Keizer’s been celebrating its roots each year for 76 years, and the 2026 version kicks off Thursday, May 14, for four days of live music, art, food and a parade.
A small army of volunteers stages this event, hosted by the Keizer Chamber of Commerce.
A centerpiece of the festival is the Bloomin’ Iris Parade, this year set to travel the center of town on Saturday, May 16. Other activities will draw crowds to Keizer Rapids Park, which will have the big-top entertainment tent for live music and outdoor activities. A carnival with rides returns to the mix for the first time in years.
The community celebration has evolved since the Keizer Commercial Club hosted the first Keizer Day in 1950.
That first parade covered just six blocks of River Road, then a two-lane road. There was a bike-decorating contest, a baby contest, and an open house at the Keizer fire hall. The fire agency had formed just two years earlier, staffed by volunteers.
Prizes were awarded by Keizer merchants in the bike contest, with $3 in merchandise being the first prize in each category.
Three businesses used the celebration to hold grand openings – Richlee Ice Cream Store, Keizer Plumbing and Heating, and Keizer Paint Shop. Other businesses staged “grand re-openings” and every store in town planned specials. They also all closed for the parade.
The event evolved to Keizer Days and then, in 1988, it was rebranded the Keizer Iris Festival.
The year before, the Keizer City Council declared the city the “Iris Capital of the World” because the area hosted two widely known iris farms.
Part of the tradition became the entertainment tent at St. Edward Catholic Church, the home of KeizerFEST.
As the iris focus faded, organizer Dave Walery, a Chamber volunteer and local restaurateur, proposed naming the entire event KeizerFEST.
The festival was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic and it shifted to August as restrictions on gatherings eased in 2021. The event was held on Northeast
Cherry Avenue and then shifted headquarters to Keizer Rapids Park.
Organizers tried a new wrinkle, staging the parade in May but pushing the other events off until August. That split schedule ended after 2024, when organizers decided to consolidate all the festivities in May. The shift back makes it one of the earlier festivals of the season for the area, and also takes advantage of – hopefully – better weather, organizers said.
This year’s KeizerFEST calendar is jammed with events. The festival grounds at Keizer Rapids Park opens the afternoon of Thursday, May 14, for the Chamber’s Kick Off Party, with live music continuing each of the next three nights. The festival grounds will feature a carnival after a hiatus of several years.
There also will be vendors, food trucks, the Keizer Arts Association Riverwalk Art Fair and more.
The big parade, which courses along River Road from Lockhaven Drive to Glynbrook Street is on Saturday, May 16, with Bloomin’ Iris as the theme.
This year’s grand marshal is longtime community volunteer Matt Lawyer.
Events continue on Sunday, May 17, with the KeizerFEST 5K run/walk, the Keizer Fire Pancake Breakfast, and a community church service.
Walery and Jeremy Turner, say they welcome volunteers each year to help with planning and staging the festival.
To volunteer, call the chamber at 503-393-9111.
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