So as Betsy mentioned – part of August’s First Thursday includes the 5th Avenue Street Fair and the Red Bull Illume installation. Metblogger friend PAgent took some great photos of the installation wondering what it was as it was being set up on Monday, and there was some concern over on Jack Bog’s blog that the art was tying up construction addled streets for several weeks (only 10 days actually), but I think it’s pretty amazing.

I don’t personally have any issues with streets being blocked off as long as there is some advanced warning – I can get around it. I do understand that it can cause some inconveniences for people, but I really just figure that the downsides get balanced with the joys that go with living in a vibrant city that knows there’s more to life than work (or getting to work). This is a Red Bull sponsored event and I’m sure there will be no shortage of Red Bull shwag, but it is way more than a marketing promotion – it is art.

From the website “… 25 eight-foot glass and metal cubes will light up Portland’s main thoroughfare each evening from dusk until midnight revealing the most dramatic compilation of action and adventure sports imagery ever assembled. The awe-inspiring outdoor exhibition will illuminate at dusk beginning on August 2, drawing spectators through a larger-than-life street gallery of illuminated photographic expressions on three city blocks on SW 6th Avenue. During the day the mirrored cubes will offer reflective urban views of Portland’s bustling downtown and the compact beauty of Pioneer Courthouse Square, affectionately known as the city’s ‘living room’.”

The photos of the installation in Aspen, CO and Huntington Beach, CA are simply incredible. The photographs are simply beautiful – and the technology behind the illumination puts it over the top. I want to check them out by day. I want to check them out by night. I want to check them out as day turns into dusk…..do the lights just come on and the pictures appear? do they slowly appear as the night sky grows darker?

Red Bull is great at promotional marketing, the Flugtag (which was in Portland this same weekend 3 years ago) is a fun event that doesn’t have to have anything to do with an energy drink but brings fun to all the towns it goes to.

Call me a sucker.
Tell me I’m falling for their corporate marketing shill.
Maybe I am (I do work in marketing after all) but I don’t care.
I’m excited to see it!