West Linn Arts Festival

Let me paint you a picture…
In my bucolic little ‘burb, there is an annual arts festival in one of my favorite parks. To folks in Portland, yes, there are two Willamette Parks. This one is located at the confluence of the Willamette and Tualatin Rivers in my lovely West Linn.
The fields are green and lush and there are rows of white roses in bloom along the border. Children are splashing in the fountain and people are laughing and eating festival food.
I am so impressed by the organization of this annual event. The layout of the vendor stalls, plus music and a food court are all excellent. While the number of diversity of the art booths are outstanding this year, the food court is pretty minimal. So you may want to bring your own picnic or stop for lunch in the Old Willamette District. However, I am always a sucker for the burgers served by the West Linn Lions Club.
Now, a couple notes. While the artists and their offerings are diverse (watercolors, baskets, glass, pottery, textiles, jewelry, photography, furniture, garden statues), it is not alternative. An art festival in the Alberta or Hawthorne neighborhoods of Portland would look quite different. This festival is comprised primarily of local artists and although there are some from Portland, you are more likely to see the artistic endeavors of folks from Lake Oswego, Oregon City and Canby. There isn’t a lot of angst going on in this part of our metro area.
The other thing is that it was already packed and parking almost gone when the festival opened at 10:00a. So you can either park in the Old Willamette neighborhood and walk or take one of the free shuttles from West Linn High School (
). It is kind of a pain, I know. Willamette Park is down a steep hill from Old Willamette, so if you park and walk, be prepared for a steep climb upon your return.
If you ever had the desire to visit West Linn, this is a great time and event. Everything is looking very good in my ‘hood.