Portland in the News: Cathedral Park’s Dragon, Coastal Surfing, Portland Fire & More | June 25, 2026

Courtesy Jennifer Vitello

A fearsome creature has emerged in Cathedral Park. Well, actually, he’s pretty cute. A ribbon cutting for Willie the Dragon, a new large scale art piece, was held this past Sunday.

Oregon’s ocean is known for its own sea monsters: sharks, whales and sea lions, oh my! But that shouldn’t deter you from taking a surfing lesson.

And the Portland Fire’s ‘fire pit’ is becoming one of the WNBA’s most energetic home game environments.

Here’s a roundup of the goings-on in Portland this week:

• KGW: Portland Fire is already one of the WNBA’s top attendance draws
• Here is Oregon: Where to find every James Beard Award winning chef in Portland
• Outside Online: How Drag Me Outside is rebranding queer nature walks in Portland
• OPB: Popular Oregon Coast biking route gets updated map
• WWeek: Surfing in the Pacific Northwest is more fun than you think
• KATU: Summer Solstice brings nearly 15 hours of sunlight to Portland
• PDX Monthly: Love Letters: Sidewalk joy
• WWeek: Cathedral Park gets new dragon sculpture
• OPB: Why Portland is at the heart of women’s sports in the US
• OPB: Oregon’s Indigenous community, Lutherans, celebrate return of Portland church land
• MLB: Who are the Portland Pickles?