Oregon Festivals. John Shewey

time when Oregon was home to a mere seven craft breweries and the entire nation had only 128 craft breweries. All of them were invited to that very first Oregon Brewers Festival, billed as “the first gathering of and exhibit of independent brewers in the United States.”

      Twenty-six breweries from six states showed up, and the event drew far more attendees than its organizers anticipated. Now, more than three decades later, this five-day extravaganza draws a crowd that may soon surpass 100,000 people and attracts dozens of breweries—more than ninety in recent years. It reigns as one of the biggest and best brew fests in the country. In addition to every imaginable style of beer available by sample and by the glassful, the festival includes half a dozen outstanding food vendors, ongoing excellent live music, beer-related vendors, beer memorabilia displays, home-brewing information and demonstrations, a beer writers tent, and the Crater Lake Soda Garden with complimentary handcrafted soda for minors and designated drivers (minors must be accompanied by a parent).

      Sampling and drinking beer requires the one-time purchase of a souvenir mug for a very reasonable price (there is no admission charge at the gates). Wooden beer tokens, $1 each, are required for samples; past festivals pricing has been one token for a taste and five tokens for a full mug of beer. Both mugs and tokens are available at a dedicated booth near the main entrance at SW Oak Street and Naito Parkway (cash only/ATMs on sight). During big events like this in Downtown Portland, parking can be brutal. The nearest Smart Park lot is located at SW Naito and NW Davis Street, and other public pay-lots are not too far away. Public transportation saves the headache of finding parking and then walking (or hiking, depending on how far away you end up parking), and the MAX line drops off only one block from the festival at SW First and Oak Street. The festival also has a staffed onsite bike corral where you can park your bike for free.

      For craft-beer aficionados, this grandiose event can easily consume an entire day or even two or three days, so plan accordingly—in fact, given the massive list of available beers, you’d be doing yourself a disservice not to dedicate at least a full day to sampling from the amazing selection.

      Oregon Brewers Festival, which celebrated 30 years in 2018, draws huge crowds to Waterfront Park and features dozens of regional breweries.

       TUALATIN CRAWFISH FESTIVAL

      Tualatin

      Tualatin Community Park, 8515 SW Tualatin Road

      Early August

       www.tualatincrawfishfestival.com

      Can’t make it to the huge crawfish festival in New Orleans? Worry not; the annual Tualatin Crawfish Festival is a big deal, too, founded in 1951 and annually drawing more than 15,000 people who relish not only the amazing food—consuming about 1.5 tons of crawfish each year—and all-around gaiety, but also in the myriad activities that range from competitive to whimsical. This must-see extravaganza features crawfish served in a variety of ways, along with plenty of other food choices, and adults 21 and over can wash down the cooked crustaceans with a craft beer from any of the regional breweries participating in the beer garden.

      Of course no crawfish celebration would be complete without a crawfish-eating contest, and at the Tualatin Crawfish Festival it’s a fan-favorite event in which contestants have a mere fifteen minutes to cram as many crawfish down their gullets as possible, eating both tail and claw meat. It’s one thing to win the event but quite another to challenge the record of eating 170 crawfish, a mark that has stood since 1972 (preregistration is required for the eating contest, with details on the festival website).

      The Tualatin Crawfish Festival is entirely family friendly and features a dedicated CRAWkids Zone offering numerous engaging activities, such as a dunk tank, rock wall, building area, and more. The festival also features balloon art, face painting, a water balloon toss, magician performances, sack races, carnival games, and a cornhole tournament. Even well-behaved dogs get in on the action—creatively costumed canines (in theme, of course) are welcome at the festival. Early Saturday morning, the starting guns sound for the Kids’ Run, Crawfish Crawl Relay, and Crawfish Crawl 5K and Half Marathon (race participants receive an event shirt, a medal, sponsor-provided prizes, and even a beer at the finish line for adults). In the relay, teams of four can choose to run or walk, with each team member running three legs or walking two legs of the 2.04-mile course on forested park trails.

      Crawfish—aka crawdads and crayfish—are, of course, the star attraction at the Tualatin Crawfish Festival.

      Tualatin Crawfish Festival also features a vendor’s village with an eclectic mix of products and activities producing a spirited and interesting Saturday Market–style experience. The festival opens late Friday afternoon, with live music beginning midevening and continuing through Saturday. Annually the event hosts a variety of well-known musicians, with past entertainers including such luminaries as Curtis Salgado, Lisa Mann, and Norman Sylvester. Annually the specific mix of activities at Crawfish Fest varies, but this lively celebration always offers all-ages fun and entertainment aplenty. The deservedly popular festival culminates with a terrific fireworks show on Saturday evening. The festival draws lots of people, so parking options include the old Haggen’s store lot at 8515 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Road, or you could park at Cook Park and walk through the park to get to the festival.

       SPIRITSFEST

      Portland

      Portland Saturday Market, Waterfront Park, 2 SW Naito Parkway

      August

       www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/events

      Have a drink, catch a show, shop local.

      Okay, sign me up—especially for the “have a drink” part of that trifecta because in this case, the drinks come from local craft distillers. Spiritsfest, held at the Rose City’s iconic Portland Saturday Market, highlights innovative Portland-area distillers who are making a mark not only in Oregon but throughout the Northwest and beyond. At this popular yet surprisingly intimate summer festival, attendees get to meet the makers of some of the region’s best distillers and not only discover what they are making and bottling but also learn how to use these craft spirits to create mouthwatering cocktails of all kinds.

      Spiritsfest at Portland Saturday Market celebrates the Rose City’s vibrant craft distilling scene.

      Each year the mix of participating distillers changes a bit, but they all arrive ready to serve up their signature cocktails and samples of their distilled spirits, including small-batch whiskies, rums, vodkas, gins, and more. The distillers sell signature cocktails, and their spirits by the bottle, at the event. Past incarnations of Spiritsfest have hosted such stalwarts in the Portland scene as Bull Run Distilling, Indio Spirits, Miru Vodka, Thomas and Sons Distilling, Vivacity Spirits, Big Bottom Whiskey, Eastside Distilling, and Wild Roots Spirits. The event is 21 and over, and admission is free.

      Operating since 1974, Portland Saturday Market is the largest continually operating outdoor arts and crafts market in the nation. Located in Portland’s historic Old Town, the Market is the city’s the most popular shopping destination for local handcrafted goods. Shoppers and browsers relish the unique opportunity to meet more than 350 Northwest artists and craftspeople who create the art they’re selling. An interactive map on the Portland Saturday Market website allows you to peruse all the vendors and search by product type. Live local music and myriad exotic foods top off this remarkable Saturday and Sunday event.