Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Every year, the City of Roses throws itself a big party, and this year the Portland Rose Festival (May 24 – June 9) has adopted ”Portland’s Party” as its theme, promising more fun and festivity than ever. Best of all, you’re invited!

The fest kicks off with a spectacular fireworks show on Friday, May 24. For a great view, grab a seat on the Ferris wheel in the waterfront CityFair, which features rides, food and beer and live music. (This year, there’s also a second night of fireworks, on June 7.)

The 2013 concert lineup includes pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen (June 9), country quartet Little Big Town (June 2), and indie rock bands Fitz And The Tantrums (May 26) and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (May 25).

The evening Starlight Parade (June 1) features illuminated floats and a “Portlandia” section with syncopated drummers, roller derby teams and the Portland Zombie Walk. The fest’s hallmark event, the Grand Floral Parade (June 8), travels from Memorial Coliseum (where reserved seating is available), across the Willamette River and through downtown, delighting crowds with 17 all-floral floats, 18 marching bands and 19 equestrian units – in addition to vintage vehicles, colorful dancers and more. For a closer look at the impressive floats, check out the Grand Floral Float Showcase (June 8-9), adjacent to the CityFair.

Get to the fragrant source at the Portland Rose Society 125th Annual Spring Rose Show (June 6-7), the nation’s largest and longest-running rose show with more than 4,000 blooms in the Lloyd Center Ice Rink.

Last but not least, the Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat Race (June 8-9) brings the party to the river as 80 local, national and international teams compete in ornate boats provided by the Portland-Kaohsiung Sister City Association.

With car sharing, pedal-powered gyms and 10,000 acres of leafy and grassy parkland, it’s no secret that Portland is a big fan of all things green. In fact, with the way that locals go about composting, recycling and repurposing waste, you could say we revel in eco-friendly fun every day. But the party becomes official when World Environment Day (June 5) is celebrated as a part of the Portland Rose Festival, the city’s signature event for going on 106 years.

An annual United Nations program dating back to 1972, World Environment Day (WED) is observed worldwide, raising awareness for climate and ecological issues while encouraging political attention and action. Portland’s piece of the party will be a rally at the RoZone fair in  Waterfront Park. The free afternoon event includes educational activities like story-telling sessions, mask-making seminars, fly-casting and -tying lessons, a trash art exhibition and the Procession of the Species mini-parade, where people dress as their favorite animals to give praise to the planet. Additional WED events are planned around the city.

The inspiring event is just a small part of both WED and the Portland Rose Festival, which for the last 14 years has been named the “Cleanest and Greenest Festival in America” by the International Festivals and Events Association. Get in on some of its old-fashioned, good clean fun, including perennial highlights like the opening-night fireworks (May 24), Starlight Parade (June 1), Grand Floral Parade (June 8) and Dragon Boat Races (June 8-9).

When the weather heats up in the Pacific Northwest, the best way to cool down isn’t necessarily with a crisp beverage (though we do have plenty of great micro-brewed and -distilled options). The preferred method is an all-ages cocktail of water, wind and elevation that adds up to white-water rafting on the Clackamas River.

Located 30 miles east of Portland, this mountain-fed waterway gushes with class III and IV rapids in the springtime, when the currents coming off Mount Hood are particularly strong, and lower-powered class III waves from May to August as the weather gets warmer. Winding through old-growth forests, creatively named rapids like Sling Shot, Hole-in-the-Wall, Toilet Bowl and Bob’s Hole get the adrenaline pumping for rafters as young as 10 years old, while allowing paddlers of all ages plenty of time between whitewater to catch their breath (or even take a dip into the river’s crystal-clear waters).

There are several rafting outfits on the Clackamas. Blue Sky Rafting has been paddling Oregon’s rivers since 1998, and offers half- and full-day intermediate-level trips along the Clackamas that come with everything you need (including a barbecue lunch for full-day trips). All Adventures Rafting, whose guides have been licensed for upwards of 30 years, offers similar packages. And All Star also plies the Clackamas on weekends in May and June, and offers midweek runs for groups of eight or more, as well.

The best time to dip your toe in the whitewater may be during the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival (May 18-19). With slalom events, inner-tubing fun, and a catboat keep-away game, this 30th-annual event is fun whether you’re dripping wet or on dry land, and an excellent way to soak in summertime in the great Northwest.

Photo by Dolan Halbrook via Flickr

It’s a small outdoor venue unlike any other: a grassy lawn, sloping down to a modestly-sized stage and bandshell, with an elephant yard on one side and a red ape reserve on the other. For the past 35 years, musicians and fans alike have flocked to the Oregon Zoo each summer to revel in music, sunshine and friends — including those of the feathered and furry varieties.

The 2013 Oregon Zoo Summer Concert Series (June 22 – Sept. 6) boasts a roster of artists as diverse as the park’s residents, which range from African bullfrogs to Visayan warty pigs. Folk singer/songwriter John Prine takes the stage on opening night; maybe he’ll perform “Crazy as a Loon,” a favorite of the birds in the nearby aviary. Ziggy Marley brings his Jamaican reggae to town on June 30 — his song “Black Cat” might elicit a roar from the zoo’s resident big cats. Other musical acts on the schedule include Weird Al Yankovic, the Indigo Girls, Randy Newman, the B-52s, Los Lobos and the Doobie Brothers. Alas, no Snoop Dog, er, Lion.

Shows start at 7 p.m., with access to the concert area at 5 p.m. Concert tickets also grant zoo access for the full day, so plan to visit the animals before the show. And whether you bring a picnic (no outside beverages) or enjoy the zoo’s selection of local food, beer and wine, be sure to fill up — after all, you wouldn’t want your stomach growling louder than the Amur tigers (or the bands).

It’s not easy to get to Hogwarts — the only train to travel there departs just once a year, and it leaves from a platform that’s nearly impossible to find. Instead, it may be easier to bring the entire Harry Potter universe to you, which is just what LeakyCon (June 27-30) will do.

An annual celebration of all things spellbinding, this fan gathering goes beyond the popular books and movies with a four-day program that includes everything from serious discussions of good and evil in the Harry Potter series to concerts by wizard rock bands. Talent shows, costume competitions and other such extravaganzas round out the event, which promises to be more fun than the Triwizard Tournament. (more…)

Cherry blossoms and rhododendrons herald spring’s arrival within Portland, but if you’re really into flowers, you’ll want to feast your eyes on the many wildflower patches around the region — natural beauties that you won’t find anyplace else.

Bursting with color in late April and early May, the Camassia Natural Area in West Linn was carved out thousands of years ago by the great floods, but it’s a natural work of art that’s stood the test of time. A 16-mile drive south of downtown Portland, the 26-acre preserve can get muddy in the springtime, but from its trails you’ll see more than 300 different plant species and plenty of familiar birds flocking overhead.

About 10 miles west of Portland, Beaverton’s Cooper Mountain Nature Park features 3.5 miles of gravel trails — excellent footing from which to explore the 231 acres of prairies and woodlands. The trails also offer views of the Chehalem Mountains and Tualatin Valley, showing off Oregon’s natural splendor with bursts of wildflowers all around.

Looking for more blooms? Travel Oregon offers a guide to more wildflower hikes around the state.

Maybe you’ve seen the viral video of a baby swiping and tapping on a magazine — or what is, to her, a broken iPad. Whether it saddens you that printed pages are becoming incomprehensible, or it excites you that the future is unfolding before our eyes, the video makes one thing clear: Children learn by touching.

This hands-on educational philosophy is employed throughout the Portland Children’s Museum, where an array of exhibits let little fingers poke, prod, grab and grasp complex concepts and toddler-sized tools, so they can learn by doing. From the Clay Studio to the Water Works, they can sculpt and splash, discovering elements of cause and effect while developing motor skills. And by taking part in kinder-sized construction projects in the eco-friendly garage or the “Building Bridgetown” exhibit, they can pick the tools they need to succeed later on, in the real world.

But the sharpest tool kids are developing at the museum is undoubtedly imagination, which plays a central role in Storyland (Feb. 9 – May 5), an exhibit that features favorite children’s books, from the classic Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter to newer favorites like Laura Numeroff’s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and encourages early literacy by getting children interested in books, improving their vocabulary and helping them to tell stories of their own. With a setting that looks like it leaped out of the pages of a book itself, the environment is interactive and hands-on — and way more exciting than an iPad.

From masses to operas, films to cartoons, classical music has found a way of evolving with the times. So it should come as no surprise to fans of complex compositions that video games are now yielding some of the most beloved tunes of our times. And like a trip to the ol’ fairy pond, Oregon Symphony’s The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses (March 16) will have heart containers overflowing with 25 years of classic Nintendo musical scores, reviving nostalgia for everyone’s favorite Triforce-powered hero, Link.

A one-night-only adventure at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, this performance is all-ages, multimedia fun, covering theme songs from Hyrule’s dungeons to Kakariko Village — all set to a cinematic video presentation, and arranged into a four-part symphony. The concert, conducted by Eimear Noone and performed by the Oregon Symphony and Pacific Youth Choir, spans games from The Legend of Zelda to Twilight Princess, and has been approved by the games’ original composer, Koji Kondo.

Attendees are encouraged to suit up and represent the vast reaches of Hyrule, with the winning costume taking home the show’s 6-foot window banner, autographed by the conductor. With all those Zeldas, Ganons, fairies and gorons, there’s sure to be plenty of spectacle along with the symphonics. But please leave your ocarinas at home — it’s time to let someone else play.

Known for their DIY ethic, Portlanders have built many things — like an inventive food cart scene, microbrewery after microbrewery, its own Etsy-esque ecosystem of crafters and even competitive kickball and dodgeball leagues. But an aquarium? Surely there’s a limit to the “Made in Oregon” ethos, right?

Apparently not. Last December the Covino brothers (Ammon and Vince) opened the Portland Aquarium. Pegged as “surprisingly rad” by The Portland Mercury, this family-friendly attraction is located just nine miles south of downtown Portland (in Milwaukie) and is already delighting children and parents alike. (more…)

Picture a cartoon devil sitting on a curious kid’s shoulder, egging her on to do something she shouldn’t. Look closer — does that devil have red hair, a beard and nerdy glasses, or perhaps a walrus moustache and a beret? That would make sense, because the moment Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, the stars of Discovery Channel’s hit show, “Mythbusters,” say “Don’t try this at home” viewers may feel an overwhelming urge to drop some Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke, and get the soda fountain party started! Thankfully, Portland has a controlled environment where you can safely go hands-on with the science – MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition at OMSI (Feb. 8 – May 4).

At this exhibit, mad scientists in training can reject others’ reality to substitute their own, putting the scientific method to the test in an array of interactive experiences. At last, there’s a place to drive blindfolded while a navigator voices directions. Finally, there’s a phone booth to try changing clothes like a superhero. And it’s about time you could to calculate which option is wetter: running versus walking in the rain. (That display is sure to be a local favorite.)

With props and gadgets from the show’s set, the all-ages exhibit is enjoyable for fans of the show and science alike, and it’s the perfect place to squeal the MythBusters’ favorite quote: “Let’s do it again!”