Cheap/Affordable Things to Do in Portland for Arts Lovers

A free popular Portland event for 29 years, this year’s film festival features five weeks of more than 30 feature, documentary and short films by established and emerging African directors from 18 countries. The Cascade Festival of African Films shows us Africa through the eyes of Africans, rather than a vision of Africa packaged for…

“New York-based photographer Natan Dvir brings a bit of the big city to Portland’s Blue Sky Gallery with his series of subway portraits, “Platforms.” The pictures capture New Yorkers in between places, waiting for the next train to arrive and whisk them to their destination. Some read books, some scroll through social media, some engage…

Portland’s most lively, joyous outdoor event of the winter season is waiting right around the corner. Tuesday, February 25th, the Mysti Krewe of Nimbus will lead their annual Mardi Gras Parade on Mississippi Avenue. It’s a free, family-friendly event celebrating Mardi Gras Day. This year’s Parade features its biggest lineup ever, with marching bands, dance…

Join Reed College in celebrating its third annual Black Arts Festival! Family-friendly, free and open to all, this festival offers a full concert experience with performances by: BbymuthaMaarquiiZsa ZsaBnickFather FannieHouse of OliverThese musical performances are accompanied by a BIPoC (Black, Indigenous & People of Color) Community Marketplace, featuring local vendors and food and drink purveyors,…

The Womxn’s March & Rally For Action returns in celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. Take to the streets on a day that honors womxn and their long history of marching, organizing and speaking out for social justice. Educate. Engage. Empower.

Discover the amazing things our brains can do at the free annual OHSU Brain Fair! Science fans of all ages will be fascinated by hands-on exhibits, displays and more. Casey Eye Institute will have a booth at the fair, where you can learn about different parts of the eye, how our vision works and how…

The Pi Nee Waus (A Place To Come) Elders respectfully invite you, along with your friends and family, to this annual Powwow. Grand Entries will be at 1 p.m. and again at 6 p.m.

The Portland Flea + Food is a monthly market held on the last Sunday of the month in Portland, Oregon. Every market features 80+ local artists, makers, and curators of the best vintage, handmade and locally-sourced goods in town.

This annual show and sale returns every April to Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. See gorgeous rhododendrons and daffodils on display, then stroll through the garden in full bloom — one of the city’s most iconic and beautiful natural areas.

Join us for the 40th annual Trillium Festival! MEMBER BENEFITS ‘Early Bird’ Entrance to plant sale 9 – 10am BUY 1 get 1 FREE Trillium Brunch 8-10am PLANT SALE Boskey Dell Natives will be selling plants in various sizes, including Trillium and other specialty native plants that support native wildlife. Specific Questions about your yard?…

Join us in the Pearl to celebrate Spring with fun activities, treats and a hug and picture with the Easter Bunny. Smiles, laughter and some sweet treats will bring a burst of energy to the streets throughout the day as the Easter Bunny goes out and about taking photos and giving out candy and hugs….

Celebrate Easter Sunday at The Grotto, a serene woodland sanctuary in Northeast Portland featuring 62 acres of botanical gardens. Mass celebrating Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord will occur at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. April 12, 2020. Main entrance is located at NE 85th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard.

Portland’s biannual art and craft fair boasts unique handmade wares from 225+ local vendors.

Held the day before Mother’s Day, the Camas Plant and Garden Fair draws in thousands of people to enjoy and explore an amazing selection of plants, trees, garden art and supplies, and much more provided by local growers and vendors. Kids’ activities, live music, entertainment, fresh food, and the shops and restaurants of Downtown Camas…

The St. Johns Bizarre is a uniquely crafted celebration that kicks off the summer street fair season in Portland with music, kids’ activities and more. Held annually on the second Saturday in May, the Bizarre brings music, crafts and food to the crowds attending the St. Johns Parade. After the parade, the entire six block…

Sunday Parkways is an annual summertime event series that’s offered on one Sunday a month from May–September. Perfect for riders of all skill levels, these community rides let cyclists take their time and roll through the neighborhoods that make up the heart of the city. Southeast Portland, May 17, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (7…

Every year, Pedalpalooza brings over four weeks of biking fun with special rides and events throughout Portland. With over 100 different events (most organized by individuals), bikers of all persuasions are likely to find many events of interest. Nearly all events are free.

Since the very beginning of the Rose Festival back in 1907, visiting ships and other fleet-related elements (like submarines) have been making their way to Portland’s waterfront. The City of Portland is known to be a favorite port of call for military (and non-military) visitors — and citizens enjoy making these visitors welcome! One of…

This annual rose show is the nation’s largest and long-running rose show, bringing more than 4,000 blooms to Lloyd Center in Northeast Portland. Explore a huge variety of roses, from the quarter-inch micro-minis to the 8 inch standard blooms.

The Rose Festival is proud to host the Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat Races, an event that has been bringing an exciting Chinese tradition to Portland for more than two decades, beginning in 1989. Held on the Willamette River near the Hawthorne Bridge, the races feature exciting four-team heats held every nine minutes. More than…

Take a closer look at this year’s Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade floats at the Grand Floral Float Showcase on Southwest Naito Parkway, adjacent to CityFair. These unique floats are meticulously decorated with natural materials like seeds and coconut flakes in addition to live flowers.

Every June, the Portland Pride Festival & Parade makes a name for itself — and LGBTQ+ community members — all over town.

GeekCraft Expo is a curated craft market specializing in handmade, “geek”-themed crafts of all kinds; clothing, accessories, toys, home decoration, furniture, art . . . if it’s geeky and made by hand, it can be found at a GeekCraft Expo. Cosplay is highly encouraged and admission is free (you just need to pre-register).

Every June, thousands of cyclists cruise commando through Portland streets as part of the World Naked Bike Ride.

Bring a blanket or chair to enjoy the fourth annual Portland Picnic in Westmoreland Park. Featuring tastings from an array of 100 wines from around the world. There will also be beer available from Level Beer and nonalcoholic beverages to enjoy. A great selection of local vendors will be offering tasty food, live music, and…

The Fete de la Bastille is the West Coast’s largest Bastille Day celebration. The festival is free and open to the public and attracts as many 8,000 participants. A fun tradition during this festival is the Annual Waiters Race. The popular Portland Waiters Race returns to Bastille Day and will start at 2 p.m. Racers…

Oregon Northwest Merfest is a festival for the entire family that brings awareness to conservation with a fun “under the sea” theme. Join Oregon Mermaids for a day of mermaids, pirates, sea-themed entertainers, puppet shows and ocean-themed yoga. Oregon Mermaids impart their love of the briny deep, its wildlife, the ocean beaches and conservation information…

Celebrate the funky charm of one of Southeast Portland’s oldest neighborhoods at the Division/Clinton District’s annual Street Fair and Parade. The morning parade along Division and Clinton Streets will kick off a full day of live music, family fun, children’s events, great food, interesting art, craft and community booths, sidewalk sales for bargain hunters, and…

Join the Oregon Chinese Coalition for the city’s annual Chinese Festival in the Square! Celebrate Chinese American culture and enjoy nonstop entertainment, delicious Chinese food, authentic arts, crafts and much more.

Portland’s Multnomah Village is filled with character – as well as dozens of unique shops, galleries, restaurants, arts and more. The annual Multnomah Days Parade (dubbed “the biggest little parade in Portland”) is the neighborhood’s old-school street fair, starting with a parade and featuring vendors and performers from throughout the city (and beyond) the rest…

The Art in the Pearl annual Fine Arts & Crafts Festival occurs every year on Labor Day weekend in the Pearl District’s North Park Blocks. The Festival is free and requires no tickets for entry. Art In The Pearl has been named one of the top 10 Arts and Crafts Festivals in the country and…

Enjoy Portland’s annual Dragon Boat Festival, featuring dragon boat racing along with food vendors, a beer garden and more. The event features as many as 96 dragon boat teams from all over the world who race in Taiwan-style dragon boats.

This annual race series consists of paddlers piloting a gaggle of gigantic gourds through a water course.

Honor Veterans Day with Portland’s annual Veterans Day Parade. The Parade begins at 9:30 a.m. at Northeast 40th and Northeast Sandy Boulevard and travels down Sandy, ending at Sandy & 48th in front of Ross Hollywood Chapel, which is the site of the Veterans Memorial Flag pole. At the conclusion of the parade, there is…

Enjoy a rotating exhibit in the MJCC lobby all month. Members of ORA: Northwest Jewish Artists will answer questions, accept commissions and sell their art. A portion of the proceeds benefits the MJCC.

This House of Mine is a collaborative zine about reproductive health funded in part by the Regional Arts and Culture Council. Submissions for are open until April 1. Learn more about the zine and how to submit at the event website.

Through playful exploration of the emotional, mythical, morbid and psychedelic, Deep Down invites viewers to delve into the waters of the subconscious. We often attach a negative morality with the concept of being “down.” Deep Down aims to embrace the dark and mysterious beneath the palpable. Jonathan Steele of Steele Tea Studios will be providing…

Looptworks uses only what already exists to create new functional products (including upcycled bags, apparel and accessories). Looptworks is committed to upcycling and closed loop solutions. Its intent is to reduce and eliminate waste in its industry headed to the landfill. Participate and witness the Looptworks upcycling production and circular economy firsthand. Tour Schedule &…

OJMCHE’s front window will be part of the City’s Winter Light Festival with a piece by Portland artist Sara Harwin that will be activated in the evenings throughout the month of February. Illuminated Letters is an artistic lens into the journey of creation. Light is represented in the form of ancient Hebrew letters within the…

The twenty-one women photographed by Sara Bennett in The Bedroom Project were all convicted of serious crimes— mostly homicide—and spent fourteen to thirty-seven years in a maximum-security prison. By the time they came up for parole they were all profoundly changed, yet most of them were repeatedly denied release because of the crimes they had…

Paragon Arts Gallery at PCC Cascade presents two parallel exhibitions: Elemental Meditations by Meghan Hedley in our West Gallery and Brighter Worlds by Matthew Sproul in our East Gallery. Visual and interactive, the exhibitions offer paintings and drawings in eye-popping bright colors with shapes, symbols, and marks to delight the psyche. Please join us for…

Blind Insect Gallery presents “Where the Wild Things Grow”, featuring artwork by Portland based artist Shannon Amidon. Opening reception February 27th, 5:30-9:00pm as part of Last Thursday Art Walk in the Alberta Arts District. Exhibit runs until March 21st. Luminescent, richly layered and detailed encaustic (molten beeswax) paintings honor untamed landscapes and strive to bring…

Fuller Rosen Gallery presents American Hex, a two-person show featuring new work by Portland based artists Christine Miller and Brittany Vega. Miller and Vega’s varied practices center on the artist as collector, and use their personal archives to shed light on the ills of contemporary American culture. American Hex points to the problematic and charged…

This talk is titled How Aristides de Sousa Mendes Saved Thousands from the Nazis. Jill Neuwelt will discuss her trip last year to commerate the work of Aristides de Sousa Mendes who, as an individual, saved many lives during World War II. Jill Neuwelt and a group met in Bordeaux and travelled along the route…

A comedy open mic hosted by Eddie Churnetski and Benton Crider. 18+ until 8 p.m., 21+ after 8 p.m. If you are under 21 and would like to go up early, please message the Trash Amp Productions Facebook page.

Join up on a 30-minute tour of Saké Brewery. Starts 1pm, 2pm & 3pm

The Portland Farmers Market at Portland State University will be open every Saturday, year round. April through October hours are 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. November through March hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In the contemporary world, we tend to live and breathe narrative. The connective tissue of the Story has threaded into much of our cultural consumption. Whether we are digesting the news of the day, taking in the entertainment media, or sharing anecdotes with loved ones, we’ve learned to mimic the narrative arc perpetuated in our…

Interface Portland is a series of educational conferences focused on information security, IT infrastructure (BC/DR, data storage and recovery), and enterprise communications. Now recognized as one of the nation’s premier IT symposiums, Interface has received 15+ years of enthusiastic support from both the regional IT communities it serves and a burgeoning number of leading solution…

Enjoy free admission to the Museum the first Thursday of each month from 5 – 8 p.m.