Recent Successes

Holiday Ale Festival

Thousands of beer lovers huddled together at the Square for the 12th annual Holiday Ale Festival! With over 36 seasonal ales to try, the crowd stayed warm as they packed in the heated tents in Portland's living room. This year's selection ranged from Imperial IPAs, Belgians and Barley Wines to Winter Warmers, Scotch Ales and Stouts, plus a Root beer Garden for the children to enjoy! For more information on the event, please click here.

tree Lighting Ceremony Presented by SmartPark

More than 20,000 people braved the chilly temperatures and gathered at the Square for the 23rd annual Tree Lighting Ceremony Presented by SmartPark during one of the busiest days in downtown! Mayor Potter, Santa Claus, along with KGW NewsChannel 8 and KINK.fm emcees helped ring in the holiday season with the lighting of the 75-foot tall Douglas-fir tree. The Portland Jazz Orchestra and Valerie Day led the crowd in a community sing-along to everyone's favorite holiday jingles, as Starbucks' Surprise and Delight team helped warm the crowd with free Starbucks coffee samples. For more information on this year's Tree Lighting Ceremony and the day after Thanksgiving downtown, click here.

This winter season at Pioneer Courthouse Square Presented by SmartPark is brought to you with the generous support of the following sponsors: KeyBank, Macy's, Pioneer Place, Cricket, Stimson Lumber Co., TriMet, KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8, KINK.fm, the Portland Tribune, Starbucks, Campbell Crane, Lasko Printing, PBA/ PDSI Holiday Lighting Program and Sunbelt Rentals.

Stimson Lumber tree ARrival PResented by SmartPark

For the fifth year in a row, Stimson Lumber generously donated this year's 75-foot tall Douglas-fir! The tree procession began at the south end of SW Sixth Avenue and made it's way through downtown Portland before arriving at the Square to an anxious crowd. Free Starbucks coffee and chocolate chip cookies were passed out to the crowd, while Stimson Lumber, Campbell Crane and the City of Portland Parks and Urban Forestry Division helped to erect the tree. For more information on the this year's Tree Arrival, click here.

Urban Adventure Race
Oregon Active hosted the first annual Urban Adventure Race at the Square! This exciting event, sent participants on a scavenger hunt throughout Portland with clues and challenges. All proceeds of this event went to benefiting young cancer survivors. The winning team of Matt Petrone, Hugh Holtman and Nick Klein took home the bragging rights and a check for $1,500! They were also generous enough to donate a portion of the prize money back to the Oregon Active Foundation. For more information on this event and other Oregon Active adventures, click here.

SQUARE NEWS

Holiday ARtisan Market - December 4-6, 11-13

Get a start on your shopping this holiday season at the Holiday Artisan Market sponsored by the Portland Saturday Market! For the fourth year in a row, local artists and vendors alike will fill the Square for 6 days this season offering arts, crafts, jewelry and homemade holiday goodies! This year's vendors include B~Originals Artglass, Bella Vista jewelry, Custom Fleece Hats, Howling Wolf Art Glass, Wabi Jewelry, Moondrops (cinnamon roasted nuts), Plywerk photography, Yed Omi jewelry and many more! For more information on this event, please visit the Portland Saturday Market website by clicking here.

tuba christmas presented by smartpark - Saturday, December 15th

Tuba enthusiasts, music lovers, and all of those last minute shoppers will rejoice in the melodic sounds of big brass at the 17th Annual Tuba Christmas Concert at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Conducted by Dr. John Richards, former Principal Tubist of the Oregon Symphony, Tuba Christmas is a holiday favorite with over 200 tubas performing songs of the season as well as a crowd sing-along. Join in this annual tradition during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season in the heart of Downtown!

Tuba Christmas is open to any interested tuba, euphonium or baritone player who wishes to participate in the event. To pre-register to play an instrument in the Tuba Christmas Concert, please contact Stacey Harrington or call 503.223.1613. Musicians may also register in person the day of the event at the Lincoln High School cafeteria, 1600 SW Salmon Street, between 9:00AM and 10:00AM on Saturday, December 15th, 2007.

For more information on Tuba Christmas or other events throughout the season visit www.pioneercourthousesquare.org or pick up a Downtown Event Guide & Songbook at Portland’s Visitor Information Center, Downtown Starbucks locations, Pioneer Place, Portland area Macy’s, SmartPark garages, the Portland Mall Info Center along with Cricket and KeyBank retail locations.

The Square's Online Gift Shop - now open!
Now, just in time for the holidays, ordering online at www.pioneercourthousesquare.org is easier than ever. At the Square’s new Online Gift Shop shoppers can order personalized bricks, books showcasing public spaces and the ever-popular classic black ‘Allow me’ umbrella. The site also includes note cards featuring art pieces found at the Square and will soon serve as host of an online image gallery for architectural and event photography.

experience the magic downtown!

Be sure to visit the following downtown retailers for holiday fun this season!

Pioneer Place
It’s Snowing in Pioneer Place! Experience the magic of the holiday season as you walk through a winter wonderland at the Square’s neighbor to the East, Pioneer Place. Each evening through Christmas Eve, snow will gracefully fall in the Rotunda and Atrium at 6pm for all to enjoy while holiday shopping. While you’re enjoying the snow, stop by for a visit with Santa and let him know what’s on your wish list! Santa will be available for photos Monday - Saturday: 11am - 8pm and Sundays: 11am - 6pm. Also, don’t miss your opportunity to have your pet’s picture taken this year with Santa! Paws ‘N Claus will be going on at Pioneer Place December 4th and 9th.

This season Pioneer Place will also host a variety of holiday performances which include the classical ensemble of Collage Music, the infamous Dickens Carolers, acoustic musician Eric Skye, and many more! For a full schedule of this season’s performances at Pioneer Place, click here.

Macy's

Santaland, the magical holiday wonderland at Macy's, is going on now! Photos with Santa will be available daily through December 24th at Santaland, located in the lower level of the downtown Macy's store. The famous Monorail will also be on display and will be available for family photo opportunities. See below for Santaland dates and times:

Now through December 13: 10am – 8pm, Sundays: 11am – 7pm
December 14 - 23: 9am – 9pm
December 24: 8am – 5pm

For more information on Santaland, please call: 503-248-5415

TRUSTEE MEETING CALENDAR

Facilities Committee
Thursday, January 10th 8:30am
Pioneer Courthouse Square

Executive Committee
Thursday, December 13th 8:30am

Pioneer Courthouse Square

Board of Trustees Quarterly meeting
Tuesday, January 29th 11:30am
Hilton Portland & Executive Tower

Harriet Beal Cormack; Helen Blair Day, ACME Business Consulting; Julia Brim-Edwards, Nike, Inc.; Dr. Kim Burchiel, Oregon Health and Science University; Thomas Corry, Bank of America; Wayne Drinkward, Hoffman Construction; Matthew J. Felton, Felton Properties, Inc.; Paul Frisch, U.S. Bancorp Equipment Finance, Inc.; Paul Fry, KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8; Joyce Furman; Brad Hutton, Hilton Hotels Corporation; J.E. Isaac, Portland Trail Blazers; Philip A. Kalberer, The Kalberer Company; Sharon Kitzhaber, Kitzhaber Communications; Kevin Kohnstamm, The Party Pros; Peter A. Krainock, American Water Works International; J.Douglas Macy, Walker Macy; Steven S. Maxwell, KeyBank; R. Scott Montgomery, Sequoia Development Co.; Chet Orloff, Oregon History Works; Tim Parks, Ball Janik LLP; William Peressini, Stimson Lumber Co.; Allyson Reed, Gray & Associates; Wanda Rosenbarger, Lloyd Center; Commissioner Dan Saltzman, City of Portland; Chief Rosanne Sizer, Portland Police Bureau; Gordon Sondland, The Aspen Companies; Patrick F. Stickel, The Oregonian; Vanessa Sturgeon, TMT Development; John Svilarich, Volkswagen of America Inc.; Kerry Tymchuk, Senator Gordon Smith's Office; John von Schlegell, Endeavour Capital; Mary Wilcox, Capital Realty Corp.; Mark Zertanna, Macy's Northwest

HONORARY
Stanley Geffen, Geffen Mesher & Co.; Greg Goodman, City Center Parking; Steve Janik, Ball Janik LLP; Melvin Mark, Jr., Melvin Mark Companies (Founding President); Tom Moyer, TMT Development Co.; Doug Obletz, Shiels Obletz Johnsen, Inc.; John Russell, Russell Development; The Rev. Stephen Schneider, Grace Memorial Episcopal Church; David Zier, Melvin Mark Companies