CommissionerSam.com - Travel Portland

Cincinnati Enquirer: Savor Portland's Weirdness

The Office — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:02:20 -0700

BY BETSA MARSH

Like a glacial breeze off Oregon's Mount Hood, Portland blows away the cobwebs of same-old travel.

Instead of dutifully slogging through museums, how about pulling up a chair at a sidewalk cafe, sipping chai or a microbrew, and asking your server where he would go? Or rent a bike and see how many neighborhoods you could breeze through before happy hour. And what's not to love about a city that embraces not one but two happy hours - about 5-7 each evening, then a second-wind version about 10 p.m.-midnight

'THINK DIFFERENT'

And why not? It's one of the key questions of the Portland mind-set, along with its twin, "What if?" Some Portlanders chant the city mantra "Think Different," while others echo "Keep Portland Weird." Weirdness is so institutionalized now that the Travel Portland association hands outs "Keep Portland Weird" bumper stickers. Codified weirdness - can an entire city be an oxymoron?

[READ MORE ON THE ENQUIRER'S WEBSITE]

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Thinks Portland is the Tops!

The Office — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:07:18 -0700

Portland's in a festive mood

A new season of outdoor fun kicks off

By DESTON NOKES
SPECIAL TO THE P-I

PORTLAND -- This city is a blessing in the spring, when pink blossoms appear on riverfront trees, festival tents are pitched and squinting Oregonians emerge to play after a long, gray winter of wet. That's because, at its heart, Portland is decidedly an outdoors city with large festivals, weekly art gallery walks, sidewalk dining, and strolls through world-class gardens.

Sure, often it keeps raining. But Portlanders come outside anyway. That's because the city is a perfect hub for so many nearby outdoor adventures.

More ....

"See and Be Seen" Bike Light Public Service Safety Campaign Shines

Maria Thi Mai — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:02:10 -0800

Bikers- Light up! Drivers-Be aware!On November 30th, Sam launched Portland's first Bike Light Parade at the Community Cycling Center. This parade kicked off our winter cycling safety campaign, "See and Be Seen." We brightened up a chilly Alberta Street Last Thursday with an array of bike lights, Christmas lights, reflective gear, glow sticks, and more. Although Sam's bike was bright enough to leave you seeing spots, he had some serious competition in the all of the "Best and the Brightest" contest categories. Any bike that arrived without proper lighting departed with a free set of front and back lights installed by Jeff Bernards, the founder and operator of the Get Lit campaign.

Last night was also the unveiling the "See and Be Seen" campaign logo that will begin showing up around town in mid-December. Tri-met is donating space on bus backs, bus shelters, channel cards, and bench backs for the next 8 weeks. The public service announcement is aimed at both drivers and bikers. The ads mean to remind drivers to ‘see' bikes and bikers to ‘be seen' by lighting up -- a simple concept that can have detrimental consequences if overlooked.Brightly colored cycles of all shapes and sizes rode down Alberta Street for the Bike Light Parade

The campaign has received enthusiastic support from the community. In addition to Tri-met's generous donation of advertising space, PGE, Hoffman Construction, NW Natural Gas, OHSU, and the Alliance for Community Traffic (Acts Oregon) are all sponsors for the public service announcement. Many local bike shops are offering discounts on reflective and winter cycling gear for those who attend "See and Be Seen" events. The BTA, the Community Cycling Center, Shift2bikes, GetLit, and bikeportland.org also deserve a big kudos for their participation and support.

These signs can also be seen inside buses and bus sheltersLook for the "See and Be Seen" advertisements and for more bike light events. And more importantly, keep an eye out for bikes when driving and light up your ride when cycling after dark.

You can learn more about the kickoff by clicking on the "See and Be See" video link on the KOIN News 6 website or through Katu News 2's article on the event.

2006’s 'Month of Mozart' is the Result of an Unprecedented Collaboration; More ‘Months’ to Come

Jesse Beason — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 09:40:22 -0800

Portland is fortunate to have visionary leaders in the arts. We are lucky to have leaders who are collaborating in wonderful ways.

During April and May this year, Portland hosted what could be the beginning of an incredible co-programming and collaboration between local arts organizations. Portland's Month of Mozart began with the creative minds behind Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theatre, WhiteBird and Oregon Symphony.

It blossomed, however, to encompass over a dozen arts organizations--from opera to dance to lecture--celebrating the 250th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

We helped the group secure a donation of billboard space from Clear Channel, worked with the Portland Oregon Visitors Association to lend their expertise and marketing skills, and had the month officially proclaimed Portland's Month of Mozart.

Related Documents

Mayor's Month of Mozart Proclamation

Media Mentions

"Making a 'Month of Mozart',"The Oregonian, April 7

Greetings POVA

Warren Jimenez — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 17:24:42 -0700

Dear Portland Oregon Visitors Association Colleagues,

As you know, I’m excited to work with you as your new Commissioner Liaison beginning Friday, July 1, 2005.

If you don’t already know me, allow me to tell you a little bit about the aspirations I have for myself and my staff. I gravitated to public service because my upbringing exposed me to the important role government can play in helping those in need. Sometimes government serves its citizens well, and sometimes it doesn’t. My mission is to always make it work better.

To quote POVA’s slogan, “It is not easy being green, and we are working hard to keep it that way!” As a Portlander, I am proud of our environmental stewardship, and believe it is one of our greatest attributes. As a former board member, I have a genuine passion for the mission of POVA. Based on my past experience, I also have an understanding of the issues the visitors industry faces. I look forward to working in partnership with you.

Although I encourage humor in the workplace (especially about me), my commitment to public service comes from personal experience; it is something I take very seriously. I tend to work hard and expect a lot of my staff because Portland is truly a great city and its citizens have high expectations. I love my job and I can’t imagine doing anything professionally that is more exhilarating.

I want to invite you and your colleagues to meet me and my staff in an informal setting at my next monthly ‘First Thursday Open House,’ July 7 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m., in my City Hall office, 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 220. We can share beverages, wine and hors d’oeuvres and view the guest artist’s installation.

In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact me or Greg Leiher, Public Liaison, or Warren Jimenez, Senior Policy Director for Jobs and Economic Development by telephone at 503-823-3008.

I have posted this letter on my blog, CommissionerSam.com, and I invite you to publicly post questions and comments in response to this letter.

Thank you for your commitment to the City of Portland.

With warm regards,

Sam