As a recent transplant to Portland and the wonders of the Pacific Northwest, I was excited to hear about a new queer-oriented nerd event taking place this week: the All Things Nerdy Bar Crawl - what looks to be 150 or more Portland area queer nerds going from bar to bar downtown, all in support of the Portland AIDS Walk this September. I got in touch with event organizer Andrew Shayde to discuss the inception of the event and its goals.
Can you briefly describe the bar crawl for our readers? Who do you hope will attend? (You've already got over 140 Facebook RSVPs!)
Andrew: The All Things Nerdy Bar Crawl is a 3 bar pub crawl aimed at LGBTQ folks and our allies. I’m hoping all 3 stops are packed with nerdy-awesomeness. Everyone is asked to Cosplay, LARP, wear a geeky t-shirt, or nerd swag like suspenders and a bow tie. Anything goes.
What inspired you to organize the bar crawl?
Andrew: I plan a themed Bar Crawl each year. We’ve done Holidays, Uniforms, and Togas but this is the one I’m most excited about as a self-identified nerd myself. I wanted a theme that can bring people together and give us conversation topics along the crawl route.
Portland is a pretty geeky city - in comics alone, we have Dark Horse Comics based in the area, not to mention creators like Greg Rucka and Matt Fraction. On top of that, the NY Times recently listed Portland as one of the most heavily LGBTQ cities in the country. What do you think makes the city so geek- and LGBTQ-friendly?
I believe Portland is open-minded enough to say, ‘Hey, Andrew is 33 years old and wants to dress up as the Red Power Ranger out in the club… AWESOME!’ Here in PDX we get to hang on to childhood loves longer. Geek is chic here.
4. What are your goals/hopes for the event?
I want this event to raise money for AIDS Walk Portland through raffles and drink specials, but most important to connect people. I know a drag queen who loves Dungeons and Dragons, a bear who loves X-men, a lesbian who fan girls over Sailor Moon, and a twink who’s into Star Trek. We have a love for nerdy, pop culture, things and we get to share that on this one night.
The All Things Nerdy Bar Crawl is this Saturday, March 28th, in downtown Portland, OR, at the following bars:
Scandals - 7pm-9pm
CC Slaughters - 9pm-11pm
Silverado - 11pm-12:30pm
