What Portland Festivals to Attend This Summer

It’s a busy summer of fun festivals. Here’s a list of the ones that you shouldn’t miss! These picks are from Portland event guru Michele Venlee, who chatted with the City Cast Portland podcast about her favorite summer happenings:

(Four events are this weekend, so get your tickets now if they’re needed.)

🌲 Comedy In The Park | June 23 and Other Fridays

“One that I really love is free comedy at Laurelhurst Park every Friday. I did that for the first time last year and I was hooked because — free comedy.”

🍏 Cider Summit | June 23 - 24

That’s “for anyone who loves cider.”

🏳️‍🌈 Pride Vegan Night Market | June 24

“A really fun one that's gonna be happening this month is the Pride Vegan Night Market. We don't have a lot of food night markets.”

🧀 Portland Beer and Cheese Festival | June 25

“I've been to a few cheese festivals in Portland and I feel like they're always really fun because we have so many great cheese purveyors here.”

🍺 Portland Craft Beer Festival | June 30 - July 2

“That's at the Fields Park. And that park's really pretty.”

🚧 Mississippi Street Fair | July 15

It “is a big one that happens every year. There's also a lot of smaller street fairs too that I love to go to.”

🏳️‍🌈 Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade | July 15 - 16

“That changed from this month to July. So a lot of people don't know that.”

• Related: Celebrate Pride in Portland for two months this year. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

🌲 Tiger Tiger | July 22

“One that I'm looking forward to that first happened last year is the Tiger, Tiger, a celebration of the [Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander] community. There'll be music, lots of great food.”

🌲 PDX Adult Soapbox Derby | Aug. 19

My “personal favorite is the Portland Adult Soapbox Derby, which is a ton of fun. It happens at Mount Tabor and I honestly can't describe how creative these cars are. Last year there was a Peewee Herman one. There was a Monty Python, the Holy Grail. And they hold up too.”