Sneaker Week PDX is putting down roots in Lower Albina, teaming with the 1803 Fund to anchor the 2026 festival at The Low End — three themed days, 20+ Black-owned vendors, and a new home base.
First reported by the Portland Business Journal: "Sneaker Week partners with 1803 Fund for 2026 events"
Sneaker Week just found a home. For 2026, the festival is anchoring at The Low End — the Lower Albina community spaces owned by the 1803 Fund, the initiative backed by a $400 million investment from Phil Knight to redevelop the neighborhood. It's the biggest structural move in Sneaker Week's history, and it puts Portland's footwear industry and its sneaker community on the same block, literally.
Founder Herbert Beauclere started Sneaker Week back in 2017 with a simple mission: bridge the global sneaker community with Portland's footwear industry. Every year the festival has shifted shape — smaller in some years, bigger in others. 2026 is the biggest swing yet.
"This feels like an establishing moment to find a home, to bring everything together in a place and then really impact a community that has embraced me as a transplant." — Herbert Beauclere
On the 1803 Fund side, VP of Community Investment and Partnership Tory Campbell frames it as core to what the Low End district is trying to become:
"When we're thinking about what we want our district and the Low End to be about... I think sneaker culture and Sneaker Week really represents a throughline of being able to showcase and capture that." — Tory Campbell
The 2026 festival runs Friday through Sunday at The Low End, and each day gets its own lane:
Crews have already been out at the Low End turning a gravel lot into an astroturf-carpeted gathering space ahead of Friday's kickoff — a preview of the district taking shape in real time.
The vendor lineup leans hard into the neighborhood's food, drink, and culture scene, including:
Full vendor directory is live on the vendors page.
Friday's Knowledge Day is built for anyone trying to break into the footwear space — workshops, discussions, and mentorship, curated so you can connect with people working in your specific lane, whether that's design, business, or marketing.
Day passes run $25 for adults; anyone under 18 gets in free. Grab yours on the checkout page, or lock in all three days with the 3-Day Pass.
Sneaker Week isn't just visiting Lower Albina this year — it's helping build it. Pull up July 31–August 2 at The Low End and see it for yourself.
