I was acquaintances and neighbors with the Church proprietress, Stephanie, or “Stevie,” as I called her, though I don’t recall why I called her that.
Once the proprietor of the now closed U.F.O. museum and I were fake married by her for an English television show.
Stevie performs weddings, dresses the happy couple foolishly, and makes them carry around strings of tin cans and large signs while she follows them, loudly announcing their union to all of down town.
She also excels at making motorized dioramas of various sorts, and at collecting great kitschy stuff to artfully display.
The Church had many incarnations and changed locations a number of times. It even went away for a while, but now it has risen again! And it is good.
http://www.24hourchurchofelvis.com/test2churchofelvis7.html
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Allee Willis
A++++ for effort for Stevie! I love that it’s outdoors, in Chinatown and has little to do with Elvis!!!! PERFECT Camembert!
And I love that she fake married you!
Does she have any more installations in Portland?
missmoppetkitty
I don’t think so at this time. I need to re-connect with Stevie, but it has been over 12 years since we spoke, she may not remember me. We have a friend in common, the former proprietor of Portland’s now defunct and in storage U.F.O. museum. Gee, I wish I could share both places with you all more effectively. I met both these people when I was about 16, and they both were just the cat’s meow to me. I’m going to ask Lex, the U.F.O. museum guy, if he has any more on Stevie, and perhaps he needs his own entry for his works.
Oh, Stevie’s 24 hour Church of Elvis was mentioned in Chuck Palahniuk’s book, Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon. Chuck seems like such a sweetie, and we have a couple friends in common. He interviewed my friend, Keni Cyr-Rumble of Recycled Gardens, which is now gone but which helped fund POPPA, Inc., a spay and neuter group for the pets of low income people I’ve been volunteering for for some years and am now on the BOD of. Plus, he knew my friends with the Van Calvin Mannequin shop, which you would have loved, it was also in his book. I haven’t been able to reach him to find out if our mutual friend, Russ, is still alive. Oh, Portland, I swear, everyone knows the same people! It is like the Kevin Bacon game! LOL
Allee Willis
Must find Lex! And would love to see more posts on this stuff. So great when someone has a personal relationship to things.
Any other outstanding Portland kitschables?
Rusty
Aw, I have been here a million years ago. Got ‘married’. Got a t-shirt. There are so many great kitschy places in Portland. There used to be a breakfast place called “Shakers” and it was filled with vintage salt and pepper shakers. Then, there’s Stark’s Vacuum Museum. The Toaster Museum used to be there but it moved across country.
I wonder if we know the same Portland people, Missmoppetkitty?
missmoppetkitty
I have no idea, Rusty. There is a pretty sweet 3-D photography museum in Portland now. Sadly, there were many things I just assumed would be there forever and waited too long to go see. I wasn’t extremely social, I was kinda in an alcoholic stupor the whole time I lived there. But, it does seem everyone at the time knew someone in common. Don’t know if it is still the same. Guess I’ve had that experience once, lately. I once met a girl at a job in Portland and we figured out she was my second cousin once removed, or something of the sort. Maybe everyone is kin here. : )
missmoppetkitty
This older video of one of her former locations is thoroughly LOL and brings me back to my childhood, not sure I included it up top.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnhE_ey23rc&NR=1
Allee Willis
I inserted that into your post. Thanks!
missmoppetkitty
Re. Kitschy Portland; we did have the Velveteria, apparently it closed and moved away. But keep a look out for it down there, apparently they are moving to someplace warmer. http://velveteria.com/
Allee Willis
I definitely heard about that place a lot.