The Best of Portland in September 2025

It’s still sunny and warm — even if the calendar has flipped over to September.

🎈 Street Festivals

Is there anything more summery than a street festival?

• Clinton Street Fair | Sept. 6
• Belmont Street Fair | Sept. 13
• Downtown Sunday Parkways | Sept. 14

🎵 Music Festivals

Portland’s September calendar is surprisingly full of music festivals:

• St. Johns Music Festival | Sept. 5 - 7
• The Best Day Ever Festival (Aminé & friends) | Sept 13 - 14
• Lose Yr Mind Fest (psychedelic rock) | Sept. 12 -13
• PDX Pop Now! Festival (local music) | Sept. 12 - 14

💙 Crater Lake (Before You Can’t)

There’s an out-of-town trip you'll want to take before you can’t:

• Crater Lake | Till Sept. 14 (The trail down to the lake closes this month for at least the next two years for construction. Tip: Last-minute tickets for boat tours open 24 hours in advance.)

💡 Do Your Part for the Birds.

Here’s a hack for the month: The peak of birds’ fall migration is expected to get underway Sept. 19 and run through Oct. 19, according to current projections. To help the birds navigate at night, you can do your part by turning off outside lights, drawing your curtains so light doesn’t leave your house, and using warmer color (less blue) lightbulbs outside.

• Some birds use the stars to navigate.
• Learn more from Oregon Bird Alliance and their Lights Out campaign.
• Keep track of the birds' migration here.

Stay tuned: We’re still awaiting word on the annual fall migration of Vaux swifts: Will they or won’t they show up in spots where we can watch them circle into chimneys for a nightly rest? In years past, they came to Chapman Elementary by the thousands, but started avoiding it last year after too many predators appeared.