A Festival Within a Festival
We have so much family programming that we’ve created an entire kids festival inside a festival. Our family-focused Coyote Neighborhood, tucked into the woods above Cherry Hill, has become one of Pickathon’s most beloved spaces the past four years. This year, it’s getting a whole new world.
Welcome to Captain Coyote’s Frog Bog.
A Bog Comes to Life
The Coyote Neighborhood is transforming into a bustling bog where Pickathon’s youngest adventurers can play, create and explore. Our fearless leader, Captain Coyote, has discovered a pristine bog full of frogs, cattails, lily pads, nurse logs, spider webs, and more. With stage sets, play structures and art installations built by Cedarwood Waldorf School and our resident artists, kids will step into a world of imaginative play as they explore the bog.
In celebration of Pickathon’s 2026 frog mascot, kids will make frog crafts and noisemakers with Crafty Critters! They’ll also work on collaborative projects with Making Earth Cool, an arts collective inspiring people to be better stewards of planet Earth, in preparation for our Sunday afternoon Puppet Parade.
Family Music on the Coyote Stage
The Coyote Stage will host interactive performances by renowned family artists all day long on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
This year’s lineup includes two recent GRAMMY-winners: Fyütch, with his joyful, social-justice-infused hip hop and R&B, and 123 Andrés, sharing energetic, bilingual songs and sounds from all corners of Latin America. We also have GRAMMY-nominees Aaron Nigel Smith, who blends reggae, folk and country, and Flor Bromley, who weaves together Latin American rhythms and global sounds.
Local Portland favorites Red Yarn (roots-rock and puppetry), Mo Phillips & the Spaghetti Pants Dance Band(hilarious kindie jams), and Sing with Teacher Brittany (bilingual, trauma-informed songs for families) round out the Coyote Stage lineup. For the second year in a row, we’ll host a Family Square Dance featuring Steph Noll calling with youth string band, Triple File. In the early evening, the stage shifts to youth programming — full lineup and schedule coming soon!
Beloved Portland “kindie” performer Red Yarn curates the entire Coyote experience alongside a dedicated team of artists and educators.
Music, Movement and Creative Play
Family music offerings will stretch beyond the Coyote Stage. Music Together of Portland will offer music classes each morning, while My Voice Music will lead workshops and facilitate a talent show on Sunday. We’ll even have a family-friendly stand-up comedy set by Jokey Jokes with David DaCosta!
Each morning begins with Family Yoga. For very young kids and their caregivers, the Bridgetown Baby Family Feeding Nest offers a shady, quiet nook for nursing parents to relax. Cedarwood will offer drop-off childcare sessions at their little school in the woods. Returning favorites Trackers Earth will take kids on wilderness adventures for an hour at a time, teaching foam archery, hands-on folk crafts, and role-playing games. Sellwood Community House will engage youth with a new teen volunteer program. The Traveling Typist will share the magic of typewriters as he composes collaborative stories with kids.
Tickets for Kids and Families
Because we prioritize families at Pickathon, tickets for kids 12 and under are still FREE when attending with family, and teens 13-17 are 1/2 price when attending for the weekend.
Stay tuned for the full family programming schedule and more info at pickathon.com. Follow us @pickathon and @pickathoncoyote for real-time updates. See you in Captain Coyote’s Frog Bog, young adventurers!
