Portland, OR. Lincoln High school senior Anya Anand was elected 2020 Queen of Rosaria on July 30th, Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a special, socially-distanced Queen’s Coronation was held at the Queen’s Walk in the International Rose Test Garden at Washington Park.
Traditionally, the Queen’s Coronation is an event that gathers a large ensemble of community volunteers who determine the year’s Queen; however, under this year’s unique circumstances, in the interest of keeping the event small, the Rose Festival had the Rose Princess’s vote to elect one of their peers to the Queendom—making it the just second time in the Rose Festival’s 112-year history that the Court elected their own Queen.
Asked what it was like to be the first Queen elected by the court since 1930, Anand said, “It’s an incredible experience […] it just means a lot that so many of my fellow Rose Court sisters believe in me so much and gave me the honor of being Queen.”
As Queen, Anand is awarded a college scholarship provided by the Randall Group. Anand plans to attend the University of California at Davis to study psychology; from there, she plans to attend medical school to become a pediatrician. According to a press release, “[Anand] was very active at Lincoln: as a volunteer Co-President of the Associated Student Body and Asian Student Union, as well as Co-Chair of the Multnomah Youth Commission Committee. [Anand] has been passionate about education from an early age and is president of REAL (or Rural Education and Literacy), in India.”
Many who attended the event socially distanced themselves and wore masks, including the Princess’s and the Royal Rosarians, who wore intricate red masks as a part of their traditional Rose Festival garb.
Rose Princesses at the Queen’s Walk in the International Rose Test Garden at Washington Park.
Speaking of some of the differences of this year’s Rose Festival, Anand said, “First of all, I know half of the Princesses didn’t get their in-person announcement. Some of them were announced over Zoom, and we all met for the first time over Zoom.”
Anand said meeting the other Princesses in person for the first time was her favorite moments of the season so far, ”It was such a different experience to meet them in person because you could feel all of the energy—and you can feel it over Zoom, but it’s a totally different feeling when you’re all together: you’re all looking at each other’s outfits, dressing up, getting ready together. I love all of these women with my entire heart.”
Many at the event spoke of the inspirational resilience of this year’s Court, and commended their fortitude in the face of many obstacles that made this year’s Rose Festival one of the most unique in its extensive history.
“The inspiration that is this Court and Queen Mya [2019 Rose Festival Queen] is a lesson to us all,” said Royal Rosarian Prime Minister Kimberly Brown, “their optimism and resilience and attitude has been so mature. It’s been inspiring to watch them overcome those hurdles that came up.”
At the laying of the Queen’s plaque along the Queen’s Walk, Anand had each of the Rose Princesses press their thumbs into the cement surrounding the plaque, a tradition started by 2019’s Queen Mya Brazile.
2020 Rose Festival Queen Anya Anand and Royal Rosarian Prime Minister Kimberly Brown getting ready to lay the Queen’s plaque along the Queen’s Walk.
“Just like Queen Mya did last year, I would like to invite my Rose sisters to place their thumbs in my plaque, because we did this together,” Anand said, “this year has been very tough, but we all made it together, and I love you all and I would love to share this moment with all of you.”
In the end, despite the hurdles of the pandemic, the official Rose Festival crown—worn by every Queen since 1922—was ceremoniously placed upon Anand’s head.
“I’m looking forward to representing my city and the Rose Festival,” Anand said, “I think it’s really important, especially because the Rose Festival has been around for so many years, and it’s another way to instill that tradition and sense of normalcy in such a changing and evolving time.”
About the Rose Festival Court:
“The mission of the Rose Festival Court program presented by Unitus Community Credit Union, is to provide scholarships courtesy The Randall Group for higher education, to promote community outreach and volunteerism, and to offer networking and mentoring opportunities to outstanding young women in a program that perpetuates an appreciation for Rose Festival history and tradition.”
About the Rose Festival:
Part of Portland’s popular culture for more than a century, the Rose Festival has its roots in tradition while its programming is both contemporary and nostalgic. Foresighted city leaders started the festival during the first decade of the 20th Century in order to put Portland on the map and brand it the ‘summer capital of the world.’ Little did they know that more than a hundred summers later the Rose Festival would be world famous for its amazing, award-winning events, as well as serving as a community leader for celebrating values like volunteerism, patriotism and environmentalism. In 2010, the Rose Festival was finally acknowledged as Portland’s Official Festival by proclamation of the Council.
With dozens of events spotlighting the diverse interests and culture of the community, the Rose Festival makes a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of lives annually, bringing smiles to the faces of both locals and guests. Peruse this website to learn more about the festival’s three popular parades, its three-weekend urban fair packed with great entertainment, good food and fantastic features, and about the iconic Court made up of local high school women making goodwill visits all around the state. The Rose Festival makes Portland a better place to live and visit.
Portland, OR. You can show your community spirit by decorating your front porch or creating a mini float at home. “Bringing Community Together While Staying Home” is the idea behind this year’s The Portland Rose Festival celebration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rose Festival is modifying traditions in an effort to celebrate community spirit and resilience, and inspire hope. The concept is to be “Parading in Place!” Organizers invite you to join the festivities by submitting your entries for the Porch Parade in May, or the Grand Petite Parade in June.
Here’s all the information you need for the Porch Parade:
Rose Festival has always been a celebration of people, events, and traditions; bridging communities in the City of Roses and beyond. This spring we are asking members of the community to celebrate with us by decorating their front porches. Choose one of our themes as inspiration, or go wild with your own ideas. The purpose of decorating is to unleash your creativity and bring a smile to your friends and neighbors.
The Rose Festival will produce a virtual map with the locations of all our registered Porches, so you can plan a walk or drive around your neighborhood to see and share in the celebration.
Saturday, May 23 and Saturday, May 30 will each see a Rose Festival VIP Procession drive through select Porch Parade neighborhoods.
As a special thank you, the first 100 Porches in the Portland Metro Area that register will receive a FREE Rose Festival Porch Parade lawn sign that will magically appear in your lawn, no need to touch it or interact with anyone.
The more registered Porches in your neighborhood, the better your chances are for having the Rose Festival VIP Procession to come by, so get your neighbors involved too!
If you have a rose garden out front that’s visible from the street or sidewalk, we’d love to have you be a part of our Porch Parade Map! Use the Porch Parade registration form to register your rose garden.
Step 2: Decorate Your Porch
Choose one of our themes as inspiration, or go wild with your own ideas. The point of decorating is to unleash your creativity and inspire hope for your friends and neighbors.
Porches must be fully decorated by 12 noon on Saturday, May 16, and able to stay up until midnight Saturday, May 30.
Porches must be appropriate for a family-friendly audience.
Don’t have a porch? No problem! Feel free to decorate your lawn, the sidewalk, a window, or something else visible from the street or sidewalk.
Step 3: Explore, Celebrate, Share
Check the Porch Parade Map often to see how the celebration is growing!
Go for a walk around your neighborhood, take pictures of the Porches you find, and tag us on social to help share the joy! @pdxrosefestival #paradinginplace #RFporchparade #rosesforhope
The more people who take part, the more celebration there is to share, so get your friends and neighbors involved!
Rules & Regulations:
Displays must be fully decorated by 12 noon on Saturday, May 16, and able to stay up until Saturday, May 30, and must be appropriate for a family audience.
Displays should not focus on religious, political, ideological, or controversial themes or issues. Use of any political sign, social or political material is not permitted.
Portland Rose Festival reserves the right to exclude any displays that do not meet our guidelines or that feature content not aligned with our mission.
Registration for the Porch Parade or Grand Petite Parade and/or tagging @pdxrosefestival or using #paradinginplace, #RFporchparade, #grandpetiteparade, #grandfloralfun, #juniormakers, #starlightporchbright or #rosesforhope with related photos or videos on social media, grants the Portland Rose Festival permission to use your images and footage on any platform.
Here’s information on the Grand Petite Parade:
The Grand Petite Parade will premiere on Facebook Live on Saturday, June 6. This virtual parade will feature shoebox floats from community members, a celebration of marching bands, and other Rose Festival parade favorites. Just like the early Rose Festival parades that used Portlanders’ own roses to decorate the floats, participants are invited to use materials from home to build shoebox parade floats and submit photos to be included in the live stream.
Have you always wanted to see a float that features a unicorn? Can you imagine a float that is fit for the Rose Festival Queen? Do you have a favorite Rose Festival float from the past that you’d like to recreate (or improve upon) with materials from home? Create your own shoebox float and send in your photos and videos to be a part of the parade.
Don’t have any craft supplies at home? No problem! Does your family have a particular parade talent that you’ve always wanted to share? Forego the float and send in photos and videos of your family marching band, drill team, or synchronized baton routine!
Now is your chance to showcase your creativity and talents, and maybe win some fun Rose Festival swag in the process! Grand Petite Parade “Rosette Award” winners will be chosen from eligible entries and revealed during the live stream.
Step 1 – Create:
Grab a “shoebox” – Start with a base like a recently delivered online order box, or grandma’s hatbox, or your skateboard, or even an RC car to build on. It doesn’t have to roll, but it does need to meet the minimum size requirements.
Find your materials – Entries should be made from things you already have at home. You could use flowers from your yard, craft supplies, construction paper, dolls/action figures, paper mache, clay, paint, markers, sequins, seeds, or anything else you can find to bring your float to life!
Pick a theme and start building – floats can showcase an original design, recreate (or improve upon) a historical parade float, or tell a story about your vision for future Rose Festival parades!
Step 2 – Share:
Show us your progress – document the steps you take as you build your Grand Petite Parade float. Are you making marching band uniforms for your action figures – show us how! Are you making a butterfly float that flaps its wings – let us see how it works! Post progress pictures, tips and tricks, fun teases of your theme, or even bloopers on your social media and tag us @pdxrosefestival #paradinginplace #GrandPetiteParade for a chance to be featured on the Rose Festival’s social media prior to parade day.
Submit your entry – fill out the Registration Form and send us photos of your finished creation.
Step 3 – Celebrate:
Watch the parade – See your float featured in the the Grand Petite Parade on Facebook Live at 11am, Saturday, June 6, 2020.
Share your participation – All participants will receive a digital certificate acknowledging their participation in the first ever Grand Petite Parade!
Win Rose Festival swag – “Rosette Award” certificates will be given in several categories! Winners will receive souvenir 2020 Rose Vision lapel pins, and the Sweepstakes winner will be invited to attend a future Grand Floral Parade as guests of the Portland Rose Festival!
Rules and Regulations:
Completed floats should measure a minimum of 12” long by 10” high – there are no maximum dimensions.
Entries and themes must be appropriate for a family audience. Entry should not focus on religious, political, ideological, or controversial themes or issues. Use of any political sign, social or political material is not permitted.
All submissions must be received by 5:00 p.m., PST, June 1, 2020.
Portland Rose Festival reserves the right to edit photos and videos as needed.
Registration for the Grand Petite Parade or Porch Parade and/or tagging @pdxrosefestival or using #paradinginplace, #RFporchparade, #grandpetiteparade, or #rosesforhope with related photos or videos on social media, grants the Portland Rose Festival permission to use your images and footage on any platform.
Portland Rose Festival reserves the right to exclude any submissions that do not meet our guidelines or that feature content not aligned with our mission.
“Rosette Award” winners will be chosen from eligible entries and decided at the sole discretion of the Portland Rose Festival Foundation. Winners will receive prize notifications via email and any physical awards will be sent via standard US post.
Join the parade! Complete our online Registration Form to submit your entry for the Grand Petite Parade. Eligible entries include shoebox floats, family marching bands, and other parade-style acts of showmanship! Share progress pictures, tips and tricks, fun teases of your theme, or even bloopers on your social media and tag us @pdxrosefestival #paradinginplace #GrandPetiteParade for a chance to be featured on the Rose Festival’s social media prior to parade day.
All entries must include 1-3 photos of the float or group. Shoebox floats wishing to be eligible for Rosette Awards must include a photo featuring the completed float from the front right side, “traveling” in the direction from left to right of the image frame. Videos are not required, but 1 video, up to 15 seconds in length, may be submitted in addition to photos.
All entries must be received by 5pm, June 1, 2020, in order to qualify for the Grand Petite Parade. If you have questions or need additional information, please send us an email with the subject line: Grand Petite Parade.
Helpful Tips and Award Information
You don’t need a shoebox to put your best foot forward! As long as your float meets the minimum size requirement and meets the rules for theme and content – it can be made from anything you already have at home. Floats are not required to roll or move, but extra creativity points may be awarded for motion, automation, or animation. You can begin with a theme or idea and collect materials to bring that float to life, or you can look around your home to find items you’d like to feature and build your float to suit your materials.
Get the whole family involved! Choose a design you can all get behind and work together. Are you the competitive sort…then why not pick a theme and let everyone build their own masterpiece?
Do you need help getting the creative juices flowing? Maybe the Rosette Award categories will help to inspire you! These awards for shoebox floats are based on the real awards given to all floral covered floats in the Grand Floral Parade each year. Grand Petite Parade Rosette Awards will be announced on Saturday, June 6, 2020.
Sweepstakes Rosette (Most outstanding float in the Parade)
Queens Rosette (Most creative float in the Parade)
Grab your snacks, gather the family, and watch the Grand Petite Parade on Facebook Live, 11 am on Saturday, June 6, at the Portland Rose Festival page. Follow us at @pdxrosefestival and on the Rose Festival Facebook Page to get updates and notifications.
The virtual parade will feature shoebox floats and creative entries from community members, a celebration of marching bands, and other Rose Festival parade favorites.
Portland, OR. Every spring, DoveLewis Veterinary Emergency Hospital sees an increase in injured stray animal and wildlife cases. The nonprofit is encouraging good Samaritans who find healthy stray animals to keep them safe and contact their county’s animal services agency directly. DoveLewis President Ron Morgan explained, “Strays are more likely to be reunited with their families in their home shelter, and that helps us focus our team’s resources on the animals in need of medical care.”
Springtime is dubbed “Kitten Season” because of the boom of stray kittens inevitably born each spring, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “Last year we treated nearly 1,200 stray or wild animals, and we’ve started seeing an influx of baby birds already. We’re ready, but we could use some extra help from the community,” said Morgan. DoveLewis can provide emergency stabilization and care for hundreds of strays and wildlife each year through its donor-funded Stray Animal & Wildlife Program, but with agencies and veterinary clinics adjusting their services and protocols to accommodate COVID-19 precautions, capacity is limited. “We’re here to help always, but everyone can do their part to make sure care is going to the animals who need it most.”
If you find an injured wild animal or bird during regular business hours, call Portland Audubon. If you come across an injured animal in the evening or on the weekends, use your best judgment on whether the animal can be rescued and delivered to DoveLewis safely. Here’s a link to the Portland Audubon Society: http://www.audubonportland.org
Here’s what you can do if you find an injured or stray animal:
Determine if the animal is actually injured. Often times, stray domestic animals appear injured but are actually just fearful. If you see no obvious injuries or unhealthy behavior, contact your county’s animal services agency.
Uninjured wildlife should never be touched. Baby animals, especially birds, may appear abandoned, but they are likely being cared for by their parents even if it’s not immediately obvious. Some bird species leave the nest and spend as many as two to five days on the ground before they can fly. During this time, the birds are learning vital life skills. Unless an injury is visible and obvious, leaving them alone will give them the best chance of survival.
Assess the safety of the situation. Make sure you are protected from the environment, like moving cars and running water, as well as the animal. If an animal is in pain and fearful, you never know how it will react. If you have any reservations about rescuing or handling a domestic stray animal, call your local county animal services.
Cover and contain. If the animal is obviously injured and can be transported safely, find a towel, blanket or thick gloves to use while handling the animal to put a barrier between you and the animal. Place the animal in any available safe container – a carrier or a box is ideal. Make sure the animal is as comfortable as possible and secure in the container. Many animals, especially small ones, are stunned when injured and will fly or scurry away when they are more alert. Please remember, it is illegal (and unsafe for you and the injured animal) to attempt to rehabilitate a wild animal on your own.
About DoveLewis Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital:
DoveLewis Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital, established in 1973 and based in Portland, Oregon, is the only nonprofit, 24-hour emergency and intensive care unit in the region. With over 46 years of service to the community, DoveLewis has treated more than 500,000 animals. DoveLewis also has seven donor-supported community programs that serve animals in need and the animal-loving community. For more information, please visit dovelewis.org.
Portland, OR. Do you have an old computer you’re not using? You can donate it to a nonprofit called Free Geek to help meet a 4,000% increase in the number of requests for computers so low-income people can get online. A good portion of requests come from students who suddenly need to get online in order to participate in K-12 education or college. Many people are reaching out on behalf of aging parents who are no longer able to visit their doctors and others are desperate for access to mental health or addiction treatment services.
If you donate, rest assured, your data will be secure. “Data security is our top concern when receiving donations – and we will thoroughly wipe (or physically destroy) any hard drives that we receive,” explains the organization. In the first weeks of the pandemic, the organization saw the demand for used laptops spike from about 300 requests per month to 3,000 per week. “Folks need the internet to be able to see a doctor, to pay their bills, do work so they can continue to get a paycheck or get an education,” said Hilary Shohoney, director of community development for Portland nonprofit Free Geek. “It touches every area of our life right now.” But an estimated 17% of Portlanders aren’t connected to the internet. In rural parts of the Northwest, that number balloons to nearly 40%. With the coronavirus pandemic all but canceling face-to-face interactions, the internet is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity. “For us, the numbers changed exponentially,” Shohoney said. Here’s a link with info on donating: https://www.freegeek.org/get-involved/donate-technology
Free Geek accepts donations of computers and other electronics at its Portland facility. It offers a donation receipt you can use for tax purposes. (Photo credit, OPB)
On April 1st, Free Geek sold its first round of machines to students at PSU who didn’t have laptops for remote studying through its Low Cost Tech Community Program.
From Free Geek:
Free Geek continues to provide computers to those in need and we need your reusable laptops.
Our current focus is on receiving Macbooks and laptops with i-series processors. Secondarily we have a need for desktop computers, LCD monitors, mice, webcams and headsets. This is the aspect of our work that is essential at this time and we hope that most other hardware donations can wait until safety concerns and our capacity improve.
For hardware donations we offer the following options:
Public Drop offs (limited hours and quantity) In the parking lot on the northeast side of our building. We will have collection bins set outside the warehouse entrance. Please be prepared to unload your own vehicle and form a line if needed. For the safety of our community, we ask that you wear a face covering and maintain a 6 foot distance from staff and other donors at all times. If you don’t see John at the warehouse door when you arrive during one of the following times: please call the Warehouse Desk at (503) 232-9350 x 124. Receipts will be available by request, this can be expedited by attaching your name and email address to your donation.
Friday April 24, between 10:30am and 1pm
Saturday April 25, between 3pm and 5pm.
Thursday April 30, between 10:30am and 1pm,
Friday May 1, between 10:30am and 1pm
Saturday May 2, 2020 between 3pm and 5pm.
Drop off by appointment for 10 or more computers, or large loads of other equipment.
Please email [email protected] to let us know what you have and when you would like to bring it by.
Availability may be limited but we will work to accommodate your needs.
You can mail your donation to
Free Geek: Hardware Donation, 1731 SE 10th Ave, Portland, OR 97214.
We can pickup your equipment (limited availability, fees apply)
Currently this works best if can arrange for your items can be brought outside and, for larger volumes, secured onto pallets.
We can wait this out together, and be there for you in the future.
Free Geek’s mission is to sustainably reuse technology, enable digital access, and provide education to create a community that empowers people to realize their potential. Here’s more info on our donations: https://www.freegeek.org/get-involved/donate-technology
Portland, OR. “Inspiration Oregon” is a (very) short film contest sponsored by Oregon Film to encourage local filmmakers to be creative during the COVID 19 odyssey. Check out an example on the Oregon Film Vimeo site. It’s just about one minute long.
If you’d like to smile, click here to check out our favorite; this submission for #InspirationOregon is called “Freddie’s Silver Linings. It was made by filmmaker, Isabel Klein. It’s about a little dog named, Freddie. (He’s our dog and is currently living his best life!) Isabel won and honorable mention for her efforts and a $250 prize.
Here is a link to the Vimeo Showcase that contains all of 125 submissions on the Oregon Film Vimeo site. The “#InspirationOregon (very) short film contest was created by Oregon Film and will have 10 winners. Winners will be determined by the highest “views and likes” on the Oregon Film Vimeo website. Viewing and voting will continue through Wednesday, April 8th at 5 pm. There’s a large variety of themes for the films, including nature, daily life during the virus and social distancing.
The contest was created to support local filmmakers. There are 10 cash prizes of $500 each based on the number of views on the Oregon Film contest website. Oregon Film told participants, “Thank you, again, for sharing your talent, insight, and inspirations with all of us. The creative community is a great medicine for these times.”
Oregon Film reposted this image from NYC COVID-19 Musician Resources and Support on its Facebook.
There’s a possibility the contest may happen again so keep Oregon Film on your radar.
The Governor’s Office of Film & Television has been helping productions find, secure, and utilize our magnificent locations since 1968. Our mission is to promote the development of the film, video, and multimedia industry in Oregon.
The Oregon Made Creative Foundation:
The Oregon Made Creative Foundation supports storytellers, filmmakers, and artists to attain sustainable careers in the arts, especially the digital arts. Additionally, the Foundation strives to draw together, under its #OregonMade banner – support, momentum and assistance for Oregon communities, whether they be urban, suburban, or rural and to help build and strengthen the connections among them.
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