Zuckercreme’s Strawberry Museum Returns with a Fashionable Twist
What’s better than June in Oregon, with the suddenly regular appearance of a nearly forgotten sun, the intoxicating fragrance of flowers in bloom, and most importantly, the return of our local strawberries? Any Oregonian worth their salt knows that these few precious weeks in June yield some of the sweetest, juiciest, and ripest strawberries anywhere. For me, the season means a strawberry cure. I wait in anticipation, checking the Sauvie Island farm blogs daily. Once word comes down that they are ready, I make my way to Columbia Farms to pick up (or U-pick) any variety of the wonderful local fresh berries to be had – Hoods, Shuksan, Mary’s Peaks. I’m not choosy. If it’s an Oregon strawberry, I’m here for it. After returning home with my berry loot and freezing the requisite portion for the smoothies my much healthier future self will enjoy, I go about devouring the rest of them in more indulgent ways, like in strawberry shortcake with freshly whipped cream, in homemade strawberry ice cream, or in a strawberry syrup, which makes a perfect base for a strawberry basil lemonade or other (boozier) libations. There is an exquisite pleasure to be found in savoring something I know I’ll enjoy only once this year, so I make it count.
The dreamy team at Zuckercreme, Montavilla’s charming collaborative marketplace and bakery café shares my passion for strawberries and takes it to an entirely new level of fandom with Portland Strawberry Museum, their wildly popular annual pop-up spanning the month of June and featuring local strawberries from Dayton’s Pablo Munez Farms, fresh strawberry soft serve from Hound Dog Ice Cream and a plethora of strawberry-themed wares, art, gifts and goodies from local micro makers and artists. Following up on the success of last year’s event held in the former Küchenhaus space, Zukercreme Owner Brittany Sigal will cap off this year’s celebration with a now sold-out strawberry-themed fashion show and museum market hosted at the old Victoria Secret space in the Lloyd Center Mall.
The event is a continuation of the seasonally themed pop-ups Sigal organizes throughout the year, and part of the exciting small business takeover fueling a much-welcomed revival at the beleaguered mall. The event will feature a fashion show flanked by interactive displays and strawberry-themed wares like amazing stained-glass pieces by local artist Toni Iyoha and delicious things to eat and drink from 30 local vendors. Get there early to enjoy a strawberry-studded rice crispie treat from Bowl & Whisk Sweet Treats and stake out a good spot for viewing the runway show, which begins promptly at 4:30pm. Expect fantastical strawberry-themed looks from 14 local designers who’ll draw inspiration from themes like ‘malibu strawberry’, ‘strawberry cottage core’, ‘intergalactic strawberry’ and ‘strawberry goth’.
The event takes place on Sunday, June 25th from 4-7pm at Lloyd Center Mall. As of this printing, tickets are sold out, but you can stop by Zuckercreme anytime this summer for a foray into their delicious strawberry-tinged universe.
414 SE 81st Ave, Portland, OR 97215
Hours: Noon-7pm, Wednesday-Sunday