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About the Parade...Now celebrating its 10th year, the Portlandia Mermaid Parade remains a free, grassroots celebration of community, creativity, and aquatic magic. Founded in 2016 as a 'for-us-by-us' event for local merfolk, this event has grown into a sea of dazzling creativity and ever-growing participation—where more fins, friends, and fantastical visions join the tide each year.
We honor Portland’s enduring relationship with its rivers, the city’s rich port history, and the deep well of global water mythologies—from ancient lore to modern fantasy, from river spirits to sirens of the deep. The name Portlandia pays homage to the river goddess sculpture by artist Raymond Kaskey, who created the monumental copper statue that presides over downtown Portland. As the second-largest repoussé statue in the United States—surpassed only by the Statue of Liberty—Portlandia embodies strength, guardianship, and civic pride. These are the same values that guide our parade. The Portlandia Mermaid Parade is also a celebration of the thriving professional mermaid community in Oregon and throughout the Pacific Northwest—artists and entertainers who bring the enchantment of merfolk to life, inspiring awe and wonder across generations. As Portland continues to evolve, we recognize the mounting challenges that creatives face—displacement, gentrification, and shrinking access to public, expressive space. This parade is an act of joyful resistance and cultural revitalization: a space where artists, dreamers, and sea-loving spirits can take up space, share their gifts, and embody fantasy in full color. We gather not just to dazzle, but to transform—to celebrate imagination, resist erasure, and honor the living waters that connect us all. |
The Merfolk Mission
The Portlandia Mermaid Parade & Festival exists to celebrate the magic of water, the beauty of creative expression, and the power of community. Anchored in the spirit of stewardship, equity, and joy, our mission is to honor the diverse stories of water and uplift all people—across race, gender, orientation, ability, age, body type, and background.
We are a movement of merfolk, dreamers, artists, and magical folk committed to making waves of change. Through performance, pageantry, and play, we amplify the voices too often left out of the spotlight. We believe that the ocean, like our community, thrives in diversity and that justice and imagination are currents that must flow together.
As the grand finale of PDX S.P.L.A.S.H. Month (Stewardship, Preservation, Local, Arts, Sustainability, and Heritage), we unite the public in a multi-day celebration of water and wonder. With parades, parties, and performances, we conjure a world where art, advocacy, and aquatic enchantment collide.
We reimagine civic space as inclusive, magical, and empowering. We honor our environment, lift up local artists and culture-bearers, and stand firmly for racial and social justice.
Because mermaids don’t just sparkle—they swim for something.
We are a movement of merfolk, dreamers, artists, and magical folk committed to making waves of change. Through performance, pageantry, and play, we amplify the voices too often left out of the spotlight. We believe that the ocean, like our community, thrives in diversity and that justice and imagination are currents that must flow together.
As the grand finale of PDX S.P.L.A.S.H. Month (Stewardship, Preservation, Local, Arts, Sustainability, and Heritage), we unite the public in a multi-day celebration of water and wonder. With parades, parties, and performances, we conjure a world where art, advocacy, and aquatic enchantment collide.
We reimagine civic space as inclusive, magical, and empowering. We honor our environment, lift up local artists and culture-bearers, and stand firmly for racial and social justice.
Because mermaids don’t just sparkle—they swim for something.
💙 A Wave of Gratitude
The Portlandia Mermaid Parade & Festival would not be possible without the magic, generosity, and collaboration of our incredible community partners—past and present—who have helped us make waves of wonder across the city and beyond.
Whether through creative support, financial contribution, performance partnerships, artistic collaboration, or sheer mermaid spirit, these organizations have contributed to our growth, visibility, and sparkle in immeasurable ways.
To every artist, volunteer, donor, and dreamer who has swum beside us over the years: thank you for believing in a world where merfolk take to the streets, art reclaims public space, and community shines as bright as bioluminescent tidepools.
Together, we enchant the city—one fin-flip at a time. 🌊✨
The Portlandia Mermaid Parade & Festival would not be possible without the magic, generosity, and collaboration of our incredible community partners—past and present—who have helped us make waves of wonder across the city and beyond.
Whether through creative support, financial contribution, performance partnerships, artistic collaboration, or sheer mermaid spirit, these organizations have contributed to our growth, visibility, and sparkle in immeasurable ways.
To every artist, volunteer, donor, and dreamer who has swum beside us over the years: thank you for believing in a world where merfolk take to the streets, art reclaims public space, and community shines as bright as bioluminescent tidepools.
Together, we enchant the city—one fin-flip at a time. 🌊✨
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How to ParticipateThe Portlandia Mermaid Parade is family and ADA friendly event. It is FREE to particpate. We highly encourage individuals to dress-up and join the parade. Registration is free and you can sign through the registration link found on the home page. Spectators may come see the parade anywhere along the parade route which starts at the Japanese Historical Plaza and makes it way down to Poet's Beach along the downtown Portland Waterfront.
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Costumes & TailsCreativity. Inclusivity. Pure Mermaid Magic.
The Portlandia Mermaid Parade is a celebration of radical self-expression, water mythology, and community creativity. We proudly embrace body positivity and gender diversity, creating a space where everyone—regardless of identity or background—can shine their brightest. This is a merfolk-centered event (we do love our merfolk!) but all sea creatures and aquatic beings are welcome to join the tide. From shimmering selkies and sirens to jellyfish, krakens, and water spirits—if it’s magical and water-inspired, you belong here. ✨ Costumes are an absolute MUST! The more sparkly, whimsical, handmade, upcycled, outrageous, or oceanic—the better. Think scales, shells, pearls, body paint, fins, and fantasy galore. Each year’s announced theme provides a creative current to help inspire your look. Whether you glide along in a walking tail, roll in a shell-studded wagon, or ride a coral-covered float, we welcome mobility devices, push carts, wagons, and sidewalk-friendly sea chariots. Merfolk with swim tails are more than welcome to be carted or carried by their trusty crew. Let your imagination swim wild--the ocean’s the limit! |
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