Portland Events & Film Office is proud to announce the 2023 Community Event Grant recipients. The office received 380 applications. We scored each application in four categories: Economic Impact, Community Building, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Viability. Grant funds went to the 115 top-scoring applications.
Awarded grants totaled $544,077.
76% of awardees identify as Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color
88/115 of the events are free
Estimated economic impact of grantees: $6.67M
2023 Community Event Grantees
Grantees are listed in alphabetic order by the name of the event.
Descriptions provided by grantees
(TBD) Juneteenth Celebration Juneteenth rodeo and celebration at Portland Expo Center open to the public on Saturday, followed by guided horseback tours for Black Portlanders through Downtown Portland on Juneteenth.
2023 Juneteenth OR Parade and Festival Juneteenth Oregon’s celebration starts with a parade, followed by the festivities which include live music and entertainment, art, food, educational booths, cultural booths, community resources, and a children’s play area.
6th Annual Brazilian Festival in Portland Join us for our 6th Annual Brazilian Festival in Portland! Celebrating the Brazilian culture, we are bringing the community together, sharing music, food, art, dance, and much more!
Art Connect Art Connect is a multi-day art gallery with an opening night & closing night, with open gallery hours during the week.
Artist Alley Comics Fest Artist Alley Comics Fest is a celebration of independent comics and their creators. Meet the diverse array of comic artists, writers, illustrators, zinesters, storytellers, and publishers who make up this vibrant, creative community. Join us on August 5th in appreciation of Portland's legacy of independent, alternative, underground, and eclectic comic creation! General admission is free to the public.
Ascending Flow Block Party – highlighting foster youth resiliency Our event will showcase the stories and talents of our former foster youth. It will include performances from not only our former foster youth but also the BIPOC community in Portland including comedy, live music, break dancing, live art, and activities that the community can join in. We will have food trucks in attendance and our program will run from noon to 4 pm
Barrio BARRIO, An inclusive culturally specific gathering for Oregon’s diverse arts community. The main idea of BARRIO (a neighborhood in Spanish) is to feature specific arts communities in Portland through well-curated monthly events that offer a greater understanding of the art, cultural heritage, and creative expression of the various underrepresented artists that enrich our civic life.
Bike Play For 14 years and running, "Bike Play" creates and performs an all-original play each year in conjunction with Pedalpalooza. Half ride and half play, Bike Play takes the audience on a pedal-powered adventure like no other. Ride along from location to location watching scenes unfold along the way. Full of dancing, singing, epic bike crashes, and other surprises, Bike Play is a not to be missed yearly summer event.
Black Friday The Black Friday event is a celebration of Black artistry and entrepreneurship. This event represents a cultural reclamation and is intended to be a resource for our community that provides an opportunity to reconnect and be seen. BPW will provide free access to quality healthcare: group acupuncture, chair massage, and wellness checks to participants, along with healthy snacks. The event will host an interactive reception with a BIPOC Visual Artist where they share stories of their work and intersection with healing. The event is focused on BIPOC and LGTBQIA community members and is open to all.
Blues Kool-aid and Chicken Block Party This family-friendly block party welcomes neighbors across the city to dance in the street to live Blues, Jazz, and NeoSoul music, play card games, eat food from local vendors, and make new friends. What started as a small family gathering nearly two decades ago is now an open event for people of all ages to enjoy wholesome fun and festivities on the 4th of July.
Body Positive Block Party Come celebrate body diversity at this event full of shopping, food, music, games, and community! Meet the artists, service providers, fashion designers, creatives, small business owners, and neighbors that make Portland a powerhouse city for Plus Size fun!
Broadway in Bloom: A Celebration of Health, Sustainability, and Community Get ready to party with a purpose in Lloyd! Broadway in Bloom: A Celebration of Health, Sustainability, and Community is an exciting event that combines all the best things in life - live music, a vibrant market featuring local and BIPOC vendors, and delicious food trucks. This block party is all about promoting sustainability, health and wellness, and environmental awareness, but that doesn't mean it's all work and no play! With a pop-up exercise class, a plant sale, and recycling education, there are plenty of fun and engaging activities for everyone.
Burnout 2023 Burnout is the officially sanctioned post-Burning Man Decompression event for Portland, Oregon, and the surrounding areas. Burnout features a wide variety of visual, art, and musical performances and will have family-friendly interactive activities. The goal for this event is to provide an opportunity for local Burners to host art, build community, inspire creativity, perform and enjoy music, and give people in the Portland area an opportunity to celebrate and build connections.
Cathedral Park Jazz Festival The 43rd Cathedral Park Jazz Festival is the largest outdoor, free jazz festival in the nation. We offer three days of jazz and blues performed by some of the greatest musicians in the Pacific Northwest.
Celebrate 2023 – IRCO Pacific Islander and Asian Family Center Open House PIAFC will host an open house to celebrate its 29th year of operation with cultural performances, food from local BIPOC vendors, and speeches by community and IRCO/PIAFC leaders.
Celebrate Portlands Alberta Street Fair A street fair and market supporting local businesses while highlighting our underserved communities; particularly our disabled and BIPOC entrepreneurs.
Chinatown Meet Chinatown Meet is a community sale led by all boutiques in Old Town Chinatown such as Deadstock Coffee, Index PDX, Unspoken, Orox Leathers Co., etc. Alongside our neighborhood stores, we bring in a variety of really dope vendors that encompass the Old Town Chinatown community to sell items their goods too, a few notable past vendors: Trillblazin', Vain Glory, Stussy Inc., Compound Gallery, and many more! The sale is paired with amazing food from vendors like Matta PDX, Baon Kainan, and Fabos Tacos. We'll also have some of the city’s favorite DJs playing a mix of Hip Hop, RnB, and Neo-Soul for a full-blown backyard boogie in Couch Plaza accompanied by drinks for those 21+. It is a legit block party.
Cine / Seen CINE-SEEN is a short film festival showcasing the talents of filmmakers from the Pacific Northwest. We aim to highlight the unique perspective and films of underrepresented artists. Join us in creating a space for artistic celebration for us and by us here in Oregon.
Community for Positive Aging Summer Block Party Community Block Party! All are welcome. The event is FREE and open to all. Features live music, food and drinks, vendor market by PDX Vendor Collective, health and wellness information, children's activities, and other entertainment!
Compassion Through Literature Positive Charge! PDX is hosting a diversity literacy event to encourage everyone to share diverse books in little free libraries! We will have a variety of speakers, performers, booksellers, book giveaways, info booths, and light refreshments available. Come join us in celebrating and embracing diversity via our Compassion Through Literature program!
Culture Shock 6 performances at this event (3 of them are 94 Prynce, D3, and De$zo Money) Fashion show segment from a woman's clothing business, Rich Risk. Face painter for the kids to get their faces painted, and food for guests to order and eat. It’s all ages and it’s hard to find food venues for all ages shows to display these young artists who are not +21 so their friends and family can see them in their own community performing and working with all the local establishments and artists.
Dark Arts Collective presents SABBATH The spring is upon us, so let us lay to rest our old ideas and cultivate the dawn of new ventures. Music, Fire Performances, Live Art, and Communal Gatherings will take place from 7 pm-12 am. Artist Lineup will be announced soon.
Deconstructing Karen Third Eye Books presents a screening and Q&A with authors Regina Jackson and Saira Rao. DECONSTRUCTING KAREN (2022), directed by Patty Ivins Specht, is a documentary about Jackson and Rao’s Race2Dinner program, in which nice, white women attend the wildest dinner party of their lives. The main course is a radically honest conversation to inspire white women to confront themselves and acknowledge their own racism and complicity in white supremacy.
DhopeFest DhopeFest will be the first-of-its-kind, full-day summer music festival bringing together some of Portland's best local artists and DJs on one stage. This is a curated event with select artists, and an opportunity to shine a light on the immense talent in our very own backyard. A festival for lovers of hip-hop and R&B of all ages. This will be the show of the year!
Division Clinton Street Fair Division Clinton Street Fair is a long-standing event that celebrates community, music, and our neighborhood.
Eight Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo Join us for the Inaugural Eight Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo on June, 17th 2023 in Portland, OR. The top Black Western athletes from around the country will thrill and inspire the crowd with barrel racing and bull riding. But the excitement doesn't stop there! Be ready to feast on delicious food, laugh with our hilarious comedian, and groove to the beats of DJ OG One. This is a celebration like no other, honoring the historical significance of Juneteenth while showcasing the incredible talents of Black rodeo stars.
Entirely Together Entirely Together is an all-ages event to bring people together in celebration of music, culture, dance, storytelling, and performance art. This event will feature local musicians and artists, from conscious Hip-Hop to world music, a guest indigenous elder, youth participants, and vendors. This will be a fun and engaging environment for intergenerational sharing, healing, and unity.
Fall Harvest Fest Food, games, music, community booths, bounce house, face painting, and more! In collaboration with Prescott Elementary, Prescott Family Community Association, and Camp ELSO.
Fall in Love with Lents This two-day event aims to activate Lents Town Center by providing free activities, entertainment, and art for all to enjoy from dawn to dusk. Friday evening is a "Really Really Free" Market and Saturday is the East Portland Arts & Community Fair. The mission of Fall in Love with Lents is to build community, celebrate art, and activate Lents Town Center by creating opportunities accessible to all members of our diverse East Portland neighborhoods to connect, explore, and create in our own community.
First Saturdays at Oregon Contemporary On the First Saturday of every month May through September, Oregon Contemporary hosts a First Saturday Open House from 5–8 pm. The events are free to the public and are an opportunity to experience art throughout the center, in our galleries and performance spaces. Our partner tenants (Carnation Contemporary, Well Well Projects, and Small Talk Collective) are also open for the night, and we offer food, drinks, and special performances.
Flowers for Black Elders Archiving Black Elders & Amplifying Hidden Voices is a multidisciplinary art exhibit in August at the IFCC in Portland, showcasing, honoring, and documenting five Black musicians who shaped Portland's musical culture over several decades. The exhibit is an immersive experience featuring portrait photos of each artist and oral history interviews for guests to learn more about their contributions.
FLOWERS FOR FREE A floral installation will be set up on location - designed to be photographed. Guests can visit the installation and take free flowers by showing a receipt of purchases from local businesses. A key will indicate how many flowers a guest may take based on the dollar amount spent.
Free Comic Book Day/BwPCon!/Hot Orc Summer/Rose City Comic Con Afterparty Free Comic Book Day: A community celebration of local comic shops, complete with comics giveaways, a pop-punk dance party in the evening, and signings by creators Charlie Jane Anders and Becky Cloonan!
Sellwood Summer Concerts Milieu collective will be Friday Family Fun Night which includes Art Jams and makers market from late spring till early fall. Some project participants will enjoy our Giant cardboard face masks, Kokadama making, sip& draws, jewelry making, shopping, food tasting, and more. On Saturday evenings Milieu in partnership with SMILE will host the first part of the Sellwood Summer Music Series. Live Music starts between 6&630p and goes till 830. In August we will close out the summer with an Art crawl and BIPOC maker market. milieupdx.com and sellwoodmoreland.com/links
Gateway Block Party The Gateway Block Party is a community event taking place in mid-July 2023 featuring black-owned small businesses, black artists, and black performers. The event will take place outdoors and will be centered around the Soulsation Hip Hop Academy in Cole's Complex in the Gateway neighborhood. A family-friendly gathering open to all, the block party features musicians, visual artists, live painters, dance performances, craftspeople, and small businesses. Its mission is to celebrate the diverse array of art forms and entrepreneurship within Portland's black community to strengthen our cultural bonds, increase visibility for small businesses, build family connections in the neighborhood, and magnify creativity in all its forms.
Hanabi Japanese Film Festival The Hanabi Japanese Film Festival at the Clinton Street Theater will take place over nine days at the end of July and beginning of August, and feature several critically acclaimed Japanese films.
Honk! Fest PDX Honk! PDX is an accessible community music festival of energetic street band performances in public spaces. Honk! offers an opportunity for anyone, at any age, to learn and participate in the global street band movement. Honk! is about cooperative values, participatory culture, breaking down barriers, and introducing different cultural traditions through music.
ICP Festival PETE (Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble) presents the ICP Festival of new work, a collection of new site-specific performances happening across Portland May 11-14. Featuring a post-apocalyptic concert, mud creatures in the park, pop songs in a baseball field, and four variations on brunch, these performances are celebrations for end-times and will take audiences across Portland, making the familiar strange.
Indigenous Marketplace Celebrates Pride Month Indigenous Marketplace Celebrates Pride Month There will be live music on both days and over 20 vendors each day!!!
Jade International Night Market After three years, the Jade International Night Market is back! This summer event provides a space to celebrate and recognize the diversity and culture of the communities who live and work in the Jade District and sheds light on the issues impacting a neighborhood in transition. We envision an event that supports and roots the Jade District community in place while providing an opportunity for community members and businesses to benefit economically from the event. The Jade District is centered around Southeast 82nd Avenue and Division Street. The goal of the Jade District is to build social and economic capacity while mitigating unwanted displacement in the face of gentrification pressures.
Juneteenth Celebration by Zenger Farms This cultural celebration is led by our Community Chefs who are women of color from our neighborhood sharing knowledge, and food traditions and building community through the process of making and sharing their recipes connecting their cultural foods and community practices with farm fresh vegetables. This will be our fifth annual Juneteenth Celebration, commemorating the 1865 abolition of slavery in Texas, and will prioritize space for our Black community members and features family activities.
Juneteenth Celebration by BNO Entertainment Calling all Come celebrate Juneteenth with us! Free for all ages, so bring your friends and family out for an empowering night of fun. Food carts and vendors. Celebrating and empowering. Engaging and uplifting
JUNTOSpdx A 3 weekend event that aims to connect, highlight, inspire & celebrate Latin Hispanic culture. All 3 weekends will have different themes and activations. Weekend one will highlight Latin Hispanic artists. Weekend two will bring together a group of Latin professionals from different industries to share their stories and inspire the culture & community. Weekend three marks the closing ceremony where Latin dance, music, and food will be highlighted. All finer details are yet to be finalized. Please know that this information is a rough draft and not the final release.
Kick Flix Sneaker Week PDX presents Kick Flix, an amateur film festival. We’re putting the call out to all aspiring filmmakers, documentarians, and those that love to capture lives and moments in motion. We’re asking those creative minds around the globe to create a 3-5 minute short film focused on the 2023 SneakerWeek PDX theme.
Kickstand Comedy in the Park Kickstand Comedy in the Park is a weekly summer showcase of some of Portland's best stand-up comedy and special drop-in touring guests.
Lakad for Kalusugan: A Family-Friendly 5K Race & Community Festival Lakad means to walk in Filipino, and Kalusugan means Health. Lakad for Kalusugan: A 5K Race and Family-Friendly Community Festival aims to gather our community while raising awareness and support for health-related projects and initiatives for the Filipino community. The day will start with a family-friendly 5k race at 9-10 am, followed by a 10 am-3 pm community festival which will feature booths of local food vendors, small businesses, and community organizations. At the same time, there will be an entertainment program that will feature cultural performances by local community artists and performers.
Matta Day We will be using the funds to host the closing of Matta, the Vietnamese-American food cart, on the cart’s 5-year anniversary and will be having a huge community event to celebrate the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one. Matta as a brand has been a part of the BIPOC community through numerous social events and engagement and will continue to do so as we become an events business that will focus on highlighting local BIPOC artists and creatives. We will be blocking off the street in front of the food cart to have a breakdancing battle, live music, a lot of food being cooked out of the food cart, and merch giveaways. This will be a huge community event that we are really looking forward to.
Mic Check PDX 7-Year Anniversary Mic Check Year 7 Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop. Hosted by DJ Klyph Performances by Homeboy Sandman, Vursatyl, Cool Nutz & DJ Fatboy, Boom Bap Project, Bremer Baden, Music by DJ O.G. One All ages welcome
ALL AGES
Milagro Mandela Film Camp The camp will include workshops led by local Latino leaders in film and video production, marketing, directing, and acting, along with video showings and networking opportunities. The film camp will be the week of July 18: Nelson Mandela International Day, launched in recognition of Nelson Mandela’s birthday on July 18, via unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly.
Mississippi Street Fair The Mississippi Street Fair is Portland's largest community fair and festival! Scheduled for July 15, 2023, the Fair includes multiple music stages, over 300 art, craft, food, and beverage vendors, the Boise Elliot Elementary Kids Zone, the annual Grandfather's Rib Off, and other activities sponsored by and at Mississippi Avenue businesses. It's a fun, diverse, delicious, beautiful day on the Avenue!
MLK Dream Run On behalf of the Soul District Business Association, we invite you to run, walk, vendor, volunteer or donate to the 12th annual MLK Dream Run weekend celebration on September 16 & 17th. The event kicks off on Saturday, Sept 16 from 10 am to 6 pm featuring the Soul-Ful market filled with fabulous food, beverage, and retail vendors, live music, raffles, and activities for all ages- including a free kids race for youth 9 and under. Then ramps up on Sunday morning from 7 am to noon with our USATF professionally timed sanctioned 5k, 10k & 15K races and more action in the Soulful Markets entertainment stage. Don't miss out on the chance to win round-trip tickets courtesy of Alaska Airlines!
Montavilla Farmers Market Thursdays on the Plaza Montavilla Farmers Market Thursdays on the Plaza is a bite-sized evening market for the summer season. Join your neighbors in picking up mid-week groceries and enjoying the public plaza every Thursday! You’ll find local fruit and veggies, sweet and savory baked goods, and frozen treats every week.
Montavilla Street Fair 2023 Montavilla Street Fair is one of the largest street fairs in Portland taking place annually on the last Sunday in July. In 2022 the event returned after a 2-year hiatus. 122 local vendors participated and 12,000 attendees. The event features all-ages performances on two stages with late-morning kid-focused shows and professional touring acts later in the day.
Multicultural Kids Festival Celebrate and have fun at the Multicultural Kids Festival NW. The goal of the festival is to showcase the diversity of the people that live in our city. This event will bring together kids and adults from different communities and provide an opportunity to explore different cultures, try different foods, and learn about different traditions.
Multicultural Music Festival We will activate a neighborhood, outdoor space with a free-for-all, 4-hour multicultural festival. It will include music, art, food, singing, and dance performances from BIPOC artists such as DJ Prashant, the Jai Ho Dance Troupe, Bollywood Tunes & Lady Raven. We will invite the community to dance together and enjoy food and other craft vendors from numerous cultures. We will feature dance music from all over the world including South Asian, Latin, and African rhythms. Our event will create a safe, celebratory platform for emerging BIPOC artists, offering them the opportunity to showcase their talent and build community through their artistry.
Neighbour Hood Market The concept of an open-ground night market stemmed from the resale closet shop, Neighbour. They took their name as an opportunity to be a beacon for community and hospitality but realized that it didn’t have to stop at apparel. Sharing goods with friends and neighbors has always been a bedrock of community, but Neighbour realized that, with their penchant for throwing night parties, they could bring local vendors and artists, like themselves, together into one space. Thus, Neighbour Hood Market was conceived, a defined space with a curated community of intermingling BIPOC vendors, food & drink pop-ups, designers, artists, and DJs from the PNW. A safe space for our BIPOC community to take ownership. Neighbour Hood Market will open around dinner time and eventually ease into a night party with dance and drink.
Nothing Left to Lose: A Multimedia Art Event Nothing Left to Lose, A Multimedia Performance Festival Presented by Shaking the Tree Theatre will run July 7th-15th 2023, with 5 nights of performances by musicians and performances, in a set created by various contemporary visual / graffiti artists. Each night, the visual artists’ installation will be on display, with performance artists and musicians using the space as a stage for their work. The Festival will engage and present work by artists that have not traditionally been seen in a theatrical environment, thus expanding the audience’s ideas of the type of art that can happen within a theatre. The title, Nothing Left to Lose, is a quote from David Wojnarowicz.
Nuestras Raices (Our Roots) "Ven A Nuestra Casa" (Come To Our Home) Nuestras Raices (Our Roots) “Ven A Nuestra Casa (Come to Our Home)” is a celebration of Latino/a/x/e arts, culture, and heritage. Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated in the USA but Visit "our home" and learn about Hispanic traditions that center around food, music, and culture not just for Cinco de Mayo! It is a multi-cultural event.
Nuestro Camino, Aqui Seguimos Nuestro Camino is a Portland-based, Latinx artist exhibition dedicated to showcasing the variety of talented artists our community has to offer. Natalia named this show Nuestro Camino our first year, as an ode to a proven history of the Latinx community creating our own path in order to fulfill our dreams and create a better, stronger future for ourselves. With that said, last year’s theme, chosen by Dulce was Nuestros Antepasados. It was a call for the artists to reflect on those who came before us, and did what they needed to better our circumstances in today’s world. Building off the themes from the past two years, this year’s exhibition named "Aqui Seguimos,” will be a show dedicated to the resilience of queer people in the Latinx community. We have focused on showcasing queer artists, performers, and creatives this year to truly emphasize how this resilience is all the more present when breaking down barriers presented by the world outside of the direct Latinx community, as well as breaking the cycles and stigmas that have been present within that same community.
Oregon Rises Above Hate Oregon Rises Above Hate on May 6, 2023, in Portland, Oregon Join together to celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and the AANHPI (Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander) community, its resilience, and commit to combating the continued rise anti-Asian hate.
Our Village Gardens' Neighborhood Block Party This neighborhood celebration will be chock full of free food, games for kids, an amazing raffle, and information about neighborhood partners serving this North Portland community, including Our Village Gardens' beautiful 1.5 acres of food production and corner grocery store. There will be a live DJ, and plenty of activities and neighbors to connect with. Join us!
Paseo Organized and curated by a BIPOC-led, steering committee and production team, Paseo is unique: a free, public, all-ages, interactive, unticketed event that brings together thousands of people in downtown Portland’s South Park Blocks for a summer weekend of arts, culture, and advocacy centering BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists and communities. Now in its 3rd year, Paseo 2023 will take place July 15 and 16.
Paul Knauls Film Celebration The Paul Knauls Film Celebration will be an opportunity for the community to gather in honor of the man who has been a huge part of Portland's history. We will have live bands, food vendors, and opportunities to share memorabilia and stories about Mr. Knauls and the community he was a major force for years.
PDX Black Collective Cultural Market PDX Black Collective Cultural Market is a collection of high-quality BIPOC vendors with live entertainment, delicious food, and music celebrating Black and Indigenous culture in Portland.
PDX Hip Hop Week This year is in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop culture, so our STAR AWARDS event will include performances that include all elements of the culture from break dancing, graffiti art showcase, rap performances, and dj mix-off finals. We will continue with the tradition of honoring awards to individuals who have contributed to the growth of Hip Hop culture both locally and nationally. Some of last years recipients was the Legendary Kid Capri, Female Break dance legend LaRokafella, as well as a host of local artists.
PDX Pop Now! PDX Pop Now! is a free, all-ages music festival that features live performances of original music by local artists from the Portland area. Now in our 20th season, this year's festival will be celebrated at the Electric Blocks in the Central Eastside.
Picnic in the Park The inaugural Picnic in the Park is an art event presented by Objective Collective and local partners, set amidst the stunning scenery of Portland's parks. This community-based gathering offers an array of activities such as live performance art, music, art installations, and more for you to discover. With a family-friendly vibe, Picnic in the Park promotes a collaborative atmosphere that bridges diverse communities, encouraging new connections, innovative ideas, and cherished memories. Our ultimate goal is to create a catalyst for introducing various demographics in the PNW region to unique and exciting communities, fostering inclusivity and an unforgettable experience for all attendees. Gather your loved ones, picnic essentials, and a cozy blanket to be a part of this upcoming event in Portland.
Porch Concert Series Join us on the Porch for free, live music on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month from May-September. Stop by the St. Johns Farmers Market and then come enjoy live music while lounging on the front lawn. Bring a blanket, bring a picnic, or just bring yourselves and your dancing shoes!
Portland Bookmobile Day Portland Bookmobile Day is a free event that celebrates literacy and arts for all. Scarlett the Japanese Fire Truck from Bookmobile Babe will be distributing free and diverse books to all attendees. We will also provide mini art workshops for children, poetry readings, live entertainment, and food and drink from some of Portland's best food carts.
Portland Mid-Autumn Moon Festival The Portland Mid-Autumn Moon Festival was the first cultural night market hosted by the White Lotus Foundation. With over 30 AAPI vendors and over 6000 attendees, this was the first significant event in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in Portland, Oregon. Celebrating culture and highlighting locally owned AAPI businesses in the Portland area.
Portland Sisters 18th Anniversary An anniversary party marking 18 years of fundraising and service to Portland and the surrounding area. Food, music, and dancing in the square will combine with education and outreach from our community partners.
Portland TextileX Month Mixed Identities: Interlaced Communities A day filled featuring talks, exhibits, screenings, and workshops centered around the theme of Mixed Identities. A free family-friendly event aimed at those aged from 6 to 70 held at Textile Hive (room 203 ADA accessible Space). Collaborating with artists, makers, businesses schools, and cultural organizations to celebrate the richness and diversity of the Portland Textile Community.
Portland’s Festival of Colors Celebration - FREE + ALL AGES | DJ Prashant Come dressed in white and play with colors at our family-friendly community cultural celebration, outdoors with your favorite DJ: Prashant.
PRIDE Exhibition and Showcase AFRU Gallery's PRIDE opening night celebration will showcase a wide array of LGBTQIA+ visual artists, drag performers, comedians, dancers, puppeteers, and musical acts, all exploring questions around Queer identity and empowerment. Artists include the amazing Svetlana Trantastic and the musical group The Ukulezzies. Performances will be going on throughout the evening.
Project Market The Project Market will celebrate underrepresented members of our community by creating an immersive experience for supporting BIPOC artists, creatives, designers, and owned- businesses.
Put the Art In Cart The upcoming event, taking place from April 24-30, is a week-long celebration of Portland's food cart culture, closing out Portland Food Cart Month. The event will showcase our local food cart small businesses, each with their unique cultural culinary offerings through the lens of local artists. The event will happen simultaneously at The Cart Blocks and Gallery Go Go.
Queer & Dear: A Festival of Dazzling Queer Talents Queer culture is mainstream, and drag queens are visible and legion like never before. Yet LGBTQIA+ representation still promotes caricatures and tokenism rooted in a tired status quo. Queer & Dear explores the intersection of classical music, theater, and queer culture to lift up individuals’ stories, celebrate the lives and work of LGBTQIA+ artists, and smash the patriarchy — with love.
Queer Summer Concert Series Summer concert series will feature Portland LGBTQ+ artists in the Q Center parking lot. This pay-what-you-can event will include local food vendors and be a sober event. pending
Quiet Storm 2 Yoga classes one morning one afternoon, discussion on the importance of exercise. 10 participants max for each class. Kombucha vendor, free samples, and Q&A on healthy eating and health.
RADFAF Radical Faerie Arts Fest The Radical Faerie Arts Festival (RADFAF) is a five-day dynamic event celebrating the art and creativity of the Radical Faeries. Held in an 11,000 square foot indoor space in Portland’s Pearl District this event will feature a large visual art gallery, film, performance, workshops, durational art, an art shop, a Saturday morning art bazaar and coffee event, and a “salon” area for fashion shows, participatory events, and impromptu art happenings. Expect something different every day and throughout each day, and due to the sex-positive nature of the Radical Faeries some art and events will be restricted to adult viewers only. Parental discretion is advised.
Repair PDX: Spreading Repair Culture We have three events: How to Host Your Own Repair Café: Community members learn how to host repair events in their own communities. Pop-Up Shop: Partnering with PBOT Couch Plaza, we will host a pop-up shop giving away repaired and refurbished items. Repair Café at Alder Commons: volunteers will be fixing broken belongings for free. Free bike repair, sewing/mending, and bike repair will be offered.
Re-Presented: A Pilipino Musical Re-Presented is an original hip-hop musical about a group of Filipino rappers who become the target of a CIA investigation. The events and characters are a reflection of Filipino revolutionary history during Spanish colonization in the 1800s but reimagined in America and a modern context. See the full production at Lincoln Hall on June 17th or at CoHo Theatre on June 21-23rd (Time and TBD) for an up-close and intimate performance.
Respect the Culture The Black culture is strongly rooted in fellowship, cuisine, and entertainment. Therefore, we invite our community to join us in a 4 part event series storytelling of the culture of the Black community through different art forms such as painting, dance, live music, food, and poetry.
Rocky Butte Farmers Market The Rocky Butte Farmers Market (RBFM), at the base of beautiful Rocky Butte in Northeast Portland, is a nonprofit neighborhood market full of heart! We’ve worked hard to build an inclusive community that encourages growth, opportunity, and support, especially for new and underrepresented vendors. Our market serves as both a shopping destination and community gathering space and takes place every Saturday from 9 AM-1 PM at 9200 NE Fremont Street from June through September. Neighbors from near and far come to shop for locally grown produce while enjoying live music, educational and fun activities at our kid’s booth, and more! RBFM is also dog-friendly, and offers plenty of parking for cars and bikes, plus indoor bathrooms!
Roots and Beats Project Summer Park Days Each event will happen at a different public park across Portland with a lineup of performances and workshops/demonstrations featuring an array of local BIPOC/LGBTQ+ performing artists focusing on digital music production, analog synthesis, generative video, creative coding, djing, and new media. We'll have a main performance stage area and a 10x15 tent set up as an open-format music technology activation station housing a variety of digital instruments, synthesizers, MIDI controllers, and DJ mixers. We'll also host a tabling area for partner organizations to set up information about their services.
Roses in the Heart of Portland The 17th Annual 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade "Roses in the Heart of Portland" will brighten up 82nd Avenue and amuse and delight the community members and friends of The Avenue. The Parade starts at 9:30 am at Bush Street (north of Burger King and Eastport Plaza) and travels 2.2 miles to SE 78th and Yamhill Street. Parade lovers are invited to clap and wave and appreciate the Rose Festival "Clown Price", several musical groups, dancing horses, Dragon and Lion dancers, classic cars, and more. We are happy to celebrate Joe V from KPTV as our Grand Marshall.
Secret Roller Disco Secret Roller Disco is a regularly scheduled, pop-up roller disco adventure that invites participants on all types of wheels to explore transformed locations around the Portland Metro Area.
She ROSE: A healing-centered impartation of hope, self-care, and joy for Black women who are missing, longing for, or healing from a traumatic or tender mother wound. She/ROSE: A Mothers Day event that focuses on a healing-centered impartation of hope, self-care, and joy for Black women who are grieving the loss of, longing for, or healing from a traumatic mother wound.
Skilfest Our event is a Dance competition where Break Dance will be the main feature. International 5-person dance teams will compete for the title and cash prize. We will also be featuring live musical performances to commemorate the 50th birthday of Hiphop Culture. And we will also have pre-event workout for the dancers of Portland to learn from international dance champions and professionals.
Sneaker Week PDX Sneaker Week curates organic experiences that bring together sneaker enthusiasts, industry influencers, & aspiring creative professionals to Portland, Oregon, the sneaker capital of the world. Our mission at Sneaker Week is to highlight the diverse culture and talented community amongst global sneaker enthusiasts while providing access and visibility to information and career pathways.
Soul Revival Ecstatic Dance for BIPOC Soul Revival is an Ecstatic Dance that centers BIPOC. This is a bi-monthly safe space to use the dance floor as our outlet, sanctuary, and playground. We get to connect and move together as a community. This is a place to allow ourselves to be vulnerable during these hard times and tap into our body’s inherent wisdom and need for expression!
Spraycation A day of live art, music, and great food.
St Johns Art Walk Meet creatives and makers of all ages at the St Johns Art Walk. Local businesses partner with a curated group of artists and showcased throughout the downtown business district of St Johns. Youth artists will also be featured prominently throughout the walk.
St John's Family Wellness: Back to School Block Party The St Johns Family Wellness: Back to School Block Party, will be a day that will bring families together from the St. Johns Community to take a break and enjoy a relaxing, fun-filled gathering enhanced by the sounds of music and entertainment from local talents.
St. Johns Bizarre The St. Johns Bizarre is a uniquely crafted celebration that kicks off the summer street fair season in Portland. This year the Bizarre is on May 13, 2023, and will bring music, crafts, and food to the crowds who traditionally attended the St. Johns Parade. After the parade, a portion of the business district in the St. Johns is closed to traffic, and filled with over 135 juried craft vendors, several stages for music, great food, and tons of games and activities. It’s an amazing community event with something for everyone. The event is free.
Summer Nights Historic Parkrose is hosting one main Summer Nights event near its office at 104th and Sandy. This event will provide free family-friendly activities and resources to the community as well as offer an evening night market where handcrafted items, food, and beverages will be sold.
Summer Solstice Festival Our Summer Solstice Festival is a celebration of our community and our way of welcoming in the Summer. Last year, as the community was just getting to know us, we saw 350 people through our space; record attendance at the time. We started the day with a Drag Bruch catered by the Waffle Window and featuring the talent of Nashville Hott and her trusty sidekick, Syda Pickles. This was a sold-out event, so we are doubling occupancy this year and expect to post ticket availability much earlier. The remainder of the events throughout the afternoon will be free and open to the public. They will include two bands playing in our front room that spills out onto the street, with a garage door access. We are hiring an ice cream truck and a taco truck, a photo booth, and face painters. We will also have Happy Fang Tattoos doing flash tattoos, flower crown-making workshops going throughout the day as well as a curated group of artisans selling their summer solstice-themed wares.
Talakayan at Kapehan Talakayan at Kapehan (TAK) is an educational and cultural event series aiming to bridge intergenerational gaps in the Filipino community by covering topics such as current events in the diaspora, health and wellness, and a deepened connection to our heritage. Talakayan is a Tagalog word that translates to discussion. Each TAK starts conversations on how Filipinos can come together to build a strong and caring action-oriented network. Each discussion will identify our next steps as a community, transforming dialogue into action. Kapehan translates to coffee time, which in the Filipino tradition is accompanied by pan de sal. Symbolically we hope each TAK awakens our participants and provides the tools for sharpening our understanding and energy for continuous action.
Taste of Latin America Taste of Latin America is a Portland Mercado signature event and will be bigger than ever as we expand to a two-day festival that celebrates food and the diverse and vibrant cultures of Latin America! Attendees will enjoy delicious food and drinks from a variety of Latin American countries, as well as live music, dance performances, and cultural activities. This event is free and open to the public
Ten, Tiny, Talks Ten, Tiny, Talks artist residency and film festival celebrates its third year of Black, Indigenous trans, queer, Two Spirit, and gender expansive art and film at the Clinton Street Theater June 23-25 2023. Three afternoons/evenings of films from the Black and Native trans and queer diaspora preceded some of the finest drag productions in the pacific northwest later in the evening. A street fair with vendors and performers greets attendees in this year’s celebration of melanated trans and queer joy.
The 8th Vanport Mosaic Festival THE 8th VANPORT MOSAIC FESTIVAL Curated by Story Midwife Laura Lo Forti “The annual festival is a highlight of Portland’s cultural calendar, blending history, culture, arts, and activism into a living and highly creative memorial.” Oregon Arts Watch/ Bob Hicks. From May 18th to May 29th, the 8th Vanport Mosaic Festival will offer in-person, virtual, and self-paced memory activism opportunities to Remember, Repair, Reclaim, and Re-image our collective story.
The Electric Blocks Summer Series Multiple musical events with vendor markets that help bring awareness to BIPOC and women-owned businesses
The Freadom Festival The Freadom Festival is a celebration of literacy and liberation! Freadom Festival’s mission is to celebrate and acknowledge the power of literacy and its role in the fight to end the enslavement of Black people in the United States. Freadom Festival takes place annually during Juneteenth weekend to honor how books and reading have been integral in our liberation. This festival was created to honor, uplift, and celebrate literature that centers Black Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and their stories. This festival is the first and only Black Book Festival in Portland and the Greater PNW. A core tenet of The Freadom Festival is that reading and books should be inclusive and accessible, which is why The Freadom Festival is FREE to attend and will be hosted in a local Portland park open to all to come and learn the importance of Juneteenth, fellowship with a community of fellow book lovers, support Black businesses, receive reading resources, and celebrate literacy and liberation!
The Homecoming The "Homecoming" is a free community music festival to bring the people who have been displaced from North/Northeast Portland together. This event allows Black Portlanders to come together, for fellowship, and celebration, and to have a good time in the neighborhood where their families grew up. The musicians/artists who perform are a combination of Black youth and adults who have generational ties to North/Northeast Portland.
The Rainbow Ride The Rainbow Ride is a guided bike ride that celebrates the LGBTQIA2S+ community and supports its members taking part in Portland’s bike culture. The ride starts at Colonel Summers Park, where organizers hand out souvenirs (commemorative spoke cards and stickers created by a local, queer artist) and connects them to a Biketown bike if they need one. This is followed by rallying a speech from ride leader Sumi Malik before we bike as a big, colorful group to the Cart Blocks downtown. Upon arrival, riders will enjoy performances from queer and trans artists, including DJs, drag queens, and dancers.
The Rebound Kiki Ball The Rebound Kiki Ball is a dance and runway, MCed, and DJed performance and competition, born from and centering the POC queer community, particularly trans-women. The Rebound Kiki Ball has occurred four times, with the last being an all-ages event at The Crystal Ballroom. The event draws approximately 30-40 performers and up to 550 attendees depending on venue capacity. Cascades AIDS project and healthcare workers are on site providing STD testing and vaccinations.
Tiger Tiger: A Celebration of Our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander Communities On Saturday, July 22nd, 2023, Portland’s Fernhill Park will host Tiger Tiger, a festival created *for* AANHPI *by* AANHPI. Five bands, eight of Portland's hottest food vendors, visual artists, dancers, and poets--this is Oregon's largest festival uplifting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific-Islander communities.
Vanport Jazz Festival Outdoor jazz festival featuring internationally known musicians, Oregon wines and spirits, local merchandise, and food vendors, all coming together to celebrate the former city of Vanport, Oregon
Views Of An Urban Volcano Views of an Urban Volcano is a concert featuring the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble premiering three place-inspired works by local composers Cyrus Nabipur, James Powers, and Kirsten Volness presented at Mt. Tabor Park as part of the 10th Montavilla Jazz Festival. The music illuminates aspects of Mt. Tabor and is informed by a community input process, taking place now in early 2023. The works are built on the layers of meaning for different community groups involved.
The event gives music lovers, park enthusiasts, and civic-minded Portlanders, a chance to celebrate homegrown creativity and hear music that the community helped create.
Woodlawn's Summer of Music “Woodlawn’s Summer of Music” will be a free, weekly event at our neighborhood Farmers Market. Woodlawn residents will enjoy live performances from Portland musicians while shopping for fresh food from local farms and vendors. Many folks from our diverse and vibrant community visit the Market to shop, spend time with family and friends, and catch up with neighbors. Live performances will give residents a chance to better connect through music, dancing, and celebration! The musicians featured will be predominantly local residents and will specialize in a variety of languages and genres from jazz, and bluegrass, to rock, soul, and more.
Open House Oldtown Chinatown A celebration of new beginnings - open spaces and experiences in Oldtown Chinatown
XVII Portland Latin American Film Festival For the seventeenth consecutive season, the PDXLAFF will host at the Hollywood Theatre six screenings of new award-winning films that explore the social and cultural issues of Latin America. The festival will start on September 27th in celebration of the Hispanic Heritage Month. This annual festival encourages dialogue among cultures and explores and celebrates the art of contemporary Latin American filmmakers. PDXLAFF's mandate is the encouragement and appreciation of motion pictures as a medium of art, information, and education. We have screened over 150 internationally awarded films and hosted 20 artists (actors, directors, and film professors from Latin America.)