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Good morning, Northwest.
If you live in the Portland metro area, you may already have noticed the abundance of tree fruits ripening in your neighbors’ backyards and public parks.
But have you wondered who is harvesting them? OPB’s Crystal Ligori recently spoke with staff and volunteers from the Portland Fruit Tree Project, a nonprofit that has been around for two decades.
And if you live in Eastern Oregon, the annual MelonFest, held in Hermiston today, is something you probably shouldn’t miss. OPB’s Antonio Sierra has the details about this event that is all about watermelon.
Here’s your First Look at Saturday’s news.
— Winston Szeto
Top story
Hannelore Buckenmeyer, an AmeriCorps Summer Associate with the Portland Fruit Tree Project, holds plums in her hand and in an apron with a kangaroo pouch, made for ease of use while harvesting, in Portland, Ore., on July 28, 2026. The harvest, done on the front lawn of a private residence, consists of plums, figs and blackcurrants.
Saj Sundaram / OPB
A Portland nonprofit takes fruit gleaning into backyards, parking strips and public parks
Since 2006, the Portland Fruit Tree Project, a grassroots nonprofit, has been harvesting fruit from backyards, overgrown community gardens, the sidelines of school sports fields and long-forgotten parking strips.
With just five full-time staff and a handful of seasonal employees, they coordinate more than 150 harvests during the growing season, each staffed by volunteers from the community.
Oregon has a centuries-old connection to fruit trees — ever since Henderson Luelling’s “traveling nursery” transported 700 grafted fruit trees across the Oregon Trail and set up in what is now Portland’s Sellwood neighborhood.
Now, the Portland metro area has thousands of fruiting trees, shrubs and bushes, many without people nearby with the means or desire to harvest them. (Crystal Ligori)
3 things to know
Passengers board a MAX Green line train at the Gateway Transit Center in Portland, Ore. on Aug. 21, 2026. Starting Aug. 23, Gateway will be the final stop for the Green Line, part of a large swatch of service reductions.
Joni Land / OPB
- Starting tomorrow, TriMet will enact a historic wave of cuts and consolidation to its services, potentially impacting thousands of riders across its system. (Joni Auden Land)
- Under pressure from the federal government, Washington state requires workers involved in labor disputes to actively seek work and record efforts to find another job in order to receive unemployment benefits, starting tomorrow. (Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard)
- A group of Eastern Oregon residents is suing food processor Lamb Weston Holdings in a federal lawsuit, accusing it of contaminating the groundwater thousands of people rely on for drinking water. Now the company has alleged J.R. Simplot Co. and Shearer’s Foods also contributed to the nitrate problem, and has asked a court to include them in the case. (Alejandro Figueroa)
Northwest headlines
FILE - Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek claps for Albina Vision Trust executive director Winta Yohannes after her speech during the annual Portland Metro Chamber meeting at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on June 24, 2026.
Eli Imadali / OPB
- Kotek snags final minor-party nomination, likely cementing a three-way race for Oregon governor (Dirk VanderHart)
- Umatilla sheriff’s future in jeopardy as Oregon state panel recommends revoking law enforcement powers (Troy Brynelson)
- ODOT staff cuts would reduce maintenance and responses to severe weather events (Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle)
- New fence planned for Eugene federal building; this one would not block the plaza (Brian Bull, KLCC)
- Oregon weighs enrollment caps, paying for claims as double-digit insurance hikes set for 2027 (Shaanth Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle)
- Court rebuffs attempt to ax ballot statement on Washington income tax measure’s budget effects (Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard)
- Watchdog data shows higher Washington child welfare deaths than previously reported (Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard)
- Tempo snap 12-game skid with an 82-79 win over the Fire at Rogers Arena in Vancouver (Associated Press)
One more look
A box of watermelons at the farmers market at Walchli Farms near Hermiston, Ore. on Aug. 19, 2026.
Antonio Sierra / OPB
Hermiston hosts its annual MelonFest today. What you need to know about its watermelons
Just as Idaho is known for potatoes, Hermiston is known for watermelons.
That’s probably why local residents were dismayed when the Eastern Oregon town didn’t feature its flagship fruit in the city logo in 2013.
After some jeers at the old city logo as “bland” and “boring,” the city went back to the drawing board and unveiled a new logo three years later, centering around a watermelon slice with a green, black and red color scheme.
As today’s MelonFest celebrates all things watermelon as the harvesting season hits full swing, there are things that you need to know about how Hermiston watermelons became famous, Hermiston’s most successful watermelon farm, and how the crop has become the force of art and culture in Hermiston. (Antonio Sierra)
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