When BiuBiu Xu gave birth in May 2024, the first two months with her newborn were difficult. During those long days, she found comfort in an unlikely place: panda videos.
The lovable, lolling black-and-white bears – climbing trees from five months old and nomming on bamboo up to 16 hours a day – found a new ardent fan in Xu, who soon began thinking about how to turn her passion for pandas into something for others to enjoy.
Two summers ago, she and her husband, Ang Zuo, launched a very well attended “Panda Day” in New York City, where they live. Xu had experience in marketing and event planning from organizing pop-ups and festivals in the city.
“At that point, we said, ‘Oh, maybe we can go outside of New York City.’ So in 2025, the journey started,” Zuo said.
Joining the journey is a 15-foot inflatable panda, which billowed over Tom McCall Waterfront Park and thousands of festivalgoers for Panda Fest’s latest stop Saturday. Portland is one of 25 cities this year to which the organizers are bringing Asian food, cultural performances and panda-themed attractions, an expanded tour from 11 cities in 2025.
The festival brought more than 100 vendors (80 food stalls and 20 selling merchandise or handmade goods), 200-plus Asian street food dishes, cultural performances and panda-themed attractions to Portland. Organizers expected around 10,000 attendees Saturday. The festival continues Sunday.
For its Oregon debut, the festival created a Portland-specific panda design: a panda dressed as a beaver holding a coffee cup.
Zuo hopes to continue Panda Fest in Portland, with an even larger event next year.
“I love to bring a panda topic to a foodie city,” Zuo said.
Attendees felt the same way.
“Next year, it better be bigger,” said Holly Simpkins. “There’s a lot of cute things, a lot of delicious food. … I love Asian food in general. So any experience I can immerse myself in other cultures, I’m gonna take.”
The food lineup offered dishes and desserts that aren’t always easy to find at a single Portland festival, from Japanese grilled squid and tanghulu, or candied fruit skewers, to dumplings, sushi and mochi desserts.
“I am also part Asian, so a lot of this food I’m already acquainted with,” attendee Gabby Martinez deCastro said. “I already know it’s good, but I see a lot of people here trying new things that they probably wouldn’t try if they weren’t here. I think that’s great to introduce people to the culture.”
Most of the vendors travel with Panda Fest from city to city, but the Portland festival also featured a couple of local businesses seeking to reach new customers while enjoying a larger celebration of Asian food and culture. Among them was Bobablastic, a Portland-area boba chain with around 20 locations.
“It’s a great event, and we would like to come back next year,” said John Mac, who was running the booth Saturday.
Live performances celebrated Asian art and traditions. The weekend lineup included traditional art demonstrations, contemporary dance and theatrical showcases, lion dances and K-pop performances.
The festival also featured a panda bounce ring, interactive games and Instagrammable photo opportunities, giving attendees plenty to do between food stops.
“You can see the performance, you can taste the food, you can taste the drink,” Zuo said. “It’s not only a celebration of the culture, I think it’s also a family-friendly event. Bring your family, bring your friends together to create some memories.”
Panda Fest continues 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13; Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 98 S.W. Naito Parkway; general admission is $14 Sunday; children under 6 are free; pandafests.com.
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Dining and Cooking