Another year, another record. With 220 local craft vendors and another jam-packed day of free live music on two stages, the annual St. Johns Bizarre returns to town Saturday, May 9.
The street fair and music festival kicks off Portland’s summer festival season, featuring a stacked lineup of iconic bands, delicious food and drink, and amazing handmade crafts, all in the heart of the historic St Johns town center.
The party will spread over nearly 15 blocks, ensuring plenty of fun for thousands of revelers who come from Portland and beyond. The event will last one hour longer than previous years – with music extending from 10 am to 8 pm. The craft fair will run to 6 pm.
As always, the Bizarre will wrap around the historic and revered St. Johns Parade as part of what – organizers say – the whole world should know is “St. Johns Day.”
The heart of the event centers around the plaza at N Lombard Street and Philadelphia Avenue with musical performances for children and genres ranging from hip-hop to electronica, rock to punk to jazz.
Like the parade, the Bizarre is an all-volunteer effort, led by a small group of organizers with support from local sponsors and on-the-ground help from dozens of community members who give their time on the day of the event.
“Our mission is to showcase the St. Johns community and business district by bringing people from all around the city to dance, shop for art, eat food and more,” said spokesperson Denis Theriault. “That’s why we started this event in 2007, and it’s why we’ll do it for as many more years as we can.”
This year’s musical lineup includes international acts and local legends. The lineups on the two stages, listed evening to morning, are:
0 am, will be Mo Phillips, a returning favorite for our littlest fans, and Mr. Vale’s Math Class, making their Bizarre debut.
Between their sets, don’t miss nationally recognized puppeteer KCPuppetree, whose “trash” puppets not only delight with wacky characters but also show the power of reusing and recycling materials.
A bevy of other local acts will be playing through the day at the John Avenue Stage, hosted by StormBreaker St. Johns. Ayatollah, a producer for hip-hop royalty, will preside over the DJ table during the parade from noon to 2 pm.
Alan Sparhawk, best known as the frontman for legendary slowcore band Low, will headline the Bizarre finale performance at 7 pm. Sparhawk will be joined by Ruminants, a Pacific Northwest supergroup.
This will only be the second time the Ruminants’ have played in Portland. Forty Feet Tall, fresh off being named one of Willamette Week’s Best New Bands of 2026, also will play, and before them the Barbaras, a country doo-wop sister act, and Dreckig, a duo honoring their roots by blending Mexican cumbia and German electronica.
Psychedelic soul ensemble Black Shelton and the American Dream will close the night on the John Avenue Stage.
Before them, check out violinist and singer Chibia Ulinwa, spaghetti western/Krautrock/spiritual jazz mutants Abronia, the sludgy shimmer-grunge of High Glow, and the fusion-and-funk lovefest of greaterkind. More information about this year’s musicians and audio samples of their music are at stjohnsbizarre.com/entertainment.
Stage sponsors include Port of Portland, OnPoint Credit Union, and IQ Credit Union. The historic St. Johns Inn is hosting the headliner this year.
The St. Johns Boosters provided indispensable support in sustaining the breadth of the Bizarre stretching along North Lombard from North Charleston all the way to North Chicago, and then up and down side streets. The boosters support and advocate for the community’s dozens of small businesses.
Craft fair sponsors include PGE, Prosper Portland, Portland’s Film and Events Office, and Convergence Architecture.
Occidental Brewing will sponsor the Beer Garden, just off the Plaza Stage. Libations will include Yonder Cider, a gluten-free option, and non-alcoholic beer from Best Day Brewing.
Down the way, StormBreaker Brewing Co. will serve beer and other wares at the Avenue Stage — back for a fourth year.