Puffins! Need we say more? For four days, the nonprofit Friends of Haystack Rock sets up scopes on the beach from 8 to 11am to give beachgoers a closer look at the breeding colony of birds who make this Cannon Beach sea stack their home for the spring and summer. The group hopes to raise awareness of threats to the species, which has been returning to Haystack Rock in smaller and smaller numbers in recent years.

Oregon has many rodeos. (The most famous, the Pendleton Round-Up, runs Sept 10–13.) This one, in the tiny Willamette Valley town of St. Paul, is under an hour from Portland and draws nearly 1,000 competitors for bull riding, barrel racing, and the like. New as of last year is women’s breakaway roping, in which winning times are less than two (!) seconds.

Lavender lovers convene in Newberg for the Willamette Valley town's monthlong celebration of the fragrant flower. Numerous U-pick farms allow you to harvest your own sprigs, and local restaurants and shops get in on the action, too, with an abundance of lavender-focused treats on offer, pastries to ice cream to cocktails. Level up July 12 and 13 at the annual (and free) Willamette Valley Lavender Festival & Plein Air Art Show, which features art and craft booths, food trucks, and paintings by artists created “en plein air” during the Northwest Lavender Paint Out.

A little hippie, a little woodsy, a little witchy, and a lot Renaissance fair, this very only-in-Oregon weekend campout/concert/party/consciousness-raising circle is now in its sixth decade.

Bluegrass bands and aficionados descend upon tiny Merrill (population under 1,000), located just a few miles north of the California border, for a family-friendly weekend of picking, camping, and quilting.

The biggest attraction at Toledo’s summer fest is the logging show, an all-amateur timber skills competition. Think axe throwing and a chainsaw race, with an all-around champion crowned “Bull of the Woods.”

Oregon’s state nut gets the star treatment in the Marion County town of Donald. On deck: a parade, a classic car show, live music, and hazelnut treats in abundance.

Expect two weeks of music—jazz, orchestral, bluegrass—in stunning coastal locations around Coos Bay, including Mingus Park, the Oregon Institute for Marine Biology, and Shore Acres State Park.

There’s no better way to take in jazz than in July, on a blanket on the grass, under the swooping arches of the St. Johns Bridge, for free. The venerable fest turns 45 this year; arrive early and leave the umbrellas and tents at home.

Deschutes County Fairgrounds hosts a robust lineup of performers—among them Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Dwight Yoakam, Sierra Ferrell, and Ludacris (yes, Ludacris)—for a weekend of music and camping.

In the late 1800s, gold turned this Eastern Oregon settlement into a bustling hub; by 1900, it was the third-largest city in the state. This summer fest pays homage to that history, with mining demos and gold panning contests for both kids and adults. A parade, sidewalk fair, and rodeo events round out the weekend.

Human-powered contraptions—very DIY, and decorated in all sorts of fanciful ways—take on an all-terrain course in this two-day race, with prizes awarded for engineering, art, speed, and pageantry.

The rodeo is the main event in this annual small-town fest near Wallowa Lake in Eastern Oregon, but there's also a parade, a junior parade, live music, and a Nez Perce gathering with a Friendship Feast and traditional dance contest.

This newish fest, now in its third year, puts an emphasis on participation; workshops include Celtic knot-tying and beginning tin whistle. And, of course, lots of live music and dancing, all centered around downtown Corvallis’s Central Park.

Get your body paint ready: After a year’s hiatus, one of the biggest events on the cycling calendar returns. It’s a protest against oil dependence, a celebration of bodies, and a quintessential Portland experience, even if that just means getting stuck waiting for thousands of your naked, smiling neighbors to pass.