Revelers said an early hello to 2026 at Portland Pioneer Courthouse Square's New Year's Eve celebration, where a 9 p.m. Dec. 31, 2025, drone show welcomed the coming year.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The skies above Portland were more likely to be filled with drones than fireworks for revelers who headed to community events to ring in 2026.
For the second year in a row, the city hosted a New Year’s Eve drone show at the downtown Pioneer Courthouse Square. It’s part of a shift to safer celebrations as urban parts of the metro area seek to limit fire risk — though in some parts of Southwest Washington, people are still allowed to set off fireworks in a limited time window.
Portland’s free, all-ages event started with an 8 p.m. dance party, included drone displays at 9 p.m., and featured a countdown to midnight. It included a DJ music set but no smoke or explosions.
“It’s one way that we can celebrate and still have a festive experience without terrifying our pets or folks that are impacted by that sound,” said Amanda Park, a senior project manager with Prosper Portland’s Portland Events and Film Office, which helped organize the event.
The shows featured 250 drones and lasted 10-15 minutes each, according to Park. The city relied heavily on the drone operator to program the event last year, she said, but in this second year they tried to emphasize more local themes.
“We love Portland, and so we really focused on images that hopefully people can celebrate alongside us,” Park said.
People crowded into Pioneer Courthouse Square on Dec. 31, 2025, to watch an aerial drone show and count down the end of 2025 and the start of New Year's Day 2026.
Courtesy of Finn Turnbull/Pioneer Courthouse Square
Fireworks have been illegal within the city limits of both Portland and Vancouver for several years. The city of Portland’s decision to ban fireworks within city limits is because of injuries to people and fire risk. The city’s website notes the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire was the largest wildfire in Multnomah County’s history. It started with a firework and burned over 48,000 acres in the Columbia River Gorge.
It is legal to set off fireworks for a limited number of hours in unincorporated Clark County and in several cities surrounding Vancouver, including Battle Ground, Camas and Washougal from 6 p.m. on Dec. 31 to 1 a.m. on Jan. 1. Camas and Washougal note that allowed fireworks must be “safe and sane,” which generally means fireworks that don’t leave the ground.
Milwaukie, Oregon, the birthplace of the Bing cherry, hosted a New Year’s Eve celebration that included a 7-foot-tall, lit-up red cherry. The evening event took place in downtown Milwaukie with the Bing cherry ball drop culminating at 9 p.m.
Thousands of people attended the third annual Bing in the New Year cherry drop in downtown Milwaukie on New Year’s Eve on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. The family-friendly event drew thousands to the suburban community. The cherry variety was first cultivated in 1875 by Ah Bing in Milwaukie.
Andrew Theen / OPB
Public transit services were extended in both Portland and Vancouver on New Year’s Eve to help revelers safely get to and from home. Portland extended TriMet and streetcar service, providing free rides after 8 p.m. New Year’s Eve, Vancouver’s C-TRAN offered free service on all routes starting at 6 p.m., with a few routes running through the early hours of Thursday morning.
