LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Residents of the Portland neighborhood spent Friday afternoon cleaning up Northwestern Parkway and setting up rides and games for the Portland Festival.
The road is shut down between 33rd and 36th streets Friday and Saturday for the annual event, bringing together friends and family for a block party celebrating the area.
Since the mid-1970s, the streets of the Portland neighborhood have been filled with a homecoming in early June known as the Portland Festival. The event is a street festival with a carnival, food booths, vendors, rides, a car show and even a parade.
But unexpected situations like the COVID-19 pandemic forced the parade to cancel in 2020 and in 2021. It returned in 2022, and there were plans for it to continue in 2023. But then, organizers realized the money just wasn’t there for a summer festival.
“To ask a small group of people to …