If you already live in Portland, you know July does not arrive as one long festival. It arrives as three distinct weekends, each anchored in a different part of the city, with quieter Tuesday-through-Thursday stretches in between. The trick to actually enjoying the month, rather than defaulting to your usual patio, is knowing which weekend belongs to which neighborhood and pairing it with a restaurant that opened while you were not paying attention.
Here is the map.
The First Weekend Belongs To The Waterfront
July 2 through 4 is the Waterfront Blues Festival, and this year is louder than usual.
