Summer Events in Milwaukie

Update: Feb. 26, 2024 - Thanks to everyone who participated in this discussion! The results of the survey were added to this page on Feb. 5, 2024. The conversation continued at the Tue., Feb. 6, 2024 (6 p.m.) Regular City Council meeting.  Key findings from the survey included a strong preference for moving away from Carefree Sunday, an interest in continuing to host a summer event of some kind in 2025, and supporting events not hosted by the city. 

During the Feb. 6, 2024 City Council meeting, council directed city staff to retire Carefree Sunday and focus instead on hosting a smaller summer festival in 2025. Staff is currently preparing its biennial budget recommendations, as well as determining how best to support community events, particularly multicultural events. 

More information will be published through the city website, social media, and the Pilot newsletter when it is available. Thank you for participating in this survey. Please contact Dan Harris at events@milwaukieoregon.gov with any questions. 

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but it’s time to start thinking about summer events! The city is seeking feedback by Feb. 2 to inform its budget and plans for future events.

For the past several years, the city has put on the following signature events as part of our annual event calendar:

• Earth Day (April) - annual habitat restoration event
• Carefree Sunday (every other summer) - bi-annual open streets event encouraging biking, walking, and rolling
• Arbor Day (October) - annual tree planting celebration
• Umbrella Parade (December) - annual community celebration and tree lighting
• Winter Solstice (December) - annual viewing of the Christmas Ships in Milwaukie Bay Park

The most expensive of these events is Carefree Sunday, which costs about four times as much as our other signature events to produce. This is due to the logistical planning and staff support needed to close down several streets. 

We know many people love these events, including Carefree Sunday—we do too! We’ve also heard calls for the city to bring back a signature mid-summer downtown and riverfront celebration—Milwaukie Daze—and increase our support for multicultural and neighborhood events, particularly east of Hwy 224. We wish we had the capacity to do it all, but we don’t.

We’re considering two options as we put together our budget for the next two fiscal years, which will kick off on July 1, 2024:

1. Stay the course: deliver the same series of events we have for the past two years and budget for a bi-annual Carefree Sunday. The next one would occur in late summer 2024, then again in 2026.
2. Replace Carefree Sunday with a new annual summer festival and more support for other events: reimagine the classic Milwaukie Daze event and use increased funding for existing multicultural events (such as Pride and Juneteenth), as well as other neighborhood events outside of the downtown area.

Staff started this conversation with City Council at the Jan. 16 work session--you can watch a recording of the meeting on the city's YouTube Channel.

Please participate in this discussion by Feb. 2! Here are the ways to do so:

• Take the summer events survey below. Registration on Engage Milwaukie is required to do so, but it's the best way to participate and for the city to keep you up-to-date on how we move forward.
• Send questions or comments by clicking on Questions/Comments below.
• Contact us by email or telephone using the contact information under Who's Listening to let us know what you think.

Staff will return to City Council on Feb. 6 to discuss public feedback and receive direction on how to proceed.