Portlandia Mermaid Parade is grassroots artistic event aimed at celebrating the community’s connection to Portland’s rivers and port history as well as celebrating all things mermaid and water-myth related.

The name ‘Portlandia’ is in honor of the river goddess sculpture created by Raymond Kaskey, currently located above the entrance of the Portland Building located in downtown Portland. Portlandia is the second-largest copper repoussé statue in the United States, after the Statue of Liberty.

The Portlandia Mermaid Parade is also intended to celebrate the living culture of professional mermaid entertainers now thriving in Oregon and through out the Northwest who help to bring the magic and mythology of water myths to people everywhere. The Portlandia Mermaid Parade also recognizes the increasing struggle for creatives in the region to express their artistic ventures without the negative impacts of gentrification and other limits placed upon them.

The parade is a revitalization of Portland’s artistic energy and an opportunity for creatives to have a more public forum for fantasy-based self-expression.