The inaugural Portland Weird Fest offers up "unapologetic oddities" and "offbeat entertainment." Portland is no stranger to the curious, and a day featuring workshops on pickle sculpting, cryptozoology, and discovering your inner extraterrestrial fits right in. Live entertainment includes convention-defying circus stunts and interactive theater, alongside music from bands who march to the beat of their own drum. The event also promises roaming characters, which I expect will be a lot more amusing and less terrifying than the ones you might find around Halloween. by Shannon Lubetich