With warm, sunny days few and far between, summer can't get here soon enough for Portland neighbors. Although summer officially begins on June 21, various neighborhood farmers markets are already busy, outdoor pools will open soon and the outdoor movies and concerts schedules are set. At least our outlook is sunny!

The summer festivals schedule has already kicked off, too, with Art Hop, Mt. Tabor Art Walk and Sunday Parkways appearing in mid May. But, you haven’t missed out, really, as festivals are a huge part of Portland’s favorite summer plans. With street, neighborhood or Waterfront Park festivals nearly every weekend through September, there’s no end to the fun you, your family and friends can have.

What follows are nearly a dozen not-to-be-missed festivals and events in order of appearance. Get your calendars ready, folks, and save the dates!

Mississippi Street Fair 2009. Photo courtesy of Historic Mississippi Business Assoc.

June 2010: Portland Festivals

Junior Rose Parade

When: Wednesday, June 9; 1 p.m.
Where: Hollywood District/NE Sandy and 52nd Avenue
Part of the annual Rose Festival celebration, since 1907, middle school and younger aged kids have upheld the parade tradition with marching bands, costumes, floats and more. It’s a fun and colorful event that engages all!

Portland Pride - Gay Pride Festival and Parade

When: Saturday and Sunday, June 19 and 20; parade at 11 a.m. on Sunday
Where: Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Musicians and dancers, theatrics and costumes galore, the Gay Pride Festival and Parade always entertain. New this year is the Portland Drag Race to be held prior to the fabulously fun parade antics on Sunday.

Good in the Hood

When: Friday, Saturday, Sunday; June 25, 26, 27
Where: King School Park, 4800 block of NE 6th Avenue
The 18th annual Good in the Hood event offers a networking meet 'n greet on Friday night, the festival on Saturday and Sunday (with a parade on Saturday). Music, food and other entertainment will please families and neighbors. This year, there’s even a kick-off event with music and a fashion show on Monday, June 21 at the Kennedy School from 6 to 10 p.m.

             Cathedral Park Jazz Festival. Photo courtesy of cpjazz.com

July 2010: Portland Festivals

Mississippi Street Fair

When: Saturday, July 10; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: Mississippi Avenue, north of Fremont
Known to many as the king of all local street fairs, there’s tons of fun to be had on Mississippi Avenue this summer. Art, music, food, craft—and fantastic people watching— will surely captivate. A great event to attend with your out of town guests!

Cathedral Park Jazz Festival

When: Friday, Saturday, Sunday; July 16, 17, 18,
Friday begins at 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday begin at noon
Where: Cathedral Park underneath St John's Bridge
The 30th annual jazz (and blues) festival promises three glorious days of FREE music.
With Linda Hornbuckle, Bobby Torres Ensemble, Tahoe Jackson, Chris and Mel Brown, and more.

The Hawthorne Bridge 100 Year Anniversary is celebrated at the PDX Bridge Festival.

PDX Bridge Festival

When: July 23 through August 8
Where: Just about everywhere, but especially on bridges
This year is the Hawthorne Bridge’s 100th birthday. To celebrate this milestone, and really, to celebrate all of Portland’s bridges, there will be three weekends devoted to music and arts and creative programming about, well, bridges! Interested artists are asked to submit ideas for projects by June 16.

Flicks on the Bricks

When: Movies begin at dusk Friday nights: July 23, 30; August 6, 13, 20
Where: Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 SW 6th Avenue
Summer movie titles are still TBA but with free admission, you really can’t go wrong. Early arrival is certainly encouraged as seating is first come first sit. Bring a picnic and enjoy a flick with your friends downtown, under the stars.

Flicks on the Bricks. Photo courtesy of Pioneer Courthouse Square.

August 2010: Portland Festivals

National Night Out

When: Tuesday, August 3
Where: Your neighborhood park
The first Tuesday night in August every year (in the US and Canada) is devoted to crime prevention and awareness, neighborhood spirit and community partnership (especially with police and emergency preparedness groups). While there are official events that happen in many neighborhood parks across the city, individual neighbors often host their own block parties for the same goals, too. Take crime out of our hoods!

Hawthorne Street Fair

When: Sunday, August 15; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: SE Hawthorne Blvd from SE 12th to SE 51st Avenue
Enjoy seemingly endless blocks of local arts and crafts vendors, music and entertainment stages, family-friendly activities like face painting and puppet shows, and much, much more. Sunday Parkways will cross Hawthorne Street again this year, bringing heaps of folks to the event. But don’t let that scare you away—get on your bike and make a day of it.

Multnomah Days 2009

Multnomah Days

When: Saturday, August 21; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Multnomah Village business district, Capitol Highway between SW 30th and SW 36th
The street fair is great, but it's the related activities (World’s Shortest Parade, Kiwanis pancake breakfast, Dove Lewis/Lucky Lab dog wash) that make this nearly 50-year-old annual community celebration a total hoot. More than 50 food and craft vendors and world-ethnic music set the stage for end of the summer fun.

Festa Italiana

When: Thursday through Saturday, August 26, 27, 28
Thursday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, noon to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Where: Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 SW 6th Ave
Celebrate your inner Italian at the 18th annual celebration for enjoying, promoting, living Italian culture. Food (of course!), music and dancing galore.

There are plenty of other fantastic festivals going on this summer. Have at it!