Jamie Hale/staff

With "Let's Festival" as its theme, the 2019 Portland Rose Festival signals that it's time to pave the way for summer, get your rose on, break out your folding lawn chair and find your spot on the parade routes that snake through the city for the festival's 112th year.



The celebration starts May 24 and keeps going long after the Rose Festival Court queen is crowned and the Fleet Week ships take off from the Portland waterfront.



This year, the Rose Festival's official charity is Meals on Wheels People, who for almost 50 years, with the help of 400 volunteers a day serve 5,000 meals a week to folks in Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties. Watch for Meals on Wheels People's Precision Ladle Drill Team in both the Starlight and Grand Floral parades.



Here's your annual guide to the celebrations, from parades and boat races to neighborhood block parties.



You'll also find up-to-date information at oregonlive.com/rosefest.

Don't Edit

Beth Nakamura/staff

CityFair

The annual celebration will take over Tom McCall Waterfront Park for three weekends starting May 24. The waterfront party will tackle a different theme on each weekend: superheroes and video games, May 24-27; sci-fi and video games, May 31-June 2; and fairytales, June 7-9.



As always, the fair will feature carnival rides, live music, games and food booths galore. Returning this year are virtual scavenger hunts, "Kids, Clowns and Characters" day, and Pokemon Go. Other fun attractions include aerial-act performances, a silent disco and a ukulele jam, just to name a few. Some rainproof activities under covered spaces and tents -- the Widmer Brothers Side Bar, the Chloe Cabana and the Game-On Arcade -- will keep you dry.



Along with fair favorite foods, tasty festive treats worth a try are artisanal cotton candy, lobster nachos, Boba tea, and fruit fries.



The Rose Festival Museum will display artifacts and memorabilia relating to the history of the 112-year-old celebration. Special this year is a display from the Portland Japanese Garden, in honor of the Portland-Sapporo Sister City Association's 60th anniversary.



Some other things to keep in mind:

The Rose Festival 2019 Souvenir Pin is a season pass — the pin is $10 at select Fred Meyer stores, the Rose Garden Store and the Portland Rose Festival Foundation Office in the Rose Building, while supplies last.

Admission is free for kids 6 and under and for veterans, reservists, and active military with a valid military ID.

And gate admission is free from 3 to 5 p.m. May 31 and June 7.



Various times May 24-27, May 31-June 2, June 7-9; Tom McCall Waterfront Park; $5 online in advance and $8 at the gate; rosefestival.org/waterfront/city-fair

Don't Edit

Joel Davis/staff

Fireworks

This year’s fireworks celebration will start at the RoZone on the Lanphere Auto Group Stage at 7:30 p.m. May 24, with a concert by Andre Marc and Hit Machine, followed by an encore by Hit Machine immediately after the fireworks display.

Fireworks start at 9:50 p.m. May 24. Tom McCall Waterfront Park; $8 admission to CityFair, but the display can be seen all along the Portland waterfront; rosefestival.org/event/opening-night-fireworks

Don't Edit

Thomas Boyd/staff

City Fair

CityFair will host one or more musical acts to close out each night, the majority of which are free to watch with the $8 admission to the carnival. (Exceptions noted below.) Here’s what you can expect:

Swing, sway and groove on May 25 as DJ Doc Rock opens the show at 7 p.m. and Sir Mix-A-Lot takes the stage around 8 p.m.

Classic Summer Night will rock with Stone in Love, a Journey tribute, and Eagle Eyes, The Eagles tribute at 7 p.m. May 31.

Disciple.Takeover returns at 5 p.m. June 1 and features Modestep live, a DJ set with Fox Stevenson, LUMBERJVCK, MVRDA and BANDLEZ. Tickets: $15 advance, $20 day of the show.

Starting at 3 p.m. June 2, CountryFest will feature LOCASH, Uncle Kracker, Jordan Davis, HARDY, Dillon Carmichael and Britnee Kellogg. Tickets: $28 advance, $32 day of the show.

Roots & Boots 90s Electric Throwdown is slated for 6 p.m. June 8 with Sammy Kershaw, Aaron Tippin and Collin Raye presenting an evening filled with stories and songs as they get back to the roots of their music. Tickets: $28 advance, $32 day of the show, $45 reserved seating.

More information: rosefestival.org/music/rozone-concert-series





2019 Portland Open Disc Golf Pro Tour Tournament

At the 2019 Portland Open, one of 10 yearly Disc Golf Pro Tour events, the best disc golfers in the world will compete in a three-round tournament playing one round a day on Memorial Day weekend. Food, drink and festival games will also be offered.



Various times May 25-27; Blue Lake Disc Golf Course, 20500 N.E. Marine Drive, Fairview; $5 for parking; portlandopendg.com

Don't Edit

Mark Graves/staff

Starlight Run and Parade

June 1 is a big night for downtown Portland as the Starlight coincides with the Portland Timbers’ home opener. The Starlight festivities begin at 5:45 p.m. with a costume contest with a “Let’s Festival!” theme followed by a 3.1-mile fun run, along a new route and starting at a new time, 7 p.m. The run will start near Morrison Street at Naito Parkway, go north, then turn up Southwest Harvey Milk Street and join the Starlight Parade route at Fourth Avenue. Runners will follow the parade route up to 14th Avenue, where they will loop around Lincoln High School and race down to Burnside, then to Fourth Avenue and back to Southwest Harvey Milk Street returning to Naito Parkway. All runners receive a medal and enjoy free access to CityFair after the race.

The Starlight Parade offers funky electric fun for everyone as it snakes through downtown streets before disbanding at Lincoln High School (see accompanying map for full route). David Bailey, retired Lincoln High School teacher, is grand marshal for the evening’s procession. This year’s parade will feature approximately 100 illuminated entries along the 2.25-mile route.



Run: Costume party at 5:45 p.m., race at 7 p.m. June 1; Naito Parkway and Morrison; run $5-$25. Register at

Parade: 8:30-11 p.m., June 1; downtown Portland; free; rosefestival.org/event/starlight-parade

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Stephanie Yao Long/staff

The Junior Parade

The Fred Meyer Junior Parade runs down Northeast Sandy Boulevard starting at Northeast 52nd Avenue. Along with dance teams and elementary and middle school marching bands, children from all over Portland are invited to join the parade dressed in costume with their flower-decorated bikes and wagons.

.

Junior Parade entries will get a chance for last-minute float-fixes at an onsite decoration station in the formation area, with decor provided by the Rose Festival Foundation and the Portland Trail Blazers.

1 p.m. June 5; Hollywood District, Northeast 52nd and Sandy; free;

rosefestival.org/event/junior-parade

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Fleet Week

As always, the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy will show off a handful of vessels during the second weekend of the Rose Festival. The full roster of ships and schedule for tours haven’t been finalized, but look for the Coast Guard legacy ships to roll in June 5, tide permitting, around 3 p.m. The U.S. Navy and Royal Canadian Navy ships will follow 24 hours later. The vessels will line the waterfront from the Morrison Bridge to the Steel Bridge. Ships depart June 10 from Portland.

Various times June 5-9; Tom McCall Waterfront Park; free; rosefestival.org/event/fleet-week

Don't Edit

Beth Nakamura/staff

The Rose Show

Take time to smell the roses as The Portland Rose Society celebrates 130 years of service, showcasing more than 4,000 blooms that pay tribute to the organization’s earliest days in Georgiana Pittock’s hilltop garden. By the way, this year’s official rose is Sun Shower, a bushy Floribunda with apricot, yellow and pink fade-resistant petals.

1-9 p.m. June 6 and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. June 7; Lloyd Center; free; rosefestival.org/event/rose-show





Rose Festival Art Show

At the 37th Rose Festival Art Show, artists’ works incorporate a rose- or “Let’s Festival!”-theme in honor of the festival.

1-4 p.m. June 2-24; free; Oregon Society of Artists, 2185 S.W. Park;

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Jamie Hale/staff

Queen's Coronation and Grand Floral Parade

The Rose Festival's Grand Floral Parade will kick off at 10 a.m. June 8 following the coronation of this year's queen at 8:30 a.m. To view the coronation, you can purchase a ticket to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and then watch the Grand Floral Walk and the Grand Floral Parade come through, all from the comfort of a climate-controlled indoor seat.



With 12 floats, 13 marching bands and 15 equestrian units, new entries will include Meals on Wheels Portland, Greenbriar Gunderson, Good in the Hood, St. Johns and Sapporo, Japan. The Reser's Fine Foods float will feature a giant beehive and several buzzing bees; the marching Rosie the Riveters tradeswomen will return; and this year it's the United States Air Force's turn to show off an elite group, the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard and Drill Team.



The four-mile route remains the same as last year, and the same general guidelines apply to save a sidewalk spot, as well:



Camping out on the sidewalk is allowed only the evening before the parade. Tents need to be packed up by 6:30 a.m. parade day. You'll need a warm body to reserve a spot. Duct tape, chalk, rope or empty lawn chair won't cut it. Wheelchair-accessible seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis on parade day at Pioneer Courthouse Square.



After the parade, floats will be parked at the Grand Floral Float Showcase on Southwest Naito Parkway next to CityFair until 10 p.m. They'll also be on display from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 9.



8:30 a.m. coronation; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. parade, June 8; Veterans Memorial Coliseum and across Portland; $15-$30 for indoor seating at coliseum, $25-$30 for reserved outdoor bleachers, free otherwise;

and

rosefestival.org/event/grand-floral-parade

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Mark Graves/staff

Dragon Boat Races

More than 60 teams will compete in colorful boats provided by the Portland-Kaohsiung Sister City Association. Twenty paddlers in each boat will push anywhere from 60 to 90 strokes a minute as they race down the Willamette River.

8 a.m.-5 p.m. June 8-9; Tom McCall Waterfront Park along the Willamette near the Hawthorne Bridge; free; rosefestival.org/event/dragon-boat-race

Don't Edit

Ross William Hamilton/staff

Good in the Hood Festival and Parade

Now in its 27th year, this annual multicultural festival will include live music, a marketplace, kids' space and, of course, a parade, this year led by 1980 Rose Festival Queen Robin Marks.

Parade, 11 a.m. June 22. Festival, various times, June 21-23; King School Park, Northeast Sixth Avenue and Humboldt Street; free;

Don't Edit

Mark Graves/staff

Milk Carton Boat Race

Racers find the most creative ways to paddle along the Willamette River in their own contraptions made of recycled milk cartons and jugs. Contestants will compete in nine categories, and entry is free.

11 a.m. June 23; Westmoreland Casting Pond, Southeast. McLoughlin Boulevard and Bybee Boulevard; free; rosefestival.org/event/milk-carton-boat-race

-- Christine Davis

Don't Edit