No landscape architect has touched more of Portland’s downtown park system than Douglas Macy. A key member of the legendary team that shaped the city’s “living room,” Macy and his firm Walker Macy went on to design many of the central city’s most dynamic and cherished places, from the cherry-tree postcard shot of Waterfront Park to the busy Portland State University Urban Center.

In conversation with journalist and UO John Yeon Center director Randy Gragg, Macy will reflect on 40 years of practice and offer a candid view of where our downtown parks might go next.

Bright Lights- An Evening With Douglas Macy, will take place in the Whitsell Auditorium at the Portland Art Museum from 6:00pm-7:30pm. Admission is $10.00 and will benefit the UO John Yeon Center preserve in the Columbia Gorge. Students are welcomed for free. Purchase tickets here.

A reception will follow at 7:30pm at the Oregon Historical Society.

To celebrate Fall, Portland Mall Management, Inc. is hosting a Fall Festival at Unico Plaza on SW Oak between SW 5th and SW 6th. On Monday, October 17th, from 12:00pm-1:00pm, enjoy free caramel corn, caramel apples, an apple tasting from Kiyokawa Family Orchards, KIND Snacks, and hot drink samples from Starbucks! The Horsenecks will play live music throughout, and attendees can get their fortunes read by Portlandia Fortune Tellers! Attendees can also enter to win a Pendleton Grand Canyon Blanket!

The Square is gearing up for the holiday season! In preparation, registrations are now open for the following performances!

The 26th Annual Tuba Christmas Presented by SmartPark is Saturday, December 10th at 1:30pm. Nearly 300 tubas will play at this concert in the heart of downtown. Registration and rehearsal information is available here. 

In our continuing effort to expand seasonal community programming we are looking for school groups, musicians, or performers to participate in the 2016 Winter Atmospherics Program. Pioneer Courthouse Square, Inc. will provide a canopy for cover along with advance promotion of your performance at the Square on our website and in the Be Merry Downtown Holiday Guide.

You can view a summary of currently available performance dates here. If you are interested in participating, please indicate your preferred performance times and email them to brittany@thesquarepdx.org.

Reservations for performance dates are available on a first come first serve basis. You will be notified regarding the status of your requested performance date(s) no later than the week of October 24, 2016.

You can buy a personalized brick in the Square for just $100! Honor a loved one, celebrate a special occasion, or commemorate an event or date with a brick!

Personalized bricks can include up to 18 characters, including spaces. People have memorialized their favorite celebrity, pets, and even proposed on bricks! To purchase yours, click here. 

Travel Portland

Monday to Friday: 8:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Sunday: 10:00am - 2:00pm

Big Red Arrow & Portland Walking Tours

Monday-Saturday: 8:30am-5:30pm
Sunday: 8:30am-4:00pm

TriMet

Monday to Friday: 8:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday & Sunday: CLOSED

Starbucks

Sunday to Thursday: 4:30am - 11:00pm
Friday to Saturday: 4:30am - 12:00am

Spellbound Flowers

Monday to Friday: 10:30am-6:30pm
Saturday: 12:00pm-8:00pm
Sunday: 12:00pm-6:00pm

In 2014, the Portland community voted to support the Parks Replacement Bond, a measure to issue up to $68 million in general obligation bonds. The money from the bond will pay for the capital costs of repairs and improvements to existing park facilities. Bond outreach identified strong community support for prioritizing restoration of Pioneer Courthouse Square, the much loved City’s “living room”. The 2014 Parks Replacement Bond includes a not-to-exceed allocation of $10 million for all phases and costs associated with the renovation project at the Square.

Information about the upcoming Parks Replacement Bond renovations, including project background, overview, and schedule, can be found here.