Santaland
December 19, 2009 by Leigh Anne
Filed under places to see
You can find Santa or one of his helpers hanging out in just about every mall in America this time of year waiting to greet you and hear what you want for Christmas.
If you want to visit the REAL Santa though, you’re in luck! You can find him right here in Portland!
For the last 25 years our family has been visiting Santa at Santaland in downtown Portland. Santaland is now located in the basement of Macy’s. Gone are the good old days when Santaland occupied the 10th floor of Meier & Frank and you could ride the monorail around the ceiling!
It was a sad day for our children when they grew too tall to ride!
Although the monorail no longer circles the ceiling of the 10th floor you can visit the monorail museum downstairs in Macy’s.
That is also where you will find Santa! He is only there through 4 p.m. Christmas Eve, Dec. 24th. See their website for hours.
So if you haven’t given Santa your list yet hurry on downtown!
Peacock Lane
December 14, 2009 by Leigh Anne
Filed under places to see
On Friday we gave you a list of places around Portland to view holiday light displays .
I have to admit that my favorite on that list is Peacock Lane, a Portland tradition since the 1920’s! Our family has been visiting Peacock Lane for 23 years. It use to be a quick trip, just a few blocks away, when we lived over in Southeast Portland. Now we have to drive a little farther and cross the river but it’s worth it.
We love that quaint little street full of Tudor style homes, each one elaborately decorated! I use to dream about how fun it would be to live in one of those cute little houses! Peacock Lane is nestled in between SE Belmont and Stark, right off of Laurelhurst Park.
You can drive down the street to view the lights but we always park in the Walgreen’s parking alot across the street and walk. There is also a horse drawn carriage you can hire for your ride too!
The lights on Peacock Lane are on and will continue to shine through Dec. 31st. Check out the Peacock Lane Neighborhood Association website for times, directions and a map.
FYI Friday – Holiday Light Display
December 11, 2009 by Leigh Anne
Filed under places to see
Today’s FYI Friday list is full of places in Portland to check out holiday light displays. There are lots!
As we mentioned earlier in the week there is:
Festival of Lights – The Grotto
Shilo Inn – right off Hwy 26 on the way to the beach, near the Cedar Hills Blvd. exit. With over 100,000 lights it’s hard to miss! Light display through New Year’s Eve.
Queen Anne Victorian Mansion - located at 1441 N. McClellan St. is open daily from 6-10 p.m. and runs form Dec. 12-27th. The Queen Anne is a 5,500 square foot mansion built in the 1880’s with 2.5 million lights -that’s a lot of lights!! It is an amazing home and display of lights. The home is also open for tours.
Pittock Mansion - another beautiful Portland landmark located in the West Hills of Portland is 16,000 square feet! This year’s theme is “Tinsel, Trees & Traditions: 150 Years of Christmas.” The mansion is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Jan. 3 except for Christmas Day. This display is not so much lights as it is beautiful Christmas decor! Admission: $5-8.00. 503-823-3623
Peacock Lane- A personal favorite of our family as we use to live just a few blocks from there. Peacock Lane is located between Stark and Belmont in Southeast Portland, just a block east of 39th Ave. (Take the 39th street exit off of the Banfield Freeway and head south on 39th) Open from Dec. 14 through the 31st from 6 -11p.m. You can drive or stroll down the street or take a horse drawn carriage ride! Every Tudor style home on the street is decorated. Peacock Lane has been around since 1920 – don’t miss this one!
Christmas Ships – The Christmas Ships have been floating the Willamette and Columbia Rivers since the 1950’s. The schedule of the boats is different each night so be sure and check their schedule for where they will be when and the best place to view. It is a beautiful parade of holiday lights. Bundle up as it can be cold down by the river. The boats parade through Dec. 20th.
Winter Wonderland at the Portland International Raceway – stay nice and warm in your car to view this display of holiday lights. It is the largest animated light show in the Northwest – a drive through movie of holiday lights! The display is open through Dec. 27th opening at 5 p.m. Check out their website for more details. The Raceway is out near the Portland Expo Center at 1940 N. Victory Blvd. Admission is by the car so be sure your car is full of family and friends.
Washington Park Zoo Lights
December 8, 2009 by Leigh Anne
Filed under places to see
You are going to need to bundle up for this outing!
A visit to the Washington Park Zoo Lights is worth it though. Zoo lights runs from Nov. 27 through Jan. 3rd and is closed Dec. 24th and 25th. Be sure and check out their website for times and admission fees.
Visiting the zoo after dark with 200 animals made out of lights is a magical experience. You will see monkeys swing through trees, leaping frogs, flying bats, and diving penguins. Soime of the real animals will be available for viewing also.
Local musical groups perform nightly and you will be able to meet Rudolph, some of Santa’s elves and other animal characters. And don’t forget to take a ride on the train to view even more!!
Bundle up to enjoy the zoo transformed into a magical winter wonderland filled with millions of lights.
For a little preview of what you’ll see check this out.
Two Portland Christmas Classics
December 7, 2009 by Leigh Anne
Filed under places to see
Tinsel, Trees & Traditions at Pittock Mansion
Celebrating 150 years of festivities, the Pittock Mansion is all dressed up for the holidays. Browse rooms decorated for the season; displays of holiday music, food, and traditions. For more information on pricing and the free holiday shuttle, visit them here.
Christmas ships parade
A Portland tradition, hosted by boat captain volunteers along the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Fifty plus boats decorated in festive lights, march down the river in a procession each night from December 9-20th. A magical event for the whole family! Make reservations early at any of the great restaurants along the waterfront, to ensure a cozy V.I.P. view of the spectacle! For more information on this family favorite, please visit them here.
Christmas Festival of Lights – The Grotto
December 3, 2009 by Leigh Anne
Filed under places to see
If you are having a hard time getting in the holiday spirit, a visit to the Grotto should take care of that!
The Grotto is a 62 acre Catholic shrine and botanical garden located at NE 85th and Sandy Boulevard in Portland and each year hosts an annual Christmas Festival of Lights. This will be their 22nd year.
The Festival of Lights runs from Nov.27 through Dec. 30th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and the gates close at 10 p.m. There is an admission fee of $7.50 for adults, children ages 3-12 are $3 with children 2 and under free.
For more information or a group rate check out their website.
The Festival of Lights features over 1/2 a million lights as well as a petting zoo, puppet shows, Grotto Carolers and outdoor theatrical performances. They are also the host to the largest Choral festival in the Pacific Northwest with over 140 indoor holiday music concerts. Local choral groups perform nightly in the beautiful Chapel of Mary which has amazing acoustics!
We’ll be there Dec.10th when the Westvew High School choir will be singing at 9 p.m.!
If you have never visited the Grotto at the holidays it is definitely worth the trip and a great way to get in the holiday spirit!
The Festival of Nativities
November 30, 2009 by Leigh Anne
Filed under places to see
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is putting on their 9th annual Festival of Nativities. Browse hundreds of nativity displays, enjoy live holiday performances and crafts for the kids!
Thursday, December 3rd – Saturday, December 6th
12 pm – 9 pm
admission is free
10509 SE 5th Street Vancouver WA, 98664
To learn more about this festive holiday tradition for the whole family, visit the festival here!
FYI Friday – Nov. 20th
November 20, 2009 by Leigh Anne
Filed under places to see
From the looks of all the fun things going on around town the holiday season has kicked into full gear!! There is no shortage of fun family activities!
Our family’s favorite thing to do over the Thanksgiving holiday is go to the movies together. There are lots of fun ones to choose from.
If you’ve got a female tween or teen I’m sure New Moon will be on the list (if you weren’t at the midnight premiere with my daughter and I!) Check your newspaper for current shows and times.
For a more active outing next week you might want to join the Turkey Trot at the Zoo. A four mile fun run/walk which starts at the World Forestry Center and ends at the Oregon Zoo. A great way to burn off a few calories on Thanksgiving day before all that eating commences! Thursday, Nov. 26th, 9:30 a.m. There is also a half mile “tot trot” which starts and finishes at the zoo. See website for entrance fees etc.
There is also lots of live theater, music and dance going on and coming up soon.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Oregon Children’s Theater. Oct. 31 - Nov. 22 at the Portland Center for Performing Arts, Newmark Theater, 1111 SW Broadway, Tickets range from $13-24.00
Rumpelstiltskin – Tears of Joy Theater. Friday, Nov. 13 through Nov. 29th., Portland Center for the Performing Arts, Dolores Winningstad Theater, 1111 SW Broadway. Tickets available through Ticketmaster. Tickets are from $14-16.00.
Aladdin performed by Southridge High School, 9625 SW 125th Ave., Beaverton. Tickets are $8.00 at the door. Showtimes are Fri., Nov. 20th at 7 p.m. and Sat., Nov. 21st at 2 and 7 p.m.
Beauty and the Beast is a Black Swan Youth Theater production. Fri., Nov. 21st at 7 p.m., Sat., Nov. 22nd at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Carver School, 16077 SE Highway 224, Damascus, Tickets are $6 – 7.
Fiddler on the Roof is being perfromed at Gresham High School at 7 p.m. Fri – Sat., Nov. 20-21st. The high school is located at 1200 N. Main Ave., Gresham. Tickets are $8-12.00. 503-674-5516
Plan ahead and get your tickets now:
Portland Center Stage will be putting on A Christmas Carol from Nov. 24 – Dec. 27th in the beautiful Gerding Theatre at the Armory, located at 128 NW Eleventh Avenue, Portland, OR.
The Portland Ballet will present La Boutique Fantasque or “The Enchanted Toyshop” along with the PSU Symphony Orchestra. This ballet will be performed downtown at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts in the Newmark Theater the weekend after Thanksgiving – Nov. 27 & 29, 111 SW Broadway. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster for $10-40.00.
Tree Lighting at Pioneer Square
November 18, 2009 by Leigh Anne
Filed under places to see
Thanksgiving plans are probably in full swing at your house. They are at ours!
One thing to put on your list for the day after Thanksgiving, in addition to some great shopping, is the Tree Lighting at Pioneer Square.
One of the sure signs that the holiday season has officially begun in the Portland area is the lighting of the 75 foot tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square the day after Thanksgiving.
Large crowds gather to see the lighting of this spectacular tree so go early if you want a good view!
Remember it gets dark early now and the tree lighting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. It would be the perfect end to a day of shopping downtown. Just grab yourself a nice warm beverage and join in the fun.
There will be music and maybe even a special visitor! A great way to kick off the season!
A perfect activity to do with any relatives/friends that may be visiting for the holiday – show them beautiful downtown Portland.
Holiday Theater
November 11, 2009 by Leigh Anne
Filed under places to see
Today we’ve got some more fun holiday events that will be happening in the Portland area during the holiday season! Plan now so you won’t miss out on these wonderful family theater experiences!
Portland Center Stage will be putting on A Christmas Carol from Nov. 24 – Dec. 27th in the beautiful Gerding Theatre at the Armory, located at 128 NW Eleventh Avenue, Portland, OR 97209.
The Armory building, the last historic building to be rebuilt in The Pearl District Brewery Block, was originally built in 1891 by Multnomah County and was home to the Oregon National Guard. It is a beautiful and historic building and a unique venue for a theater.
Already a Portland holiday tradition, this original adaptation by Mead Hunter asks the timely and reflective questions: What do you value most? And is it what’s truly important? At the holiday season, renew your answers to these essential questions alongside Tiny Tim, Ebenezer Scrooge and a sleigh full of ghosts and magical creatures as we remount this warm and engaging adaptation of the Dickens classic. In this version, Scrooge’s nephew Fred stands in for the spirit of the season, expressing what we all love about the story when he says to Scrooge; “[This] is a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely.”
The show runs about 90 minutes – a perfect amount for those little ones! Tickets can be purchased by visiting their website.
Center Stage offers high quality family entertainment in a beautiful and unique setting.
Taking place in their smaller, more intimate Ellen Bye Studio Theater is The Santaland Diaries. This show runs from Dec. 3 to Dec. 27th.
Based on the outlandish, and true, chronicles of David Sedaris’ experience as Crumpet the Elf in Macy’s Santaland display, this hilarious cult classic features comic encounters during the height of the holiday crunch. NPR humorist and best-selling author of When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers. PCS brings a holiday favorite back to Portland as a special Studio Theater presentation.
“Priceless observations, both outrageous and subtle. Destined to hold a place in the annals of American humor writing.”
—The New York Times.
Be sure and schedule those holiday events now and get your tickets purchased.
