Portland Riverfest Design Charette Notes

November 7, 2007

About 40 people gathered to generate ideas about how best to design and sponsor a citywide event to celebrate the Willamette River.

A number of participants shared their reasons for coming to the meeting, including: exploring opportunities to partner on future river events; following up on past inspirations for similar events; increasing connections between residents and the river; offering a new venue for hands-on experience in restoring the environment; and, re-visioning the Willamette as a new form of center stage for Portland.

Participants broke into seven groups and enthusiastically brainstormed ideas regarding event duration, theme, and activities (see below).

All participants were invited to become part of the group steering Riverfest development and/or take part in subgroups on specific topics (e.g., education; art; transportation; funding). Participants will be kept informed of event planning progress, and each will receive the contact information of everyone attending the meeting.

Group Thoughts on Riverfest

Venue:

Thinking ranged from having a central city focus (involving both east- and west-sides) to a decentralized approach with multiple venues up and down the river. In either case, tours will play a key role in people’s enjoyment and education.

Duration:

There seemed to be agreement on the notion of a multi-day (Friday evening to Saturday night or Sunday morning), with some thought to pre- or post-event field trip activities by school kids.

Theme and Activities:

•  involve school kids (and others) by featuring river poems (perhaps read by Oregon’s poet laureate) and/or river readings, possibly augmented with coupons for local bookstore discounts.

•  organize river clean up by kids and/or families.

•  Use a passport system to encourage full participation (get passport stamped for each completed activity, [e.g., clean up; rowing; safety booth] with a full passport entitling bearer to an activity discount)

•  have multiple tours (jet boat, PT boat, Oregon Maritime Museum, Ross Isand; by boat, bike, foot).

•  close lane on bridge(s) to serve as connector between east-west venues and provide unsurpassed viewing platform for river activities.

•  release a seasonal Riverfest ale

•  hold an evening gala as Riverfest fundraiser

•  have a sea-plane fly-in.

•  consider a big concert as a kick-off.

•  hold a river-song-writing contest

•  use barges as floating music platforms or as an art canvas (just as Burning Man has art cars, Riverfest could have art boats).

•  Display art, or show movies, on seawall.

•  consider repeat of Swim Against the Current race from Columbia up Willamette to Riverplace.

•  build a human bridge, choreograph aerial ballet.

•  feature expert lecturers on river topics with enough star-power to mesmerize an audience for a long time.

•  have a Willamette dunk tank.

•  hold a progressive performance party linked and integrated by water- and other transportation.

•  target participation by new people who’ve never had much to do with the river before.

•  pre-promote event, perhaps like Cirque du Soleil by having a tent go up a week in advance to provoke curiosity on part of public.

•  Provide lots of historical information (bridges, river, city) and on other cultures’ experience with rivers

•  Involve tribes

•  consider a drive-in theater for boats with a seawall premier of some film

•  have many scheduled events, allowing people to move from one to another to select the experience most interesting to them.

•  consider hosting a kinetic sculpture competition.

•  3 key Riverfest elements: get people on/in water; education; art

•  One valuable venue might be a beach area be roped off for swimming (with lifeguard services)

•  Consider another illuminata for a night activity.

•  Arrange for a huge Riverfest water slide.

•  Riverfest may offer another opportunity for a trial-run of a water taxi system.

•  With its water transportation emphasis, Riverfest might become part of a car-free (hour, ½ day, day).

•  Riverfest should showcase sustainable products, including local healthy food and drink, and perhaps be designed with carbon neutrality in mind.

•  Riverfest should leave a tangible legacy (beyond a fondly recalled experience), for example: a permanent art installation; a restored environmental area; a service (like a water taxi).

•  Riverfest needs to somehow tie into Portland’s unique identity and be somehow wonderfully quirky.

•  Riverfest should have a broad enough appeal to bring in people from across the region.