Submitted by Kate Baldus
 
Woo hoo!!! It is that time of the year again… my favorite festival in Portland is just around the corner. The 20th Annual Waterfront Blues Festival is scheduled for July 4th to July 8th along Tom McCall Waterfront Park. This year’s line-up is just as good as most years with the following artists scheduled to perform: The Neville Brothers, Koko Taylor , Joan Armatrading, The Blind Boys of Alabama , Pinetop Perkins, Marcia Ball, James Cotton Band with special guest Hubert Sumlin , Mavis Staples , The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Voice of the Wetlands Allstars (Tab Benoit, Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Johnny Sansone) , Eric Burdon and the Animals, Savoy Brown , Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums, J.J. Grey and Mofro, Watermelon Slim,  Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Brian Auger and the Oblvion Express!
 
This year the festival’s four stages will host more than 125 blues performances from around the world. The festival began in 1988 and has grown to be the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi attracting more than 120,000 fans from all over. Get to the festival early and plan to stage hop from area to area to catch your favorite performers. Be prepared for warm weather as it is often hot and the waterfront provides little shade unless you take refuge under the food tents or the Morrison Bridge. If you are a lucky blues fan with a boat you can join water enthusiasts on the Willamette River and enjoy music while relaxing on the water.
 
Don’t miss these events:
Fireworks on July 4th
Specialty River Dinner Cruises throughout the weekend.
After Concert Dances
Educational Workshops
Children’s Activities
Blues Films
Local Brews & Food
 
All of the festival is produced by the Oregon Food Bank who uses the event as a benefit for fundraising. Daily admission is a donation of $8 per person/per day plus two cans of food. All of the proceeds benefit the Oregon Food Bank so please come out and support our community and enjoy the blues, brews and views!