An afternoon at the Columbia City Farmers Market
By Edward Krigsman
On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, August 12, 2026, the Power of Place Story Booth set up on the lawn outside the Columbia City Library, inviting superheroes of all ages to step up to the microphone.
When the windscreen was left behind, a Spider-Man sock from Jack’s backpack took its place. Photo: Edward Krigsman
The recordings were intended for Men Bloom Where They're Planted, an upcoming Power of Place podcast episode featuring Dr. Donald Felder and his son Donte. Columbia City was a natural setting. It's a neighborhood Dr. Felder knows well, from its schools and generations of students to familiar gathering places like Geraldine's Counter just down the street.
Six views of Columbia City, from Geraldine’s Counter and Ark Lodge Cinemas on Rainier Avenue South to the streets around the Story Booth.
With Orion Brown helping welcome participants and five-year-old Jack enthusiastically assisting, the Story Booth invited visitors to name their favorite superheroes, share a little superhero wisdom and describe what they love about Columbia City.
Neighbors Judah and Barak take turns at the Story Booth mic. For Judah, the best thing about Captain America is his shield.
What followed was wonderfully unpredictable.
August liked Iron Man because he could fly. Judah admired Captain America's shield. Rhea was captivated by a heroine who saved the world, while her mother, Tila, had a superhero connection of her own, courtesy of her name.
Listen: Superheroes Among Us
A short audio portrait featuring the voices of superheroes, young and old, and the sounds of an August afternoon in Columbia City.
Recorded August 12, 2026. Story Booth: Edward Krigsman and Orion Brown. Audio portrait edited by Daniel Guenther. Photography: Edward Krigsman.
Not everyone embraced the premise. One man, hurrying past, stopped long enough to challenge the question itself. Our culture's preoccupation with superheroes, he suggested, was a form of escapism that distracted us from recognizing the power we already possess as human beings.
Then he continued on his way.
Meanwhile, Jack helped recruit participants and carried the Story Booth poster across the lawn. When the microphone's furry windscreen was inadvertently left behind, a Spider-Man sock from his backpack was pressed into service. An accidental costume for an afternoon devoted to superheroes.
Having made his contribution, Jack went skipping along the park's serpentine pathway to play “on the sculpture,” as he put it. He returned with a handful of small stones, lovingly painted by other children.
Jack pauses by the sidewalk chalk art outside the Columbia City Library.
All around the interviews, Columbia City carried on. Birds called from the trees, airplanes passed overhead and music drifted across the market from somewhere in the distance. Children played on the lawn and sidewalks brightened with chalk drawings and hopscotch squares. Vendors called to customers and conversations rose and fell around the microphone.
There were hesitant answers, bursts of laughter and plenty of gentle encouragement. Between the superhero declarations and the questions about the neighborhood, the ordinary pleasures of the afternoon found their way into the recordings.
Those sounds became part of the story, too.
A paper superhero on a retaining wall, just steps from the Story Booth. Photo: Edward Krigsman
