January

Chinese New Year Celebration - The Portland Classical Chinese Garden sponsors this event in keeping with 4,000 years of Chinese tradition. The mission of the garden is to "create an oasis of tranquil beauty and harmony to inspire, engage, and educate our global community in the appreciation of the richly authentic Chinese culture." The celebration features a showcase that extends for two weeks with a number of activities including: knot tying and paper crafts, lion dances, storytelling, art, martial arts demonstrations, and more.

February

Portland International Film Festival - Portland's film festival generally features over 100 films from approximately 30 countries over the course of two weeks. Their selection of foreign films tends to be particularly good, allowing visitors to really see some of the different approaches to filmmaking in other countries. Selections from Hong Kong, Cuba, China, and Yugoslavia have all been offered. The films always include a range of genres as well.

Portland Jazz Festival - This is a recent event (only launched in 2004), but promises to enhance the Portland music scene for many years to come. The festival runs for three days and nights and features over 50 jazz performances including a number of famous performers.

April

Wordstock - Portland's annual book fair lives up to its clever name as the barrage of activities entertains and delights. Each year Portland draws in several famous authors as well as a variety of other writers, booksellers, and exhibitors. The event features the book fair itself, workshops, lectures, dinners, and a kids' festival.

May

Cinco De Mayo - This vibrant celebration enlivens McCall Waterfront Park each year and has been recognized as one of the largest celebrations of its type in the nation. The festivities include entertainment, art, fireworks, authentic food, a carnival, puppet shows, car shows, and just about anything else you could imagine and want to see.

June

Portland Rose Festival - The City of Roses lives up to its name in this astounding festival that has been going on for nearly 100 years. Events take place throughout Oregon in May and June, but the main festival is in Portland at the beginning of June. More than two million visitors arrive for this themed extravaganza.

Portland Arts Festival - The same foundation that runs the rose festival also hosts the region's biggest arts festival. Although it does not boast the same long history, this festival is growing in prominence and features 150 local, regional, and national artists. There is a competition with Best of Show in various categories as well as visual and musical performances, art demonstrations and culinary delights to sample.

July

Waterfront Blues Festival - This annual festival takes place around the fourth of July and is the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi. Over 120,000 blues fans saunter into Portland to enjoy the range of blues on four stages featuring over 100 performances. The blues festival also offers workshops, films, and cruises on the "Portland Spirit".

International Poir Noir Celebration - Showing off its international, cultured side, Portland invites approximately 60 top Pinot Noir winemakers from around the world to this weekend celebration. Three days of wine seminars, tastings, tours, and excellent meals all contribute to the spirit of international cooperation.

August

Mount Hood Jazz Festival - One of the nation's longest running jazz festivals takes place in Gresham, a short distance outside Portland. The park provides an intimate environment where people are close to the performers. The Festival also sponsors Adventures in Jazz from April to August, which takes place at different jazz clubs in Portland.

The Bite of Oregon - This is the state's largest food and musical event. Proceeds benefit the Special Olympics Oregon. Come enjoy the cultural and culinary bounty of Oregon!

September

Time Based Art (TBA) Festival - PICA (Portland Institute for Contemporary Art) hosts their Time Based Art Festival, which saw its first year in 2003. TBA brings together artists from a variety of disciplines from around the world for ten days of performances, events, workshops, open rehearsals, panel discussions, artist lectures, and celebrations.

Bones and Brew - Based around the theme of ribs/barbeque and beer, it is not hard to see why this event has been growing every year. It has evolved into a block party with a number of jazz and blues artists helping provide some musical flavor to the food.

October

Portland Marathon - Hailed as one of the best marathons in the country and as the best organized, the Portland Marathon provides a 26.2-mile course for both walkers and runners. Many runners are known to make personal best times, and it is a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon.

Pumpkin Funland - Located at Ramussen Farms, Pumpkin Funland runs from early October to mid-November and was nationally rated one of the 20 best places to visit for Halloween. Ramussen offers all the typical delights of a farm in fall: a corn maze, pumpkins to pick, fall decorations, and fall fruits and vegetables for sale. However, they provide a twist with their displays, created by staff, of strange and well-known characters and scenes made with pumpkins, gourds, and squash.

November

Wine County Thanksgiving - Yamhill County, in the North Willamette region of Oregon, is home to more than 80 wineries and 200 vineyards. Yamhill County has been recognized as one of the premier Pinot noir producing areas in the world - rivaling the best in Burgundy. Local wineries also produce Pinot gris, Pinot blanc, Chardonnay, Melon, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, sparkling wine, and some Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet and Merlot. At Thanksgiving, some 50 of these wineries are open to the public, including some that are only open twice a year. Highlights are new releases, tastings from the barrels, entertainment, food, and of course, wine!

Christmas at Pittock Mansion (Nov-Dec) - This amazing turn of the century mansion is a Portland landmark. Each year, the mansion is extravagantly decked out for Christmas with a new theme.

December

The Grotto's Festival of Lights - Portland is also home to The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, a beautiful 62 acre Catholic Shrine and botanical garden. The Grotto (as it is commonly known) hosts the largest choral festival in the Pacific Northwest each year. And to decorate, the Grotto would not be complete without 250,000 lights. Entertainments include puppet shows and a petting zoo.

Parade of Christmas Ships - For almost 50 years, a growing number of ships has paraded up and down the Willamette and Columbia Rivers for a couple weeks each December. The number has grown to approximately 60 ships as boaters from all over the Portland/Vancouver area turn out to parade their holiday spirit.

Sources:

( http://www.travelportland.com ) (Accessed July 20, 2004)