May Events
Embrace spring with events celebrating local food, crafts and Latinx culture.
Here are some of our favorite May events in Portland. Scroll down for more picks or search the events calendar to see everything on offer.
Portland Farmers Market
Most of the area’s farmers’ markets open in May. Among the items featured are fresh produce, flowers, seafood, breads and berries. The flagship Portland Farmers Market is at Portland State University, but the organization operates more throughout the city. In addition to shopping, the markets can feature chef demonstrations, spontaneous music performances, fresh flowers, coffee and food carts and more.
Portland’s Cinco de Mayo Fiesta
Memorial Weekend in Wine Country
During Memorial Weekend in Wine Country, more than 150 Willamette Valley wineries — many not usually open to the public — open their doors to visitors.
Portland Rose Festival
Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Sale
This biannual sale from the popular purveyor of local crafts, Crafty Wonderland, turns the Oregon Convention Center into a true wonderland of all things handmade each spring and winter.
More May Events
Art and Race Matters: The Career of Robert Colescott
The first comprehensive retrospective of one of America’s most compelling and controversial artists, Art and Race Matters traces the work of Robert Colescott (1925-2009), who established his career in Portland with the support of gallery owner and philanthropist Arlene Schnitzer, then made his mark in the 1970s with a series of deconstructed art-historical masterpieces that…
Volcano! Mount St. Helens in Art
Marking the 40th anniversary of the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, this exhibition explores the overwhelming power of nature and the epic cycles of volcanic destruction and regeneration with stunning photographs, paintings and drawings of the mountain from 1845 to the present day. Curated by Dawson Carr, Ph.D., The Janet and Richard Geary Curator of…
Submarine Tech Tour
OMSI offers a Guided Tech Tour on the second and fourth Sunday of every month. This special tour guided by an actual submarine veteran is for those who would like to learn more about the technical workings of the Blueback. The maximum tour size is eight people, so plan ahead and reserve your spot. Tech…
Being Present
Being Present: Revisiting, Somewhat Unfaithfully, Portland’s Most Experimental Art Experiment, PCVA From 1972 to 1987, the Portland Center for the Visual Arts (PCVA) was a major force in the Pacific Northwest, introducing progressive forms of contemporary art from around the country to Portland audiences. Temporary site-specific installations by major, mostly New York-based sculptors, announced its…
Isaka Shamsud-Din: Rock of Ages
Isaka Shamsud-Din: Rock of Ages is an intimate exhibition celebrating the Portland artist’s masterful paintings, rich in a narrative combining personal stories and folklore. Shamsud-Din’s paintings also celebrate and honor individuals by capturing portraits. Tightly composed and with a vibrancy of color, the works invite viewers to be among these individuals and warm settings. The…
Portraiture from the Collection of Northwest Art
In the rich tradition of portraiture reflected in Northwest art, there is an exemplary range of individuals and styles of depiction. For this exhibition, the artist Storm Tharp was invited to help select works from the collection through his keen eyes as a fellow portraitist. As he combed through the collection, some themes in portraiture…
Southern Rites
In Southern Rites, American photographer Gillian Laub (b. 1975) engages her skills as a photographer, storyteller and visual activist to examine the realities of racism and raise questions that are simultaneously painful and essential to understanding the American consciousness. Through her lens and the voices of her subjects we encounter that which we do not…
The Art of Reading
The artistic poster first flourished in the United States in the 1890s. Initially following design trends pioneered in Europe, American artists soon created their own unique style. Magazines were among the first to adopt this new form of advertising, employing outstanding designers such as Will Bradley, Edward Penfield and Maxfield Parrish to advertise periodicals including…