Celebrate the Longest Day of the Year!

An “immersive rave” with the world’s largest wading pool, a hookah lounge, and electronic music out in the Gorge, basking in the shadows of Mounts Hood and Adams? Well, sure! What The Festival’s fourth year should bring more of the artistically inclined, light-on-the-land, carnivalesque brand of fun that’s already lofted WTF to international acclaim on the festival circuit. Plus, showers and yoga and tea! But because a full weekend of raving in the sunshine can be, well, overwhelming, we won’t judge you for departing early to observe the summer solstice from the quieter sanctuary of your home on Sunday. We recommend jumping aboard a midmorning kayak tour with Alder Creek, which launches you from the Eastbank Esplanade on a three-mile paddle around Ross Island, where you’re likely to spot a good few of the 100 species of migratory birds that summer here, including bald eagles and great blue herons. Finish your splendidly chill day with a cold one in hand at the recently revived Skyline Tavern (8031 NW Skyline Blvd), where Ping-Pong, horseshoes, a DIY grill, and verdant views over the canopy of Forest Park offer the perfect punctuation for the longest day of the year.

...And start making plans for June 25-28

This weekend starts early, with Thursday evening’s LitHop PDX, a (you guessed it!) literary barhop with 54 mini-readings at six different downtown venues. Keep that high-minded fun swinging into the weekend with a stroll through the 

Portland Art Museum, where the fourth Friday of every month is not only free but also likely to contain rowdy photo booths and a pop-up pub. Continue your classy evening about town at Summer Splendors, NW Dance Project’s annual collaboration with Chamber Music Northwest at PSU’s Lincoln Performance Hall. But still, the night is young! Lest you forget, Friday night is that Portlandiest rite of passage, theWorld Naked Bike Ride, and if you’re not riding you must at least seek out the singular awkwardness ofwatching as thousands of bikers cruise by in the buff. On Saturday, skip town for the Lincoln City Summer Kite Festival, where the skies fill with futuristic flying objects, followed by a jaunt over toCape Meares via the Three Capes Scenic Route, where Big Spruce and the Octopus Tree offer arboreal inspiration. Sunday brings a bit of park-hopping: first, the International Beerfest in Holladay Park, and then Peacock in the Park, the heavily sequined, family-friendly drag extravaganza at the Washington Park Amphitheater.