Wordstock Book Festival is a popular and influential book festival hosted in Portland, Oregon during the month of October. The festival features writers, storytellers and books from all over the world, giving a venue for those who write and those who love to read. An emphasis is put on local writers and those who are new to the literary community, giving them a chance to read from their latest works. Apart from readings, the festival offers writing workshops, a kid's area and literature stage, and a book fair with over one hundred vendors. The festival is one of the largest of its kind in the United States and is the premier literature festival in the Pacific Northwest.
Wordstock Book Festival
810 SE Belmont Street, Studio 5
Portland, Oregon 97214
503-546-1012
wordstockfestival.com
The Maze at the Pumpkin Patch is Portland's most popular Halloween and harvest activity, located on Sauvie Island, just 15 minutes from downtown Portland. The event has many activities such as the Field of Screams, which the creators call "a haunted trail through the back forty," hayrides, train rides, a kid's slide, a hay bale pyramid for climbing, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, produce market, patio cafe and a gift shop. Dogs are welcome at the event during daylight hours. The event was visited by 300,000 people in 2009, making it a major draw during the month of October.
The Maze at the Pumpkin Patch
16511 NW Gillihan Road
Portland, Oregon 97231
503-621-3874
portlandmaze.com
Lan Su Chinese Garden is a Suzhou-style botanical garden located in the Chinatown neighborhood of Portland. The garden dominates an entire city block, approximately 40,000 square feet of space, and features buildings and landscaping strongly based on traditional Chinese designs and featuring hundreds of native Chinese plants, including rhododendron, bamboo and camellias. The garden is the heart of Chinese culture in Portland and hosts festivals throughout the year, including the Festival of Abundance in October. The festival draws its inspiration from the hundreds of harvest festivals celebrated throughout China by the country's 55 ethnic minorities, creating a festival for locals and visitors alike to focus on the bounty of the land. The festival features a farmers market with local produce, including a wide variety of Asian fruits and vegetables, an autumn plant sale, gourd painting and lectures, workshops and demonstrations. The festival is free with cost of admittance to the garden.
Lan Su Chinese Garden Festival of Abundance
239 Northwest Everett Street
Portland, Oregon 97209
503-228-8131
lansugarden.org
