Marianas Festival Returns to Portland Aug 27-29 With Slings, Sakman Canoe, Free Entry

A traditional outrigger canoe, ancient slingstone lessons, and three days of free programming are landing in the Portland metro area starting Thursday, as the Marianas Festival returns for its third year to celebrate the culture of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The festival runs August 27 through 29 across multiple venues in the Portland metro area and southwest Washington, drawing together the region's Marianas diaspora with the wider Pacific Northwest.

The event is organized by the Marianas Alliance for Growth of Islanders, known as MÅGI, a Beaverton-based nonprofit created to preserve and pass on the traditions of both the Indigenous CHamoru and Refaluwasch/Carolinian peoples, according to the Oregon Cultural Trust. As OregonLive reports, the festival has expanded this year into a full three days of music, cultural workshops, food, and community, all free and open to the public.

Things kick off Thursday night with a concert at Hoku Events at 1125 SE Madison St. in Portland, starting at 7 p.m., per the same account. The main celebration then shifts to Blue Lake Regional Park at 21224 NE Blue Lake Road in Fairview, running 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 29, with cultural workshops also scheduled Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Heritage High School, 7825 NE 130th Ave. in Vancouver.

Slingstones, Sakman Canoes and a 5K

The festival's traditional slinging competition and workshops will be led by Roman Dela Cruz, owner of Fokai Industries and spokesperson for ACHO Marianas, teaching attendees the history and technique behind island slinging, according to the Marianas Festival website. The sport traces back to ancestral Chamorro warriors, who used aerodynamically shaped slingstones called åcho' atupat, carved from limestone, basalt, or fire-hardened clay and hurled from coconut fiber slings, as precision weapons and tools of anti-colonial resistance against 17th-century Spanish forces, per Guampedia. Guam remains the only political entity in the world to feature a slingstone on both its official seal and flag, the same historical account notes.

Also on the festival program is Mario Borja, who will showcase the Sakman Chamorro, a traditional Micronesian outrigger canoe, to educate attendees on ancient seafaring history and islander heritage, as reported by the Pacific Daily News. Beyond the maritime and sling exhibits, the main celebration at Blue Lake Regional Park includes Marianas food and specialty vendors, artists and small businesses, live music and cultural performances, family activities, a car show, and a 5K, according to OregonLive's report.

A Theme Rooted in Shared Identity

This year's festival carries the theme “Divided by the Land, Connected by the Ocean,” translated into the Chamorro language as “Man Apattáo gi Tåno', Lao Man Chetton gi Tåsi,” capturing the shared identity across island geographic divides and the mainland diaspora, according to the festival's own materials. Organizers say the broader goal is to keep Marianas culture alive and pass it on to the next generation, per OregonLive.

Attendees driving to Blue Lake Regional Park will pay $5 per vehicle for parking, OregonLive reports. The festival's reach reflects a sizable population: roughly 156,000 people in the United States identify as Chamorro alone or in combination with another race, with major diaspora communities on the West Coast, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Washington state holds the nation's third-largest Pacific Islander population with more than 70,000 residents, while Oregon's Multnomah and Washington counties have seen substantial growth among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander residents, per the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.

Ties to Home Islands Amid Typhoon Recovery

Not every voice at this year's festival will be in the room. Northern Mariana Islands Representative Julie Marie A. Ogo is participating via video message rather than traveling to Oregon in person, as ongoing recovery efforts from recent typhoons in Rota have kept island leaders focused closer to home, according to her statement shared on social media.

The Marianas Festival also sets the stage for another major gathering just days later. Delta Park Sports Complex in Portland will host the 21st Annual CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament from September 4 to 6, drawing teams from across the U.S. and the Northern Mariana Islands, according to Marianas Press. Together, the back-to-back events have made late summer a fixture on the calendar for the region's Marianas diaspora.

The festival's return also builds on the city's broader recognition of Pacific Islander communities. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson issued a proclamation last year designating May 2025 as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Hoodline previously reported, underscoring the city's growing ties to the communities the Marianas Festival now brings together each August.