PORTLAND, Ore.—One of the biggest, most common questions around here is "Ducks or beavers?"
This means, "Do you support and cheer for the University of Oregon Ducks or the Oregon State University Beavers?"
"Even if people here didn't go to one of those two schools, they will form an allegiance, for whatever reason," said Bob Baskette, tourism coordinator for Travel Portland. "I happen to be a Beavers' fan because, well, I think the University of Oregon is kind of an elitist school; they are a big-bucks school and seemingly get all of the attention. Plus, most of my friends are [Oregon State] alum."
College football is king at both schools, and for many here in the LGBT community, there are a lot of ravenous sports fans, Baskette said.
Their allegiance is strongest in the fall, with each school's distinctive colors shining bright,
The rainbow colors, though, are for the Timbers.
Many here in the LGBT community have strong support for the Portland Timbers, the 18th team playing in Major League Soccer (MLS), the same league that features the Chicago Fire.
The Timbers played their first-ever game March 19, 2011, and the team "has really captivated the gay audience," Baskette said. "The [Timbers'] games are great, a really good time. I know a lot of gay men who have season-tickets and attend every game.
"Hey, [soccer is] a sexy game."
The Timbers feature the Timbers Army, an independent fan group, known for its loud, raucous support of the team. The Timbers Army is centered in section 107 of Jeld-Wen Field, the team's home stadium, and often fills the north end of the stadium.
The Timbers Army turned into a rainbow river of sorts for the team's home game June 15 against FC Dallas, which coincided with the local pride weekend. The Timbers won the game, 1-0, and the Timbers Army section was dressed in a rainbow theme, Baskette said. "It was very cool, like gay pride [was happening] at Jeld-Wen Field."
Support here for the LGBT community extends well beyond the soccer stadium. The whole city seems to be gay-friendly, gay-accepting. There were men and women holding hands in public during an early July visit. Gay flags were commonplace, too—outside gay-owned or gay-friendly establishments, and even inside Foot Traffic, a local running and walking store.
"Portland is a very [gay-]accepting city," Baskette said. "There are not a lot of sideways glances about [gays] holding hands [in public.] I see it more and more. Portland is a pretty comfortable place to be as a gay man or lesbian."
There also is a large transgender community, Baskette said.
"Sure, Portland is not in the top 20 [domestically] of gay destinations," according to various polls, Baskette said. "And it's really difficult to compete with the gay capitols of North America, such as Chicago, New York City, Key West, Provincetown, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
"That said, anyone who comes here, I can't imagine you'd be disappointed. Portland truly is an undiscovered little gem. I think Portland is a great place to go on vacation for the LGBT community, with so much to see and do."
Portland proved to be a fun, friendly, laid-back, easy-to-navigate city with so much to offer, way more than most expect. For starters, it is a tax-free city, so shoppers will be in heaven.
Baskette said the majority of Portland's LGBT visitors come from California and Canada, with a strong support from vacationers fleeing such warm-weather destinations as Florida and Texas. Internationally, Portland is a hot spot for visitors from Australia, Germany, Holland and the UK.
Portland's Pride Weekend coincides with Father's Day and features a two-day festival along the waterfront. "Our parade has a real grassroots feeling, and people come from all over the state to walk in it," Baskette said.
The gay scene here is spread out around the city, no longer packed in one area a la Boystown in Chicago. Northwest Portland used to be known as the gay ghetto, Baskette said, where everyone within the LGBT community lived and almost all of the gay bars were on Stark Street.
Now there are gay spots around town.
"I've been to a lot of clubs, in a lot of cities, and I think Portland does quite well, holds its own for a city this size," Baskette said.
There are at least 10 gay or gay-friendly bars/clubs in Portland.
Portland also has more than 50 breweries and 500-plus food carts.
And one Voodoo Doughnut, an amazing—and perhaps baffling—store based in Portland. Originally opened in 2003, Voodoo is known for its bizarre doughnuts, the eclectic decor of its shops and its pink boxes—and people bring those boxes everywhere around town, even on airplanes when leaving Portland, and just about everywhere else. Voodoo Doughnut even offers legal wedding services and has been tagged an international tourist attraction. The second store, called Voodoo Doughnut Too, also is in Portland, while Voodoo Doughnut Tres is in Eugene, Ore.
Voodoo only accepts cash (doughnuts start at about $1 each) and there always is a line, a long line, perhaps 50 deep, just to buy such calorie-loaded gems as Bacon Maple Bar, Captain my Captain (with Captain Crunch cereal on top), The Loop (with Fruit Loops), and Marshall Mathers (with mini M&Ms on top). There also is the Gay Bar Doughnut which, according to Voodoo management, features a raised yeast doughnut chocked full of luscious cream and all of the colors of the rainbow, via Fruit Loops on top.
"I think Portland has a good, relaxed vibe, good energy and people are super friendly," said Baskette, who is openly gay and met his partner, Brian Thompson, on New Year's Eve heading into 2001 at one of this city's top gay clubs, CC Slaughters.
"Friends introduced us, but it was strange, after we got together, we realized how many people we had in common and how many events/places we probably were both at [simultaneously]."
Slaughters is, perhaps, the largest local club, with a bigger dance floor than Roscoe's in Chicago. Portland also features Boxxes Video Lounge and Silverado, featuring male exotic dancers, sans clothes.
In addition, the nightlife locally includes Scandals and Darcelle XV Showplace, among others.
Darcelle's is just a fun experience [and club owner] Darcelle has done a lot for the gay community," Baskette said. "Silverado might not be for everyone, but there are male strippers."
There is no primarily lesbian bar in Portland, Baskette said.
There are many gay-owned or gay-friendly restaurants and hotels.
"There is such a variety of things to do in Portland, certainly something for everyone," Baskette said.
Here's a look at five must-see spots in Portland:
—Powell's City of Books: Opening in 1971, Powell's is one of the world's largest bookstores, covering an entire city block and containing more than 1.5 million books in 3,500 different sections. The LGBT section spans eight bookcases, each about 10 feet high with nine shelves.
—Pittock Mansion: Soaring 1,000 feet above the skyline, this is a century-old symbol of Portland's dramatic transformation from a small lumber town to a bustling city, and it is an architectural wonder. It provides breathtaking views.
—Oregon Museum of Science & Industry: One of the nation's leading science museums, with 219,000 square-feet of fun, facts and amazement. Visitors can experience an earthquake and tour a real submarine.
—Portland Art Museum: The oldest museum in the Northwest, it is internationally-known, and features an outdoor sculpture court and more.
—Stepping Stone Café: This small dinner delivers some big pancakes, some really big pancakes. In fact, the larger-than-the-plate pancake is known as a Mancake. Most just order one; some attempt two. Three Mancakes in one serving is what attracted Man vs. Food to the restaurant.
