MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
There are also some must-sees right now in Portland, Oregon - must-see Christmas sweaters. They're all over the city's downtown.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
And not just on ironic holiday hipsters, but on a menagerie of animal statues.
BLOCK: And at least one statue of a human.
CORNISH: Otters, deer...
BLOCK: Even a grizzly bear have all been festooned with sweaters, caps and legwarmers. It's the work of Jessica DeVries and three other local crocheters.
CORNISH: Two years ago, they were approached with the idea by the Portland Business Alliance. And DeVries and her cohorts are thrilled with displaying their work, but she admits...
JESSICA DEVRIES: It's a little odd taking measurements for, say, an otter or around the waist of a grizzly bear.
BLOCK: And once they have those measurements, it's a way to show off the whimsical and artsy side of Portland and to promote a local clothes drive. Notice, Audie, we haven't made a "Portlandia" joke.
CORNISH: Not yet. I mean, come on, we had to ask Lisa Frisch of the Portland Business Alliance about that.
LISA FRISCH: I think we love the cliche, right? And "Portlandia" - they say put a bird on it, and in downtown Portland, we're saying put a sweater on it.
BLOCK: Downtown Portland will have a sweater on it for the rest of the holidays. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
