If there’s one thing better than digging in to a feast with friends, it’s doing it outside. Summer, we’re so glad you’re here.

In Portland, this summer welcomes an event that’s part urban revival, part social and part foodie, and it’s all in a beautiful outdoor setting. It’s called Brunch on the Bridge, and it’s part of Portland’s Bridge Festival, a two week event to celebrate the city’s famed bridges. Produced in partnership with The Salvation Army, the brunch, taking place on August 7, aims to bring awareness to hunger issues, as well as “strengthen the bonds between our urban and rural communities and the food we eat.”

To do so, the center lanes of the iconic Hawthorne bridge will be totally transformed into a green picnic space and opened up for a celebratory, plein air lunch. In a city where people certainly love their bridges and outdoor eating spaces, you can expect a crowd, and the ticketed event will be capped at 2,000 people.

Bringing people to the streets is a trend that’s starting to take hold in a big way. A la PARK(ing) Day, bringing communities together to celebrate green spaces is becoming a popular way to host food events. Just take a look at The Big Lunch, which we covered a few weeks back on Foodie Underground.

These type of functions do two things. First, they encourage people to take advantage of urban green spaces, something that we could all do more of. Secondly, they get us to interact with our communities, pulling us away from our computers and forcing us to join up with our friends, neighbors and even strangers.

Both are admirable causes, and commonly promoted by initiatives like the Slow Food movement. So whatever your food plans are this summer, try and track down a couple of outdoor events and take part in the fun.

Does your city have any interesting outdoor food events? Tell us about them! Either in the comments below, or by using #FoodieUnderground on Twitter.

Image: kevin oneill

The post Foodie Underground: Taking It to the Streets appeared first on EcoSalon.