Festival of the Arts
Hello Rose City at the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts
KGW Channel 8 (Hello Rose City): Interviews featuring Chef Cathy Whims, artist Robin Phillips Occhipinti, and Beth Federici, director of the James Beard documentary.
Thousands attend plant-inspired Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts
The wrap-up report from the weekend. Thousands of attendees in rain jackets turned out across three days of downpours and partial sun for work by some 250 artists. Festival director Natalie Wood put a typical year at 20,000 to 25,000 visitors, against 17,000 last year when heavy rain hit two of the three days. The featured exhibit, “Wild and Luscious,” carried more than 90 original botanical works, while about 120 vendors sold handmade art at George Rogers Park alongside food trucks and family activities. The piece also covers the dedication of Harold Linke's sculpture “Emergence” and photographs by Brian Monihan and Sydney Seymour.
On the Go with Ayo at Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts
The written report accompanying the broadcast, by Ayo Elise, filed the morning the festival opened at the Lakewood Center.
2026 Lake Oswego Festival of Arts highlights plants
The Oregon Association of Nurseries' consumer site covered the festival from the gardening side, laying out what visitors could do: meet the artists, watch live botanical drawing demonstrations, and follow stories from ancient First Nations foraging traditions through heritage crops passed down for generations. The write-up also noted a James Beard native chef on site and an on-site plant sale with Leach Botanical Garden, Portland Japanese Garden, the Association of Northwest Landscape Designers and the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon.
Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts
Portland's family magazine put the festival on its kids' calendar as “this longtime regional favorite,” pointing parents to art exhibits, food booths, music, artist demos and kids' activities, all free with donations encouraged. The listing carries the full hours for both sites: Lakewood Center 9–6 Friday and Saturday, 9–5 Sunday; George Rogers Park 9–8 Friday and Saturday, 9–5 Sunday.
Five things to get excited about at the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts
A curtain-raiser naming the five draws of the weekend: headlining conservation illustrator Matt Patterson in the Dee Denton Gallery; the “Wild & Luscious” botanical exhibit made with the Botanical Art Worldwide Project; music from The Daddies and Mike Skill of The Romantics; a lecture track ending with a screening of the American Masters documentary “James Beard: America's First Food” with director Beth Federici; and Art in the Park at George Rogers Park.
Wildlife artist and conservationist to headline the festival
An interview with headlining artist Matt Patterson, the New York Times bestselling illustrator behind “Of Time and Turtles.” Patterson describes field research in Madagascar and Belize that keeps his acrylic and pen-and-ink work scientifically accurate, and says he hopes to see a native Western pond turtle on his first visit to Lake Oswego. He spoke about his conservation work at 2 p.m. Friday, June 26 and led a children's turtle paint-along Sunday morning. “My art has given me the opportunity to travel, see and learn about species in the wild,” Patterson said.
Upcoming Lake Oswego festival to showcase the beauty of heritage plants
The first announcement of the 2026 theme. The festival revealed “Wild & Luscious,” curated by the Oregon Botanical Artists with work from that group and the Pacific Northwest Botanical Artists, as an exhibit that “highlights the flavors, colors, and cultures that make our world delicious and alive.” The release framed the idea plainly: every tomato, berry and grain has a wild ancestor, and much of that genetic diversity is at risk.
Lake Oswego Festival of Arts
The statewide tourism listing, which put the festival on Oregon's summer calendar: live music with the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Mike Skill of The Romantics, six exhibits led by “Wild & Luscious,” free admission with a suggested donation, shuttles, and up to 30,000 visitors over the three-day weekend for an event that has run since 1963.
Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts
Portland's official visitor guide previewed the weekend as a full sensory experience: curated galleries and outdoor booths showing the work of over 600 artists, culinary demonstrations and sustainable gardening talks, kids' activities, and live bands all weekend, all anchored by the “Wild Ancestors” botanical paintings of heirloom plants and wild foods.
Art Decked Out — Festival of the Arts Kickoff
Coverage of the festival's kickoff celebration of Matt Patterson's work. The Arts Alliance described a New York Times bestselling illustrator and Fellow of The Explorers Club known for staggering realism, whose 2024 Sibert Honor-winning “The Book of Turtles” bridges fine art and field biology, and previewed a first look at his original illustrations alongside The Wetlands Conservancy's work on Oregon's native turtles. Anne and Danny Schauffler and JoseLuis Sosa played.
Music at LO Arts Festival This Weekend
A neighborhood guide to the music stage, running down each performer and what they play — from Terry Robb's acoustic blues and fingerstyle guitar Friday at 5 p.m. to the Cherry Poppin' Daddies' swing revival set at 6:30. It also notes the beer and wine garden, food trucks, and artist tents at George Rogers Park, all free with a donation at the gate.
The 2026 commemorative poster, by Gary Houston
The unveiling of this year's limited-edition festival poster by Portland artist Gary Houston, the creative force behind Voodoo Catbox and known for work with the Portland Blues Festival, the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and the Crystal Ballroom. The print features every band on the 2026 lineup, is screen-printed by traditional physical methods, and was limited to 150 copies.