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City Cast Portland

Summer’s finally here. Here's how to make the most of it.

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 

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

“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.”

That’s “for anyone who loves cider.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

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

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

Pride in Portland for two months this year.

“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.”

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.”

More on Portland Summer Festivals

What Portland Festivals to Attend This Summer

Summer Guide

Rain has ended early. The sun is out. It’s time to think about how to enjoy the summer ahead.

Find yourself a pint of Hood strawberries (right now). Pick 

 (July). Visit the Portland Farmers Market at PSU or your local neighborhood spot (all summer long).

 Festival (July 14-16), or find your favorite musician at 

), ride over the bridges during Bridge Pedal (

 anytime — and eat some curly fries or elephant ears.

How are you planning to enjoy this summer?

What’s Your Favorite PDX Summer Plan? Email Me 

How to Enjoy Portland This Summer

Willie Levenson from the Human Access Project has been working to advocate for a cleaner river and more people swimming in it. 

asked him for some guidance on where to go to swim this summer:

“I like swimming from docks myself. So number one, 

. That's on the floating section of the Esplanade. That dock used to be restricted to motorized boats, so it wasn't legal to swim off it or fish off of it. So it took us six years of work with PBOT and Oregon State Marine Board to get permission to add eight swimming ladders that took less than four hours to install. So that is the grind of activism.

“This summer, we're gonna be doing a Duckworth Wednesday concert series. You'll be able to ride your bike, 

check out an awesome sunset, and hear disco music every Wednesday

“It is an incredibly used park. I mean, you go there, and every day it's a river beach party. And there's no material difference in the water quality between that site, which is about three miles from downtown. That is a vision of what the future of Portland's gonna be.”

“That's where our River Hugger swim team swims, which is right off the Hawthorne Bridge on the north side. Human Access Project added two ladders to that dock, effectively making it a new public access point.

“Our River Hugger swim team swims across the Willamette and back every morning Monday through Saturday. If you're an intermediate level swimmer and you're into open water swimming, check out the river swim team, too.”

Other tips from Willie about getting in the water:

Not convinced to go for a swim? Maybe you want to learn more about the

 progress Portland has made in cleaning the Willamette River

Summer Guide

What Portland Festivals to Attend This Summer

How to Enjoy Portland This Summer

Summer Guide: Willamette River Swimming Spots