(Photo courtesy of Portland Winter Light Festival)
The Portland Winter Light Festival (PDXWLF) is thrilled to announce the dates of its landmark 10th anniversary celebration. The festival will illuminate the city from February 7th to 15th, 2025, with free light-based art installations, immersive sculptures, video projections, fire art, performances, music, food carts and participatory events across Portland. Under the theme “A Light For Tomorrow,” PDXWLF invites artists, performers, architects, designers and venues to submit proposals and be part of this momentous event.
The Portland Winter Light Festival is a family-friendly city-wide event that brings residents and visitors out to explore free digital and light-based artwork and performances each February. The Festival has grown ninefold since its inception and saw an attendance of 274,000 in February 2024. It presented 159 free public art installations and 52 free performances showcasing the creative work of 417 artists and performers.
The call for participation for PDXWLF 2025 is now open, and submissions are welcome from all creatives and community members who wish to contribute to the 10th-anniversary celebration. This is an opportunity to showcase innovative light-based art installations and performances, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate light and community. The call for participation can be found at pdxwlf.com.
“The Light Festival, like no other, galvanizes the public around art, creativity, and community,” says Alisha Sullivan, executive director of the Willamette Light Brigade, the nonprofit arts organization responsible for PDXWLF. “This year we celebrate our tenth anniversary and how art — particularly accessible, playful, light-based art — can lead to positive invigoration for Portland in the winter when we need it most.”
The Portland Winter Light Festival offers a unique opportunity to experience cutting-edge tech-based art installations in public spaces for free. The vibrant event drives late winter tourism and engagement, contributing an estimated economic impact of $10 million in 2024.
As a not-for-profit, PDXWLF receives crucial support from individual donors and supporters such as Presenting Sponsor Portland General Electric, Prosper Portland’s Office of Events & Film, Travel Portland, Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Google, Alaska Airlines, and more. Sponsors ensure the festival remains free for all to attend.
About the Portland Winter Light Festival:
The PDXWLF is a family-friendly city-wide event that brings residents and visitors out to explore free cutting-edge light-based artwork, interactive sculptures, and performances each February. The festival transforms Portland’s urban landscape into a shining canvas, showcasing the creative vision of hundreds of artists and engaging hundreds of thousands of attendees. PDXWLF is a program of the Willamette Light Brigade, an arts nonprofit that enriches the public realm by harnessing the power of art and artful lighting to transform Portland’s cityscape. The festival celebrates the power of creative expression to invigorate the community and fuel cultural and economic vitality during the winter.
About the Willamette Light Brigade:
The Willamette Light Brigade is a Portland-based nonprofit that enriches the public realm by harnessing the power of art and artful lighting to transform the cityscape. The organization lights bridges, produces a dynamic winter light festival, and advocates for the importance of night-time identity and place-making using light and art.