Local Events
Downtown Portland Events
Throughout the year many events and festivals take place in the Portland. Check out the upcoming fun activities and things to do in our area:
2013: JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC
2014: JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC
May 2013
Cinco de Mayo
Each May, McCall Waterfront Park gains an extra bit of flash and zest, thanks to this annual celebration. Portland’s festival, recognized as one of the largest in the U.S. features family-friendly entertainment, fireworks, art, and culture. Arts and crafts are for sale, along with authentic foods. There is also a carnival and special activities for children. Other festival attractions include a car show, puppet shows, live music and costumed participants.a great way to celebrate native heritage and the contributions of Hispanic culture.
SW Naito Pkwy
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Portland, OR 97204
503-222-9807
May 25, 26, 27
2013 Memorial Weekend in the Wine Country
Willamette Valley Wineries
PO Box 25162
Portland, OR 97298
503-646-2985
WhiskeyFest Northwest
May 11, 2013
11 AM – 10 PM
Held in the Portland Pearl District, this is a magnificent whiskey-infused experience known to include phenomenal tastings, fine cigars, exquisite craft cocktails, delicious creations from local restaurants and captivating live music.
June 2013
Annual Ladies Day Out
June 21 – 23, 2013
10 AM – 6 PM
Held at the Oregon Convention Center, this event is the Northwest’s premier destination for all things fresh, fabulous and local. Featuring over 100 local boutiques, designers, artists, wineries, specialty food, beverage, and retailers, Annual Ladies Day Out offers women from all walks of life a chance to relax and indulge in the very best the Northwest has to offer while supporting and giving back to their communities.
503-421-7706
www.ladiesdayout.net/event.html
Portland Rose Festival
Portland lives up to its “City of Roses” moniker in 2013 with its 106th anniversary of this annual celebration. It is truly a city tradition. In tribute to the beautiful flowers for which the city is known, events are held throughout. Three parades, a hot-air balloon race, and a waterfront carnival highlight the festivities. Military ships also dock downtown and are open for public tours.
Various locales
Portland, OR 97209
503-227-2681
Chamber Music Northwest
20+ classical concerts featuring internationally acclaimed musicians. Other events include pre-concert dinners and lectures. Located on the Reed College campus.
Portland, OR 97298
503-223-3202
July 2013
Oregon Brewers Festival
Approximately 75 brewers throughout the area and from around the world celebrate and share their blends. Purchase the official mug, and then buy all the samples you can handle! Food is available to help soak up the beer, and music will keep your feet tapping. There is, after all, a reason Portland is known as the “Munich on the Willamette” or “Beervana.”
SW Naito Pkwy
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Portland, OR 97204
503-295-1862
Portland Highland Scottish Games
On the schedule of 54th annual event: US National Scottish Highland Athletic Championships, featured guest band; also bagpiping, Highland dancing.
503-241-1124
Waterfront Blues Festival
This festival is held during the Fourth of July weekend and brings to the city an array of big name blues performers (vocalists and bands) and gospel choirs. You’ll also find blues films, arts and crafts for sale, jam sessions, and blues workshops. Enjoy as many as 80 bands on 3 stages. One of the summer favorites, this event benefits the Oregon Food Bank.
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Portland, OR
503-973-FEST
34th Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic
This 200-mile bicycle ride is the largest multi-day bicycle event in the Northwest, with up to 10,000 participants riding from Seattle to Portland in one or two days. The route takes bicyclists through the scenic valleys, forests and farmlands of western Washington and Oregon. Bicycling Magazine lists this as one of the best cycling events in the nation!
206-522-3222
PDX Bridge Festival
Come celebrate the Hawthorne Bridge at the Second Annual PDX Bridge Festival. This city-wide cultural arts festival celebrates the Willamette River Bridges while harnessing the power of Portland’s creative capacity. The PDX Bridge Festival will reinvent the bridges as a staging grounds for individual works of art and performance. While showcasing the convergence of industrial design and artistic endeavor, and presenting a diverse program of gallery exhibitions, speakers, musical events and performance, a valuable cultural tourist destination in the heart of Portland will be touted.
PDX Bridge Festival
537 SE Ash St., #41
Portland OR 97214
503-954-2363
August 2013
The Bite of Oregon
Lots of great Portland restaurants set up booths in the park, tempting visitors with their house specialties. You may sample a multitude of international cuisines, including bites from Greece, Africa, Asia, Italy and Mexico. There’s plenty of vegetarian fare available as well, along with tasty American standards. Bands representing a variety of musical genres regale festival-goers with tunes. There are games, giveaways, comic performances, and kids shows as well. There’s even a wine garden with selections from more than two dozen Oregon vintners. And the entire event benefits the Oregon Special Olympics.
SW Naito Pkwy
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Portland, OR 97204
503-248-0600
Festa Italiana
Enjoy Italian food, wine and lots of music, as Italian-Americans and other Portland residents celebrate the heritage of the Mediterranean. Concerts, wine stomps, pizza throws and a bocce tournament add color to the event. Area restaurants serve up savory fare in the authentic manner. You’ll also find a wine garden, Italian movies and merchandise for sale. A perfect end-of-summer event.
SW Broadway and Yamhill
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Portland 97205
503-223-1613
festaitalianaportland.shutterfly.com
Mt. Hood Jazz Festival
Since 1982, this favorite fest offers 3 full days of jazz in a campus setting. Over 50 separate acts; featuring Ramsey Lewis/Billy Taylor, piano, also Nicholas Payton Big Band. Food, beer, wine on sale.
Portland, OR
503-219-9833
Seaport Celebration
Put on by the Port of Portland, this event is great for families, with plenty of activities for kids, including face painting, games, equipment demonstrations and dock tours. By visiting, you learn more about the behind-the-scenes work that happens at the Portland docks. Live entertainment and food are provided as well. Although the event is free, you music secure a spot by calling ahead.
7201 N Marine Dr Terminal 6
Portland, OR 97203
503-944-7010
portofportland.com/Mar_Sprt_Clbrtn.aspx
September 2013
Annual Reptile & Amphibian Show at OMSI
Crawl, slither and creep your way to the largest reptile show in the Northwest! Observe, touch and learn about snakes, frogs, lizards and more at this popular show not just for kids!
Portland, OR
503-797-4537
Art in the Pearl
Soak in the ambiance of the trendy Pearl District when you visit Art in the Pearl. This yearly juried arts event is attended by approximately 50,000 visitors. Be one of them! Held during Labor Day weekend, the event features artwork, theater, music and educational activities for people of all ages. Food vendors add to the appeal of this three-day cultural event.
North Park Blocks NW 8th Ave & Burnside
Portland, OR
503-722-9017
Musicfest Northwest
This three-day music fest is a slice of heaven for true music lovers. Here, you can catch tomorrow’s radio heroes today. A wristband (available at several record stores and other outlets) will get you into all the shows.
Various locales
Portland, OR
503-243-2122
Portland Pirate Festival
This exciting festival draws kids of all ages to enjoy a host of activities, including tours of tall ships, the firing of cannons, re-enactments, plenty of tasty eats, live music and sword fights. Guests can also peruse a pirate-themed merchant area with plenty of seafaring and pirate related items for sale.
Cathedral Park
Portland, OR
Wintering-In Harvest Festival on Sauvie Island
Historic Bybee House sets the nostalgic scene for this celebration of autumn and harvest. Activities: artists and crafts makers, traditional music, hands on creativity like candle-making, cider-pressing and pumpkin painting.
Portland, OR
503-222-1741
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
22nd annual Portland series of 5K runs/fitness walks to eradicate breast cancer. Registration begins at 6:30 AM with various timed and untimed races of varying lengths starting from 7:45 – 9 AM at Tom McCall Waterfront Park (across from Hotel Fifty).
Feast Portland
Portland is situated in the ingredient epicenter of the world. Oregon’s soil produces amazing fruits and vegetables. Its vineyards grow grapes that make award-winning wines. Its ocean provides sustainably caught salmon, Dungeness crab and tuna. And its pastures ensure Oregon’s beef, pork and chicken are organic and grass fed. Oregon grows most of the world’s hazelnuts, marionberries and green beans. And its hops are the reason Portland has more breweries than any other city in the world.This is why such a world-class celebration of food, drink and everything else that makes Portland awesome was created. It’s called Feast Portland.
The festival’s mission is to end childhood hunger in Oregon and U.S. Oregon, where food is so plentiful, should not also rank as one of the hungriest in the nation. This event is a three-day dynamic exchange of ideas, inspiration and dialogue. For details, contact info@feastportland.com.
October 2013
The Portland Marathon
For forty+ years this marathon has been named “best organized” by The Ultimate Guide to Marathons. Popular run through the streets of Portland also has the highest percentage of women in any marathon; and includes a marathon walk.
503-226-1111
November 2013
Wordstock
In a city known for its book stores, it’s only fitting that an annual event be devoted to books with a wittily named festival called Wordstock. Held in November, it’s one of the largest literary events on the West Coast, featuring music, food, workshops, competitions, a children’s festival, lectures and readings from over 150 authors.
777 NE MLK Jr Blvd
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, OR 97232
503-546-1013
Pioneer Courthouse Square Tree Arrival
Be there when the massive Christmas tree that dominates Pioneer Courthouse Square arrives. There’s a special tree lighting ceremony held on the Friday after Thanksgiving, allowing you a chance to stare up at the twinkling 70-foot tree and listen to a 200-piece tuba band merrily playing holiday music. Santa Claus always makes an appearance as well.
701 SW 6th Ave
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Portland, OR
2013 Wine Country Thanksgiving
November 22, 23, 24
Willamette Valley Wineries
PO Box 25162
Portland, OR 97298
503-646-2985
Holiday Ale Festival
Dates TBD
Pioneer Courthouse Square
701 SW Sixth Ave
Portland, Oregon 97204
http://holidayale.com/index.php
December 2013
Festival of Lights at the Grotto
A must-visit if you’re in Portland during the holiday season. This 24th Annual Christmas Festival of Lights at the Grotto is a spectacular event that features 150 indoor music concerts as well as dramatic living history enactments and holiday light displays that include over a half million bulbs. The beautiful outdoor garden setting, lighted Christmas trees and outdoor carolers create a warm holiday feel, and a life-sized nativity scene anchors the entire event. (Closed on Christmas day.)
NE 85th Ave & Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR
503-254-7371
Zoolights Festival
Become a kid again when you visit Portland’s Oregon Zoo during holiday time. The zoo comes to life with more than two million twinkling lights and holiday decorations. Kids will enjoy a puppet show put on especially for them, and the whole family will have fun on the zoo train that’s decked out for the event too!
4001 SW Canyon Rd
Oregon Zoo
Portland, OR 97221
503-226-1561
Holiday Cheer & Authors Party
For over 30 years the Oregon Historical Society’s annual “party” has honored Northwest authors. Meet over 60 of them as they display, autograph and sell their latest books during this popular event.
Portland, OR
503-306-5221
January 2014
There are currently no events listed.
February 2014
37th Annual International Film Festival
For two weeks in February, Portland hosts a film festival that presents cinematic offerings the world over. Historically the event presents close to 100 films from almost 30 countries, providing patrons a chance to see how the film-making process is approached in other cultures. Genres from drama and documentary to comedy and satire are screened.
1219 SW Park Ave.
Northwest Film Center
Portland, OR 97205-2487
503-221-1156
2014 Portland Jazz Festival
This 10-day festival that celebrates Portland, Jazz and Black History Month with over 150 events including educational programs, ticketed shows and free performances featuring national, regional and local artists.
503-228-JAZZ
March 2014
Rose Quarter presents World’s Toughest Rodeo
Hang onto your cowboy hats, Portland! The Worlds Toughest Rodeo 2014 National Tour is coming to the Rose Garden. Watch true-grit cowboys compete in spectacular tests of skill and endurance that will electrify and astound the whole family.
Rose Garden Arena
503-797-9619
Energy Trust Better Living Home, Garden & Lifestyle Show
Three days packed with experts and entertainment! There truly is something for everyone at the Energy Trust Better Living Home, Garden & Lifestyle Show. Take a moment to look thru the many seminars and workshops offered. Where else can you find so many experts to help you live your best life for free?
Expo Center
2060 N. Marine Drive
Portland, OR 97217
503-736-5200
2014 Shamrock Run
Celebrate the Opening Day of Running Season… Portland’s Rite of Spring – date TBD – with the 36th Edition of the Shamrock Run. Race options include 5k, 8k and 15k races as well as the 5k fitness walk and 1k kids run/walk.
Portland, OR
PDX Bicycle Show
Dates TBD
Bicycles are taking over the Portland Expo Center. There will be LOTS of fun entertainment and activities for every level of bicyclist in your family. Plus check out Portland’s largest display of bicycles, gear and apparel under one roof.
503-887-3084
April 2014
29th Annual Tulip Fest
A favorite Northwest time of year is when the tulips bloom! There is nothing like the colors of area tulip fields in the spring. Every year the varieties are arranged differently in a new pattern of color as tulip fields are rotated to a new location. This spring bring your family and enjoy over 40 Acres of Tulips and Daffodils. Every day enjoy a variety of activities along with the beautiful fields. Each weekend there is a variety of planned events. Check the “Schedule of Events” for a detailed list of daily and weekend activities.
Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm
33814 S. Meridian Rd
Woodburn, OR 97071
503-634-2243
Spring Beer & Wine Fest
Sample Northwest hand-crafted beverages from 50 brewers, 25 vintners. Scotch, cigars, cocktails, food, live music.
Portland, OR
503-295-1862
Bridgetown Comedy Festival
Dates TBD
This is the seventh year of bringing the best comedy from around the world to the Pacific Northwest. Comedy takes over local theaters. National comedians continue to push the comedic boundaries.
