I haven't gone to the Grand Floral Parade since before the pandemic but holy hell, downtown isn't that bad. This is ridiculous.
Also what happened to the fleet that visits every year? 1 Navy ship 2 Canadian Navy ships 3 Coast Guard ships. And the Canadian and Coast Guard ships are really small.
Straight out of Navy boot camp (the Navy's Rose Festival visits having played a HUGE part in my enlistment decision) I was sent to Philadelphia for damage control and fire fighting schools (one of only 4-5 West Coast kids in a class of about 40). Those crusty old petty officer lifer instructors treated most of the class like the lowly boots we were. But once they found out I was from Portland they treated me almost like royalty in general. I got cut all kinds of slack. Back then Portland was, without ANY exaggeration, considered one of the very best liberty ports in the entire world. Sailors NEVER paid for their drinks (or meals) and the sex was legendary (local birth rates actually DID spike 9 months after the Rose Festival). For all those lifers knew, I might have been their bastard son, so maybe that's why they were so nice. But every one of those guys who had experienced Rose Festival appreciated the local hospitality, and I benefitted. It's not just the locals who miss the old Rose Festival days......
That's a great story, thanks for sharing it. It wasn't that long ago when the local strip clubs would have boats on the river with signs and strippers flashing their tatas to the incoming ships.
There's nothing wrong with having the parade on the east side. They had the starlight parade downtown and it was well attended. It seems to me that thousands of people are enjoying the Rose Festival this year and the weather has been mostly good. So please stop trying to rain on the parade!
The Rose Festival Grand Floral did start on the eastside, went down MLK and then wound through downtown. I used to love the sound of the drums as a kid from the marching bands as they echoed off the office buildings when they went by, sounded like thunder. I love downtown Portland. Not having the parade there hurts all of Portland and seems like we've abandoned downtown at a time when we need to introduce Portland's living room to future generations. This is the route in 2018. vs this year.
Are you camping out? Hopefully you score some salt water taffy. Parades aren’t really my thing. The Rockaway parade on 4th of July used to go right past our old beach house. We used to frequent the St John’s parade because it was like a reunion of some sort for my parents. I don’t think I’ve been to a rose festival or star light parade in 30 years though.
My cousin married a Canadian Navy guy that she met at Rose Festival like 30 years ago. They’ve both gained like probably 250lbs each since then and are hermits that don’t get out much
I’ll convince them that it’s unsafe and masked murderer could be there or a lunatic might drive through the crowd. If we do a parade a small one would be better
Yes I know the history of the parade as well as the Rose Festival events. I was a Jr. Rose Prince in the 3rd grade (yes that used to be a thing lol) and rode in the St John's parade. I also love downtown, my office was on Naito Parkway for many years. We could just walk across the street to join the festivities every June, but I don't have a problem with the new parade route - the Lloyd District can use a boost as well as downtown. I went to Benson High School and we'd walk over to the Lloyd Center at lunch and after school. I loved watching the skaters and the food court. But things are evolving and changing - old memories are nice but so is looking forward to new things in the future.
I've been back downtown a handful of times since 2020. It's nothing like the late 90s going into 2016, where I always felt safe, but it is slowly trending back to somewhat that area. Long way to go, but it's not as bad as it was even just a couple years ago. We just need competent and caring political leaders, to which there aren't any.
