45th Annual Cherry Festival
April 24 @ 8:00 am
Northwest Cherry Festival Unveils Reimagined 2026 Format Amid Downtown Construction
The GREAT Cherry Adventure | April 24–26, 2026The Dalles, Oregon
www.NorthwestCherryFestival.com
The Northwest Cherry Festival will return April 24–26, 2026, with a refreshed and reimagined format designed to balance celebration, economic impact, and the realities of ongoing downtown construction.
Due to the City of The Dalles First Street Project, the traditional footprint of the festival required modification this year. After months of site visits, coordination, and discussion beginning in October, the Chamber and City worked together to evaluate space availability, access, power, water, vendor logistics, and public safety before finalizing a revised plan.
What’s Changing in 2026
- The carnival footprint has been revised and relocated to Lewis & Clark Festival Park (Union & W 1st Street).
- The carnival has been curtailed in size to fit the available footprint and will operate:
- Friday: 4:00–10:00 PM
- Saturday: 11:00 AM–10:00 PM
- Sunday: 11:00 AM–6:00 PM
- Vendor Market activities will take place Saturday only (11:00 AM–8:00 PM), reducing multi-day street closures.
• Several festival elements have been redistributed throughout downtown to minimize concentrated impacts.
Lewis & Clark Festival Park will be closed for carnival setup beginning Sunday, April 19, with full removal and reopening expected by Tuesday, April 28.
Saturday, April 25: A City-Wide Celebration
Saturday remains the heart of the festival, featuring:
- CGCC Cherry Fun Run
• Royalty Coronation & Community Breakfast
• Cherry Festival Parade (10:00 AM)
• Open-Air Vendor Market on Federal Street & Tony’s Lot
• KODL Classic Car Show (Federal Street, 2nd–4th)
• Community Fair (4th & Washington–Federal)
• Children’s Fair (Medical Arts Building Parking Lot)
• Cherry Festival Quilt Show
• Randy Haines Cherry Stomp Dance & Evening Concert at Civic Auditorium
Street closures for the Car Show, Community Fair, Children’s Fair, and Vendor Market will occur Saturday only, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM, significantly reducing previous multi-day impacts.
All Month Long: The GREAT Cherry Adventure
In addition to weekend festivities, April will feature a month-long Cherry Hunt (April 1–30), a community-wide interactive experience modeled after the popular Frosty Trail. Participants can visit businesses, earn points, win weekly prizes, and search for hidden original artwork placed throughout the community. If found, the art belongs to the finder.
This expanded format spreads foot traffic throughout the month, supporting small businesses beyond a single weekend.
Entertainment Across Downtown
Rather than centralizing all music, the Chamber is partnering with local pubs, restaurants, and venues to activate downtown all weekend. Businesses are invited to share their live music schedules so they can be promoted through the official festival webpage, NorthwestCherryFestival.com and the community calendar at TDCommunityCalendar.com
