05.24.2024

Today’s Forecast

61º | 40% chance of precipitation
Sunrise 5:30 a.m. | Sunset 8:45 p.m.
Full Weather Report | Traffic Report

Where’s your sense of adventure?

Use all 5 senses to enjoy the Portland Rose Festival

A family raised their hands inside a tiger on a CityFair carnival ride.

Hold on tight Portland — you’re in for more than two weeks of entertainment. | Photo via Portland Rose Festival/Picasa

Of course, when it comes to enjoying the Portland Rose Festival, taking time to stop and smell the roses should be top of the list. But when the historic celebration returns today, we want to make sure you indulge all five senses.

Hear

On the shore near the Hawthorne Bridge, listen to the crowd cheer — and yell your own encouragement — for the dragon boat races as each team paddles toward the finish line. The colorful watercraft are a visual spectacle provided thanks to the Portland-Kaohsiung Sister City Association.

A Rose Festival Princess waves from atop a floral parade float. — Who doesn’t love a little pageantry now and then?
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Photo via Portland Rose Festival/Naim Hassan

See

Watching the floats roll down the road is one of Portland’s beloved pastimes, and during the Rose Festival, there are three parades to choose from. Streets sparkle and shine during the Starlight Parade, kiddos take center stage at the Junior Parade, and beautiful arrangements blossom during the Grand Floral Parade (you can help build them, too).

Taste

Glug glug glug goes the beer at Oregon Brewers Festival, held every weekend during CityFair. Speaking of fair food, you might want to grab and elephant ear or some cotton candy while you’re there.

Fireworks go off above Portland's Hawthorne Bridge and a crowd of onlookers. — You’ll also get some boom for your buck (the show is free).
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Photo via Portland Rose Festival/Patrick F. Smith

Smell

Treating your nose to the 610 rose varieties at the International Rose Test Garden is a must, but so is taking a whiff of the pyrotechnics during the opening night fireworks show.

Touch

A solid grip is recommended as you climb aboard the naval vessels parked along Tom McCall Waterfront Park for Fleet Week. Tours are available, which may require you to climb up metal ladders and maneuver through narrow doors — just don’t bonk your head.

Events

Friday, May 24

Candlelight: A Tribute to Queen | Friday, May 24 | 6-7:15 p.m. | First Parish in Portland, Unitarian Universalist, 425 Congress St., Portland | $23-$36 | This musical spectacle will have you thinking — “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?”

Saturday, May 25

Memorial Weekend Boat Races | Saturday, May 25-Sunday, May 26 | 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Rogers Landing County Park, Newberg | Free | Watch powerboats speed down the Willamette River in the 76th edition of this competition.
Cultural Immersion Saturdays | Saturday, May 25 | 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Lan Su Chinese Garden, 239 NW Everett St., Portland | $0-$14 | Dive into AANHPI Heritage Month at this cultural spotlight — this weekend features educational talks, food, and interactive family activities centered around South Asia.
3rd Annual Holi Spring Harvest Fest | Saturday, May 25 | 4-8 p.m. | Topaz Farm, 17100 NW Sauvie Island Rd., Portland | $15-$30 | Celebrate the Hindu Festival of Colors with music, dancing, organic powder sourced from India, plus dance lessons and demonstrations.

Sunday, May 26

Bouquet Making Fundraiser | Sunday, May 26 | 1-3 p.m. | Parallax Art Center, 516 NW 14th Ave., Portland | $50 | Floral design, fellowship, and food are on the table for this benefit for Equitable Giving Circle.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Real Estate

Looking for design inspiration to zhuzh your own dwelling? Take the Portland Modern Home Tour, a self-guided circuit that visits nine houses in the area, from Raleigh Hills to Cully. On Saturday, June 1, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., architects, designers, and builders will be on site to answer questions. (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)

Asked

Someone wrote into Eater Portland with this question — where should I take my friend who just got dumped? Brooke Jackson-Glidden has some great suggestions for a platonic date, like wine bar Heavenly Creatures or some pizza at Cafe Olli. (Eater Portland + Portland Monthly)

Biz

The Portland Thorns’ new owners continue to make big moves behind the scenes, most recently by growing the team’s investor group. Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle, Phoenix Suns co-owner Sam Garvin, and others have joined, which will help the “development of a new state-of-the-art training facility.” (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)

Announced

Did you hear about the Oregon Zoo’s newest addition? Wait for it... Hold... Hang on... Meet Berry, a Linne’s two-toed sloth that likes to take her time and nap high in the trees of her enclosure (across from the slender-snouted crocodile habitat). Her move was recommended by her species survival plan.

Sports

When the Oregon Ducks hit the road to take on the Wisconsin Badgers — hey 608today — in the upcoming football season, Locked On’s Spencer McLaughlin thinks it will be the biggest trap game for Dan Lanning and co.

Home

Did you know you could finance your fixer-upper with home equity? You could get up to $50K with a HELOC — calculate your payment.*

Answered

How many tattoos do you have?

A tattoo done by Portland's Plush Tattoo that depicts a yellow sunflower and other red flowers surrounding it. — Plush Tattoo’s main goal is to create good vibes and a safe and inclusive tattoo space for all, without loud macho vibes.
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Photo via @plush.pdx

Color us surprised — 55% of our readers who responded do not have any tattoos. However, 25% of you have three or more.

Here are some of our favorites from your “behind-the-ink” stories.

“I have a cow on my lower leg... It’s a calf calf.”

“I have a Celtic knot that I love and a semicolon for loved ones that have taken their lives. Soon to get a pretty turtle.”

“I got my first tattoo of my fraternity in Kansas even though I lived in Oklahoma. I had to do that because at the time it was illegal to receive a tattoo in Oklahoma.”

“I always wanted a tattoo but never knew what. Then, when I beat cancer, I knew. I got a tattoo of a Kohaku koi (white with red spot), the oldest and most popular koi. For the red spot, I used the Chinese symbol shou, representing the five blessings of longevity.”

Tattoo shops for first-timers

The Buy

Group A, The Buy 5.24.24 (Affiliate + Six & Main)

The ultimate kitchen appliance for summer: the Cuisinart 2-Quart Ice Cream Maker. No ice, salt, or hand-churning required — simply freeze the bowl and pour in your custom creation. We’re thinking black raspberry or chocolate chip…

The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Ben

From the editor

As a UO grad and Oregon Ducks fan, I’m familiar with being annoyed by the Beavers — so I can totally relate to the 33,000 people in North Portland who lost power this week after our state animal dropped a tree on a transmission line.

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