The Dirty Dozen Brass Band returns to Oregon as part of the Crescent City Celebration Cruise. Featuring music from New Orleans, the Portland Spirit sets sail July 7.

The city of Portland has the blues, and that’s a good thing.

Celebrating 20 years of fighting hunger, the Waterfront Blues Festival is pulling out all the stops with more than 125 musicians on four stages, nine cruises, jam sessions, workshops and film screenings. The festivities kick off with a special, anniversary pre-festival Hoodoo Moon Blues Cruise on July 3. The music continues at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland on July 4-8.

During the past 20 years, the festival has raised 1.2 million pounds of food and more than $3.4 million to help people in need throughout Oregon and Clark County, according to a press release.

In honor of the 20th anniversary, the festival is offering an expanded schedule of nine blues cruises. During five afternoon and four evening cruises, the Portland Spirit will sail on the Willamette River as blues musicians perform on three decks.

Afternoon cruises are open to all ages and board at 2 p.m. Evening cruises board at 10:15 p.m. and are 21 years and older only.

The following is a complete list of cruises:

•July 3 — Hoodoo Moon Blues Cruise (evening) featuring Lurrie Bell, Pinetop Perkins, John Boutte, and Hot 8 Brass Band.

• July 4 — Driftin’ Blues Cruise (afternoon) featuring J.W. Jones.

• July 5 — Sail On Sister! Blues Cruise (afternoon) featuring Fiona Boyes, Between Friends (Portland’s women blues all-stars) and Del Rey.

• July 5 — Backwater Juke Cruise (evening) featuring J.J. Grey and Mofro, Watermelon Slim and the Workers, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band and Hillstomp.

• July 6 — Rock the Boat Cruise (afternoon) featuring Too Slim and the Taildraggers and The Strange Tones.

• July 6 — Moonlight Shanghai Cruise (evening) featuring Brian Auger and Oblivion Express, Kim Simmonds and Savoy Brown.

• July 7 — Crescent City Celebration Cruise (afternoon) featuring The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Charmaine Neville, Donna Angelle and Rich Holmstrom Trio.

• July 7 — Midnight Mambo Cruise (evening) featuring Marcia Ball, Buddy Flett and the Bluebirds, Nathan James and Ben Hernandez.

• July 8 — Blue Bayou Cruise (afternoon) featuring the Tab Benoit Band, Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps, Mary Flower and Reggie Houston.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 on site (plus service charges). To purchase tickets, contact TicketsWest at 800-992-8499 or visit www.ticketswest.com and search under “blues cruise.”

The Waterfront Blues Festival is the largest blues festival west of Mississippi. Daily admission is a suggested donation of $8 per person and two cans of nonperishable food. Donations benefit the Oregon Food Bank. For more information on the blues festival, contact 503-973-3378 or visit www.waterfrontbluesfest.com.