The calendar page has turned to August. Portland Public Schools starts in three and a half weeks. The West is on fire, the delta variant is raging, and everything is not awesome. 

If you need a concentrated dose of summer to counteract all of that, one option that doesn't involve fighting coast traffic or clambering for space on a swim dock is PickleFest, the Portland Pickles' annual all-ages beer-and-baseball celebration. The event brings 14 breweries and cideries, four amateur baseball teams, and probably at least two people in pickle costumes to Walker Stadium in Lents Park Saturday, August 7, starting at 3 p.m.

Participating breweries and cideries include Away Days, Brewery 26, Level, Reverend Nat’s, Modern Times, and Ninkasi. Live music and the Pickles' DJ are also on offer. (All of this sounds much better than the hazy IPA–basic Budweiser dichotomy that seems to have taken over major league ballparks.)

For the baseball side of things, the Gresham GreyWolves and Willamette Wild Bills of the Pickles' spinoff Wild Wild West League play at 3:35, followed by a Portland-vs.-Portland showdown between the Gherkins and the Rosebuds at 7:05.

The Wild Wild West League season runs through August 27, with a weekend-long postseason August 28–29. The Portland Pickles' regular season has ended, and the flagship team is away playing the Bend Elks as the West Coast League playoffs begin.