Annual Albany Events

The Albany Mushroom Festival takes place each September at Timber Linn Memorial Park and celebrates the fascinating world of fungi through education, food, music, and community connection. Hosted by Cap & Stem Northwest, the event features a full day of workshops on mushroom cultivation, foraging, and medicinal uses, along with live music, local food vendors offering mushroom-inspired dishes, and a vibrant marketplace filled with artisan goods and cultivation supplies. Visitors of all ages can enjoy hands-on activities, educational exhibits, and family-friendly entertainment in a welcoming outdoor setting. The festival highlights the ecological and cultural significance of mushrooms in the Willamette Valley while supporting sustainable practices and local growers. Admission is free, and all are invited to explore, learn, and connect at this unique annual event. Check AlbanyMushroomFestival.com for more information regarding the festival, including day, location, and time.

Christmas Storybookland is a beloved Albany holiday tradition unlike any you'll find elsewhere. Young children will be enchanted by glowing displays of Christmas trees, elaborate model trains and dollhouses, and the star attraction: 85 hand-created displays of favorite nursery rhyme and fairy tale scenes. Singing penguins, elves from the North Pole, a teddy bear village and more await visitors as they wander through Christmas Storybookland. At the end of the experience, kids can visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus at their North Pole home. Held every December at the Linn County Fair and Expo Center, admission to Christmas Storybookland is free, although donations of canned food (given to the local non-profit FISH of Albany) are welcome. It's open to visitors of all ages--more than 25,000 people attend Christmas Storybookland annually. An Albany tradition for nearly 40 years, Christmas Storybookland is a labor of love by devoted Albany residents who maintain the scenes, create new displays, set up and tear down the event each year, and volunteer during the holiday season each year. For more information about Christmas Storybookland, visit their website or Facebook page.

If you love live music, downtown Albany is the place to be on Thursday nights in July and August. Every summertime Thursday night for 40 years, the city of Albany has sponsored free concerts in Monteith Riverpark. With food vendors, art activities for children, and a beautiful riverfront setting, River Rhythms concerts have a vibrant vibe that's part musical event, part community-wide party. Named Oregon's best festival of its size in 2014, the River Rhythms concert series draws in acts with a wide variety of musical styles. From the Dixie Chicks to Herman's Hermits to The Young Dubliners, the concerts have one thing in common each week: an upbeat feel and a relaxed summertime atmosphere. Concerts are held in Monteith Riverpark in downtown Albany, near First & Calapooia and just steps away from Albany's Historic Carousel and Museum. Parking onsite is limited, but a free shuttle (via Albany's vintage trolley) can take visitors from a number of stops around Albany to the concert site. Concerts are all free, but donations are appreciated. Food is available for purchase from vendors. Plan to get there early, and enjoy a picnic before the show. Music starts at 7pm. For more information about River Rhythms concerts, see the FAQ or call the city of Albany Parks and Recreation Department at 541-917-7777.

The Northwest Art & Air Festival is a truly unique event. Balloonists from around the country flock to Albany every year the third weekend in August. Early in the morning, they launch from Timber-Linn Park for flights around the Albany area. At night, balloonists ignite their burners and let the colors of their balloons shine at the gorgeous Night Glow event.

Airplane pilots bring aircraft of all types, and kids can sign up for a free airplane ride through the Young Eagles program.

Artists fill the grassy meadows of Timber-Linn Park with a wide variety of artwork, and free nighttime concerts at Timber-Linn amphitheater have brought in acts like Joan Jett and Foreigner. The Art & Air concert series, which was named Oregon's best music program within a festival for 2013, is always free and open to the public.

The Art & Air Festival has been an Albany tradition for more than 20 years, beginning as the Great Balloon Escape and then becoming the Art & Air Festival in 2000. More than 60,000 people attended the festival in 2013.