Fun, Eco-Conscious
Spring & Summer Events
Portland, Oregon
May through August, 2024
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Pedalpalooza Bike Summer. Photo by Taylor Griggs/Bike Portland
Catch Portland’s Warm Season Vibes!
Portland is renowned for its lush, green springs and warm, sunny summers. To help you celebrate this heavenly season, I’ve compiled a guide to eco-conscious events. In it, you’ll find a number of eco-conscious, outdoorsy, and community-connecting events around town that will get you out and about its diverse happening neighborhoods, streets and parks and soaking up as much of that sunshine and warmth as you can take.
Explore outdoor markets for organic produce and local crafts, or visit artists’ open studios. Enjoy community bike rides, test your endurance at renowned races, or participate in parades, street fairs, brewfests, and art walks.
Events for every interest
At the weekend open-air markets you can gift yourself or loved ones with local organic produce and locally-made crafts. At the artists’ open studios you can steal a glimpse into the visual arts community.
All summer long, community bike rides beckon with their whacky fun and comaraderie. As a serious cyclist or runner, you’ll want to test your speed and endurance at world-renown races held here. This summer also invites with its chock-full of parades, street fairs, brewfests, art walks, historic home tours, and others.
A place to just enjoy on your own
You may want to mark your calendar to join in on one or more of these. Or perhaps you’re not a big “people” person and you just want to make a little pilgrimage to this summertime Mecca. That’s just another way to take in some of the good vibes flowing throughout and to commune with the beautiful neighborhoods and surrounding countryside.
Whatever your fancy, reserve a few nights at the Portland Eco House during this heavenly season, and be reminded just how much fun there is to be had in this neck of the woods!
City Repair Project - Village Building Convergence
Upcoming Eco-Conscious Events in Portland
- When: Saturdays: 10am – 5pm, Sundays: 11am – 4:30pm
- Where: Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, near SW Ankeny Street
- What: Spring of 2024, this Portland institution is celebrating its 50th year of supporting local artists, fostering connections, and embracing the spirit of the city.
In accompaniment to its support of local artisans, the Portland Saturday Market brings together food vendors, musicians, and visitors from all walks of life. Check its calendar for celebration activities and more.
Portland Saturday Market
- When: Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm, early May to late November
- Where: King Elementary School parking lot — NE 7th Avenue & NE Wygant Street
- What: Walk on over a few blocks from the Portland Eco House to get some fresh produce and value-added food products direct from local farmers.
Head just four blocks east on Wygant Street until you get to MLK Blvd, jog south a few steps and catch Wygant again. Walk another block then through the Martin Luther King Elementary School park, and you’ll see the market buzzing in full force in the school parking lot.
King Farmers Market, Portland Oregon
- When: Every Saturday, 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM
- Where: Portland’s South Park Blocks at the Portland State University Campus
- What: Dive into an even greater bounty of locally sourced produce, artisanal goods, and eco-friendly products at Portland’s flagship farmers market. Under the canopy of giant elm trees, locals and visitors alike flock to explore as many as 100 vendor stalls!
- When: Saturday, May 11
- Where: St Johns Neighborhood, Portland, 97203
- What: Since 1962, folks from all over have come to cheer on this neighborhood parade of floats, bands, drill teams and horses. Afterwards, the St. Johns Bizarre kicks off its street fair.
A portion of the St. Johns business district is closed to traffic and filled with over 135 juried craft vendors, several stages for music, food, and tons of games and activities. It’s a chance to take in the neighborhood and its people at the northern edge of town right by the beautiful St. Johns Bridge spanning across the Willamette River, with Cathedral Park rolling green below it.
- When: May 17
- Where: Irvington Neighborhood
- What: The Irvington Neighborhood, which is about a mile and half pleasant walk, bike or drive from the Portland Eco House, is one of the most beautiful tree lined neighborhoods in Portland, with National Historic Preservation status. Every year, as part of maintaining that status, select homes in the neighborhood are opened for public viewing.
Ooh and aah at some of the most stately and gorgeous homes you’ll ever set your eyes upon, inside and out, while gathering inspiration for remodeling yours.
Irvington Home Tour
- When: May 18
- Where: From Portland’s farmland-rich Sauvie Island to the Astoria-Megler Bridge
- What: An annual American Lung Association fundraiser bike ride that starts in the metro area and ends at the Oregon Coast. $200-per-person fundraising minimum.
Different starting-point options are available for those not feeling up to 100 miles. Riders can register individually or as a team.
Prepare for your ride with a restful stay beforehand at the Portland Eco House.
Oregon Reach the Beach Bike Ride
Celebration of Oregon Brewers Festival
- When: May 24 – June 09
- Where: Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, in downtown Portland
- What: One of the nation’s longest-running craft beer festivals, the Oregon Brewers Festival is considered a craft beer destination.
50,000 fans annually make the pilgrimage to Beervana to drink up what the festival has to offer.
- When: May 24 – June 9
- Where: Downtown Portland’s Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park and throughout inner city Portland.
- What: Since 1907, the Portland Rose Festival has inspired locals and visitors alike to gather and celebrate the Rose City and its spirit.
The Rose Festival’s big events are the Grand Floral Parade, Starlight Parade, Junior Parade, Queen’s Coronation, CityFair and Fleet Week.
Portland Rose Festival CityFair
- When: May 24 – June 09
- Where: Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, in downtown Portland
- What: Carnival rides, fair foods, interactive exhibits, and constant entertainment – all nestled between the urban energy of the city and the natural beauty of the Willamette River
Portland Rose Festival CityFair
- When: June 1 – August 31
- Where: All throughout Portland
- What: Bike Summer, also known as Pedalpalooza, is a summer-long open-source festival of organized casual bike rides celebrating the joy of riding and community. Lots of fun, and a great way to catch the spirit of Portland and its neighborhoods and people.
Come for the first ride on June 1, when thousands of cycling enthusiasts turn out, many on their weirdest rigs (tall bikes, tandem bikes, mini bikes) and in their most festive gear.
Don’t miss it — rent a bike ahead of time at Everybody’s Bike Rentals only three blocks from the Portland Eco House.
Pedalpalooza Bike Summer Kickoff Ride
- When: Saturday, June 1 at 3 pm
- Where: Starts in one of Portland’s neighborhood parks — To Be Announced
- What: Velophiles of all ages kick off the three-month-long bike festival with a huge, free group ride. The route varies each year, but it typically starts and ends at a city park.
Thousands show up, many on their weirdest rigs (tall bikes, tandem bikes, mini bikes) and in their most festive gear. Don’t miss it — rent a bike ahead of time at Everybody’s Bike Rentals only three blocks from the Portland Eco House.
Pedalpalooza Bike Summer. Photo by Taylor Griggs/Bike Portland
- When: June — exact date To Be Announced
- Where: TBA too
- What: As part of the Pedalpalooza Bike Summer celebration, this is a fun, all-ages, no-drop ride exclusively for Blacks and other people of color to take up space on the streets, gather in community, and celebrate.
Rent a bike ahead of time at Everybody’s Bike Rentals only three blocks from the Portland Eco House.
- When: June 1, 4pm
- Where: Downtown Portland, Director’s Park, 815 SW Park Avenue
- What: A slow, stately 1.5-mile parade that flows past spots from Portland’s rich 2SLGBTQIA+ history.
Poison Waters will be leading this family-friendly ride. All Wheels Welcome! The parade will end at the Cart Blocks Food Cart Pod with a dance party featuring some surprise guests. Bring the bio-degradable glitter and get ready to shine!
- When: June 7, July 5, and August 2, 5 – 9pm, and the First Friday of all other months all year
- Where: East Side Arts District (see map)
- Offering a gateway into Portland’s thriving arts culture, First Friday PDX includes more than 23 independent galleries, shops, and studios, as well as a street exhibition from April to October.
The self-guided tour is free and open to locals and visitors!
Portlland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade
- When: June 8, 10am – 12pm
- Where: Route starts by running through the Memorial Coliseum and enters the street on Broadway. It travels along Weidler to MLK Jr. Blvd, where it turns right and travels down MLK Jr. Blvd to Lloyd Blvd. The parade turns left on Lloyd Blvd, and ends at 16th and Multnomah, near the Lloyd Center.
- What: A cherished 107 year-old tradition of the Portland Rose Festival that draws hundreds of thousands of cheering viewers.
Portland Rose Festival Parade Float
Village Building Convergence 2024
- When: June 15 – 22
- Where: SE Portland and around town
- What: This annual placemaking event has been facilitated by the City Repair Project for the past 20+ years. This year’s theme is “Summer of Change,” with eight days of workshops, placemaking, presentations, and community building.
VBC 2024 offers opportunities to join in daytime activities ranging from intersection painting and natural building to permaculture, rewilding, and social forestry. Each evening participants gather as a community for connection, dinner, entertainment, and hearing from leading speakers.
The VBC is open to everyone, and families with children are welcome. No experience is necessary for coming to learn, collaborate, and contribute to the building of resilient and thriving communities.
City Repair Project - Village Building Convergence
- When: June 16, 11am – 4pm
- Where: Can start at NE 37th Avenue and Alberta Court
- What: This is a self-guided ride along a route designed to highlight the network of neighborhood greenways and other infrastructure, parks, and community resources.
Circulation slows in areas along the route and at the featured parks for vendor marketplaces, community booths, free family-friendly activities, and live entertainment.
Portland Sunday Parkways. Photo by Scott Jones /Portland Eco House
- When: On the Last Thursdays of the summer months, June 27, July 25, and August 29, 6 – 9 PM.
- Where: NE Alberta Street from NE 15th Avenue to NE 30th Avenue
- What: Last Thursday is a community-grown event that showcases Portland’s vibrant culture and community spirit.
On this evening, Alberta Street is closed to traffic, and all the galleries on the street hold their opening parties, with restaurants and food carts offering open-air dining, and performance venues and bars often hosting live music and performances. Free for all artists and art vendors, musicians, performers and visitors taking to the street.
Alberta Street Last Thursday
- When: To Be Announced, Probably July or August
- Where: TBA as well
- What: This Pedalpalooza Bike Summer ride is Portland’s essential Big One of the year not to miss. Each year 10,000 and more people come out in force to have fun taking over the city in all manner of colorful dress and undress.
Originating as a fellowship protest ride in tandem with naked rides in major cities worldwide against dependence on oil and cyclists’ vulnerability to cars, the ride is also a celebration of bodies.
You’ll see everything from full nudity to body paint to swimsuits to regular clothing. There other nude-friendly Pedalpalooza rides, but this is the big one, with a dance party at the end.
Rent a bike ahead of time at Everybody’s Bike Rentals only three blocks from the Portland Eco House.
Portland World Naked Bike Ride
- When: July, TBA
- Where TBA
- What: For 15 years, the Working Theatre Collective has written and performed a play that unfolds over the course of a bike ride, complete with original music and choreographed dance numbers. The audience (that’s you) pedals from scene to scene.
Reserve rental bikes ahead of time from Everybody’s Bike Rentals just three blocks from the Portland Eco House.
NW Marine Art Works’ Open Studios
- When: July 1 & 2, 10am – 4pm
- Where: 2516 NW 29th Avenue
- What: More than 50 of Portland’s best artists at the sprawling NW Marine Art Works’ 2-acre campus will open their studio doors inside the 10 enormous buildings and welcome guests into their spaces to view them at work and interact with them.
All kinds of art media are here — from jewelry and apparel to paintings and printmaking, ceramics, photography, sculpture, accessories and housewares. Live music and food and drink will also be featured as part of the festivities.
NW Marine Artworks Open Studios
- When: July 4 – 6, Noon–10 pm
- Where: Elizabeth Caruthers Park, 3508 S Moody Avenue
- What: Helping to kick off Oregon Craft Beer Month, the Portland Craft Beer Festival brings a huge outdoor party to Elizabeth Caruthers Park, along with a huge selection of local beers, ciders and wine, originating from Portland, Oregon breweries.
Only beers, plus ciders and wine crafted within the city limits of Portland are featured at the PCBF, which stands it apart from other beer festivals.
Portland Craft Beer Festival
- When: July 4 – 7
- Where: Downtown Portland’s Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park
- What: On four stages at the height of summer and within eight acres of the park, blues, rock, and bluegrass/country acts from around the country converge. This year’s festival is headlined by Ben Harper.
Portland Waterfront Blues Festival
- When: Saturday, July 13
- Where: N Mississippi Avenue between N Fremont & Skidmore Streets
- What: the long stretch of North Mississippi Avenue closes down for Portland’s largest street fair, unfolding a day of fun with hundreds of vendors, shopping, dining, and music on three different stages.
Mississippi Street Fair. Photo by Scott Jones/Portland Eco House
Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic
- When: July 13 – 14
- Where: Starts in Seattle, ends in Portland
- What: Thousands of cyclists show up for the one- or two-day, 206-mile ride with plenty of support stations along the way. At the end, riders pick up beer garden beverages and lifetime bragging rights. The $180–210 registration fee includes baggage transport.
Recuperate from your ride at the quiet, peaceful Portland Eco House.
44th Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
- When: Saturday, July 19 – 21
- Where: Cathedral Park under the historic St Johns Bridge in North Portland
- What: A totally free festival of jazz, featuring local jazz, blues, soul, and Latin artists.
- CPJF is the longest-running free annual jazz festival west of the Mississippi – and Portland’s longest-running annual community event. There is no admission charge.
Jazz Society of Oregon - Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
Portland Pride Waterfront Festival
- When: Saturday, July 20, 12pm – 8pm & Sunday, July 21, 11:30am – 6pm
- Where: Oregon Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park
- What: While much of the rest of the country seems to think it’s okay to abuse and restrict others for doing what they wish with their own bodies, what clothes they wear, and loving who they want to love, the Portland Pride Festival and Parade is a time for the LBGTQ+ community to come out in self-love, acceptance and pride.
Food, drinks, live music and nonprofit information booths are arrayed along the park with information about local LGBTQ+ groups and community activities.
Portland Pride Waterfront Festival
- When: Sunday, July 21, 11am
- Where: Begins at the North Park Blocks and ends on Naito Pkwy at the Festival site at the park.
- What: LGBTQ+ folk and friends and family let their freak flags fly by the thousands in this parade.
Expect loud, rambunctious super-high energy from people of all colors and backgrounds making themselves visible to each other so that they know they aren’t alone in who they are, while seen by the larger community to make sure they aren’t skirted off to the sidelines and shadows of the world.
Portland Pride Parade. Photo by NBC16.com
- When: August 2 – 3
- Where: Colwood Golf Center, 7313 NE Columbia Blvd.
- What: A jazz festival in honor of those musicians who moved to Oregon for work and filled the air with art.
This year’s lineup includes Stokley, Jarrod Lawson, Najee, Patrice Rushen, Richard Elliot & Rick Braun, Eric Darius and Esperanza Spalding..
- When: August 3 – 6
- Where: Pendarvis Farm, Happy Valley, just outside Portland
- What: This is the quintessential Portland laid-back annual four-day campout and music festival.
The festival hosts notable artists from a wide mix of genres including indie, rock, rap, folk, jazz, rhythm and blues, and bluegrass.
Pickathon Summer Music Festival
25th Anniversary PDX Adult Soapbox Derby
- When: Saturday, August 17
- Where: .Mt. Tabor Park
- What: All manner of motorless vehicles scream or struggle down the long, winding road of Portland’s own extinction volcano to the delight of spectators lining either side. Winners are not those who get down to the bottom the fastest, but the most creatively and hilariously.
Mt Tabor Soapbox Derby
- When: Sunday, Aug. 18
- Where: N. Denver Avenue, 97217
- What: The Kenton Neighborhood will be drawing the throngs with its street fair hosting multiple live music stages, 80+ vendors, dining options, and plenty of great businesses on the block.
The Providence Hood and Portland To Coast Relay
- When: August 23 – 24
- Where: From Mount Hood to the Oregon Coast
- What: The Providence Hood and Portland To Coast Relay is the most popular and largest running and walking relay race in the world, annually drawing participants from over 40 countries and all 50 states.
Known as the Mother of All Relays, the event takes 8 to 12 member relay teams 198 miles or 128 miles (from Portland) from the iconic top of Mount Hood to the beaches of the Pacific Ocean. The event has sold-out for 36 straight years and on lottery opening day for 31 consecutive years!
Recuperate from your run or walk at the quiet, peaceful Portland Eco House.
Whether you join these eco-conscious events or prefer a peaceful retreat, reserve a stay at Portland Eco House to experience the best of Portland’s summer.
Providence Hood to Coast Run
Visiting Portland? Book your stay at the eco-friendly, vegan-friendly Portland Eco House.
The patio cottage was awesome. Just as described and Scott was a wonderful host. He also has a really nice welcome book with some great suggestions regarding the city and surrounding areas. The cottage is also right off of Alberta St and there are countless shops and great restaurants in walking distance. This was a bonus I hadn’t planned on. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, the bed is awesome. 😊 Wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again. Thank you Scott.
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Fun, Eco-Conscious
Spring & Summer Events
Portland, Oregon
May through August, 2024
Pedalpalooza Bike Summer. Photo by Taylor Griggs/Bike Portland
Catch Portland’s Warm Season Vibes!
Portland is renowned for its lush, green springs and warm, sunny summers. To help you celebrate this season, we’ve compiled a guide to eco-conscious events. Explore outdoor markets for organic produce and local crafts, or visit artists’ open studios. Enjoy community bike rides, test your endurance at renowned races, or participate in parades, street fairs, brewfests, and art walks.
To help you celebrate this heavenly season, I’ve put together the guide below. In it, you’ll find a number of eco-conscious, outdoorsy, and community-connecting events around town that will get you out and about its diverse happening neighborhoods, streets and parks and soaking up as much of that sunshine and warmth as you can take.
Events for every interest
At the weekend open-air markets you can gift yourself or loved ones with local organic produce and locally-made crafts. At the artists’ open studios you can steal a glimpse into the visual arts community.
All summer long, community bike rides beckon with their whacky fun and comaraderie. As a serious cyclist or runner, you’ll want to test your speed and endurance at world-renown races held here. This summer also invites with its chock-full of parades, street fairs, brewfests, art walks, historic home tours, and others.
A place to just enjoy on your own
You may want to mark your calendar to join in on one or more of these. Or perhaps you’re not a big “people” person and you just want to make a little pilgrimage to this summertime Mecca. That’s just another way to take in some of the good vibes flowing throughout and to commune with the beautiful neighborhoods and surrounding countryside.
Whatever your fancy, reserve a few nights at the Portland Eco House during this heavenly season, and be reminded just how much fun there is to be had in this neck of the woods!
City Repair Project - Village Building Convergence
Upcoming Eco-Conscious Events in Portland
- When: Saturdays: 10am – 5pm, Sundays: 11am – 4:30pm
- Where: Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, near SW Ankeny Street
- What: Spring of 2024, this Portland institution is celebrating its 50th year of supporting local artists, fostering connections, and embracing the spirit of the city.
In accompaniment to its support of local artisans, the Portland Saturday Market brings together food vendors, musicians, and visitors from all walks of life. Check its calendar for celebration activities and more.
Portland Saturday Market
- When: Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm, early May to late November
- Where: King Elementary School parking lot — NE 7th Avenue & NE Wygant Street
- What: Walk on over a few blocks from the Portland Eco House to get some fresh produce and value-added food products direct from local farmers.
Head just four blocks east on Wygant Street until you get to MLK Blvd, jog south a few steps and catch Wygant again. Walk another block then through the Martin Luther King Elementary School park, and you’ll see the market buzzing in full force in the school parking lot.
King Farmers Market, Portland Oregon
- When: Every Saturday, 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM
- Where: Portland’s South Park Blocks at the Portland State University Campus
- What: Dive into an even greater bounty of locally sourced produce, artisanal goods, and eco-friendly products at Portland’s flagship farmers market. Under the canopy of giant elm trees, locals and visitors alike flock to explore as many as 100 vendor stalls!
- When: Saturday, May 11
- Where: St Johns Neighborhood, Portland, 97203
- What: Since 1962, folks from all over have come to cheer on this neighborhood parade of floats, bands, drill teams and horses. Afterwards, the St. Johns Bizarre kicks off its street fair.
A portion of the St. Johns business district is closed to traffic and filled with over 135 juried craft vendors, several stages for music, food, and tons of games and activities. It’s a chance to take in the neighborhood and its people at the northern edge of town right by the beautiful St. Johns Bridge spanning across the Willamette River, with Cathedral Park rolling green below it.
- When: May 17
- Where: Irvington Neighborhood
- What: The Irvington Neighborhood, which is about a mile and half pleasant walk, bike or drive from the Portland Eco House, is one of the most beautiful tree lined neighborhoods in Portland, with National Historic Preservation status. Every year, as part of maintaining that status, select homes in the neighborhood are opened for public viewing.
Ooh and aah at some of the most stately and gorgeous homes you’ll ever set your eyes upon, inside and out, while gathering inspiration for remodeling yours.
Irvington Home Tour
- When: May 18
- Where: From Portland’s farmland-rich Sauvie Island to the Astoria-Megler Bridge
- What: An annual American Lung Association fundraiser bike ride that starts in the metro area and ends at the Oregon Coast. $200-per-person fundraising minimum.
Different starting-point options are available for those not feeling up to 100 miles. Riders can register individually or as a team.
Prepare for your ride with a restful stay beforehand at the Portland Eco House.
Oregon Reach the Beach Bike Ride
Celebration of Oregon Brewers Festival
- When: May 24 – June 09
- Where: Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, in downtown Portland
- What: One of the nation’s longest-running craft beer festivals, the Oregon Brewers Festival is considered a craft beer destination.
50,000 fans annually make the pilgrimage to Beervana to drink up what the festival has to offer.
- When: May 24 – June 9
- Where: Downtown Portland’s Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park and throughout inner city Portland.
- What: Since 1907, the Portland Rose Festival has inspired locals and visitors alike to gather and celebrate the Rose City and its spirit.
The Rose Festival’s big events are the Grand Floral Parade, Starlight Parade, Junior Parade, Queen’s Coronation, CityFair and Fleet Week.
Portland Rose Festival CityFair
- When: May 24 – June 09
- Where: Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, in downtown Portland
- What: Carnival rides, fair foods, interactive exhibits, and constant entertainment – all nestled between the urban energy of the city and the natural beauty of the Willamette River
Portland Rose Festival CityFair
- When: June 1 – August 31
- Where: All throughout Portland
- What: Bike Summer, also known as Pedalpalooza, is a summer-long open-source festival of organized casual bike rides celebrating the joy of riding and community. Lots of fun, and a great way to catch the spirit of Portland and its neighborhoods and people.
Come for the first ride on June 1, when thousands of cycling enthusiasts turn out, many on their weirdest rigs (tall bikes, tandem bikes, mini bikes) and in their most festive gear.
Don’t miss it — rent a bike ahead of time at Everybody’s Bike Rentals only three blocks from the Portland Eco House.
Pedalpalooza Bike Summer Kickoff Ride
- When: Saturday, June 1 at 3 pm
- Where: Starts in one of Portland’s neighborhood parks — To Be Announced
- What: Velophiles of all ages kick off the three-month-long bike festival with a huge, free group ride. The route varies each year, but it typically starts and ends at a city park.
Thousands show up, many on their weirdest rigs (tall bikes, tandem bikes, mini bikes) and in their most festive gear. Don’t miss it — rent a bike ahead of time at Everybody’s Bike Rentals only three blocks from the Portland Eco House.
Pedalpalooza Bike Summer. Photo by Taylor Griggs/Bike Portland
- When: June — exact date To Be Announced
- Where: TBA too
- What: As part of the Pedalpalooza Bike Summer celebration, this is a fun, all-ages, no-drop ride exclusively for Blacks and other people of color to take up space on the streets, gather in community, and celebrate.
Rent a bike ahead of time at Everybody’s Bike Rentals only three blocks from the Portland Eco House.
- When: June 1, 4pm
- Where: Downtown Portland, Director’s Park, 815 SW Park Avenue
- What: A slow, stately 1.5-mile parade that flows past spots from Portland’s rich 2SLGBTQIA+ history.
Poison Waters will be leading this family-friendly ride. All Wheels Welcome! The parade will end at the Cart Blocks Food Cart Pod with a dance party featuring some surprise guests. Bring the bio-degradable glitter and get ready to shine!
- When: June 7, July 5, and August 2, 5 – 9pm, and the First Friday of all other months all year
- Where: East Side Arts District (see map)
- Offering a gateway into Portland’s thriving arts culture, First Friday PDX includes more than 23 independent galleries, shops, and studios, as well as a street exhibition from April to October.
The self-guided tour is free and open to locals and visitors!
Portlland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade
- When: June 8, 10am – 12pm
- Where: Route starts by running through the Memorial Coliseum and enters the street on Broadway. It travels along Weidler to MLK Jr. Blvd, where it turns right and travels down MLK Jr. Blvd to Lloyd Blvd. The parade turns left on Lloyd Blvd, and ends at 16th and Multnomah, near the Lloyd Center.
- What: A cherished 107 year-old tradition of the Portland Rose Festival that draws hundreds of thousands of cheering viewers.
Portland Rose Festival Parade Float
Village Building Convergence 2024
- When: June 15 – 22
- Where: SE Portland and around town
- What: This annual placemaking event has been facilitated by the City Repair Project for the past 20+ years. This year’s theme is “Summer of Change,” with eight days of workshops, placemaking, presentations, and community building.
VBC 2024 offers opportunities to join in daytime activities ranging from intersection painting and natural building to permaculture, rewilding, and social forestry. Each evening participants gather as a community for connection, dinner, entertainment, and hearing from leading speakers.
The VBC is open to everyone, and families with children are welcome. No experience is necessary for coming to learn, collaborate, and contribute to the building of resilient and thriving communities.
City Repair Project - Village Building Convergence
- When: June 16, 11am – 4pm
- Where: Can start at NE 37th Avenue and Alberta Court
- What: This is a self-guided ride along a route designed to highlight the network of neighborhood greenways and other infrastructure, parks, and community resources.
Circulation slows in areas along the route and at the featured parks for vendor marketplaces, community booths, free family-friendly activities, and live entertainment.
Portland Sunday Parkways. Photo by Scott Jones /Portland Eco House
- When: On the Last Thursdays of the summer months, June 27, July 25, and August 29, 6 – 9 PM.
- Where: NE Alberta Street from NE 15th Avenue to NE 30th Avenue
- What: Last Thursday is a community-grown event that showcases Portland’s vibrant culture and community spirit.
On this evening, Alberta Street is closed to traffic, and all the galleries on the street hold their opening parties, with restaurants and food carts offering open-air dining, and performance venues and bars often hosting live music and performances. Free for all artists and art vendors, musicians, performers and visitors taking to the street.
Alberta Street Last Thursday
- When: To Be Announced, Probably July or August
- Where: TBA as well
- What: This Pedalpalooza Bike Summer ride is Portland’s essential Big One of the year not to miss. Each year 10,000 and more people come out in force to have fun taking over the city in all manner of colorful dress and undress.
Originating as a fellowship protest ride in tandem with naked rides in major cities worldwide against dependence on oil and cyclists’ vulnerability to cars, the ride is also a celebration of bodies.
You’ll see everything from full nudity to body paint to swimsuits to regular clothing. There other nude-friendly Pedalpalooza rides, but this is the big one, with a dance party at the end.
Rent a bike ahead of time at Everybody’s Bike Rentals only three blocks from the Portland Eco House.
Portland World Naked Bike Ride
- When: July, TBA
- Where TBA
- What: For 15 years, the Working Theatre Collective has written and performed a play that unfolds over the course of a bike ride, complete with original music and choreographed dance numbers. The audience (that’s you) pedals from scene to scene.
Reserve rental bikes ahead of time from Everybody’s Bike Rentals just three blocks from the Portland Eco House.
NW Marine Art Works’ Open Studios
- When: July 1 & 2, 10am – 4pm
- Where: 2516 NW 29th Avenue
- What: More than 50 of Portland’s best artists at the sprawling NW Marine Art Works’ 2-acre campus will open their studio doors inside the 10 enormous buildings and welcome guests into their spaces to view them at work and interact with them.
All kinds of art media are here — from jewelry and apparel to paintings and printmaking, ceramics, photography, sculpture, accessories and housewares. Live music and food and drink will also be featured as part of the festivities.
NW Marine Artworks Open Studios
- When: July 4 – 6, Noon–10 pm
- Where: Elizabeth Caruthers Park, 3508 S Moody Avenue
- What: Helping to kick off Oregon Craft Beer Month, the Portland Craft Beer Festival brings a huge outdoor party to Elizabeth Caruthers Park, along with a huge selection of local beers, ciders and wine, originating from Portland, Oregon breweries.
Only beers, plus ciders and wine crafted within the city limits of Portland are featured at the PCBF, which stands it apart from other beer festivals.
Portland Craft Beer Festival
- When: July 4 – 7
- Where: Downtown Portland’s Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park
- What: On four stages at the height of summer and within eight acres of the park, blues, rock, and bluegrass/country acts from around the country converge. This year’s festival is headlined by Ben Harper.
Portland Waterfront Blues Festival
- When: Saturday, July 13
- Where: N Mississippi Avenue between N Fremont & Skidmore Streets
- What: the long stretch of North Mississippi Avenue closes down for Portland’s largest street fair, unfolding a day of fun with hundreds of vendors, shopping, dining, and music on three different stages.
Mississippi Street Fair. Photo by Scott Jones/Portland Eco House
Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic
- When: July 13 – 14
- Where: Starts in Seattle, ends in Portland
- What: Thousands of cyclists show up for the one- or two-day, 206-mile ride with plenty of support stations along the way. At the end, riders pick up beer garden beverages and lifetime bragging rights. The $180–210 registration fee includes baggage transport.
Recuperate from your ride at the quiet, peaceful Portland Eco House.
44th Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
- When: Saturday, July 19 – 21
- Where: Cathedral Park under the historic St Johns Bridge in North Portland
- What: A totally free festival of jazz, featuring local jazz, blues, soul, and Latin artists.
- CPJF is the longest-running free annual jazz festival west of the Mississippi – and Portland’s longest-running annual community event. There is no admission charge.
Jazz Society of Oregon - Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
Portland Pride Waterfront Festival
- When: Saturday, July 20, 12pm – 8pm & Sunday, July 21, 11:30am – 6pm
- Where: Oregon Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park
- What: While much of the rest of the country seems to think it’s okay to abuse and restrict others for doing what they wish with their own bodies, what clothes they wear, and loving who they want to love, the Portland Pride Festival and Parade is a time for the LBGTQ+ community to come out in self-love, acceptance and pride.
Food, drinks, live music and nonprofit information booths are arrayed along the park with information about local LGBTQ+ groups and community activities.
Portland Pride Waterfront Festival
- When: Sunday, July 21, 11am
- Where: Begins at the North Park Blocks and ends on Naito Pkwy at the Festival site at the park.
- What: LGBTQ+ folk and friends and family let their freak flags fly by the thousands in this parade.
Expect loud, rambunctious super-high energy from people of all colors and backgrounds making themselves visible to each other so that they know they aren’t alone in who they are, while seen by the larger community to make sure they aren’t skirted off to the sidelines and shadows of the world.
Portland Pride Parade. Photo by NBC16.com
- When: August 2 – 3
- Where: Colwood Golf Center, 7313 NE Columbia Blvd.
- What: A jazz festival in honor of those musicians who moved to Oregon for work and filled the air with art.
This year’s lineup includes Stokley, Jarrod Lawson, Najee, Patrice Rushen, Richard Elliot & Rick Braun, Eric Darius and Esperanza Spalding..
- When: August 3 – 6
- Where: Pendarvis Farm, Happy Valley, just outside Portland
- What: This is the quintessential Portland laid-back annual four-day campout and music festival.
The festival hosts notable artists from a wide mix of genres including indie, rock, rap, folk, jazz, rhythm and blues, and bluegrass.
Pickathon Summer Music Festival
25th Anniversary PDX Adult Soapbox Derby
- When: Saturday, August 17
- Where: .Mt. Tabor Park
- What: All manner of motorless vehicles scream or struggle down the long, winding road of Portland’s own extinction volcano to the delight of spectators lining either side. Winners are not those who get down to the bottom the fastest, but the most creatively and hilariously.
Mt Tabor Soapbox Derby
- When: Sunday, Aug. 18
- Where: N. Denver Avenue, 97217
- What: The Kenton Neighborhood will be drawing the throngs with its street fair hosting multiple live music stages, 80+ vendors, dining options, and plenty of great businesses on the block.
The Providence Hood and Portland To Coast Relay
- When: August 23 – 24
- Where: From Mount Hood to the Oregon Coast
- What: The Providence Hood and Portland To Coast Relay is the most popular and largest running and walking relay race in the world, annually drawing participants from over 40 countries and all 50 states.
Known as the Mother of All Relays, the event takes 8 to 12 member relay teams 198 miles or 128 miles (from Portland) from the iconic top of Mount Hood to the beaches of the Pacific Ocean. The event has sold-out for 36 straight years and on lottery opening day for 31 consecutive years!
Recuperate from your run or walk at the quiet, peaceful Portland Eco House.
Whether you join these eco-conscious events or prefer a peaceful retreat, reserve a stay at Portland Eco House to experience the best of Portland’s summer.
Providence Hood to Coast Run
Visiting Portland? Book your stay at the eco-friendly, vegan-friendly Portland Eco House.
The patio cottage was awesome. Just as described and Scott was a wonderful host. He also has a really nice welcome book with some great suggestions regarding the city and surrounding areas. The cottage is also right off of Alberta St and there are countless shops and great restaurants in walking distance. This was a bonus I hadn’t planned on. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, the bed is awesome. 😊 Wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again. Thank you Scott.