Yesterday’s temporary transformation of the Hawthorne Bridge into a river-spanning park was impressive, creative, refreshing, unusual, fun, and cute. But the event’s name, Brunch on the Bridge, was something of a misnomer.
In front of the event entrance, Voodoo Doughnut gave away all 666 pounds of their record-setting World’s Largest Box of Doughnuts (in true Voodoo style, nearly tripling the previous record). But inside, Stumptown struggled to keep up with the demand for complimentary coffee at the center of the bridge, and mimosas were an extra $5. Many attendees wondered why a $25 food-emphasizing event left them either hungry or reaching farther into their wallets. Maybe our hopes were too high, but Portlanders take brunch seriously, and bite-sized samples from a handful of vendor booths do not a brunch make.
Granted, it was a charity event, and a lot of the proceeds will go to B-Shares to help feed people who can’t afford to sit down at Cup & Saucer every weekend like some of us do. And of course there is a cost to a project of this scale and the months of planning and work that made it happen. But maybe it should have been called “BYOBrunch on the Bridge.”
PDX Bridge Fest’s closing party tonight (happening now until 1 a.m.) may redeem this minor disappointment with a more cost-effective $10 for seven hours of music.
Every time I walk past a Cup and Saucer, I want to walk in and paint some pottery.
They figured if they called if “25-dollar Donut on the Bridge” they wouldn’t get as many suck–ah, revelers.
The event was a disspointment. Part of it couldn’t be helped by the organizers; who’d expect cloudy skys and cold wind in August? But the overwhelming lack of ammenities or food was annoying. The farmers market at PSU has better food options.
Every time I walk past a Cup and Saucer I just keep walking. 3 shitty visits, lame food, lines, shitty service and irritating hipsters/wanna be artists galore. It’s all yours.
Blatantly falling short of the description for the event, I’m surprised if anyone will bother next year. The weather wasn’t that bad but the ‘array’ of offerings was abysmal and in no way showcased the Portland’s ‘finest’. Big thumbs down for the organizer’s ability to turn what clearly has potential for an outstanding event into a belly flop. Lame effort.
“Attendees are welcome to sample from an array of brunch-y foods (which is included in the cost of entry), purchase food from the vendor food court, or bring their own picnic baskets to the event. “
“Tickets to the Brunch on the Bridge are $25 for regular entry and include a sample of Portland’s finest products from leading natural food companies in the region.”
That festival is run by burning man types. Their objective is to extract money from you to hire themselves and their friends.
Hmm.. rereading the copy from their website, they overwhelmingly under-delivered on what was promised.
There is absolutely no way I’d every give money to this organization again. It would have been better to just donate directly to B-Shares instead of supporting the useless fucks at Portland Bridge Festival.
Happily, I forgot to buy tickets. I walked over the bridge, witnessed how lame the event was, and spent my money on brunch at the Veritable Quandary instead.
As I commented elsewhere previously, the organizers definitely kept it vague enough to mislead people, but the media didn’t help clarify anything either, by asking for some basic details.
Of course, it was pretty impossible to find anyone to ask. I’m patting myself on the back for correctly reading between the lines to sense one wasn’t really going to get brunch, even for $25. Hey, make it whatever event you want, but be upfront about what you get and don’t get. If it costs too much to put on, bag it. (or order carry out)