Parallel parking can trigger serious anxiety. With so little space and so many angles to perfect, nailing a parallel parking job deserves a prize.
The citizens of Portland, Oregon, gave out plenty of prizes to their fellow rockstar parallel parkers at their Second Annual Parallel Parking Competition. Held on August 30, hundreds of Portlanders lined a residential street to watch over 90 participants show off their parallel parking skills.
In a hilarious video shared by Portland native and competition participant Rachael Harms Mahlandt, the light-hearted contest brought levity and laughs to the dreaded parking maneuver—and united the community.
“Everyone was incredibly friendly and it was clear the goal of the event was to just to come out and connect with community in a silly way,” Harms Mahlandt tells Upworthy.
Portlanders judge parallel parking attempts
Spectators packed into a Southeast Portland neighborhood on Southeast Pine Street and Southeast 29th Avenue to watch participants attempt their best parallel parking. While most of the 90-plus participants drove cars, this year’s competition also saw attempts from a motorcycle and a dad driving his toddler in a car buggy. One contestant even pulled up with a sleeping baby in the backseat.
“The announcer quietly told the crowd that we’re trying not to wake the baby, so the crowd did everything as normal (‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ and clapping and cheering), but super quietly,” says Harms Mahlandt. “The announcers whispered into the megaphone and awarded the couple extra points for completing their parking job without waking the baby. They drove off to quiet cheers. It was absolutely adorable!”
Judges (including a local meteorologist and a Portland Bureau of Transportation officer) scored drivers on several factors, including precision, style, speed, and flair. No backup cameras were allowed,
There was also plenty of crowd participation.
“A family with young kids came and brought some cardboard that they decorated with a few numbers and symbols to display so their kiddo could be a ‘guest judge,’” Harms Mahlandt tells Upworthy.
Winner takes all
Cars were outfitted with pool noodle bumpers to prevent damage. The Top 5 parkers went into a final Tournament of Champions round, where prizes awarded from the Portland Bureau of Transportation and others included vouchers for Portland’s Parking Kitty mobile app, keychains, and more.
When it was her turn to attempt to parallel park, Harms Mahlandt felt the pressure.
“I was still nervous, but it was so clear that everyone—from the audience to the organizers—was rooting for me as I took my turn,” she says. “So, even though I did not do my best parallel parking job under pressure, I felt glad I had entered and been a part of it in a small way.”
Ultimately, Portlander Kyle Kaufman took home the top prize with an impressive 16-second parallel park and a score of 85.72, per Oregon Live.
The competition started in 2025
Best friends Daniel Lyman and Stefanie Lynch started the first Portland Parallel Parking Competition. Lynch had heard of a similar event taking place in Pittsburgh and thought Portland was the perfect place to host something similar.
“Daniel and I have a history of egging each other on in very stupid ways, so it felt like perfect timing,” Lynch shared with OPB.
Last year’s competition had a much smaller turnout, with a few participants and around 40 people watching, according to the news outlet. But there was plenty of spirit.
“This is definitely in that spirit of just keeping Portland weird,” Lyman’s husband Casey Schreiner told OPB last year.
Clearly, the Portland community has continued to fall in love with the competition.
