 SPEED RACERS: Mother Pluckers’ Amy Hojnowski and Helena Jonsson test out their nest. IMAGE: Mike Perrault |
PHOTOS: Mike Perrault
At 10 am this Saturday, Aug. 22, 39 handmade cars, some of them rickety art projects, some of them marvels of engineering, all of them piloted by dedicated maniacs, will careen a half mile down Mount Tabor at up to 40 mph for the amusement of the Adult Soapbox Derby’s 3,000 expected spectators. Most of those maniacs are men. Lauren Creany heads up the 10-woman Mother Pluckers, one of a handful of all-female teams participating in the Derby, now in its 13th year. The team’s car, Creany’s third (the first was a bathtub, which “totally crashed on the first run”), is a rolling bird’s nest, complete with a watchful mother bird and a pair of eggs. Creany says she formed her first team in 2006 because her husband, Brian Creany (his team, Drunken Pig, will also race this year), spent so much time working on his car. “It takes a phenomenal amount of time and energy, so I was like, ‘I need my own car,’” she says. “It’s a lot of work to build a soapbox car that someone is willing to get into.”
SEE IT: The 13th Adult Soapbox Derby takes place at Mount Tabor Park, Southeast 64th Avenue and Salmon Street. Races begin at 10 am and continue until 4 pm. See soapboxracer.com for details. All ages.
Headout Picks
WEDNESDAY AUG. 19
[STAGE] MANOR OF ART/RISK REWARD
Hand2Mouth Theatre curates new performance art as part of Milepost 5’s massive art party. Performers include: House of Cunt alumna Angela Fair, manic dancer Janet Pants, singer/ranter Convenient Noise and Hand2Mouth’s creepy rock-’n’-roll fairly tale, Undine. Milepost 5, 900 NE 81st Ave., 729-3223. 6:30-9 pm Wednesday-Thursday Aug. 19-20. Free, donations encouraged.
THURSDAY AUG. 20
[MUSIC] PISSED JEANS
Pennsylvania’s Pissed Jeans are kinda like the Jesus Lizard, only less manic-depressive and more sexy. Dirty music belongs in a club this, well, dirty. Satyricon, 125 NW 6th Ave., 227-0999. 8 pm. $10. All ages.
[WORDS] BURNSIDE REVIEW
The Portland poetry journal unveils its special all-Oregon edition with an “all-star” launch by a laundry list of writers plus music by Richmond Fontaine’s Willy Vlautin. Wieden Kennedy Atrium, 224 NW 13th Ave., 224-8499. 7 pm. $5 suggested donation.
FRIDAY AUG. 21
[SCREEN] INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
A hymn to the crass, disreputable power of cinema. With Nazi-scalpin’. So, pretty much everything this paper stands for. Regal Pioneer Place Stadium 6, 340 SW Morrison St., 295-0909, and other locations.
[MUSIC] SMMMR BMMR
Tired of wimpy folk rock? The first day of the SMMR BMMR festival features some of the noisiest bands around, including Thee Oh Sees, Eat Skull and Sic Alps. Rotture, 315 SE 3rd Ave., 234-5683. 5 pm. $12. 21+.
SATURDAY AUG. 22
[WORDS] LIVE WIRE!
Portland’s favorite live radio variety show hits the big, big stage at the Gerding. This round includes artist Reggie Watts, Reno 911! star Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Thomas Lauderdale to preview bits of the updated musical Oregon! Oregon! Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., 445-3700. 8 pm. $20-$30.
TUESDAY AUG. 25
[MUSIC] BENEFIT FOR THE KRIS JENSEN MEMORIAL FUND
YACHT, Au, Copy and May Ling come together to raise money for the late Kris Jensen, mother of Parenthetical Girls’ keyboardist Rachael Jensen. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 239-7639. 8:30 pm. $5-15 sliding scale. 21+.
