It was quite the Monday night at Mississippi Studios, the site for a (not-very-well-kept) "surprise" birthday party for musician/muse/righteous muthaf@#ka Storm Large. Not only was the just cleared of all charges Mayor Sam Adams and his boyfriend Peter Zuckerman in attendance (as well as a feaher-boa-ed Earl Blumenauer), but there were honest-to-god, real, live movie stars including actor Timothy Hutton (Taps, Ordinary People, and the currently shooting in Portland Leverage that's him in the photo above with his new pal Storm) as well as the incredible actor/director Griffin Dunne (After Hours, American Werewolf in London and Who's That Girl he's the son of scribe Dominick Dunne).

The night included toasts, roasts, tears and the first public viewing of James Westby's spectacular video for Storm's "(My Vagina is) 8 Miles Wide."
But that's not all.
I would be remiss if I didn't share this story with you. Last night I asked Mr. Hutton, who came to the party with casting guru Lana Veenker, if we would like a drink. He said "sure." We both approached the bar. He was looking for a "light Northwest lager." The lady who was tending the bar suggested a PBR. Right before she handed him his beer she turned back toward me and said, "Don't I know you? Aren't you famous or something?" I turned my head to Tim Hutton. He smiled. I smiled. He grabbed his beer. I almost peed myself. Here some pics from the awesome party.

This photo was from yesterday's Sunday Parkways, but is really more appropriate for today!

Ace reporter (and soon to be a Portlander once again) Caryn Brooks files this report from last Wednesday's Pink Martini party at the new Ace Hotel in New York City.

As Tina Fey (by way of Liz Lemon) likes to say: what the what?

Manhattan seemed a little more Portland than usual last Wednesday night when friends of Pink Martini gathered at the brand new Ace Hotel in midtown to toast Thomas & Co.'s upcoming Carnegie Hall performance.

There were expats as expected (former House of Cunter Amber Martin breezed in from Brooklyn and the always theatrical Stephen Rondel hopped a cab from Chelsea), but what added a bizarro touch was the number of card-carrying Portlanders seemingly teleported into the proceedings. Metro Council President David Bragdon, Oregonian food goddess Karen Brooks, REACHer Kay Hutchinson were just some of the PDXers present.

The rain may have given the night a Portland glow, but the cocktail prices were strictly NYC and made more than a few partiers homesick for the no sales tax state. Even Ace Hotel guru Alex Calderwood, now living in New York to deal this latest card in his deck, says he's moving back to Portland pretty soon. Add this reporter to the list of those buying a one way ticket from JFK to PDX in the near future.---Caryn Brooks

The festive Portland vibe continued at PM"s concert at Carnegie Hall. Here's what band groupie Hutchinson said about the concert which included an impromptu sing-a-long for Metro man (and fellow Pink Martini super groupie) David Bragdon who celebrated his big 5-0 in the Big Apple. According to Kay, "The whole audience sang (happy birthday to Bragdon). And David led the conga line around (Carnegie Hall) during "Brasil" with Paige (Powell) and Emilio Delgado (Luis from Sesame Street) on stage."

Yes, Bill Waddams has got the old gang back together. And tonight is the night Animotion will perform at the Mississippi Studios. Wanna have an 80's flashback? Well this is the place to be.

BITE ON THIS: Today is the day for Bites for Rights. Several restaurants in the Portland area (and a few statewide, including the Astoria Coffeehouse) will be giving up some of the hard earned cash in support of Basic Rights Oregon.
For a list of participating establishments go here.

PARADE DAZED: Governor Barbara Roberts had it right, when commenting on the incredibly large crowd of people who lined the streets at this year's Pride Parade she said, "gay people have been accepted into the mainstream of society. I'm not surprised to see that more and more people are coming out in support of gay rights."
And, the guv wasn't kidding. I've never, in all my 25-plus years of living in Portland, seen so many people marching/watching/participating in our annual gay pride parade. Maybe, it did have something to do with FINALLY moving it a week earlier so it would no longer conflict with Father's Day. Or maybe, like the good guv said, we have finally "arrived." Whatever the case it was an incredible day from the get-go. About 50 of us gathered at The Original for free Stumptown and Voodoo Donuts before making our way to the stepping off area of the parade in the North Park Blocks. That's where I ran into our bike-helmet wearing Mayor, Sam Adams, several state Senators and Representatives (and at least one elected official who was pulled out of the nearby Whole Foods and thrown into the parade).

BLOCK IT TO ME! The boys (and girls) at this year's 5th Annual Stark Street Block Party really outdid themselves. Not only were there more porn stars than you could shake a you-know-what at, there were some real, live legends including dance diva Lonnie Gordon as well as the mouth from the south, the incredibly obscene Lady Bunny. A drag icon of the highest order (she's one of the stars of Wigstock) Bunny nearly got her ass arrested in Atlanta recently, plus, for her Portland show she was hobbling around on a broken ankle. But, from the get-go you'd never know that Bunny was having any trouble. A huge talent across the globe, like she said from the stage, it was about time her ass finally made an appearance in Portland.
Speaking of "finally," the Block Party was where we finally picked a winner for RuPaul's Drag Race: Portland Edition. For those of you who are still dying to know, it was super close, but in the end, the big winner was Miss Sabel Scities.
Congrats to all the girls. You may not believe this, but I thought you all deserved to win.