News Release

What makes the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival so special?

The Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival is an anomaly in the festival world. There is no other festival like it anywhere.

• It is operated by a charitable, nonprofit organization -- Oregon Food Bank -- and run with the help of thousands of volunteers.
• It takes place in a fabulous setting, on the grassy banks of the Willamette River with the Portland skyline as a backdrop.
• It has a global reputation in the music world as one of the best-run festivals.
• It's grown from a small, modest, one-day festival to the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi and the second largest in the nation, stretching over five days with

- 125 world-class performances
- Four stages
- Nine DME Blues Cruises

• It's a gift to the community, the best entertainment bargain in town. Admission isn't an extravagant, high-priced ticket. It's a suggested donation of $10 and two cans of food per person, per day.
• Every donation -- every penny and every pound of food -- goes directly to help fight hunger and its root causes ... because no one should be hungry. During the past 20 years, the festival has raised 1.2-million pounds of food and more than $3.4-million to help people in need throughout Oregon and Clark County, Wash.
• Workshops, films, interviews, music demonstrations teach people about America's original contribution to music.
• It's a community tradition ... people return year after year because they had a good time. It's a place to volunteer ... a place to fight hunger ... a place to stretch out on a blanket, bask in the sun on the banks of the beautiful Willamette River ... to enjoy music that tells the story of human struggles and celebrates life ... and to build a caring community that helps those in need. 
• It's the place to bring the whole family -- with workshops, fireworks, a rainbow maker and youth performances for children. Families spread out their blankets. Children take their first step, dance their first dance.

We hope to see you July 4 to 8 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland.