The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Association with the purpose of promoting the Portland region. It includes three separate

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

s, along with a number of other activities. Grand Floral Parade 2008 - Dinosaur float

History

The Portland Rose Society, founded by Georgiana Pittock and friends in 1888, began with a backyard rose show in Pittock's garden. The annual fundraising event drew more crowds each year. By 1904, the rose society was hosting its annual rose show along with additional festivities, including a parade and pageant. In 1905, Portland Mayor

Harry Lane Harry Lane (August 28, 1855 – May 23, 1917) was an American politician in the state of Oregon. A physician by training, Lane served as the head of the Oregon State Insane Asylum before being forced out by political enemies. After a decade prac ...

is remembered for his rousing speech at the

Lewis and Clark Exposition The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, commonly also known as the Lewis and Clark Exposition, and officially known as the Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair, was a worldwide exposition held in Portlan ...

, telling the large crowd that Portland needed a "festival of roses". In 1906, the first Rose Festival and Flower Parade was held in Portland. Pittock and neighbors contributed roses from their gardens to decorate floats, wagons, people and horses for the parade. In 1907, Portland hosted its first official Portland Rose Festival. The Grand Floral Parade is the centerpiece of the festival and the second largest all-floral parade in the United StatesHughley, Marty (June 8, 1990). "Parade main event of Rose Festival". ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', p. C1.Killen, John (June 1, 2001). "Grand Floral Parade puts spotlight on fun". ''The Oregonian'', A&E section, Rose Festival supplement, p. 15.Meehan, Brian T. (May 27, 1993). "Portland will march to beat of 2nd largest floral parade". ''

'', p. R4. after the

Tournament of Roses Parade A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. More than 500,000 spectators line the route, making this

flower parade A flower parade is a parade in which the floats, vehicles, boats, participants, animals and other things are decorated or covered in flowers. Often there are other elements like marching bands and people in costumes. Flower parades are held in ...

the largest single-day spectator event in Oregon. The first parade, in 1907, was called the Rose Carnival, but eventually came to be known as the Rose Festival Parade and later still the Grand Floral Parade. The 1907 festival also included an "electric parade" with illuminated floats; this evolved into the Merrykhana Parade but after a two-season suspension was renamed the

Starlight Parade The Starlight Parade is an annual parade held in Portland, Oregon, in the United States, as part of the Portland Rose Festival The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is or ...

in 1976. Since 1930 a queen has been selected from a court of high school seniors from each school in the area. The members of the court are called princesses. For a brief period starting in 1997 they were officially called "ambassadors", but the term "princesses" was reinstated in January 2007. A college scholarship is awarded to a 14-member "royalty". Starting in 2009, the Rose Festival Foundation opened one place on the court to someone from a school outside the Portland city limits. There are drivers for the Princesses, who are chosen from each high school. The first African American driver (escort) was Sam Whitney from Benson High School in 1954. A Junior Rose Festival, focused on children, began unofficially in 1921, on the city's east side, and included its own parade and junior court. It became an official part of the Rose Festival in 1936. The festival's annual Junior Parade takes place in the city's Hollywood district. The Junior Parade has grown to an event involving nearly 10,000 children, making it the world's largest parade for children. During Fleet Week, ships from

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

, Army Corps of Engineers and the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

dock along the seawall of

Tom McCall Waterfront Park Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located in downtown Portland, Oregon, along the Willamette River. After the 1974 removal of Harbor Drive, a major milestone in the freeway removal movement, the park was opened to the public in 19 ...

. The festival also hosts the Starlight Parade, a fireworks display, and carnival rides along the Portland waterfront, among other events.

Dragon boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family ...

races on the Willamette River have been included every year since 1989. The

Golden Rose Ski Classic Timberline Lodge ski area is the ski and snowboarding area of Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is one of a few ski areas in the United States with most of the skiable terrain below the main lodge. I ...

is an annual ski race originating in 1936. It is the oldest known organized ski race in America, and is the only

USSA Ussa is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, local government area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Lissam. Ussa borders the Cameroon, Republic of Cameroon in the south; the Donga River forms its northern boundary. U ...

-sanctioned summer race. An air show was added to the Rose Festival in 1988 and remained part of the festival through 2002. Held at the

Hillsboro Airport Hillsboro Airport , also known as Portland–Hillsboro Airport, is a corporate, general aviation and flight-training airport serving the city of Hillsboro, in Washington County, Oregon, United States. It is one of three airports in the Portland, ...

, it was named the Rose Festival Air Show, with the name generally preceded by a sponsor's name, but after the 2002 and 15th show the Rose Festival Association decided to discontinue its relationship with the event. In 2003, the show was reorganized as the

Oregon International Air Show The Oregon International Air Show - formerly the "Portland Rose Festival Air Show" - is an annual event held in Oregon, United States. The event began in 1988, and has an average annual attendance of 55,000. Profits from the show are distributed t ...

, with different sponsors and no longer a Rose Festival event.Frank, Ryan (May 21, 2003). "Hillsboro sponsors give redesigned air show a lift". ''

'', p. C3. No festival was held in 1917 and 1918 because of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and from 1942 through 1945 because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. From 2007 to 2016, the festival began with the 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade. The parade was cancelled in 2017, but returned in 2018.

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

concerns canceled the 2020 and 2021 parades, but the parade would return in 2022.

Awards

* 2007, 2011: the International Festivals and Events Association named the Portland Rose Festival the best in the world Image:Portland Oregon Rose Festival letter April 15 1909.jpg, 1909 Rose Festival letter File:Rose 2808255369 8910da7853 o.jpg, Circa 1912-1914 File:Grand Floral Parade 2008 - Westview HS band.jpg, Every Rose Festival parade includes several

marching band A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...

s. File:Grand Floral Parade 2008 - Dragon boat float.jpg,

-replica

float Float may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000 * ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008 * ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013 Songs * "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022 * "Float", by Bush ...

in 2008 parade. The festival includes races with actual dragon boats. File:Grand_Floral_Parade_2008_-_Clydesdales.jpg, The

Budweiser Clydesdales The Budweiser Clydesdales are a group of Clydesdale horses used for promotions and commercials by the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company. There are several "hitches" or teams of horses, that travel around the United States and other countries that re ...

are a frequent participant. File:Starlight Parade 2010 - Rosaria.jpg, Queen's float in the 2010

File:Starlight Parade 2010 - Falun Dafa float.jpg,

Float Float may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000 * ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008 * ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013 Songs * "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022 * "Float", by Bush ...

in the Starlight Parade File:Two dragon boats racing during practice in Portland, May 2022.jpg, Two dragon boat crews racing during a practice a few weeks before the start of the Rose Festival File:Vietcommunity rose festival 04.jpg, Royal Rosarian Award banner

References

External links

Official site
{{Tom McCall Waterfront Park 1907 establishments in Oregon Annual events in Portland, Oregon Festivals in Portland, Oregon Parades in the United States Recurring events established in 1907 June events Flower festivals in the United States Festivals established in 1907 Tom McCall Waterfront Park

History

Awards

See also

References

External links