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Portland Pride weekend is packed with ways to celebrate

From the parade to drag brunches, here's what to do all weekend.

Things to Do

Good things come to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="those who wait" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2026/07/01/pride-month-july-portland-celebration" data-vars-content-id="80ed8539-260d-42ff-ab9c-f78fed40b433" data-vars-headline="Portland Pride weekend is packed with ways to celebrate" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2026/07/01/pride-month-july-portland-celebration" target="_self">those who wait</a>: A month after most of the country marked Pride, it&#x27;s Portland&#x27;s time to shine as we celebrate and honor the LGBTQ+ community.The big picture: This weekend is packed with events — from jaunts through the forest to iconic queer movie showings to fabulous dance parties.

Portland's utility boxes get an artful glow-up

New vinyl designs are brightening sidewalks and transit stops.

News

Portland is dressing up one of its least glamorous pieces of public infrastructure: the bulky metal cabinets on <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="street corners" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2026/03/04/portland-metro-roadway-safety-ranking-streetlight-report" data-vars-content-id="a77289a3-dbba-434d-aad9-beb067580c9c" data-vars-headline="Portland&#x27;s utility boxes get an artful glow-up" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2026/03/04/portland-metro-roadway-safety-ranking-streetlight-report" target="_self">street corners</a> that keep traffic lights running. Why it matters: The brightly-colored &quot;signal wraps&quot; are part beautification project, part maintenance experiment — with the goal of adding more artistic whimsy across the city while also <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="deterring graffiti" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/08/21/portland-graffiti-crackdown-arrests-cleanup" data-vars-content-id="a77289a3-dbba-434d-aad9-beb067580c9c" data-vars-headline="Portland&#x27;s utility boxes get an artful glow-up" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/08/21/portland-graffiti-crackdown-arrests-cleanup" target="_self">deterring graffiti</a>.

Oregon relies on income taxes more than any state

New Census data shows Oregon depends more on income taxes than any other state.

Oregon relies more heavily on <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="income taxes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/03/26/oregon-s-top-earners-face-steep-tax-rates" data-vars-content-id="1bcaaf6b-6c5c-4956-b279-4191b53c1a02" data-vars-headline="Oregon relies on income taxes more than any state" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/03/26/oregon-s-top-earners-face-steep-tax-rates" target="_self">income taxes</a> than any other state government, according to new Census data.Why it matters: It means Oregon&#x27;s revenue is more sensitive to swings in wages, investment income and business profits.

Portland launches waterfront park design competition

The winning design could reshape Portland's waterfront for decades to come.

Portland has launched an international design competition to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="reimagine the future" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/03/25/portland-waterfront-amphitheater-redevelopment" data-vars-content-id="4398868d-964c-4eb7-b264-f47d41bb5025" data-vars-headline="Portland launches waterfront park design competition" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/03/25/portland-waterfront-amphitheater-redevelopment" target="_self">reimagine the future</a> of Tom McCall Waterfront Park.Why it matters: It could reshape the waterfront into a destination residents use year-round instead of sporadically during major festivals.

The future of native Willamette River fish is in limbo

Advocates and tribal leaders suggest dam drawdowns to increase passage.

The fate of threatened <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="native fish" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2024/02/09/columbia-river-basin-salmon-restoration" data-vars-content-id="3546802b-019b-4932-958e-aa0a1803ed75" data-vars-headline="The future of native Willamette River fish is in limbo" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2024/02/09/columbia-river-basin-salmon-restoration" target="_self">native fish</a> in Oregon&#x27;s Upper Willamette River Basin remains in limbo after a federal agency missed a key deadline to file a report to Congress on whether eight hydroelectric dams are still necessary.Why it matters: Altered river flows and blocked spawning routes caused by the dams have put Chinook salmon and steelhead trout at increased risk for extinction by 2040, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="report" data-vars-click-url="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/lack-passage-drives-continued-decline-upper-willamette-chinook-salmon-and-steelhead" data-vars-content-id="3546802b-019b-4932-958e-aa0a1803ed75" data-vars-headline="The future of native Willamette River fish is in limbo" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/lack-passage-drives-continued-decline-upper-willamette-chinook-salmon-and-steelhead" target="_blank">report</a>.

What's next for Columbia River salmon restoration efforts

Local tribes worry that without continued investment salmon could still be threatened.

Water

Local tribes are hoping a historic, billion-dollar agreement with the federal government will help <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="save native fish" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2023/08/09/columbia-river-hatcheries-fail-native-fish" data-vars-content-id="85427a28-d98d-41bb-a7aa-2ed78d9dddff" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s next for Columbia River salmon restoration efforts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2023/08/09/columbia-river-hatcheries-fail-native-fish" target="_self">save native fish</a> in the Columbia River Basin from extinction, but worry that without additional long-term investment, salmon may still be threatened.Why it matters: Salmon and steelhead populations in the basin have dwindled for decades in part due to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="extensive damming" data-vars-click-url="https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2022-09/rebuilding-interior-columbia-basin-salmon-steelhead.pdf" data-vars-content-id="85427a28-d98d-41bb-a7aa-2ed78d9dddff" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s next for Columbia River salmon restoration efforts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2022-09/rebuilding-interior-columbia-basin-salmon-steelhead.pdf" target="_blank">extensive damming</a> — decimating a vital food source, commodity and sense of identity for tribes.

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