Wrapping up Christmas and looking forward to Valentine's Day

I don't want to give January short shrift; we had a nice visit to Kellogg Creek Park that will be reviewed soon.

However, just as I set up the order of the reviews of December activities in order to maximize opportunities for people to take advantage of everything, there is a lot coming up that might sound good to you, and you will have to decide fairly quickly.

I did also want to go over one more night of December activity, when we went to see Christmas lights in Tigard and Beaverton. Sadly, these are my worst pictures yet. If taking pictures from a car in the dark is already hard, having it happen on residential streets that we are not really familiar with does not help.

When we went to check out the scavenger hunt at Cook Park, we noticed that some of the nearby neighborhoods had some pretty cool Halloween decorations. It was not a surprise that they go all out for Christmas, and it is nice that the City of Tigard promoted it and put out a route:

https://www.tigard-or.gov/community/tigard_walks.php

I tried getting the option for the free cookie and hot chocolate too late, but it was a nice thought.

We had also heard through the grapevine that the Hiteon neighborhood had some nice displays also. There are some pictures on this old Meetup page: https://www.meetup.com/pdxusa/events/275310830/

One aspect that worked well here was the level of neighborhood planning, where trees were planted when the neighborhood was built, and then incorporated into the decoration, giving the entire neighborhood some unity.

I appreciate that neighbors can inspire each other, and have some ability with arranging lights.

Now as we get closer to not just Valentine's Day but also Chinese New Year (and Mardi Gras and President's Day, they are all pretty close together this year), here are some events that are coming up. 

Since I don't have any pictures for those yet, I am just going to post pictures from different seasons at Enchante Choclatier in Milwaukie. They are charming so we keep going back.

Chinese New Year Lantern Festival at the Lan Su Chinese Garden

Although the specific Lantern Festival times are all sold out, if you visit the garden during this time period, you will still see some seasonal decorations.

https://lansugarden.org/things-to-do/ongoing-programs/chinese-new-year-lantern-viewing

Love Struck! Drive-In Valentine's Movie Experience

You can watch a romantic double feature and have dinner brought to your car on the open parking lot at Washington Square. Because the timing and the spacing is limited, these dates probably will sell out, so if you are interested, act quickly.

https://www.lovestruckdrivein.com/

Portland Winter Light Festival

I had no idea that this festival existed, but it has been a long-time tradition that is now spread out more, because of COVID. This means that - like Winterland PDX - seeing everything will require a lot more effort. We will try and get in some, especially the canopy at Oaks Park.

https://www.pdxwlf.com/

Yes, a lot of things are different this year. Last year we were starting to have concerns in February, but it wasn't affecting that much. That didn't last for long.

There are still always things that you can do, and doing them can really help.

Stafford Neighborhood Church Christmas Lights

When I was first searching for information on the Stafford Neighborhood Church event, I was concerned to see references to walking, but also something about slides and play areas. Was this actually a COVID-safe event?

I didn't need to worry. Apparently in past years there have been more interactive activities, but this year became almost exclusively drive-through.

The "almost" is because there were some possibilities for getting out of the car to take a closer look, and walk on foot paths that were dependent on it not getting overcrowded and not otherwise impeding the flow of traffic.

The night we went was a little rainy, so there was probably less temptation to get out of the car, but there were people monitoring the flow, and based on the size of the driving area it seemed like it would be easy to keep things going smoothly.

The information described it as a half mile drive, but I was impressed with how much there was to see over such a short distance. It was well done.

Like many similar attractions, there was a suggested radio station to tune into for the soundtrack. We did not take advantage of that.

Overall we were impressed with the community offering. Opportunities to safely enjoy the seasonal traditions - especially in times of pandemic - are much appreciated. Another local church had an attractive light display, but there was nothing indicating that people were welcome to come and look.

This welcome included a gift bag with information on the church, a coloring sheet and crayons, a kit for making a simple ornament, and a small candy cane.

http://www.theneighborhoodchurch.org/

Winterland PDX

I had wanted to get this reviewed before the auction, but I didn't see that was scheduled for January 4th until after it has already happened.

Anyway, local artist Mike Bennett worked with BIPOC youth to transform plywood that had been covering windows into winter window art.

https://shopsmallpdx.com/winterland

Artwork was placed all over Portland: Northwest, Southwest, Southeast and Northeast. Most of what we saw was in Downtown Portland (Southwest), but we made it to the East side as well because we were going to see that cat and that narwhal.

Many of the stores added to the plywood art with window paintings. This Baby Yoda is not plywood, but was still quite adorable.

One of our favorite executions was the cat at books and pictures. Not only did they have complementary painted artwork but they also stacked the windows with cat books, making everything tied in together.

It a a chance to visit local small businesses, some old favorites and some new.

While we had previously been in Portland and seen that the reports of the burned out wasteland were false, this was a chance to spend more time. Yes, there were some businesses still boarded up, but many of them were still open. There were even more that were not boarded up, including many with lots of glass that had clearly not been attacked.

(I acknowledge that the homeless are more visible but I believe that is a sign of societal and economic failure worsened by COVID.)

Therefore, I appreciated seeing so many of the businesses displaying signs affirming that Black Lives Matter. I applaud them.

It is also amazing to read more about the young artists. This festive T-Rex was made by 4 year old Caleb. The walrus from the first photo was made by 11 year old Frances. Not all of the artists were that young, but I appreciate the diversity and inclusion.

Kudos to Mike Bennett, not just for his organizing, but also for turning the front of the Keller Auditorium into the extravaganza Cold Creatures: The Musical!

For more on Mike Bennett, see https://www.atozoopdx.com/about.

City of Hillsboro: Lightopia

 Lightopia is completely sold out.

Well, "sold out" implies that there was selling, and no money was charged. This was a free gift from the Department of Parks and Recreation that turned out to be immensely popular, so that even with adding and extending hours, it still sold out.

However, those already reserved spaces keep happening for the next four Saturdays, including tonight, between 5 and 10 PM.

While you would certainly not get the full effect, if you happen to be driving near the Hillsboro Stadium during those times, you can get a glimpse of some lovely lights. We were impressed with the view from Hwy 26.

The lights are actually set up around the Gordon Faber Recreation complex, and as is appropriate, many of the lights on display feature sporting themes.

It is not exclusively sports. As is always popular, there are under the sea motifs, like orcas and dolphins.

There are also more seasonal themes, like gingerbread houses and people.

Of course there are lights that signify cold, like penguins and giant snowflakes.

Perhaps I should specify that these photos are from when we did go through, on December 23rd, and would not all be visible from the freeway.

Christmas presents and reindeer, all very seasonal.

What you would notice more from farther away would be the square tunnel of lights, and then the avenue of silvery trees that were really beautiful, and quite difficult to photograph.

We were impressed.

It was not just that they did a good job, though it was an excellent job, with lots of lights.

In addition, it was just encouraging that they could do it, and justify doing it for free.

In non-pandemic years their big draw is the ice village, and you pay to skate.

Add the City of Hillsboro among those trying to make the best of a bad situation.

https://www.hillsboro-oregon.gov/our-city/departments/parks-recreation/recreation-fun/special-events/winter-events