Speaking Points for Riverfest Opening Ceremony
Thursday, August 28, 2008, Noon, The Bowl
12:10
Gil Kelley, Planning Director, City of Portland
▪ Welcome
▪ Introduce yourself
▪ What is Riverfest? Partnership with other bureaus, including Planning, Parks & Recreation, Environmental Services, Portland Development Commission, the Port of Portland, Columbia Crossings, Lower Willamette Group, Oregon Trout, City of Portland Triathlon, South Waterfront and Willamette Riverkeeper.
▪ Thank major sponsors: Willamette River Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, City of Portland, the Bill Healy Foundation, the Port of Portland, the Lower Willamette Group and River Renaissance
▪ River Renaissance was the brain child of Mayor Vera Katz and represents Portland’s comprehensive (multi-bureau) approach to enhance the Willamette River for fish, wildlife, people, recreation, commerce and simple enjoyment.
▪ Riverfest offers a family-friendly chance to come down by the riverside, get out on the water, take river tours, enjoy live music, learn first-hand about the river’s history and environment, clean-up the riverbank, and view river spectacles.
▪ Riverfest events and activities include:
o Boat parades and a Parade of Species
▪ So far nearly 24,000 people have ‘hit’ our Riverfest website at portlandriverfest.org so we are hoping to attract people from all over our region to Riverfest events.
▪ Acknowledge the Oregon Symphony (President Elaine Calder and Music Director Carlos Kalmar) and thank them for letting us use their performance site for the opening ceremony.
▪ Before we celebrate the river’s role in our lives today, let’s look back at the original stewards of the Willamette, the descendants of the Native American tribes who called the river home.
▪ Acknowledge Warm Springs: Louie Pitt [so far]
▪ Acknowledge the Grand Ronde: Kathleen Tom, Chris Mercier (pronounced Merceer) and Steve Bob, Sr., who will give the invocation.
[Invocation]
Gil:
▪ Thank you Grand Ronde for that moving recognition of the river’s gifts to us. The Willamette is a connector; it connects the past to the present, the East side to the West side and is a vital connection to commerce.
▪ Introduce Bill Wyatt, Executive Director, Port of Portland
12:15
Bill Wyatt
Gil:
▪ Introduce Mayor Potter, who will in turn introduce Mike Lindberg
12:20
Mayor Potter:
▪ It’s a pleasure to be down here on the Willamette on this beautiful summer day.
▪ Acknowledge dignitaries [look at them and give them a chance to wave, etc.]:
o Commissioner Saltzman (tentative)
o Wim Wiewel [pronounced Vim Veevel], new president of PSU
o Nancy Stueber, President, OMSI
o Mike Houck, Executive Director, Urban Greenspace Institute (invited)
o Bob Sallinger, Conservation Director, Audubon Society of Portland (invited)
o City Bureau Directors
o Others?
▪ The Willamette has often been referred to as Portland’s front yard, and during Riverfest we’re going to see why, as Portlanders gather at its shores, on its bridges and in its waters to enjoy this natural beauty.
▪ The River Renaissance initiative helped to make the Willamette a fun, clean and safe place to play and appreciate nature. A cross-bureau collaboration between the Bureaus of Planning, Environmental Services, Parks & Recreation, Sustainable Development, Transportation, Development Services, Water, and the Portland Development Commission, River Renaissance is an example of how the city can engage the community in the health and well-being of the river.
▪ Central to this initiative is the belief that urban development, healthy natural systems and a sustainable economy are complementary goals. Today we can look south to South Waterfront, north to Centennial Mills, to the west and OHSU now accessible by tram and to the east to an expanding and thriving OMSI to see examples of success of the River Renaissance vision.
▪ Thank you all for coming today to help us launch Riverfest.
▪ Now I’d like to introduce River Champion and Former City Commissioner Mike Lindberg.
12:25
Mike Lindberg:
▪ A few years ago, Mayor Katz helped launch River Renaissance because she recognized that the Willamette was so central to our city, so intertwined with our daily lives, but so compromised. We wanted to focus the community’s energy on the river.
▪ As a longtime advocate for and enthusiastic supporter of the river, I’d like to thank Planning Director Gil Kelley and other bureau directors for their hard work that has brought us to this stage. It was their vision and commitment that allows us to enjoy this moment in the sun.
[Mike’s original words here]
▪ Today marks the beginning of an 11-day festival to honor and celebrate the river, giving people many different opportunities to engage with it, enjoy it, learn about it and even help it.
▪ I invite you to launch Riverfest with me by sending off a procession down to the river’s edge, where swimmers from the Oregon Trout City of Portland Triathlon, boaters and paddlers from Willamette Riverkeeper and puppeteers from the Willamette Species Parade will honor the water accompanied by Gordon Rencher, percussionist from the Oregon Symphony and Portland’s Fire and Rescue fireboat display.
▪ Let’s go!