The BPM Fest is coming up soon! Our team put together this design for a 10-foot banner to be displayed at the Bayside Trail leading up to and during the festival. We’re looking for one or two more local sponsors to defray the cost of printing and show their support for local arts and music. Please forward this to anyone who may be interested and reach out to eventsteam@baysideportland.org as soon as possible to take advantage of this partnership opportunity. Sponsorships may start as low as $100 for local businesses. Sponsor logos will appear on the right side of the banner (as shown) and also featured prominently on our webpage here.
Coming Saturday, August 1st 2026 to the Bayside Trail from 3-7pm
Featured Performers:
The Bayside Neighborhood Association presents the first inaugural BPM Traditional Drum Festival on the Bayside Trail this summer thanks to a generous grant from the Levitt Family Foundation which leverages the power of free, live music to strengthen the social fabric of communities, creating places people love while amplifying local pride, activating underused public spaces and fostering more healthy, equitable, and thriving communities one city, and one concert, at a time. A perfect fit for Bayside!
We believe that the BPM Drum Festival is the first EVER to synchronize the beats of several groups performing simultaneously. The impetus of the idea, however, came from another unique local festival called Vigorous Tenderness which features avant-garde chamber music in plein air. Both festivals invite the audience to move freely along a route from one sonic space to another, sometimes blending performers’ work, as well as the surrounding sonic environment. The idea for using drums came naturally from the plethora of ethnic drum groups in our culturally diverse neighborhood, as well as a wildly successful tree-hugging event we staged on the Bayside Trail featuring a local
Penobscot tribal drum group.
This will be the first inaugural year for the BPM Drum Fest. Many block parties, fairs and community events over the last 25 years have brought us to this moment. We also have strong partners at the City Office of Sustainability,
Portland Downtown, Creative Portland and other community organizations who have helped us in the past. We’ve reached out to several drum groups who are excited to participate, including the Keepers of the Penobscot Drum, Taiko Maine, and others. We’re looking for volunteers, fiscal sponsors, and other collaborative partners to help make this dream a reality. Can you help? Contact eventsteam@baysideportland.org
Join us…
Please help us make the inaugural event the best it can be!
Thank you to Levitt Family Foundation for its support of the BPM Traditional Drum Festival! We love the Levitt Foundation’s mission, which is to strengthen the social fabric of America through the power of free, live music. In 2026, Levitt is supporting more than 900 free outdoor concerts nationwide in 100+ towns and cities across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, bringing people together of all ages and backgrounds to create healthy, connected, and thriving communities. For a little inspiration, here’s a quote from their website:
What is Creative Placemaking?
“Creative placemaking is a community-driven process that situates arts and culture within broader community vitality strategies and builds upon a community’s existing assets. With partnerships, cross-sector collaborations, and community-engaged design and activation at its core, creative placemaking can help shape the physical, social, and economic qualities of a neighborhood. A collaborative process that connects people with each other, as well as connects people to place, creative placemaking is a collective reimagination of the way people experience a place. With creative placemaking, the arts serve a dual role, both as an activity for participation and also as a conduit or catalyst for other desired outcomes: increase economic vitality of a community; foster greater livability and vibrancy in a community; and build a community’s social capital and civic connection.”
Learn more: levitt.org
Vendors and Partners:
