Trio Subtonic of Portland, Oregon will be playing their fun, funky Jazz at Vinideus in Beaumont Wilshire tonight.  Trio Subtonic recently played at the Mt. Hood Jazz festival and features bass, keyboard and drums.

Trio Subtonic makes music to get stuck in, to chew on, and yes, to groove. Simultaneously uplifting and weighted, expansive and collapsing, they reach across genre lines, incorporating melody and meter in an array of styles and controlled improv-isations. Dormant sounds and lush subterranean landscapes unfold; the party begins, and infectious grooves take root.

I first heard Trio Subtonic at Last Thursday on Alberta Street in Northeast Portland.  Walking by, I heard a groove that I could not stay away from, then I settled in and stayed for awhile.  What a great treat to have them play at my favorite wine bar less than one mile from the Popina Bathing Suit Shop.

For those of you who to not live in the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood, it is worth the trip to check out a great up and coming Jazz band in an extremely intimate and cool setting at Portland’s best neighborhood wine shop Vinideus - the wine shop is like beaming yourself to the South of France, lots of people try to pull off this feel, Vinideus does it effortlessly.

Willamette Riverkeeper is the Advocate for the River of Portland the Willamette.  Popina Swim Wear is proud to be a corporate partner of Willamette Riverkeeper and looks forward to continued work to clean up the Willamette so one day it will be a safe place for people of PDX to go swimming.

Check out the Willamette Riverkeeper web site to see the different programs they are working on including Habitat Restoration and the grand daddy of clean ups the Portland Superfund designation - how embarrassing right?  Let’s clean up our River Now! 

Is it so crazy to think that the people of Portland should have a river within city limits to go swimming?  The Sandy River is great for tubing and swimming, so is the Clackamas River, but both of these Rivers are a 25+ minute drive from downtown Portland.  Consider the great atmosphere on the River and getting out of the River after tubing or swimming at a safe spot like the Sandy or the Clack.  Now imagine going for a float, maybe putting in at Sellwood or Willamette Park and getting out downtown at the Salmon Springs Fountain.  Damn Straight, that would be fun.

For the last couple of years I have parparticipated in my favorite Portland event the Portland Challenge where Jay Boss Rubin leads a group of River Lovers on a swim across the Willamette.  When I have told people about the event I get disproportionate share of “you are crazy”, “that is disgusting”, etc.  The simple powerful act to bring attention to the idea that we should not be crazy to think that swimming in the Willamette is possible is amazing and I really hope that Jay Boss Rubin kicks this event up again next year! 

At Popina you can become a member of Willamette Riverkeeper by simply adding a membership to your purchase.  But do not wait, become a basic member today for $35 and help be a part of rescuing the Willamette and reclaiming it as a recreational gem for our city.

Jack Johnson will be playing at Columbia Meadows in St. Helens, Oregon tonight.  Popina Swimwear will be giving away a $100 Swimwear Gift Certificate at the Jack Johnson Concert for people who sign up for the Willamette Riverkeepers e-mail list.  Columbia Meadows will be having a special area set up for not for profit organizations at the Jack Johnson Concert where you can find the Willamette Riverkeepers booth.  Popina Swimwear will also be offering a Bathing Suit Gift Certificate to our Portland Swimwear Boutique for people who become members of Willamette Riverkeepers at the concert.

Directions to Columbia Meadows, St. Helens, Oregon

We love Popina Swimwear Customer Testimonials!  Below is a recent e-mail from Annette in Newtown, Connecticut.

“Thank you so much for my new bathing suit.  I had requested that it get here before my vacation and it did!  Thanks for the extra effort in shipping it out fast.  The suit is stylish and flattering and I will totally buy from you again!  You guys rock!”

We love pictures of our Vintage Swimsuit Styles, if any customers are brave enough to send pictures to be posted on our blog, we will give you a coupon for 15% off your next order!  So don’t be shy ladies!

Miraclesuit Swimsuits are available in Popina’s Portland Swim Suit Boutique.  Miracle Suit has gained many tried and true customers by providing a Swimsuit with a built in girdle to back up their slogan “Look 10 lbs Lighter in Just 10 Minutes”.

For some Miracle Suits seem miraculous.  To many Miraclesuits are more than just a bathing suit.   Anyone with any body “issues” will know that a bathing suit is much more than something to swim in and that a good one is priceless.

If you fall in the hard-to-fit category (which includes many) or just want a swimming suit that you can feel really great about, then Miracle Suit is definitely the a good line to check out.  In Portland Miraclesuits can be tried on in person at our Swimwear Shop in NE Portland.

Boise Swimsuit Shop EveryWear now carries Popina Swim, Swim over and get one before the summer is through.  Boise, Idaho is a great outdoor recreation town for swimming, there are lots of great places to swim, run and hike along the beautiful Greenbelt trail, you can even take your bathing suit out for a tubing the Boise River which flows right through the middle of town!

The Boise Greenbelt links over 850 acres of parks and natural areas along the Boise River, including a 25-mile long bicycle and pedestrian path.  Year-round visitors can see songbirds, ducks, Canada geese, great blue heron and bald eagles in the winter. Wildlife viewing is best in early morning or late afternoon.  Along the Boise Greenbelt are Barber Park, Municipal Park, Julia Davis Park, Ann Morrison Park and Kathryn Albertson Park, all offering a variety of recreation for visitors.

EveryWear does a lot more than provide Boise Bathing Suits, first priority is Casual, Outdoor Lifestyle clothing featuring Patagonia, Lole, Horny Toad, Chaco, Keen, Moolaboola and Royal Robbins. 

EveryWear is located in Boise’s ultra cool North End in Hyde Park.

So if you live in or near Boise, Idaho run over to EveryWear for a local opportunity to try our swim wear on in person.

Tommy Bahama Swimwear is sold in the Popina Portland Swimsuit Shop.  Tommy Bahama made the mark to make it into our Portland swim wear shop and is a favorite among women as it does all the things we look for in a swimsuit, great flattering fits, construction and design.  Tommy Bahama does a great job of designing classic looking tropical prints, and the women who design Tommy Bahama suits do a great job with their construction, particularly with their underwire tops.

Below are a few pix from a South Florida fashion show held last month.

L*Space Swimwear has just arrived at Popina Swim in the Portland Swimwear Shop.  L*Space is a California based swim suit line that like Popina Swimwear produces all of their bathing suits in the United States.

Founder Monica Wise grew up in Ohio and moved to the beaches of Florida during her young adult years where she first expressed her interest in swimwear.  Her passion for the industry drew her to sunny California in 1997.  With a vision of staying focused on the hipster fit that the L*Space customers love, the Collection exudes a fresh, directional and outright sexy style.

Constantly recreating itself, L*Space is a collection of swimsuits that’s uncomplicated and effortlessly hip. 

Dosha Salon Spa will be hosting Popina Swimwear for a Summer Fashion Show on Thursday, July 24th from 6-8pm at their location on NW 23rd- 2281 NW Glisan.  Popina will be bringing a wide selection of inventory and all suits will be 20% off!!!

This is the perfect excuse to get your girl friends together for a night out!  You can start at Dosha Salon Spa on NW 23rd for some complementary drinks and hors d’oeuvres, check out the great swimwear fashions of Popina Swimwear, Portland’s Bathing Suit Boutique for savings of 20% off (the most fun way to shop for swimwear is with your friends!).  The fashion show will feature models from Murphy Management and a presentation from Pamela Levenson, designer of Popina Swimwear on a range of dishy topics including how to find the perfect swimsuit.

Swimming in Portland, Oregon is an important activity in the summer.  Temperatures rise and people want to cool down, pretty simple.  As green as a place that Portland is I find it a little lame that we can not even swim in the Willamette River, which flows right through the middle of town, without worrying about health risks.  I am hopeful that with the completion of Big Pipe project that we will be able swim, float and recreate in the Willamette River in the future without worrying about e-coli.  Let’s face it we all love livability in Portland, but in my mind having a river to swim in close to downtown is the measure of a towns livability in the summer time.  When that day happens you can bet that Portland’s fun meter will rise 5 - 10 notches.  So until that magic day I have compiled a short list (in no particular order) of suggestions for places to cool off and take a dip in PDX. 

1) Sandy River - about 20 minutes from downtown Portland.  Great natural area, crowded on the weekends but great for people watching.

2) Portland Public Pools - these pools are very family oriented, but even if you don’t have kids or a family it is unbelievable fun.  Every day is like the pool party at Caddyshack.  Kids are having a ball with floats, there are plenty of lounge chairs to take in the scene and chill.  My favorites are Grant Pool, Sellwood Pool and Wilson Pool - all great outdoor pools.

3) Trillium Lake - if you really want to experience the outdoors take an hour and a half drive up to Mt. Hood and Trillium Lake.  How about going for a swim and taking in a view of Mt. Hood?

Have suggestions for your favorite please let me know and contribute!

In the meantime why not help improve the Williamette River for Swimming check out Willamette River Keeper  whose goal is to enable the Willamette to function more naturally, with cold, clean water, and provide healthy habitat for fish, wildlife and people!