Get ready to get wet, Portland, because the best river event of the year is going down this Sunday, July 26… the annual Big Float! For those new to town, the Big Float is a celebration of the Willamette (put on by the Human Access Project) in which thousands of fun-havers put on life vests and jump into innertubes for a nice leisurely float in the river. But that’s not all! This year there will be TWO innertube parades—to get people in the water quicker—that starts at Tom McCall Bowl (just south of the Hawthorne Bridge on the west side), a music barge featuring bands such as Ukeladies, Chervona, and Brownish Black, food and drink, and for the first time ever… two 100′ long slip-n-slides, so you can “slide the bowl’! THAT’S MORE FUN THAN EVER PEOPLE.
It goes from 11 am-6 pm, and you can pay your $5 registration on the spot or sign up in advance here, which is what all the smart people do.
And for those nervous nellies who have fallen prey to the untrue, unscientific rumors that the Willamette is unsafe to swim in—calm down already! The water has been recently tested for poop and toxic algae, and the results came back negative (which is to say, within safe levels). So blow up your tube, get on your sexiest swim gear, and jump in for the Big Float this Sunday!
The Portland Mercury has also been recently tested for poop and toxic algae, and while there were no signs of algae, the Merc was confirmed to be full of poop.