The state fair, a street fair, Sunday Parkways, movies in the park, beer events, and more – looks like a great weekend!

Ongoing

PDX Beer Week

The first annual PDX Beer Week takes place August 19 through 28 (yes, a 7 day week isn’t long enough when the theme is beer!) around town.

“Celebrating the city with the most breweries in the world, PDX Beer Week is a great way to explore all that Portland has to offer within its unique craft beer community.” [more]

Movies in the Park

Movies in the park this weekend:

Friday: Megamind @ St. Johns Park
Saturday: The Social Network @ Laurelhurst Park
Sunday: How to Train Your Dragon @ Argay Park [more]

Oregon State Fair 2011

The 2011 Oregon State Fair runs from Friday, August 26 through September 5, at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem. Heather and I had a blast at last year’s fair.

Competitions this year include 4-H of course, along with categories such as fine art, farm and garden, photography, floral, creative living, and grill offs. And of course there will be horse shows, and exhibits of livestock and the best part: small animals. [more]

Thursday-Saturday

Festa Italiana 2011

The 20th Festa Italiana turns Pioneer Courthouse Square into a piazza Thursday through Saturday, August 25 through 27, 2011.

This is one of my favorite Portland festivals, and not just because of the strolling accordionists. Arrive early to secure a table in the beer and wine garden! [more]

Saturday

The Mighty Mites – Session Beer Fest

The first Might Mites Session Beer Fest takes place this Saturday, August 27, 2011 at Coalition Brewing (2724 SE Ankeny), from noon until 7pm.

There is a pernicious assumption among beer fans that in order to bristle with flavor, a beer must be strong. The notion has led to rampant escalation in alcohol content—the steroid era of good beers. But it doesn’t have to be so. Throughout history, brewers have regularly packed intense flavors into small beers. [more]

Sunday

Kraftskiva Crawfish Party

House Spirits Distillery‘s first annual Kraftskiva Crawfish Party takes place this Sunday, August 28 at the distillery (2025 SE 7th).

There is a tradition in Sweden that at the end of Summer, in the month of August, they celebrate by having an enormous crawfish party. This year marks our 1st Summer Party Blowout with respect to this age-old occurrence, featuring food and merriment in the Scandinavian style. [more]

Southeast Portland Sunday Parkways

Portland Sunday Parkways come to close-in Southeast Portland on August 28, 2011.

Spend your Sunday morning and afternoon (11am to 4pm) winding your way on bike or foot through mostly residential streets free of car traffic, from one park to the next. The 2-way, 6.2-mile Southeast Portland Sunday Parkways route connects Laurelhurst, Colonel Summers and Ivon Parks, plus the Hawthorne Street Fair. [more]

Hawthorne Street Fair

The 2011 Hawthorne Street Fair takes place Sunday, August 28, from 11am to 5pm.

For the third year in a row the fair coincides with the Southeast Portland Sunday Parkways, which intersects with Hawthorne at 32nd and 45th. Most of the street fair activities take place between 12th and 51st (take a look at the map). Clusters of arts, crafts, and food vendors pepper the side streets, sidewalks, and adjacent parking lots. [more]

And for even more weekend events and activities, check out the Dave Knows Calendar, and visit Blogging Portland on the Cheap, PDX Pipeline, and Oregon Events at OregonLive.com.