Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland – Travel Portland's Staff Blog

Portland Pride Parade (photo by Marty Davis)

Known far and wide as a gay-friendly destination, the Rose City is open and accepting. And in June, it gets friendlier than ever, when the Portland Pride Festival & Parade makes a name for itself — and LGBT community members — all over town.

Before the big party, BearTown (June 7-10), an annual weekend of dances, parties and other activities, warms up the crowds. This year’s event is headquartered at the Jupiter Hotel, with a myriad of events at community establishments across town. And this year, organizers have added distillery tours and trips to the Columbia River Gorge to the usual mix of DJ nights and dinners, sure to delight cubs and grizzlies alike.

The following weekend, June 15-17, the celebrating will get into full swing as the Portland Pride Festival takes over Waterfront Park. With booths and musical acts lining the river, the park is a great place to gather, mingle and get more information about local LGBT groups. And around town, other events help spread the word too. Friday night’s Pulse! Dance Party and Gaylabration, Saturday’s Pride Parade and Portland Gay Men Chorus’ Pride Concert, Saturday night’s raging Inferno 2012 party, and Sunday’s Pet Showcase turn Portland into a showplace of gay pride.

You’ve been living in Portland for 1, 5, 10, 30 years or more. When people from out of town come to visit you, there’s often the moment when they ask… “so, I heard that this is the greenest city on earth. Looks like a bunch of buildings and a couple of trains to me. What’s the big deal?” Because you love your city, you know very well how to describe the fun bike culture, the passion for direct trade coffee, local ingredients, and having your chickens in your backyard. You proudly take your guests around on the MAX. This is all good.

You know that the city’s doing a lot to reduce waste, explore renewable energies, etc. But where can you SEE that? What could you point out to make your case? Are there specific places, buildings, neighborhoods, that you could show off while walking or riding around? (more…)