Portland has the Rose Festival every year in June.  It usually involves a parade, musical performances, boat races, carnivals and an air show over the span of a week or two.  We typically haven't done much in the past, but last year we did make our way downtown to watch part of the parade.  Here are some pictures of the parade and the carnival we took the kids to.   I've never really liked floats, but they are impressive art at least in terms of labor involved. A lot of the floats had cute girls on them.  What a surprise! Horses are always fun... But this was the best.  They trailed behind the horses and cleaned up the poop in a comical fashion. There was a little carnival by the waterfront.  The kids' favorite area was the activities tent. She's so pretty... and I'm just looking older and older...