Enjoy Summer Nights 2025 in Parkrose in East Portland

Head to Parkrose for Summer Nights 2025! Next week and next month Historic Parkrose will hold a street fair and night market featuring more than 35 local vendors (food carts and small businesses), performers (live bands and dance groups), and artists, saturating this little corner of Portland with talent. It’s family-friendly and free to attend.

Historic Parkrose and Last Year’s Event

Last year we wrote about Summer Nights, which is the successor to the Taste of Parkrose, which Historic Parkrose (a Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative, now also part of the SPACC-TIF) ran for many years. I wanted to catch up again with Samantha Montanaro, the coordinator for the event both last year and this year, to learn more about the upcoming Summer Nights.

Samantha was on the Historic Parkrose board for a number of years, but is now working with them as a member of their staff doing marketing, events, and communications. Another addition to the staff is Hector Marquez, the organizations’ new Executive Director.

Samantha spoke about that event last summer: “Oh my gosh, it went so well!” she exclaimed. “It went so well that we’re doing two events this year. Last year was absolutely phenomenal.”

She continued, “We had more people than we expected—it was so much fun and a great turnout. Everything went really smoothly. And I feel really happy with the feedback that we got last year.”

This year again, they are highlighting the diversity in Parkrose, in part by prioritizing Indigenous and other BIPOC vendors and performers, as well as people based in or who have been established in Parkrose.

Favorite Things

I wondered what her favorite thing was from last year, and it turns out it was the food. “Those fry bread tacos!” she exclaimed. They were pretty tasty, ngl. And good news: They will be back this year.

She also appreciated the work the nonprofit Friends of Noise did as collaborators on the music planning side of things, as well as performances by Drekig. This husband-and-wife duo combines Latin dance rhythms with krautrock and dance music. “They were a highlight for me because they speak in English, German, and Spanish,” said Samantha.

Both Friends of Noise and Drekig will be back this year. There will also be youth performers bringing their talents to Summer Nights, too.

Updates for Summer Nights 2025

The biggest change this year is, again, that there will be two nights instead of one. And they’ve made some other adjustments, including bringing on some more performance-based things.

She mentioned a few of the newcomers they are looking forward to welcoming to the Summer Nights family. “We’re going to have bubble club here this year—they do the massive bubbles and this giant presentation with a whole bunch of bubbles. It’s really fun for the families.” I would argue it’s really fun for adults, too!

They will also have Bright Heart Circus joining in on the fun. Samantha said it’s “the kinds of things that make it a little bit more fair-like.” Look for face painting by Seek Fancy Faces, too. Overall, there will be more activities compared to last year.

Food at Summer Nights 2025

Along with the Indian fried bread tacos from Urban Fry that Samantha mentioned, food options this year include Pomo Snow Cones, Kristy’s Down Home Cookin’, Taqueria La Merced, and Level Beer. Nearby Parkrose Coffee Shop will have a presence there, too.

I had wondered if the brick & mortar spots nearby—O’Dear, Sandy-Os, El Sombrero, Fork & Spoon—might be involved, and that is still up in the air.

Vendor Applications

Regarding vendor applications, they are closed. But if your business is still interested in sponsoring or getting involved, reach out to info@historicparkrose.com. Even though the application is closed, Samantha encourages you to contact them anyway.

Hopes For This Year’s Summer Nights

I was curious to hear what Historic Parkrose was hoping for in this year’s Summer Nights. Of course, a big goal of any event like this is to attract more attendees and stoke the excitement that is already there. “We were shooting for about 500 people last year, and that’s what we reached,” said Samantha. “This year, we would love to have it closer to 600 or 700 per event date, if possible. So more attendees, and more excitement for the neighborhood.”

And they are hoping the July event is bigger than the June one, too.

Accentuate the Positive

Summer Nights is also a chance to highlight the positives of Parkrose and by extension, East Portland/District 1. 82nd Avenue still remains a mental dividing line for a lot of Portlanders, bujt 28% of them live east of 82nd Avenue.

“There are people that have never gone past 82nd Avenue and they may have inaccurate ideas of what is in Parkrose,” remarked Samantha. “And I think that things like [Summer Nights] are really important.” It shows people that perception is not necessarily reality.

She brought up the point that East Portland is one of the most diverse districts in all of the state of Oregon, and that its important to host events, tell stories, and do things to encourage people to come and see what they’re all about.

They are also looking forward to putting energy into what she calls “activating Sandy Boulevard.” She spoke more on this: “It’s it’s a vibrant, beautiful community with lots of amazing businesses and restaurants, great places to shop, and we hope to help people see the the real Parkrose that we all are in love with.”

“We’re just so excited for this to be our third year of doing this!” exclaimed Samantha. I think it’s going to be a great couple of evenings in Parkrose. I hope you can make it!

Summer Nights
From Historic Parkrose
Wednesday June 18 and Wednesday July 16, 2025
10402 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland
Summer Nights website | Instagram | Facebook Event page June 18 and July 16