A Lineup of Sneaker Week PDX’s Can’t Miss Events

Starting on Sunday, the sneaker world will converge on Portland, Oregon for Sneaker Week PDX, a week-long celebration of kicks, design, art, music and culture.

Created to be an annual event, Sneaker Week PDX’s goal is to “connect the multibillion-dollar footwear industry with the community and culture that created it.” In order to achieve such an ambitious goal, Sneaker Week PDX will tackle all aspects of sneaker culture through various kicks-themed events like classes with footwear industry experts, live podcasts, film screenings, meetups and a trade show. Upping the ante even more, cultural heavyweights like Bobbito Garcia and DJ Clark Kent..

Check out the complete Sneaker Week PDX calendar for a thorough breakdown of events and parties (the majority of which are free). But to make things easy for attendees, here is a breakdown of can’t miss events.

SOLE SESSIONS 

If you have dreams and aspirations of breaking into the sneaker industry, then SOLE SESSIONS needs to be a necessity in your life. The five day course is being led by PENSOLE instructors and will focus on different aspects of the sneaker industry like design and branding.

Monday (Sept 18) – Friday (Sept 22) – 9am to 2pm @ PENSOLE Academy

KICKS FLICKS

From Monday through Wednesday of Portland Sneaker Week, there will be viewing sessions for SNKR INC, Doin’ It In The Park and a special preview of Laced, a Project Runway-styled sneaker reality show. Bobitto Garcia will take part in a short question and answer session after the showing of Doin’ It In The Park.

Tuesday, Sept. 19th from 5 pm – 8 pm, the legendary Bobbito Garcia aka @koolboblove is coming to @CenturyBarPDX for #SneakerWeekPDX. We’ll be showing his first movie @DoinItInThePark during our film event: #KickFlicks. Followed by a moderated Q+A session on #SneakerCulture with @lowereastscribe. For more on #DoinItInThePark, head to www.doinitinthepark.com and hit the link in our bio for more info on #SneakerWeekPDX events.

A post shared by SneakerWeekPDX (@sneakerweekpdx) on Sep 14, 2017 at 4:29pm PDT

Monday, Sept 18 – SNKR INC – 5pm – 8pm @ Star Theater

Tuesday, Sept 19 – Doin’ It In the Park- 5pm – 8pm @ Century Bar

Wednesday, Sept 20 5pm – 8pm – Laced – @ PENSOLE Academy

“The Common Thread” Art show

Some serious 90s Bulls cuteness on its way 2 #sneakerweek. Swipe for deets. ???????

A post shared by Chelsey Boehnke (@cboehnke) on Sep 12, 2017 at 8:49am PDT

The Portland-based creative group Aesthete Society has put together the perfect visual representation of sneaker culture with a kicks-themed art show that will feature photographs and art from notable cultural artists like Chelsey Boehnke.

Tuesday, Sept 19 6:30pm – 9:30pm @ PENSOLE Academy

De:Constructed – The Intersection of Coffee and Sneakers

Yooooo we bout to get LIVE!! Come learn about how we live that #coffeexkicks life in two industries that usually don’t care about eachother. Try some dope drinks, learn the basics of sneakers and hear from a few of us how we represent. We may or may not be dipping shoes live too… Hosted by @coffeefeedpdx and your Deadstock Crew. Wednesday 9/20, 6-8p. Free, all ages event, sign up link in the bio. #coffeeshouldbedope #c?ffee @sneakerweekpdx

A post shared by Deadstock Coffee & Gallery (@deadstockcoffee) on Sep 14, 2017 at 2:45pm PDT

Coffee and sneakers are not usually used in the same sentence but Deadstock Coffee’s Ian Williams will be teaming up with baristas and roasters to talk about their intersection of the two cultures.

Wednesday, Sept 20 6pm-8pm @ Deadstock Coffee

Index Sneaker Social

Perhaps Portland’s premier sneaker shop, Index PDX will be hosting a low-key meetup for passionate sneakerheads. This won’t be a stuffy network mixer though as Sneaker Week’s theme of promoting culture will be on full display here by bringing everyone together in one central place to talk all about kicks.