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After a three-year absence, the city’s waterfront festival season will officially kick off with the Portland Cinco de Mayo Fiesta.
Organizers announced late last week on social media that the state’s largest multicultural event would return in 2023. And the timing really couldn’t have been better: This year, Cinco de Mayo happens to fall on a Friday, which is when the celebration will begin in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
Portland Cinco de Mayo Fiesta was, of course, one of many large-scale operations that scrapped plans to go forward in both 2020 and 2021 because of concerns about the spread of COVID. Just over a week following the initial pandemic lockdown, the president of the Portland Guadalajara Sister City Association called off the party.
“In these last uncertain weeks, we held onto our hope and optimism, but it is time that we officially cancel this year’s celebration,” Rick Lamberson said at the time. “We would also still like to remind people to think responsibly and act charitably toward our neighbors and our international peers.”
While a number of Waterfront Park events returned in 2022, like the Blues Festival and the Oregon Brewers Festival, Portland Cinco de Mayo decided to hold off. Now that it’s back on the calendar, organizers are promising a packed schedule for its three-day run.
Entertainment includes the internationally acclaimed Mariachi Ciudad de Guadalajara and Oregon’s own Ballet Folklórico México en la Piel. You can also expect 10 local mariachi students performing onstage with Mariachi Ciudad on Saturday night.
Authentic crafts will be available to purchase in the Guadalajara Artisan Village, organizers have expanded the popular Plaza de Niños, which should keep hyped-up children occupied with everything from games to face painting, and the International Reptile Rescue exhibit promises to introduce attendees to many of the animals of Mexico—iguanas, tortoises, tarantulas and even a Gila monster.
And it wouldn’t be a Waterfront Park festival without food booths and a Ferris wheel, so you can expect more than 30 vendors serving classic Mexican dishes and a Family Fun Carnival with plenty of rides (though maybe enjoy those in the reverse order).
The bilingual event will take place 11 am to 11 pm Friday through Sunday, May 5-7. Admission is $10 for anyone over the age of 13 and $8 for kids 6-12. Anyone younger than that gets in for free.