Hope Reigns as Festival focuses on community engagement in 2021 and the return of big outdoor events in 2022
The Portland Rose Festival will move forward without its big outdoor events in 2021, and sets the countdown clock to the biggest and best fireworks ever in 2022. The 2021 Festival season will continue with key events and programs during the traditional Rose Festival time, late May and June, 2021.
Rose Festival Princess announcements begin at the end of March, and an active, engaged Rose Festival Court will be presented to the community in May and June as health restrictions allow; the 2021 Rose Festival Queen will be announced at an outdoor Coronation ceremony in June; Virtual Fleet Week returns in June; the traditional Rose Festival Treasure Hunt kicks off Memorial Day weekend, and the Porch Parade and Roses for Hope celebration is back by popular demand.
"Oregon is not quite ready yet for big outdoor events," says Jeff Curtis, CEO Portland Rose Festival Foundation. "The health and safety of our community is still our top priority as we plan for a Rose Festival season to engage and inspire the community once again this year."
After the pandemic struck in 2020, the festival was able to offer popular new programming, notably the Porch Parade, which inspired local Portland neighborhoods to showcase their creative talents by decorating their homes, yards and porches. This was replicated in cities around the region and across the country, most visibly in New Orleans, Louisiana, during Mardi Gras, and Washington D.C., during the National Cherry Blossom Festival. "We want to see even more Porch Parade participation in 2021. Let's grow this great idea that originated in the Rose City," Curtis said.
"During the wartime years in the 1940s, Rose Festival was able to provide hope for the community despite the inability to present its parades," said David Todd, President, Portland Rose Festival Foundation. "We have been here for more than a century despite many challenges, and we will be here when the community is ready for big outdoor events again as we start down the runway to the traditional Rose Festival in 2022."
2022 will be the year of Portland's ultimate Family Reunion with three world class parades where people can watch together on Portland streets and a waterfront fair that allows people to gather safely and enjoy food, drink, live entertainment, exciting carnival rides, and spectacular fireworks. That fireworks countdown clock is set to Friday, May 27, 2022.
Each court member will receive a $3,500 scholarship generously provided by The Randall Group. The Portland Rose Festival Court and Queen's Coronation are presented by Unitus Community Credit Union.