We didn’t think it was possible either, but here they are, staring at us from the darkness of two sides of the country: two herds of Unusual Animals appearing at the same time, one in Houston, and then this variant, peering up from the waters that run beneath the bridges of Portland.

Our own Half-handed Cloud will be there of course, making the migration from the coast, but so too will indigenous Portland booty-shaking The Beauty, the lo-fi-ically precise Upsidedown Cat, and the charmed-before-you-know-it Kelli Schaefer, as well as nearby Olympia Washington’s hand-clapping Lake.

Film too! Thanks to The Journal of Short Film, who must have tossed the right kind of fish food into the Columbia river, these Animals also include works from acclaimed filmmakers like Jeremy Bird, Uli Beutter, Ryan Jeffrey, Karl Lind, Matt McCormick Vanessa Renwick, Stephen Slappe, and Chel White.

Yes, there will be puppetry.

Did we say this is for humans of all ages, and free? It is.

Click more to see an illustrated representation of the Portlandian Unusuals by Jesse Hamm.

You’ve seen them before. Maybe in Austin, Brooklyn, or Indianapolis. You thought they were a bit peculiar, a little errant, unusual even. Furry, maybe. Sometimes not. But animals.  Definitely animals. Unusual Animals.

We predict an appearance of these creatures again, this time in Houston, Texas. If the trend continues, a band or two from our own roster will show up – probably Future Rapper, and perhaps someone else. We also think local bands will emerge from the foliage, bands like Hearts of Animals, The Wiggins, Space City Gamelan, or Moth Fight. Carefully fed and cared for by generous hosts like KTRU, Microcenema, Poison Girl bar, Saint Arnold’s Brewery, Signal to Noise, Sound Exchange, and Tito’s Vodka, these animals will congregate and find friends on October 20, 3pm at the Diverseworks Art Space.

Payment of course will be unnecessary, as these wondrous creatures operate on instinct alone, and perhaps a little love.

If you’re in the Midwestern area of the United States, stop by the Harrison Center in Indianapolis tonight for a free display of art and music. Zack Bent, frequent sidebar author here at Asthmatic Kitty, has penned a recent entry on why he misses the Harrison Center, and we have several reviews from Gala Bent […]

This Friday night starting at 6pm, Indianapolis is host to the third Unusual Animals party (see details here). We’re kicking off our pre-show show today with some new Indianapolis-related sidebar entries, and some new additions to our growing Unusual Animals AKradio playlist. Click on akradio just below our banner to listen to tracks from  Actuel /Paren, Bronze Float, More Animals of the Artic, and Pope Whiter.