Oregon Festivals. John Shewey
ITALIANA
Portland
Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 SW 6th Avenue
Late August
According to author Charles Wills in his 2005 book Destination America, about 25,000 Italian immigrants had arrived on American shores by 1870, largely from Northern Italy—people displaced and impoverished by the wars of unification and independence during the Risorgimento. But within a few decades, between 1880 and 1924, more than 4 million Italians immigrated to America, largely spurred on by devastating poverty in Southern Italy and Sicily. Like other immigrant groups of the time, Italians arriving in America sought opportunity for a better life and many eagerly embraced westward expansion. By the early 1900s, Oregon, and Portland especially, had a burgeoning Italian population—so much so that until urban renewal in the early 1960s, Portland had a thriving Italian business district.
Marionettes are among the most popular attractions at lively Festa Italiana.
Today, Italian culture continues to deeply influence the city and the nation at large, from the foods we love to many everyday words and phrases. Portland’s annual Festa Italiana, launched in 1991, celebrates Italian culture and heritage and its influence on America and Portland. Festa Italiana, which annually attracts perhaps thousands of people, features incredible food from local restaurants that offer their takes on dishes familiar to most Americans, to Italian regional specialties that demonstrate the amazing depth and creativity in Italian cuisine. Accompanying all the terrific foods are numerous Italian wines and beers. Nonstop entertainment at Festa Italiana features not only live musicians but also dancers and other performers, even marionette puppeteers (loved by the children who attend), all specializing in cultural expressions of the arts, for which Italy has long been known.
This spirited three-day festival also features a popular bocce competition on Sunday. Bocce, of Italian origin, is somewhat akin to lawn bowling; it has been described as a combination of bowling, shuffleboard, and Skee-Ball. One of the world’s most popular games, bocce is played with eight large spherical balls, four balls per team, with each team’s balls differing in color so they are distinguishable (see the Festa website to register).
Festa Italiana, which is free to attend and family friendly (21 and over for the beer and wine gardens) and envelops Downtown Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square each August, also includes various Italian American organizations selling Italian foodstuff and other products. Opening ceremonies occur Friday at noon, followed by the popular wine-grape stomp and pizza-tossing competition. The fun lasts well into the night, with featured musicians taking the stage throughout the evening. Each day Festa Italiana runs from 11 am to 11 pm, and fills the square with buoyant crowds.
SIDEWALK CHALK ART FESTIVAL
Forest Grove
Main Street
Third Saturday in September
Chalk, concrete, and sunny summer days go hand in hand. However, kids doodling on the driveway barely hints at the versatility of this medium that so many artists find appealing. Perhaps it’s the wide range of chalk colors and the way they blend so seamlessly in the hands of a skilled artist. Or maybe it’s the ephemeral nature of drawing on this outdoor canvas, knowing that the artwork cannot survive the rain or the hose or the shuffle of feet. Whatever their motivation and inspiration, artists of all ages and abilities flock to the Valley Arts Sidewalk Chalk Art Festival, which has transformed Forest Grove’s eclectic Main Street into a giant kaleidoscopic mural each September since 1991.
Beginning at 8 am on the third Saturday of September, chalk artists take to the street, literally, to weave their beguiling magical tapestry of shapes and colors. The sidewalks are quickly transformed into beautiful works of creative expression. Anyone can take part in the fun, no matter their age or artistic skills, and this popular festival draws throngs of onlookers who enjoy watching the many different drawings taking shape throughout the day and often stroll the downtown blocks after the event to see the wonderful artwork. Kids love to get in on the action alongside many talented established artists, including a select group of featured artists announced late each summer in advance of the event.
Amazing artworks come to life on city sidewalks during the Sidewalk Chalk Art Festival in Forest Grove.
The festival is held rain or shine, though pleasant late-summer weather frequently prevails; in the event of rain, many artists employ pop-up tentcanopies or umbrellas to forestall the inevitable as long as they can. In addition to their imaginations, artists and aspiring artists should bring knee pads, rulers, blending brushes, and any other supplies they need. The entry fee for artists is minimal, and members of Valley Art get a discount; registration fees include a tray of richly pigmented chalks and a square of Downtown Forest Grove sidewalk for the day. There is no entry fee for onlookers. Preregistration begins the Wednesday prior to the festival at Valley Art Gallery, 2022 Main Street in Forest Grove.
The event runs until 4 pm and includes ongoing entertainment suitable for all ages. It is partially funded by a grant from the community enhancement project, and proceeds from the festival help fund scholarships for Forest Grove High School students who will be continuing with their art studies in college. It also benefits the Valley Art Association’s children’s art classes. The Sidewalk Chalk Art Festival is noncompetitive—no art contest, no judging. It’s all about the art, the community, and the camaraderie.
DOGTOBERFEST
Portland
Lucky Lab Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Boulevard
Mid-September
www.dovelewis.org/dogtoberfest
Iconic Portland brewery Lucky Labrador Brew Pub opened in 1994, and the next year founders Gary Geist and Alex Stiles hatched the idea of Dogtoberfest for their first anniversary celebration. Then, a year later in 1996, they realized this event could be a valuable and spirited annual fundraiser, so they invited nonprofit DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital to partner with them in the event as the beneficiary. This dogcentric celebration proved to be a big hit, and by the time its twentieth anniversary rolled around in 2015 Dogtoberfest volunteers had bathed about 9,000 dogs and raised nearly $200,000; and those totals keep expanding—to the tune of about $20,000 per year—as the public has warmly embraced this amusing and convivial festival held each September, usually a time of pleasantly warm late-summer dogwashing weather in the Willamette Valley.
Dogtoberfest, which includes a popular dog wash, is a terrific fundraiser for the DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital.
Central to Dogtoberfest, of course, is the dog wash itself: bring your four-legged buddy, invite your family, and get ready to get wet, all in the name of a great cause, as proceeds and donations go to the DoveLewis Blood Bank, which provides dogs and cats with more than 500 lifesaving blood transfusions every year. DoveLewis, established in 1973, is the region’s only nonprofit twenty-four-hour emergency and critical-care and specialty animal hospital. The idea for the hospital sprung from well-known kennel owners, dog breeders, and groomers Dove and AB Lewis. Before her untimely death at age 54 in 1972, Dove Lewis and Dr. Richard Werner had hopes of establishing an overnight animal hospital but could not find