Don’t miss the Portland Winter Light Festival this weekend

Don’t miss the Portland Winter Light Festival this weekend

Published 4:00 am Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Portland is about to glitter, shimmer and shine this weekend.

The Portland Winter Light Festival is again for its eleventh 12 months, remodeling the town into a stunning playground of sunshine, artwork and creativeness from Feb. 6-14.

Best of all? It’s free and open to everybody, making it the proper winter pick-me-up.

This 12 months’s theme, “All The Little Things,” invitations festival-goers to rejoice the small moments that make life extraordinary. From tiny sparks to grand illuminations, the competition’s light-based artwork installations, performances and storytelling will flip Portland’s streets right into a citywide wonderland.

Artists from across the globe, from Austria to Australia, will deliver tech-forward, glowing creations that present how linked and magical the world will be.

“The Portland Winter Light Festival shines a light on what makes this city so special: our creativity, resilience, community spirit and collective drive to reimagine what’s possible,” Alisha Sullivan, government director of the Willamette Light Brigade, the nonprofit behind the competition, stated in an announcement. “Each February, the occasion brings tons of of 1000’s of individuals

Now coming into its second decade, the competition continues to spotlight Portland’s creativity and neighborhood spirit, drawing tons of of 1000’s of tourists whereas supporting native companies and artists. downtown in the course of the slowest season, filling streets, storefronts and public areas with pleasure and exercise.”

Festival highlights:

• Over 125 Art Installations: Wander amongst big electrical dandelions, an interactive glowing cuttlefish, and immersive tunnels of sunshine.
• Anchor Sites: Catch the principle motion at Pioneer Courthouse Square, World Trade Center Plaza and Electric Blocks on Feb. 6-7 and 13-14, 6-10 p.m.
• Additional Installations: Director Park, Waterfront Park, Ankeny Alley and Old Town will glow with creativity.
• Glow Bar: Sip, snack and sway at this pop-up bar with DJs and craft foods and drinks experiences at Columbia Square.
• Empty Retail Activation: More than 30 unused retail areas come alive with charming gentle artwork.
• Performances & Live Events: Street performers, gentle reveals and a particular collaboration with the Portland Opera deliver motion and music to the town streets.
• Community Pop-ups: Neighborhood-hosted installations and occasions run Feb. 6-14, 6-10 p.m., except in any other case famous.

TriMet has quite a few MAX practice traces that cease all through the town, making it an accessible possibility for these trying to discover with out worrying about driving round. Find extra data at trimet.org.

Return of the DynaMandala

The immersive artwork collective DynaMandala is returning to the occasion with a brand new large-scale interactive set up that turns audiences into energetic creators. Built by means of artistic coding, DynaMandala transforms human contact into movement, coloration and sound, inviting guests to step inside a dwelling, evolving audiovisual expertise.

At the core of the work is a radical thought: enter is the artwork. Each interplay generates a singular and fleeting composition of sunshine and sound, formed by the person and skilled collectively.

Functioning as a visible and sonic synthesizer, DynaMandala is powered by real-time 3D artistic coding and the DynaController, a customized, MIDI-activated sculptural interface. Touch is translated into dynamic visuals and immersive quadraphonic sound, surrounding audiences in a responsive area of movement and vitality.

“The DynaMandala symbolizes our journey from shared origin to infinite individual expression, and back again,” creator Stefan Biskup stated in an announcement.

The set up will probably be introduced at a number of competition venues, together with Bridgespace, 133 S.E. Madison St., Portland, from Feb. 6-7 and the World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St., from Feb. 13-14.

Dazzling lights with LAIKA at PSU

Portland State University is partnering with Portland’s personal LAIKA to remodel the PSU campus right into a glowing hub for the occasion. Projection-mapped and environmental gentle installations will illuminate the Simon Benson House, Smith Memorial Student Union and the South Park Blocks, impressed by this 12 months’s theme.

“It’s a thrill to expand our partnership with LAIKA and open our campus to visitors across the city,” PSU President Ann Cudd stated in an announcement. “PSU is a cornerstone of Portland’s creative economy, and seeing our buildings and Park Blocks come alive as part of the festival is tremendously exciting.”

Featured artists embrace Stephen Lee, Andrew Wade Smith and Steven Harper. The installations are open Feb. 6-7 and 13-14 from 6-10 p.m., with an illuminated tent and free cocoa on the coronary heart of campus.

IF YOU GO

• What: Portland Winter Light Festival 2026
• When: February 6-14
• Where: Various areas all through Portland and surrounding communities
• Cost: Free

For extra data, go to pdxwlf.com.