Tucked into a shady forest respite above Paddock, the Windmill Neighborhood offers an immersive world of movement, music, and imagination. Inspired by the force and elegance of wind, this space blends interactive design with natural beauty—featuring theatrical lighting, reclaimed materials, bamboo, and modular installations that respond to sound, air, and touch.

By day, it's a cool hideaway from August’s heat, with hangout zones beneath the trees, a windswept bar, vendor booths clad in exploded windmill blades, and creative play areas—like the busking station and hand-built wind chimes. As the sun sets, Windmill transforms into a vibrant stage for sunset shows and late-night dance parties, where sound waves become visible across fabric panels and light sculptures.

In 2025, Windmill returns with a bold new identity: an Afrofuturist reimagining in partnership with AfroVillage PDX. This year’s design celebrates the past, present, and future of the African diaspora—inviting festival-goers into a world shaped by ancestral wisdom, intuitive connection to land, and communal joy.

Bright fabrics, Kente cloth patterns, symbolic motifs, and sculptural portals guide you through a space that honors cultural roots while imagining what’s possible. This is more than decoration—it’s a living story, one of resilience, regeneration, and radical imagination.

Windmill’s structures are made from reclaimed and repurposed materials, continuing Pickathon’s legacy of sustainable design—but going a step further. After the festival, vendor booths will be transformed into a greenhouse installation at AfroVillage’s Oasis in Portland, supporting food access, healing, and education. This regenerative approach reflects Windmill’s deeper purpose: to create spaces that uplift communities long after the music stops.

As part of Pickathon’s Year of the Salmon, Windmill includes symbols of resilience and renewal woven throughout the landscape—like reflective CD “scales” leading to shaded seating pods, designed like spacecraft beneath a spiraling Milky Way. In these quiet, cosmic moments, Windmill becomes a place of wonder, restoration, and community connection.