There’s no denying it: Portland had a great winter. That said, this spring is gearing up to be a truly epic prelude to Portland’s action-packed summer months. Whether you’re an aspiring wine snob, a bona fide Lego geek, or an aging punk rocker with a taste for tacos, the final stretch of the Rose City’s rainy season is guaranteed to excite. Here’s our list of picks for essential activities and events you can’t afford to miss this spring.
Cruise to Cannon Beach for a huge food and wine fest
Thursday March 8-Sunday March 11
Cannon beach
Already a popular destination for weekend wandering, there’s no better time to head to the coast’s most popular tourist spot and enjoy a showcase from local and regional wineries like Tero Estates, Elton Vineyards, Maryhill, and Sokol Blosser.
Cost: Day passes are $20, and it’s $175 for the full weekend experience.
Head to Oregon City for authentic Irish beer, music, and dancers
Thursday March 15-Sunday March 18
Feckin Irish Brewery
Oregon City has quietly become one of Portland’s best ‘burbs for boozin’, and the quality Irish brews crafted at Feckin are certainly a contributing factor. Show up for the live music, dancers, and slow-smoked turkey drumsticks; stay for the Dublin Brigade IRA and the Imperial Espresso Milk Porter.
Cost: Admission is free, but it’s a bar, so be ready to buy a beer or two
Celebrate St. Paddy’s at Portland's most popular Irish pub
Friday March 16-Sunday March 18
Kells Irish Pub
Any Old Town bar can slap on some kitschy signage and declare itself an “authentic Irish pub” for the day, but none of them come anywhere close to the vibes of Kells. With a schedule packed full of live music, a mountain of fried food and a live broadcast of a USA vs Ireland boxing match, as well as enough Guinness and Tullamore Dew to keep things festive, there’s no better place to spend the day.
Cost: $30 for Friday’s Smoker Tent event, $20 for general admission on Saturday
Don your best green suit and walk like a leprechaun
Saturday March 17
Ankeny Alley
Did your holiday hangover impede your participation in SantaCon this year? Stumptown LepreCon is your shot at redemption, only this time you’ll finally have the chance to wear that lime green leisure suit you bought back in college out in public.
Cost: Free, but cash is encouraged for drink purchases at the various downtown and Old Town bars on the route
Enjoy some family-friendly St. Patrick's Day fun
Saturday March 17
St. Agatha Catholic School
If you’re in the market for a tame yet festive alternative to the wanton boozing most adults partake in on St. Patrick’s day, this quaint little Catholic church in Sellwood is the perfect place to start your Saturday. You’ll still be able to find a pint of Guinness to sip on while the parade goes by, but it’s up to you to make sure the vibes remain PG.
Cost: Free
Head to Boise for the best music fest in the Northwest
Wednesday March 21-Sunday March 25
Downtown Boise, ID
OK, so it’s not in Portland, but Boise is basically the next Portland, so it’s worth the six-hour eastward jaunt to check out the Treefort Music Festival, which is undoubtedly one of the most chill and enjoyable multi-venue festivals in the country. A wristband provides five days of access to all of Boise’s best bars and venues, with sets from national names like Andrew WK, Princess Nokia, and Zola Jesus all within a short distance of this up-and-coming city’s vibrant downtown scene.
Cost: $195 for a five-day general admission wristband.
Get ready for tulip time!
Friday March 23-Sunday April 29
Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm (Woodburn)
Did you sleep on that cheap flight deal to Amsterdam again? No worries: You can explore the 40-acre tulip garden at Woodburn’s Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm to experience the magic right in our own backyard. And now that marijuana is legal in Oregon, it’s basically the same exact thing, right?
Cost: $5 for one-day admission
Hit the bricks at the world's largest LEGO convention
Saturday March 24-Sunday March 25
Oregon Convention Center
Legos had been fueling creativity long before the popular brand of building blocks went all Hollywood on us. Stop by the public exposition portion of Bricks Cascade -- the region’s largest Lego convention -- to check out what builders of all ages have accomplished using just Legos and their imaginations, as well as the cottage industry of vendors that cater to the creativity of those who dream in plastic blocks.
Cost: $11 per person, or $40 for a family of four
Embark on an adults-only Easter egg hunt
Saturday March 31
TBA
Don’t let the flyer for this event scare you away -- the Adult Easter Egg Hunt is a booze-fueled adventure that includes safe transportation and the chance to win back all the money you spent by wrangling the most easter eggs hidden throughout the route. And did we mention there won’t be a child in sight?
Cost: $30
Gorge yourself on wines from the Gorge
Thursday April 12
Leftbank Annex
The Willamette Valley gets all the hype as being the area’s best wine-growing region, but the fertile land surrounding the scenic Columbia River Gorge has finally come into its own in the past decade. Enjoy a curated cross section of the region's finest wines, with wineries like Wy’East, Hood Crest, and Cathedral Ridge on hand to provide proof that the Gorge has arrived as a destination for quality wine.
Cost: $35 for general admission
Sip some beers from our neighbors to the north
Friday April 13-Saturday April 14
Esther Short Park (Vancouver)
It was only a matter of time until Portland’s infamous anti-suburb entered the metro area’s beer conversation, but now that breweries like Heathen, Brother Ass, and Loowit are churning out quality beers that can hang with the big guys, it’s a better time than any to cross the Columbia for the biannual Vancouver Brewfest.
Cost: GA is $10, but you can upgrade for more perks
Stock up on supplies for your 4/20 festivities
Saturday April 14
Portland Expo Center
Since recreational use of cannabis went legal in 2015, the industry has shaped up to be just as competitive and tech-driven as any other venture. This means exciting innovations at attractive prices, which makes the fifth installment of the Oregon Hemp Convention a very exciting place to be for entry-level users, as well as advanced cannabis connoisseurs, who are interested in CBD symposiums and technological advances in loose leaf vapes.
Cost: $20 for general admission
Run across the Fremont Bridge
Sunday April 15
Tom Mccall Waterfront Park
It’s rare for a running event to merit inclusion in these lists, but Bridge to Brews is well worth it. The city shuts down car traffic on the Fremont Bridge for just one day a year, making this the only chance runners and walkers alike will have to enjoy the stunning views you often ignore when you’re stuck in road rage-inducing traffic on the 405 every day. Oh yeah -- there’s also a mini beer festival at the end.
Cost: $54 for the 10K or 8K run/walk events through March 20; price increases to $59 after that
Bang your head to some heavy instrumental music
Friday April 20-Saturday April 21
Tonic Lounge
Instrumental guitar rock has finally gotten its due thanks to soundtrack work from bands like Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky, but there’s still plenty more to explore within the post-rock genre besides panoramic “crescendocore.” Peel yourself off the couch this 4/20 and head to Tonic for a two-day extravaganza of the regions finest post-rock troupes, with sets from locals like Sól and The Mighty Missoula certain to provoke some serious headbanging.
Cost: $12 per day.
Head to Hood River for a hard cider festival
Saturday April 21
Hood River
You might already be aware of Hood River’s beer scene, but the presence of over 440 orchards in the area may be a detail you’ve missed out on. It should come as no surprise that the hard cider biz in the area is blowing up, and the Hard-Pressed Cider Fest is the perfect way to experience all its tart and tangy goodness firsthand.
Cost: $20 includes entry, five 2-ounce tasters, and a commemorative glass
Become a bike film buff
Friday May 6-Sunday May 6
Hollywood Theatre
Portland’s obsession with two-wheeled transit is no secret, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that America’s most bikeable city is home to a festival devoted entirely to films about bike culture. Whether it's a documentary, an animated short, or a surrealist exposition on the power of cycling, you’re bound to find it under this festival's vast and ever-growing umbrella.
Cost: $60 for a festival pass through March 20; $65 after that
Hit up a great Cinco de Mayo fest
Saturday May 5
Tom Mccall Waterfront Park
Why spend this Cinco de Mayo at a crowded taqueria when you can enjoy the real thing in the wide-open environs of the Southwest Waterfront? Presented by the Guadalajara Sister City Association -- a group formed to celebrate Portland’s sister city status with the capital city of Jalisco -- the 34th annual Cinco de Mayo festival will feature local and international mariachi ensembles, a parade, artisans flown in directly from Jalisco, and a huge roster of authentic food and drink vendors.
Cost: Free to check out, but bring cash for tequila, tacos, and more
Party in the streets of Portland's final frontier
Saturday May 12
Downtown St. Johns
Only recently has the rest of Portland discovered the small-town joys of its outermost northwestern reaches, but St. Johns proudly retains the charm that’s attracted those who are sick of the yuppified inner-city grind for decades now. Celebrate in the streets of Downtown St. Johns with a parade, a bevy of craft and food vendors, as well as a small stage that featured music from local heroes like the Thermals, Little Star, and Y La Bamba in last years installment.
Cost: Free
Experience the fine arts and crafts of geekiness
Saturday May 12-Sunday May 13
Oregon Convention Center
Whether it’s enamel Star Trek pins or life-size Cthulhu sculptures you seek, the expansive “mall for geeks” environment at this year’s GeekCraft Expo is the perfect place to find that special something for all of the proud geeks in your life.
Cost: Free
Party at the tracks with punk rock and tacos
Sunday May 13
Portland Meadows
It’s a good thing babysitters don’t abide by Uber’s “surge pricing” for their fee structure, because the Sabroso Taco Fest is guaranteed to create an incredible demand for childcare on May 13. With a lineup including SoCal punk legends like Pennywise and the Offspring, as well as a vast sea of craft beer and tacos available for purchase between sets, it’s inevitable that every porkpie, hat-donning punk dad in the greater Portland area will be calling off sick from the chop shop or tattoo parlor that day.
Cost: $49.50
Explore an expansive world of LGBTQ documentaries
Thursday May 17-Sunday May 20
Hollywood Theatre
Founded in 2007, Portland’s QDoc Film Festival is the US’s only festival devoted entirely to documentaries from the LGBTQ community. If you’ve been itching to get your eyes on that hot new doc that wowed critics at top-tier fests like Tribeca or Cannes before it trickles down to the indie theater circuit, consider this your one-stop shop to do so.
Cost: $85 for a festival pass
Enjoy three days of indie rock in the high desert of Washington
Friday May 25-Sunday May 27
Gorge Amphitheatre (quincy, Wa)
After a few years of catering to the kids with half-cooked mersh rap and middle-of-the-road pop leftovers, this year’s installment of Sasquatch is a glorious return to the festival’s indie rock roots. Headlining spots from Modest Mouse, The National, David Byrne, and Bon Iver guarantee to make the trek through the Washington’s Yakima Valley worth the price of admission, while a spate of smaller acts like Japandroids and Explosions in the Sky easily seal the deal for any old-school guitar rock enthusiast.
Cost: $325 for a weekend pass, plus camping
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