‘Hope Reigns’ as Rose Festival Gears Up for Second Scaled-Down Year

‘Hope Reigns’ as Rose Festival Gears Up for Second Scaled-Down Year

Portland, OR. The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Hope Reigns’ and organizers are encouraging local businesses to decorate their buildings and storefronts. It’s the second year with modified activities. In 2020 some aspects of the festival were similar to the past, like the crowning of Queen Anya Anand seen above, but organizers explain, “Oregon isn’t quite ready yet for big outdoor events, and the health and safety of our community is still our top priority. The Rose Festival has been here for more than a century despite many challenges and will be here when Oregon is ready for big outdoor events again as we start down the runway to the traditional Rose Festival in 2022.”

Click here for a  link to a festival website event list. Programming like the Court and Porch Parade will continue this May & June 2021. This year, with Portland businesses hit especially hard from the pandemic and social unrest, the Festival is reaching back to the time when all of Portland turned out with Rose Festival-themed floral decorations. Businesses are once again being encouraged to decorate a front door, window or even building face. The Portland Rose Festival will produce an online map with the locations, so the public can walk, bike, or drive around, and share in the celebration.

The Rose Festival Porch Parade celebration runs from May 31 through June 13, 2021. (Registration is now open at this website on the Porch Parade page.) The Rose Festival Porch Parade celebration runs from May 31 through June 13, 2021. (Registration is now open at this website on the Porch Parade page.)

Click here for a link to the porch parade info and registration.

The Rose Festival’s Parading in Place concept wasn’t only popular in Portland, festivals across the country picked up the idea in: San Antonio, Detroit, New Orleans, Mobile, Alabama, and Washington D.C. to name just a few.

Themes for the 2021 Rose Festival Porch Parade honoring the Rose Festival’s three traditional parades include The Grand Floral, the Starlight, and the Junior parades. Porch designers are encouraged to pull out their seasonal Christmas lights and create a multi-themed concept with a Grand Floral Parade or Junior Parade in daylight hours, and a Starlight Parade theme by night. Porch Parade designers are not limited to Rose Festival themes and are encouraged to create their own family-friendly fun ideas to share with the greater Festival community.

In 2020, the Porch Parade encouraged people to decorate outside their homes.

Last year, dignitaries formed a procession to tour selected homes.

From The Rose Festival:

The Portland Rose Festival Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that serves families and individuals with programs and events that promote the arts, education and volunteerism. We value environmental responsibility, diversity, patriotism and our historic & floral heritage.

For more information www.RoseFestival.org

Facebook PortlandRoseFestival/

Twitter: @PDXRoseFestival

Instagram: @PDXRoseFestival

 

Rose Festival Gears Up for First-Ever Virtual Parade

Rose Festival Gears Up for First-Ever Virtual Parade

Portland, OR. The Rose Parade on Saturday, June 6th will be a virtual parade featuring shoe box-size floats created by community members. Organizers say the event will be a celebration of marching bands, equestrian units, and other Rose Festival parade favorites. It will be a Facebook Live streaming event (here’s a link for the festivities), but viewers do not need a Facebook account to watch.

Participants were invited to use materials from home to build parade floats and submit a photograph or video for a June 6th video streaming presentation.

On May 22nd, the Portland Rose Festival kicked off its 2020 season with a virtual opening night concert and fireworks streamed on Facebook. This year, most Rose Festival events and activities have been suspended, so organizers had to find creative ways to celebrate despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Porch Parade encouraged people to decorate outside their homes.

Taking inspiration from the holiday tradition of loading the family in the car and touring neighborhood light displays, the Rose Festival has created a spring-time version with a Porch Parade.

Dignitaries formed a procession to tour selected homes that have registered at ParadingInPlace.com.

Porch Parade decorations are to remain on display May 16 through May 31.

You can check out the map at this link: View the Map

Residents with rose gardens visible from the street or sidewalks were also encouraged to register.

The Royal Rosarians “Roses for Hope” rose garden celebration included in the Porch Parade map features rose gardens visible from the street. Although viewable all summer, the Rosarians Roses for Hope will conclude with a virtual Rose Garden celebration on June 16, at 6:30 p.m. (via Zoom). #ROSESforHOPE

From The Rose Festival:

The Portland Rose Festival Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that serves families and individuals with programs and events that promote the arts, education and volunteerism. We value environmental responsibility, diversity, patriotism and our historic & floral heritage.

For more information www.RoseFestival.org

Facebook PortlandRoseFestival/

Twitter: @PDXRoseFestival

Instagram: @PDXRoseFestival