People take part in the TuTu Tuesday event, on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022 at the Salmon Springs Fountain in downtown Portland. Over 200 people clad in colorful tutus hung out in the park for several hours, at an event hoping to “push positivity.”
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
What do a pirate, a skateboarder and the Pope have in common?
They were all seen on Portland’s waterfront on Tuesday. Which also happened to be Feb. 22, 2022. And they were also wearing tutus.
Of course, it wasn’t a real pirate! OK, OK. It wasn’t the real pope either. But that skateboarder, he was totally real. He wore a sparkling red tutu with lights.
Amanda Casteel, 43, of Portland, doesn’t call herself the organizer of the event. But she’ll settle for “instigator.” Casteel first experienced a TuTu Tuesday at Burning Man and decided to bring the tradition to Portland. Several years ago she looked ahead in the calendar and realized that Feb. 22, 2022 fell on a Tuesday. She made the event on Facebook and started planning.
Then COVID-19 happened. It seemed like TuTu Tuesday might not pan out. But the recent variant surge subsided and so, on with the show. Casteel posted the event on social media. Word of mouth spread. She had no idea what to expect.
Bruce Bartlett of Portland, left, Sarah Skutt of Portland, at the TuTu Tuesday event, on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022 at the Salmon Springs Fountain in downtown Portland.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The focus of the event is “pushing positivity,” says Casteel. She’s dressed in a fur coat, with purple tulle swirling about her. She believes there are folks who want to find and put happiness back into the world. And, as a self-described extrovert, Casteel adds “I think it’s important that we call all of the animals out of the forest to come out and play again.”
And come out, people did. Several hundred of them showed up despite the wind and 30-degree weather.
While the music boomed, people danced around the Salmon Springs Fountain and shot selfies. Tutus swirled. Passersby stopped and stared.
And everywhere, there were smiles. At 2:22 p.m. everyone gathered around the fountain for a group photo, then headed off to continue the celebration. The evening is planned to wrap up with a “Totally Tubular Tube Tutus Award Ceremony” at a local bar. Casteel has a pile of $2 bills to hand out.
The crowd acknowledges “instigator” Amanda Casteel at the event.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Dale Plog of Portland, dressed in a Beavers-themed ensemble, watched the crowd with a grin.
“This is the old school fun stuff that we used to do in Portland, that used to make Portland what it is,” says Plog. “And right now it’s kinda got a bad rap, and I kinda get that, but I think the city’s gonna make it out. We’re gonna make it out, and this is just like a little step, we’re going back to the goofy, funny, Keep Portland Weird — the FUN weird. We’re ready for Portland to make a comeback.”
Crystal Ligori contributed to this report.