A SENSATIONAL EVENT!

In my judgment, Portland's three premier annual outdoor events are the Rose Festival, any one of the international craft beer festivals, and the Blues Festival.
The last -- the 2008 Waterfront Blues Fest -- is coming up on July 3-6 at McCall
Waterfront Park, right along the Willamette River in downtown Portland.

It's the largest and finest blues festival west of the Mississippi and, this year, features more than 125 performances on five stages. Also, there's a "Workshop Stage," with more than 25 intimate presentations by Festival artists, and five "Delta Music Experience Blues Cruises." On Friday evening, there's even a magnificent fire works show finale.

Look at some of these great blues musicians and vocalists that will appear over the four days. Isaac Hayes. Canned Heat. Elvin Bishop. Phoebe Snow. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue in a "Battle of the 'Bones'". Andrew "Jr. Boy" Jones. Charlie Musselwhite. Eric Lindell. Zydeco Swamp Romp, with Rosie Ledet, Chris Ardoin, Cedryl Ballou, Dikki Du & the Zydeco Krewe. Curtis Salgado. James Hunter. And dozens and dozens more!

If you love blues music, you just cannot miss this festival. Tickets for the four-day event are only $30. For further information, check www.waterfrontbluesfest.com