Portland Blog: This Week in Portland, June 8, 2013

Hello, Portlanders!   Welcome to the weekly Portland events blog, with lots of ideas of things to do in Portland, including the Portland Rose Festival!  I was driving home from work last night through Downtown and over the Broadway bridge into NE Portland, and was delighted to take note of the tents, lawn chairs, and tape on the sidewalk pavement marking Portland's annual tradition of the Rose Festival Parade!  There is just something so nostalgic about the simple joy of watching a parade, and Portlanders come out in force to enjoy all the Rose Festival festivities each year.  

Saturday, June 8 - Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade

Get all the information on Portland's Grand Floral Parade.

Date:
Saturday, June 8, 2013 , 10am

Location:
Memorial Coliseum to downtown Portland

Parade route map and more details

CityFair

This is the last weekend to enjoy CityFair on Portland's Waterfront Downtown, so get down there and enjoy the rides, food, music, and family fun.

PDX Beer Week, 2013

From http://pdxbeerweek.com/

Portland Beer Week returns to the greatest beer city in the world this June 7 through June 17. After a successful first year, Portland Beer Week has brought together an even more exciting group of events for its second year including a new official beer, a dry-hopped India Red Lager created in collaboration with Deschutes Brewery and Hopworks Urban Brewery -- available in both bottles and on draft through this 10-day beer week.

In addition to having more breweries than any other city in the world, Portland enjoys one of the most advanced beer cultures -- and a thirst for fun and educational craft beer events. Portland Beer Week aims to celebrate and expand that culture, not just by promoting Portland brewers and breweries, but tap houses, restaurants, food, and underexplored beer styles. Craft beer culture is not just about the beer itself but about the people, food, camaraderie, and education that comes along with this art form.

Festivals are a key component to this week's Portland Beer Week; the return of the popular Portland Fruit Beer Festival (June 9 & 10) -- in its second year, newcomers like the Rye Beer Fest (June 8), and the return of one of Oregon's most unique events, an Olympics-style Brewers Summer Games (June 16).

Much more than a series of festivals though, Portland Beer Week aims to educate as well as entertain with a series of beer-related seminars, exploring everything from how to taste and evaluate beer, to pairing food with beer, barrel-aging beer, sour beers and blending, and wild and farmhouse-style ales.

Little-Known Portland Stuff (and a Cool Website!)

Written by PortlandNeighborhood Guest Writer, Rob Creighton Garrison

Wikipedia was born in Portland, Oregon. It's true! I read it on Wikipedia! Of course I cross-checked other sources as well, but it appears to be legit.

That's only one thing I didn't know. Once I read the above fact, I had to find if I could dig up some more little-known facts. Turns out we aren't the city with the most superheroes (that would probably be New York City, because you know, New York City!), but we can lay claim to Dark Horse Comics – fine, Milwaukie may lay claim to Dark Horse Comics, but come on, it's just the other side of the city limits, a veritable walk down the sidewalk to go look at the life-size models of sci-fi movie fame in the window, so for the sake of this article I'm saying it counts.

                                                                   One of these things is not like the others...

Okay, how about this: Portland has the smallest park. It's called Mill Ends Park and it resides in the median strip on SW Naito Parkway. You can't hike this park. You can stand in it, but no doubt someone will scream at you for doing it. The whole thing is two feet across. It was supposed to be the site of a light pole to be installed in 1948, but there were delays, and then it sprouted weeds, and knowing this town I'll bet it wasn't long before it had at least four orange cones around it. This city loves its orange cones. In 1971 it officially became a city park.

The Mai Tai was invented in 1944, at Trader Vic's (one can be found in the Pearl District). I've never had a Mai Tai, are they any good? I only ever see aged boozy matriarchs on bad television shows drink them. I have to go to Trader Vic's soon. I think I love tiki bars, but The Alibi is my only experience.

I didn't know there was such a thing as a teenage drag queen pageant (not that there's anything wrong with that!), but Portland boasts the oldest established one. It's called the Rosebud and Thorn and it's been going since 1975.

Should you like to explore more of the odder things and events Portland has to offer, Hidden Portland is your on-line resource. You can even get printed guide books and a walking tour!

Save Chuck E. Cheese for later. Go explore.

Editor's Notes:

There are several places to find great Mai Tai's and rum drinks in Portland!  Here are just a few to try:

Hale Pele, 2733 NE Broadway
Portland, OR 97232

The Alibi, 4024 N Interstate Ave
Portland, OR 97227

Trader Vics, 1203 NW Glisan St
Portland, OR 97209

Saucebox, 214 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205

Rum Club, 720 SE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97214

______

About Mill Ends Park from PortlandOnline.com:

Historical Information
In 1946, Dick Fagan returned from World War II to resume his journalistic career with the Oregon Journal. His office, on the second floor above Front Street (now Naito Parkway), gave him a view of not only the busy street, but also an unused hole in the median where a light pole was to be placed. When no pole arrived to fill in this hole, weeds took over the space. Fagan decided to take matters into his own hands and to plant flowers.

Fagan wrote a popular column called Mill Ends (rough, irregular pieces of lumber left over at lumber mills). He used this column to describe the park and the various "events" that occurred there. Fagan billed the space as the "World's Smallest Park." The park was dedicated on St. Patrick's Day in 1948 since Fagan was a good Irishman. He continued to write about activities in the park until he died in 1969. Many of his columns described the lives of a group of leprechauns, who established the "only leprechaun colony west of Ireland" in the park. Fagan claimed to be the only person who could see the head leprechaun, Patrick O'Toole. After Mill Ends officially became a city park on St. Patrick’s Day in 1976, the park continued to be the site of St. Patrick's Day festivities.

Over the years, contributions have been made to the park, such as the small swimming pool and diving board for butterflies, many statues, a miniature Ferris wheel (which was brought in by a normal-sized crane), and the occasional flying saucer. The events held here include concerts by Clan Macleay Pipe Band, picnics, and rose plantings by the Junior Rose Festival Court.

The park had to be moved temporarily in 2006 due to construction on Naito Parkway. It was replaced on March 16, 2007 in true St. Patrick's Day style with the Royal Rosarians, bagpipers, and the Fagan family, including Dick's wife Katherine, in attendance.

Portland Photo of the Week