The 2008 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, presented by First Tech Credit Union, kicked off Thursday afternoon.

The gates opened at 2 p.m. and the music started at 3 p.m.

AP photo

A performance at the 2004 Waterfront Blues Festival in downtown Portland.

The blues festival runs July 3 to 6, 2008 on the banks of the Willamette River at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

It will feature more than 120 performances on five stages.

Admission to the festival, including the fireworks show Friday, is a donation of $10 and two cans of nonperishable food. Every dollar donation enables Oregon Food Bank to collect and distribute about five pounds of food through its food distribution program.

Fireworks

The blues fest will celebrate July 4th with a spectacular display of fireworks twice as large as any display in Oregon, organizers said.

The show starts at 10:05 p.m. Friday, after the evening’s final Blues Fesitval performance and the National Anthem.

Western Display Fireworks will fire the 2008 firework display from two barges on the Willamette River: one north of the Hawthorne Bridge and one south of the Hawthorne Bridge.

Western Display choreographs the show to the tempo of a 22-minute soundtrack produced and simulcast by KINK.fm.

The KINK.fm and Hoffman Construction Fireworks Show is presented by Portland Parks and Recreation.

More info about the Waterfront Blues Festival