We're delighted to introduce Portland Monthly's first ever Summer Guide! There is no better place on Earth than Portland in the summer. Festivals, parks, picnics, outdoor concerts, 9 o'clock sunsets—the ingredients of urban bliss. Here's our take on how to craft the perfect season:

Listen

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  How What the Festival Became Oregon's Hottest Party: The newest 'summer camp for adults' combines three stages, dozens of music acts, and a skating rink-size wading pool.
  We're giving away a pair of passes, but you have to pick up the actual magazine to enter. The contest closes June 30.
• Portland Music Festival Field Guide: Be prepared with our Do's and Dont's for the best local music events: Waterfront Blues Festival, PDX Pop Now, and Pickathon.
• Perfect Summer Playlist: We’ve curated a compilation of songs from the summer’s hottest tickets for your listening pleasure.

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  Best Places to Soak Up the Sun—and Stash a Body: Portland's best-selling thriller author Chelsea Cain takes us on a tour of her favorite summer spots, with a few fatalities along the way.
• Portland Summer Reading List: As we were touring with Cain, we asked to share her picks for beach or patio reading, then turned them into haikus to whet your appetite.
• All the Park’s a Stage: Five tips for producing—and watching—Shakespeare in the park
• Trek in the Park's Final Frontier: The summer theater favorite ends its five-year mission with “The Trouble with Tribbles”—and your help.
• The Last Big Thing from JAW Playwrights’ Festival: Here's what you missed out on at Portland Center Stage last year. Don't let it happen again.

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  The Portland Timbers' Other Rivals: With the Cascadia Cup on the line, our hometown team looks beyond the Seattle Sounders to tackle their friendlier, Canadian rivals.
• Play Like a Kid This Summer: Yeah, yeah, yeah. “Keep Portland Weird.” We know. (Here’s how.)
• Summer Fun for the Family on $50 a Day: From your a.m. sip to Happy Hour, with plenty of kid-friendly activities in between (rain or shine).

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  The Perfect Portland Picnic Challenge: We gave three chefs $50 to spend at their favorite markets for a ready-to-eat BYOB meal (bring your own blanket, that is).
• Pitchers to the People!: Hosting a shindig? Consider a batch of these classic cocktails to quench your crowd.

• Portland Summer Calendar: The definitive guide to the city's hottest events in June, July, and August.