This is just getting silly…

Nothing’s supposed to happen in January; pub abstinence; kale smoothies; suffocating ennui; nine o’clock bed. January’s when excitement, energy, surprise and unexpected cool stuff take their own vacations, safe in the knowledge that nobody needs or anticipates them for 31 joyless, colourless, water-flavoured days.

That said, not everyone has a cheeky flick like ‘Snug As A Bug’ in their corner…

Oregon’s an interesting place. Having nabbed the lion’s share of the American beaver fur trade during the War of 1812, we Brits demanded a sizeable portion of the Oregon Territory extending deeper into the United States (nearly Mexico) than the United States was prepared to stomach. The United States in turn demanded a sizeable portion of the Oregon Territory extending much further north (nearly Alaska) than we Brits were prepared to entertain. Cue much political toing-and-froing, a rush of land-grabbing settlers, a furious few rounds of mutual moustache twirling and a threat of war at a time when we Brits were still mixing it in the heavyweight division. Calmer heads prevailing, however, more diplomatically-inclined Brits and United States-ians agreed to split the disputed territory cleanly across the midriff at the 49th Parallel. The bit from the bellybutton down to the Converse soles became America’s 33rd state in 1859 to much fanfare and moustache twirling.

It’s capital is Salem. It’s known as The Beaver State. It’s legalised cannabis for medicinal and recreational use. More importantly, it’s home to the annual Oregon Short Film Festival. Even more importantly, its 2019 iteration will be screening ‘Snug’ at the 5th Avenue Cinema in Portland on 23rd February!

We might just stick a cherry in our kale smoothies.

Check out the full 3-day itinerary here – don’t forget to pop along if you’re in Portland, seeking to carve a surreptitious slice of Oregon off for Trump or Liz The Second…