Find Your Queer Parenting Community in Portland at a Family Friend Event!
Finding and building community should be fun! At Family Friend, we believe every queer parent and caregiver deserves a vibrant, affirming, and supportive space to build their support system. Consider us your go to source for the coolest queer family hangouts in Portland! We host a mix of themed events, meetups, and creative workshops where you can connect with others who care for kids, and build your dream parenting & caregiving village.
Every event listed below is open to the public, and we host free events monthly (or more) to keep it simple for families to join us. If cost is a barrier to a ticketed event, we offer no questions asked sliding scale pricing.
OUR EVENTS
Mythical & Mystical Craft Club ~Session 1 ~ Found Material Mini Dwellings
Join us for our first iteration of the family friend craft club - a place to create, bond, and grow your queer caregiving village. We have optional prompts , fun materials, and open ended crafts and activities for kiddos ages 5 and up, alongside opportunities to build community with other queer caregivers.
MAR 6 - Found Material Mini Dwellings
MAR 20 - Cardboard Wings + Things
APR 3 - Creature Creation Station
APR 17 - Potions and Predictions
Sign up for one session, or bundle all 4 tickets for a buy 3 get-one-free deal (limited availability)!
Cost is $40 per kid per session. Recommended for kiddos ages 5+. Grown ups must remain present and responsible for their kids - they are also always welcome and encouraged to join in on the crafts!
We do not offer refunds for event ticket purchases. Our illness policy allows ticket purchases to roll over to future events of equal or lesser value in the case of illness on event days. Please contact hello@familyfriendpdx.com with any questions or concerns.
SLIDING SCALE - USE PROMO CODES FOR DISCOUNTS
Pro-Justice Parenting Family Gathering + Discussion @ Ready Set Grow
*NEW DATE - MAR 28
*Join us for a facilitated discussion and family gathering with Family Friend and Queer Kin Collective, hosted at Ready Set Grow - kids can hang out nearby and craft / play, while we’ll be chatting (in a family friendly way) about how to talk about some of the bigger subjects with children of all ages surrounding justice and liberation. We’ll discuss what some families have experienced and felt surrounding this, and chat about family agreements and personal affirmations together.
The discussion topics will be rooted in teachings from Threads of Justice Collective’s Pro-Justice Parenting Workbook, which is a free, self guided workshop for parents and caregivers.
We hope to introduce some new ideas to families, as well as give families opportunities to learn from and engage with this free resource. We’ll also have some info on other events and resources offered by Threads of Justice Collective; a local nonprofit committed to a cause we are fully aligned with - supporting young children in anti-bias education by facilitating conversations and efforts for collective action against oppression.
Hope to see you there! Please RSVP if you can, so we can plan & setup accordingly.
Nanny & Childcare Provider Craft + Chat @ Albina Library
Join us for another round of the nanny and childcare provider craft and chats where family friend got started! RSVP is totally optional.
We are excited to host y’all again at the Albina Library, this time in Community Room 2A (upstairs). We’ll bring some snacks and bevies, crafts, and give space and time for us to chat with others who get what it’s like to care for kiddos.
We’re stocked up with collage materials, some paint by number kits, coloring books, markers and pencils, zine materials, and more. We also encourage you to bring a craft you’ve been working on, or that you’ve been meaning to work on and want to spend some time on together.
See you there soon!
Lego Playdate - Build Your Queer Parenting Village @ Bricks + Minifigs Portland
Join Family Friend: Portland's Queer Parenting Village, for a fun family playdate at Bricks + Minifigs! This playgroup style event is totally free to attend! We do encourage kiddos to bring some piggy bank change so they can take some blocks home, and support our buds at Bricks + Minifigs, and we will have some exclusive membership offers available.
We’ll have some blocks (lego + duplo) for building and playing, some inspiring art and prompts (as always, open play is encouraged so prompts are optional), snacks, and some show and tell style discussions of our creations.
Grown ups (parents, nannies, grandparents, piblings, all are welcome) can come out to network, chit chat and enjoy relaxed playdate vibes with likeminded folks without the cleanup at home. Come out for some fun time and a chance to connect with other LGBTQIA2S+ families!
All ages are welcome to attend for the community building, however the activities will be best for ages 18m+ and older
RSVP RECOMMENDED- LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE FOR DROP INS
Family Friend Valentines Day Party - Crafts + Cookies @ Q Center
Hey loves! We are so excited to host another Family Friend party at Q center - this time focused around LOVE, cookies, and crafts! Pack up the family and meet us there on V Day morning for a good time for all ages ❤️💕 meet up with new friends and old and partake in fun holiday traditions with your kiddos amongst other queer families.
We’ll have card and collage making supplies, kids activity stations, snacks, and sugar cookies (from our buds @villevelobakeshop) to decorate a sweet treat to take home, or to enjoy right away cause no one’s stopping ya!
It’s going to be really sweet! Get tickets now - sliding scale options available!
Family Friend Jam Sesh @ Ethos Music Center
Join us for a fun Sunday morning jam session! We’ll provide some ideas, instruments, and tracks and sing a long songs to jam along with, you bring yourself and your little ones of all ages and explore music, sound, color, and movement with other queer caregivers and families!
Lego Playdate - Build Your Queer Parenting Village @ Bricks + Minifigs Portland
Join Family Friend for a fun family playdate inside Bricks + Minifigs! This event is totally free to attend, but we encourage kiddos to bring some piggy bank change to take some blocks home, and support our buds at Bricks + Minifigs.
We’ll have blocks (lego + duplo), inspiring queer art, snacks, chit chat and relaxed playdate vibes. Come out for some fun play time and a chance to connect with other queer caregivers + their kiddos.
All ages are welcome, however the blocks will be best for kiddos 18m+
Storytime, Zines, and Book Swap with Queer Kin Collective @ Albina Library
Join us + our buds at Queer Kin Collective for a free event at one of our favorite libraries - the Albina Library in NE Portland, inside the large community room 1A! We’ll have rainbow storytime, zine making, book swapping, and opportunities for connection between queer parents, caregivers, and their kiddos. Drop in anytime 10am-noon - storytime will be starting at 10:30!
Noon Years Day Party @ Q Center
One ticket covers the whole family (chosen family included!) and helps us fund our programming.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds - if you need a sliding scale ticket, please feel free! Select the (free) sliding scale ticket option, and pay what you can to our venmo @familyfriendportland.
Tickets also available at the door of the event.
Select this option if you / your family needs a sliding scale ticket. You are not required to pay for this ticket - but if you would like to make a contribution within your families budget, please send it to our venmo @familyfriendportland or donate via our “support” page.
NOTAFLOF!
Click here to add this event + reminders to your calendar!
Queer Joy Creation Station @ Trans Town Market
Stop in while shopping the Trans Town popup market for a quick crafting break. Bring the kids, stop by, and create themed crafts like personalized cards and wrapping paper. We’ll also have some fun and cozy corners for kids (and grownups) who need a break from shopping to simply relax, play, and have a quick snack. Bring your creativity and we’ll bring the rest!
GETTING THERE:
Inside the new WERQ Together community center - located on the first floor at the Lloyd Center, across from Gifts from Afar / by the ice rink.
Family Friend Booth @ Weirdfest
We’ll be setting up the Family Friend creation station booth at Portland Weirdfest, hosted by Weird Portland United. We are excited to offer some weirdly fun crafts, snacks, and a cozy, silly landing spot where kiddos can engage in activities and play together.
Family Open Mic Puppet Show
Join Family Friend for some family friendly puppet show fun at the North Portland library upstairs event space!
We'll have a puppet stage setup and some puppets to share, as well as some supplies to craft your own, OR bring your favorite stuffed animal from home to join in the cast!
It'll be an open mic style event, so we encourage parents, friends, and kids to get on stage and join in the show. Backing music will be available as well if you'd like to showcase some musical talents. We will be serving up some light snacks and beverages. Encouragement and games to help ease any stage fright will also be provided ;)
Nanny + Childcare Providers Picnic
Come enjoy some small bites, music, games, and community building with other people who get it. We’ll be gathering at Mt Tabor for a little lunch picnic on June 14th - excited to see you all there!
If you work with kids in any capacity you are welcome to join in, and if you’re nervous to come alone, feel free to bring along a friend! I’ll be bringing a speaker for music, blankets and small bites, and please feel free to bring more blankets, games, and snacks so we can spread out and share.
Here are the coordinates I plan to set up at within Mt Tabor park. Copy these coordinates to your maps to drop a pin - 45°30'40.6"N 122°35'43.0"W - The area is located on the grassy side of the round reservoir, overlooking the lower part of the park and the city.
