Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1528810
B M & T ••• November/December 2024 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 47 WATERFRONT PARK, PORTLAND, OR Once the site of a freeway, Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a downtown riverfront park popular for jogging, in-line skating and cooling off in Salmon Street Springs, a fountain whose water patterns change with the city's mood. The park bears the name of for- mer Oregon Governor Tom McCall, a staunch advocate of recycling, environmental preservation and urban planning. This 1.5-mile (2.4-kilometer) stretch of green along the Willamette River is home to many annual events, including the Portland Rose Festival, the Oregon Brewers Festival and the Waterfront Blues Festival. The 36.59-acre park, owned by the City of Portland, was opened to the public in 1978. The park is bordered by RiverPlace to the south, the Steel Bridge to the north, Naito Parkway to the west, and Willamette River to the east. In October 2012, Waterfront Park was voted one of America's ten greatest public spaces by the American Planning Association. Planners and meeting delegates alike will find an array of activities in the park, everything from jogging, walking, biking, skateboarding, and basketball, to lunching, fireworks viewing, Segwaying and boat watching. In addition to recreational use, the park is also highly used by bike and pedestrian commuters during rush hours because the park is easily accessible to the downtown Portland workforce and provides a pleas- ant, off street thoroughfare away from vehicular traffic. It is currently home to the Waterfront Blues Festival, Oregon Brewers Festival, Gay/Lesbian Pride Festival and The Bite of Oregon Festival. The park is also the host of many Rose Festival events. The downtown location of the Waterfront Park means the world-class Oregon Convention Center and a wide selection of hotel and lodging options can be found nearby. Many of these hotels are designed to hold large self-contained events on site. For this reason Portland serves as one of the most conference friendly cities when it comes to hotel service. For bigger events, the Oregon Convention Center (OCC) is the largest convention facility in the Pacific Northwest. The facility offers 255,000 sq. ft. of contiguous exhibit space, 50 meeting rooms, two grand ballrooms, full-service catering and an 800-space underground parking garage. Visitors can get to and from the downtown hotel core and Portland International Airport with ease via MAX light rail. For more information, contact Travel Portland at (503) 427-1372. sive pollinator gardens, and Carol Ann's Carousel. Several historical monuments can be found like the Black Brigade Monument and the recently dedicated Marian Spencer Statue. Nearby you can enjoy the Cincinnati region's national museums and acclaimed attractions. Be inspired at the National Underground Freedom Center or stroll the world's sexiest zoo. Ride the greatest wooden roller coaster ever built at Kings Island and hold on tight. Cincinnati's attractions often lure attendees before and after the convention... and provide an energizing space to hold a meeting or breakout section. If you're looking for a convention center, a unique off-site meeting space, an exhibition/banquet space, a hotel meeting space, or a restaurant with a private room, Cincinnati's got you covered. Cincinnati USA's Duke Energy Convention Center recently underwent a $135 million renovation to become the Midwest's best-in-class center. Cincinnati can accommodate 75 percent of the existing convention, con- ference and meetings market in the United States. Every element of this 750,000-q. ft. facility was designed with the meeting manager in mind. The center features 200,000 contiguous sq. ft. of exhibition space, a 40,000-sq. ft. Grand Ballroom, a 17,400-sq. ft. ballroom to comfortably host smaller groups, 30 deluxe breakout rooms with flexibility to accom- modate 24 to 4,100, and a full-service banquet kitchen to accommodate 5,000 served in single seating. Levels: 3, multi-level concourse provides easy access to exhibit space, meeting rooms and ballroom levels. In Cincinnati USA your hotel is only a short stroll away – that's because there are nearly 3,200 hotel rooms in just three blocks right next to the Duke Energy Convention Center. Seven downtown hotels. And thousands more rooms are a few minutes away through- out Cincinnati USA and on the Kentucky riverfront. For more information Visit Cincy at (513) 621-2142 or www.visitcincy.com. If you're looking for a convention center, a unique off-site meeting space, an exhibition/banquet space, a hotel meeting space, or a restaurant with a Cincinnati USA's Duke Energy Convention Center recently underwent Every element of this 750,000-q. ft. facility was designed with the meeting manager in mind. The center features 200,000 contiguous sq. ft. a 40,000-sq. ft. Grand Ballroom, a 17,400-sq. ft. ballroom to comfortably modate 24 to 4,100, and a full-service banquet kitchen to accommodate 5,000 served in single seating. Levels: 3, multi-level concourse provides In Cincinnati USA your hotel is only a short stroll away – that's because there are nearly 3,200 hotel rooms in just three blocks right next to the Duke Energy Convention Center. Seven downtown hotels. And thousands more rooms are a few minutes away through- Smale Riverfront Park The 36.59-acre park, owned by the City of Portland, was opened to the public in 1978. The park is bordered by RiverPlace to the south, the Steel Bridge to the north, Naito Parkway to the west, and Willamette River to the east. In October 2012, Waterfront Park was voted one of America's ten greatest public spaces by the American Planning Association. in the park, everything from jogging, walking, biking, skateboarding, and basketball, to lunching, fireworks viewing, Segwaying and boat watching. In addition to recreational use, the park is also highly used by bike and pedestrian commuters during rush hours because the park is easily accessible to the downtown Portland workforce and provides a pleas- ant, off street thoroughfare away from vehicular traffic. It is currently home to the Waterfront Blues Festival, Oregon Brewers Festival, Gay/Lesbian Pride Festival and The Bite of Oregon Festival. The park is also the host of many Rose Festival events. The downtown location of the Waterfront Park means the world-class Oregon Convention Center and a wide selection of hotel Portland Wateront Park