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).

Heading into its 29th year, Portland’s Cinco de Mayo Fiesta (May 3-5) kicks off a summer of celebration in Waterfront Park, downtown’s stretch of green space along the Willamette River that’s home to concerts, festivals and events of all kinds. This three-day fiesta, presented by the Portland Guadalajara Sister City Association, celebrates Mexican-American culture with music, dance, carnival rides, lucha libre wrestling and plenty of authentic food.

Happily, Portland enjoys great Mexican food year-round (and all over town) tucked, folded and wrapped into a variety of burritos. Here are five favorites you can enjoy anytime: (more…)

This year’s Bridgetown Comedy Festival (April 18-21) features a weekend full of shows at venues across the city. The intimately set stand-up acts, panel discussions and other special events invade Portland’s quintessential nightclubs and stages, from Helium Comedy Club, which hosts acts year-round, to Hawthorne Theater, better known for its high-voltage rock shows.

The just-announced roster includes laugh legend Dana Gould — who’s been around since the ’80s and has written for The Simpsons, internationally renowned beatboxer/musician/comedian Reggie Watts and British comics Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz, along with about 200 others. Whether you know their names or not, they’re pretty much guaranteed to make you laugh.

Sure, there’s no place like home for the holidays, but there’s no place quite like Hood River, either. This pretty little burg is an hour’s drive over(-looking) the Columbia River and through the Mt. Hood National Forest woods from Portland — and still holds dear to holiday traditions of years gone by.

Hood River Holidays (Nov. 30 – Dec. 24) gives visitors plenty of reasons to stop, stroll and shop the city’s quaint stores and boutiques, as well as kick back within its restaurants and pubs for a bit of holiday revelry.

Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 30, with a holiday parade, live music, kids’ activities and the hristmas-tree lighting all heralding the arrival of Santa.

The month-long celebration fills every inch of town with holiday spirit, from boat parades featuring festively lit watercraft, to rides on Mount Hood Railroad’s Polar Express, which transports believers in the Christmas Spirit straight to the North Pole. New events are being added to the festival all the time, so be sure to check the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce website before you pack your sleigh.

The Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival (Nov. 9-18) has used discerning taste to project greatness over the last 38 years. And while popular culture has changed over the last four decades, the festival’s selected movies from Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington have consistently pushed the boundaries of the form.

The 10 days of screenings, workshops, discussions and social events kicks off with a night of short films at Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium and goes on to include 15 features — such as the experimental documentary “The Great Northwest,” a recreation of a 3,200-mile 1958 road trip by four Seattle women — culled from more than 400 submissions. There are also three shorts programs, a teen film category, a behind-the-scenes workshop with stop-motion experts Laika on the making of “ParaNorman,” and the kind of artistry that’s become a reality over the last 38 years, here in the Northwest.

It’s the most wonderful time for a beer!
It’s the hop-happiest season of all!
There’s a buzz in the air of Pioneer Courthouse Square
when mugs flow with ales…

Photo by Dan Leithauser, via Flickr

That’s enough of that, but prepare to uncork a beer-inspired carol of your own during downtown Portland’s 17th annual Holiday Ale Festival (Nov. 28 – Dec. 2). This celebration of winter suds set beneath the region’s largest decorated Christmas tree features big, bold beers designed to keep revelers warm on cold winter nights — from Terminal Gravity Festivale to Deschutes Jubelale and He’Brew Jewbelation to Great Divide Hibernation. Every beer is made or blended specifically for the festival, so they’re pints you’ll not likely to find anywhere else.

The event also includes delicious, holiday-themed foods, live music and a Sunday brunch with exclusive beers alongside European pastries, cured meats and artisan cheeses. Wear some Santa pants, because you’re going to need a bigger waistline.

Image courtesy of the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce

Seated at the confluence of the Columbia River and the fertile Hood River Valley, the town of Hood River is perfectly positioned to allow visitors to pick and choose from exhilarating activities and delicious food. These two offerings are highlighted each year with the Hood River Harvest Fest (Oct. 19-21). The weekend-long, old-fashioned fall celebration has been happening for 30 years and offers many ways to get a taste of Oregon, no matter which flavor is your favorite. (more…)

Photo by VJ Beauchamp, via Flickr

There’s no telling when the first person set eyes on the Willamette Falls, but Native American legend says a god put the great, gushing waterway there so come wintertime, the indigenous people would have plenty of fish to eat. The first time you set eyes on the horseshoe-shaped cascade — the second largest waterfall in the U.S., behind Niagara — it’s certain to be a memorable experience, especially if it’s at the Willamette Falls Festival (Oct. 12-14) in historic Oregon City.

The first city west of the Rockies to be incorporated, Oregon City has used the Willamette River as its engine for more than 150 years, deriving industry and electricity from the perpetually flowing falls. This three-day festival celebrates the reopening of the historic arch bridge that connects Oregon City with West Linn — a gracefully swooping structure that frames scenic views of the waterfall, while providing commuters with practical means to cross the river. On this weekend, however, people will rule the roadway, meaning pedestrians are free to bike, jog, walk and even picnic on the bridge — when the parade or fun run aren’t crossing from one bank to another, of course.

Live music, a Saturday market, an interactive sculpture project and an art walk contribute to the festivities. Meanwhile, educational activities like a Native American fishing demonstration, heritage walking tour, open houses and geocache sites make it a fun learning experience suitable for all ages. But remember, it’s not every day — or every year, for that matter — that you get to explore a newly re-opened bridge, without restriction. So be sure to shoot down to the falls, because, like a great legend, this once-in-a-long-while opportunity is something you won’t soon forget.

Photo by George Apostolou, via Facebook

The legend of the Trojan horse gave us the epic warning, “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.” If you wanted to heed that advice today, would you even know who’s Greek? Of course, Kalamata-born Yanni thanks the muses for his talent, but what about Jennifer Aniston? By the beard of Zeus, her real last name is Anastasakis! You might also be surprised to learn that Portland is a hub for Hellenic culture. Immigrants from Greece first arrived in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1800s, and the annual Greek Festival (Oct. 5-7) has been a rollicking neighborhood get-together for the last 60 years.

In1952, the congregation of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church came up with the event as an unorthodox way to pay the mortgage. The festival of authentic food and culture takes over the block adjacent to the church from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. With more than 15,000 people in attendance, it’s one big, fat, Greek festival, to be sure.

There’s a craft bazaar, music, dancing and church tours, but the Greek food offerings steal the show. In addition to savory lamb, souvlaki and spanakopita, you’ll find karithopita (spiced walnut honey cake), tsoureki (braided sweet bread) and melomakarona (orange-flavored cookies, spiced with cinnamon). You might want to reconsider that “Greeks with gifts” advice — we bet you’ll accept these treats with open arms.