Sometimes, a KBOO fundraiser grows up to be one of the country’s most beloved music festivals. Find stages set among trees, hammocks strung up for lounging, and a bill featuring Steve Earle, Alela Diane, Quasi, the Womack Sisters, and Fabiano do Nascimento. (Check out our insider tips.)

Catch dance performances, cattle shows, carnival rides, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, and a demolition derby at this coastal county fair. At the very least, go for the famous Pig-N-Ford races—people drive Model Ts while holding pigs, or at least try to.

Expect teams from around the world at this 44th annual tourney on the beach in Seaside in divisions from juniors to adults, novice to pro. Want to play? It's not too late to register, and the event website has a "partner finder" feature.

“Fun stinks,” as the saying goes at this annual festival on Portland's northwest outskirts, now in its 28th year. The three-day fest features a variety of food vendors showcasing garlic ice cream, garlic burgers, pickled garlic...you get the picture. Beyond the obvious star of the show, expect a parade, a car show, live music, and vendors. Make sure to say hi to Stinkee, the fest’s elephant-eared, bulbous-bodied mascot.

The Lane County town, which sits just north of Eugene, has been throwing this celebration of Scandinavian heritage since 1961. Expect music, dance, food, crafts, and storytellers spinning Viking sagas and Nordic myths.

Chamber, jazz, and orchestral music—plus a variety of other sounds from across the world—descend on Lincoln City for more than a week of concerts. Shows take place at venues throughout the city, including Taft High School, Lincoln City Cultural Center, and Schooner Creek Discovery Park, which hosts a free family concert on August 22. 

Every August, an absolute menagerie of homemade derby cars, operated by costumed Portlanders, tear down the extinct cinder cone that is Mount Tabor. It’s goofy and joyous and terribly crowded, and it must be experienced at least once.

The Eastern Oregon town grows some of the best melons in the country, renowned for their high sugar content. During peak season, residents celebrate the bounty with bathtub races, a costume contest, and (duh) a seed spitting competition.

This 199-mile team relay race starts 6,000 feet above sea level at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood and ends on the beach at Seaside. The race passes through Portland (the city is an alternate starting point, too) and crosses over the Coast Range through Mist and Jewell. Watch for wildly decorated support vans and sleep-deprived runners. Or get involved yourself by volunteering.

Watch hot-air balloons being launched (or better yet, hitch a ride on one yourself) at this family-friendly event at Timber Linn Memorial Park. The fun kicks off with a Friday night glow event as air balloons illuminate the sky, and continues with arts and craft vendors, live music, an antique car show, cornhole, and a wine and beer garden.  

Say farewell to summer with this sprawling affair, where you’ll find carnival rides, monster trucks, horse shows, rodeo events, hypnotists and magicians, music on numerous stages (Weird Al, Clint Black, BigXThaPlug, Jo Dee Messina, and Twisted Sister with Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach on lead vocals), and all the fried food you could ever want.