7 Things To Do this week in Portland’s ‘burbs, including Robin Hood Festival, Highland Games, La Strada dei Pastelli Chalk Art Festival

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, July 12, 2023

As much entertainment as Portland will be providing this week, the suburbs have their marquee events lined up.

Portland will host the likes of the Portland Pride Festival, 8:30 am.-4:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 15-16 at Waterfront Park (and the Pride Parade starting at 11 a.m. Sunday in the North Park Blocks). Cathedral Park Jazz Festival fills the North Portland park with music through Sunday, July 16. The Mississippi Avenue Street Fair will be 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, July 15 and cultural event Paseo takes place for the first of three weekends 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, July 16 in the South Park Blocks

But, it’s a big week in the ‘burbs. Check out these 7 things going on outside Portland:

Harefest

An annual tribute band music festival, Harefest returns to Canby’s Clackamas County Fair & Event Center, 694 N.E. Fourth Ave., Thursday-Saturday, July 13-15.

This year’s line-up includes tributes to Queen, Journey, Pink Floyd, Guns n’ Roses, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, Spinal Tap and more. The annual event, tabbed as “The Mother of All Tribute Band Festivals,” has grown steadily through its run, having outgrown two other venues before landing at the fairgrounds in Canby.

This is the second year the festival has been staged at the Clackamas County Event Center, which includes an expansive overnight area that accommodates hundreds of RV and tent campers (including a Glamping Village), creating a weekend-long concert ‘camp-out’ for classic rock fans.

It’s a 21-older event and tickets are available through Afton Tickets at harefest.com.

Robin Hood Festival

The big event in Sherwood is celebrating 70 years in 2023, Friday-Saturday, July 14-15 in Old Town Sherwood. It begins at 5 p.m. Friday. There’ll be music and merriment, vendors, beer/wine/cider garden and food, as well as opportunities to shop, jousting and archery tournaments. It’s free admission to the festival grounds.

The Family Stage located at Veterans’ Park is the site of the annual Knighting Ceremony that takes place on Friday at 6 p.m. “Merrie Olde Sherwood” is the theme of the popular community parade which starts on Saturday at 10 a.m.

The history:

In the days following World War II, a group of friends banded together and formed Robin Hood and His Merry Men of Sherwood, Oregon. They toured the state entering parades and entertaining crowds with their antics.

At that time, Sherwood held a harvest festival. In 1954, the Kiwanis Club of Sherwood, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Robin Hood and His Merry Men group joined together and formed the Sherwood Robin Hood Festival Association. The first Sherwood Robin Hood Festival was held in July of that year.

More: robinhoodfestival.org.

Highland Games

The celebration of Scottish traditions — minus the sports — returns to Mt. Hood Community College, 26000 S.E. Stark St. in Gresham, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, July 15, after a COVID-19 pandemic hiatus.

There’ll be bagpipes, dancers and Celtic music, and Clan Tents where histories will be shared, as well as distilled spirits at Portland Highland Games.

More: phga.org.

Gresham Arts Festival

There’ll be more than 125 Pacific Northwest artists, live music, a kids village and local cuisine in Gresham’s downtown streets, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, July 15, centered at Gresham Arts Plaza, 401 N.E. Second St. It’s free to attend.

More: greshamoregon.gov/Gresham-Arts-Festival.

Live music

If you want to take in some music, check out two concerts on Saturday, July 15: Lyle Lovett at McMenamins Grand Lodge in Forest Grove (6:30 p.m., grandlodgeconcerts.com) and Disturbed at RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater in Ridgefield, Washington (6:30 p.m., livenation.com).

Then, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, Neil Young performs at RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater (livenation.com).

La Strada dei Pastelli Chalk Art Festival

It’s an event that used to be held in Beaverton, but it’s now found a home in downtown Hillsboro in the Cultural Arts District, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 15-16. It’s an immersive, open-air festival featuring large-scale street paintings (31 different squares to be chalked), live music, multi-cultural food and drink vendors, artists and hands-on activities.

Organizers say it attracted 40,000 people last summer.

It’s produced by Tualatin Valley Creates and takes place along East Main Street (First to Fourth avenues) in Hillsboro. It’s free and open to the public.

More: tvcreates.org.

Concours D’Elegance

Cool cars take the spotlight at 2023 Forest Grove Concours D’Elegance at Pacific University in Forest Grove, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sunday, July 16. It features more than 300 classic and modified cars with 70 years of Corvettes, 100 years of MG and Lancia displays, and there’ll be live music, food, a beer garden and a wine pavilion.

More: forestgroveconcours.org.