Puffins! Need we say more? For four days, the nonprofit Friends of Haystack Rock sets up scopes in the mornings 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 in recent years 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 11 and 12 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.

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.

This 14th annual cover band concert and campout returns to the Clackamas County Fairgrounds. The lineup includes tribute acts Taken by the Sky (Fleetwood Mac), Anthem (Rush),  Petty Fever (Tom Petty), Wild Boys (Duran Duran), Jar of Lies (Alice in Chains), Grand Royale (Beastie Boys), and many more. While we're sure kids today are clamoring to hear Eagle Eyes (Eagles), Third Stage (Boston), and Miller Time (Steve Miller Band), the event is 21 and over only. New this year in the camping area for overnighters: showers!

This Pickathon-esque fest put on by an online radio station/nonprofit (that evolved from a video production company that shares its name with the dreaded nursing home on Golden Girls) returns to Camp Tasty's in the hills north of Sandy for a four-day campout. Look for daytime sets by the likes of Mike Coykendall and Johnny Franco & His Real Brother Dom, plus evening performances by Mic Crenshaw, Chonk, Federale, and Family Worship Service. Day passes are $70, and full weekend passes (which include tent camping) are $175, with group pricing discounts if you're getting four, six, or eight passes.

This newish fest, now in its fourth 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.

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 46 this year; arrive early and leave the umbrellas and tents at home.

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.

Get your body paint ready for one of the biggest events on the cycling calendar. 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.