During its seven years on air, Portlandia has garnered a sizable following. But, the reaction to the show in its namesake city hasn't been all good.
In fact, a lot of Portlanders actively distance themselves from the tropes made popular by Portlandia. (Example: The woman in our recent feature on tattoo removal who got a bird zapped off her arm because, she says, "I make fun of myself. Have you seen Portlandia? It's like, put a bird on it!")
Still, for its part, the Hi-Lo Hotel in downtown Portland thinks the places the show highlighted and made popular deserve to be celebrated. It's decided to piece together a Portlandia-themed guest package in time for the show's tenth and final season, which premires on January 18.
For $339 to $699, guests who book the Portlandia package get Voodoo Doughnuts, a $50 gift certificate to Tasty & Son's, a Pedi-cab to the "Keep Portland Weird" sign, Voodoo Doughnuts and Powell's, and a "Portlandia Activity Book" created by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein.
"We created the package around IFC's (the network the show airs on) 'where to go in Portland if you're a Portlandia fan' blog," says Hi-Lo's director of sales and marketing, Julie Carreira.
Carreira is hopeful that the package will be popular, because she says, "[It's] showcasing some of Portland's most visited sites. It's not highlighting anything negative. They're just places and things that Portlandia has highlighted in the show."
If anything, maybe now you have a place to send those relatives who jokingly accuse you of joining a cult every time you make moral eating decisions.