Recent Successes

tba:07 kick off

The 2007 Time-Based Art Festival, put on by the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA), officially kicked off at the Square! Renowned composer and singer Rinde Eckert led hundreds of Portlanders in a joyful sing-a-long concert! For more information on this PICA event, click here.

Wendy's great taste tour

Wendy's visited Portland on their Great Taste Tour and spent the afternoon at the Square giving away 1,000 hamburgers to those visiting the Square at lunchtime! Along with the free burgers, Wendy's also gave away coupons for free burgers at local Wendy's restaurants!

saving lives benefit concert

The Saving Lives Benefit Concert raised money for the OHSU Cancer Research Institute. This Labor Day weekend event featured Linda Hornbuckle & Friends, Ill Fated Hero, The Light, Riny Horst and many other great acts.

street praise

Venee Outreach Ministries was onsite at the Square to provide a Christian musical event for all to enjoy. This event promoted cultural, denominational and ethnic unity through music.

singing in the square

Talent For Africa presented their first annual Singing in the Square event. Singers and musicians alike came to the Square to show off their talents and raise money for Open Arms International. 40-60 people participated in this competition and the selected winner won studio recording time!

festa italiana

The Festa Italiana Association returned to the Square this year to hold the annual Festa Italiana event. This festival included Italian food, music and dancing, a grape stomp, raffles and lots of family fun. Thousands visited the Square to enjoy Portland's premiere Italian cultural event!

oregon state fair kick-off

For the 4th year in a row, the Oregon State Fair held a kick-off event at the Square to welcome visitors with food sampling, entertainment and interactive games during lunch time. Attendees to this event also enjoyed a medieval-style jousting demonstration complete with knights on horses. For more information and details on the 2007 Oregon State Fair, click here.

india festival

This year’s India Festival celebrated the Indian culture and heritage by bringing a full day of live music, dancing, food and entertainment to the heart of downtown. Pioneer Courthouse Square was filled with the tastes, sights and sounds of India which brought over 7,000 attendees to join in the festivities. For more information on this event, click here.

electric vehicle awareness day

A variety of electric and hybrid vehicles took part in this great event at the Square as visitors dropped by to browse through the display. Representatives from The Oregon Electric Vehicle Association were onsite handing out brochures and answering questions from visitors. To see pictures from this event, click here.

chalk it up for literacy

The fifth annual Chalk It Up For Literacy event returned to the Square this summer for the second year in a row. During this free family-friendly event, local artists created chalk art to promote literacy and raise funds for Oregon Literacy, Inc. (OLI) program and services. Commissioner Sam Adams was onsite and spoke at the event.

Mayor's tailgate party 2007

The City of Hermiston returned to the Square this year to hold the 17th annual Mayor’s Tailgate Party. During this event, Hermiston’s Mayor Bob Severson, Portland Parks Commissioner Dan Saltzman and other City dignitaries competed in a watermelon seed spitting contest. This year's contest winner was the returning champion, Hermiston City Councilor Jackie Meyers who spit her seed 22 feet! In addition to the seed spitting contest, attendees enjoyed a variety of free produce which was generously donated by the farmers of Hermiston. To read more on this event, click here.

SQUARE NEWS

Noon tunes summer concert series presented by volkswagen

This summer's Noon Tunes Concert Series was generously presented by Volkswagen and would not have been possible without the support of Red Bull North America, KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8, KINK.fm, TriMet and the Portland Tribune.

This year's series provided Portland's downtown community with 14 FREE noontime concerts throughout July and August. Thousands of concert goers gathered each Tuesday and Thursday at the Square to enjoy their lunch and listen to the sounds of many talented musicians such as the Free Will Band, Patrick Lamb, Stephanie Schneiderman and Johnette Napolitano, former lead singer of Concrete Blonde.

Band selection for this annual summer series is conducted in cooperation with our local music partner KINK.fm. If you are interested in performing as part of the 2008 Noon Tunes Summer Concert Series please submit a media kit to: Noon Tunes 2008/ 715 SW Morrison Street, Ste. 702 / Portland, OR 97205 or contact Pioneer Courthouse Square's Production Director at 503.223.1613.

Flicks on the bricks outdoor movie series presented by smartpark

Flicks on the Bricks Presented by Smart Park recently wrapped up its fifth season of FREE outdoor movies & popcorn on warm summer nights. On five Friday nights throughout July and August movie goers had the opportunity to truly make the Square their living room by bringing out their favorite comfy chair to enjoy a night at the movies under the stars. Free popcorn was provided for the first 2,000 attendees each Friday night by Cricket Wireless.

As planning ensues for the 2008 season please send your family-friendly movie recommendations to Via Hersholt in Pioneer Courthouse Square's Administrative office.

The Flicks on the Bricks Outdoor Movie Series was generously presented by SmartPark and would not have been possible without the support of the following sponsors: Red Bull North America, The Portland Clinic, Volkswagen, Cricket Wireless, LIVESTRONG Challenge, TriMet, KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8, KINK.fm, the Portland Tribune and Comcast.

Red Bull Illume 

In August downtown Portland served as one of the internationally selected locales for the Red Bull Illume Exhibit Tour. This first of its kind photography exhibition, displayed on three blocks of SW Sixth Avenue for ten consecutive evenings, attracted more than 50,000 visitors. The fifty breathtaking images on display as part of this exhibit turned Portland's urban core into a unique outdoor gallery for the entire community to enjoy.

This massive undertaking would not have been made possible without the cooperative efforts and hard work of the City of Portland, TriMet, Portland Mall Management, Inc., the Portland Mall Construction Team and the Square's downtown neighbors. The collaborative effort and vision provided by each of these organizations - to bring life to this event - was phenomenal.

Red Bull Illume Exhibit Tour will next be on display in Mexico City, Mexico. For information and imagery on this event, click here.

Senior Prom presented by spirit mountain casino
For nearly two decades, senior citizens have been enjoying an afternoon of fun and romance at Oregon 's largest FREE social event for seniors. This year's Senior Prom Presented by Spirit Mountain Casino drew more then 2,000 seniors who kicked up their heels to the big band sounds of “The Kansas Rhythm Kings”. Along with an afternoon of dancing, attendees enjoyed FREE food, prize giveaways, photos, everlasting memories and a chance to be crowned King or Queen of the Prom.

The 2007 Senior Prom was generously presented by Spirit Mountain Casino and brought to the community through the support of the following sponsors: Calaroga Terrace, Portland Tribune, Comcast, Sunny KKAD, Northwest Senior News and the Portland Ice Cream Company.

The LIVESTRONG Challenge is coming back to Portland!

The LIVESTRONG Challenge means something different to everyone.  What does it mean to you?  Now is your chance to decide.  The Lance Armstrong Foundation's LIVESTRONG Challenge is coming to Portland  on September 29-30 and we want you on our team.  Walk or run in the Community 5k or challenge yourself to a 10-, 40-, 70- or 100-mile ride.  Register today at www.livestrongchallenge.org.

The LIVESTRONG Challenge participated as a sponsor in this summer's Flicks on the Bricks Outdoor Movie Series presented by SmartPark.

PUBLIC SPACE PARTNERS

Pioneer Courthouse Square has generously lent support to the following organizations in the research, development and revitalization of public spaces:

City of Seattle

Seattle, WA

Portland Development Commission

Portland, OR

Trust for Public Lands

Minneapolis, MN

Robert Gatje, Architect/Author

Paris, France

We wish these organizations great success and look forward to on-going partnerships with them!

TRUSTEE MEETING CALENDAR

Facilities Committee
Thursday, September 13th 8:30am
Pioneer Courthouse Square

Executive Committee
Thursday, September 20th 8:30am

Pioneer Courthouse Square

Board of Trustees Quarterly meeting
Tuesday, October 30th 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