The Worlds Oldest Teenage Drag Queen Pageant” Rose Bud and Thorn Pageant started in 1975 and modeled after the Imperial Sovereign Rose Court of Oregon, and the city is also considered a haven for punk, hardcore, crust punk and anarchist movements and subgenres, including the self-reliant DIY culture movement that has been part of the aforementioned subcultures.
SHOPPING:
Portland has many options for shopping. Some of the 
well known shopping areas are Downtown Portland, N.W. 23rd Avenue, Pearl District, and the Lloyd District. Major department stores include Nordstrom, Macy’s, Saks 5th Avenue, and Mario’s. The major malls in the metropolitan area are Bridgeport Village, Washington Square, Clackamas Town Center, Lloyd Center, Vancouver Mall, and Pioneer Place. With a countless number of hole in the wall boutiques around every corner, there is no shortage of excellent shopping opportunities.
Another destination is The Saturday Market, a town bazaar-like environment where many kinds of goods are sold from Artisan Crafts to Tibetan Imports, reflecting the many cultures of Portland. The Saturday Market is open every weekend from March through Christmas. The Made in Oregon company is based in Portland; they specialize in Oregon produced products and gifts.
ENTERTAINMENT AND PERFORMING ARTS:
Like most large cities, Portland has a range of performing arts institutions which include the Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon Symphony, Portland Center Stage, and the Portland Opera. It also has quite a few stages similar to New York’s Off Broadway or Off-Off-Broadway such as Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, Miracle Theatre, Stark Raving Theatre, and Tears of Joy Theatre. Portland hosts the world’s only HP Lovecraft Film Festival at the Hollywood Theatre.
Portland is home to famous bands such as The Kingsmen and Paul Revere & the Raiders, both famous for Louie Louie. Other widely known musical groups include The Dandy Warhols, Everclear, Modest Mouse, Pink Martini, Sleater-Kinney, The Shins, Blitzen Trapper, The Decemberists, and the late Elliott Smith.
Widely recognized animators include Matt Groening (The Simpsons) and Will Vinton (Will Vinton’s A Claymation Christmas Celebration), and filmmaker Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, “Milk”). Actors from Portland include Sam Elliott and Sally Struthers; authors include Beverly Cleary and Chuck Palahniuk. Dan Steffan, cartoonist-illustrator for Heavy Metal and other magazines, lives in Portland.
Recent films set and shot in Portland include Body of Evidence, The Hunted, Twilight, Paranoid Park, Wendy and Lucy, Feast of Love, and Untraceable. An unusual feature of Portland entertainment is the large number of movie theaters serving beer, often with second-run or revival films. A notable example of these “brew and view” theaters is The Bagdad Theater and Pub.