Portland: Bloom Tour 2023

I have explored seasonal local art displays multiple times on this blog -- Winterland PDX, two years of the Winter Light Festival, and Project Illumination -- but they have been overwhelmingly winter-themed. The 2023 Bloom Tour is all about the spring.

If the need for a winter boost is more obvious, Portland is the City of Roses. It makes sense celebrating our blooms.

In terms of city exploration, it has more stops than Project Illumination, but is more contained than some of the other festivals, with all of the installations on the West side, both North and South.

It ended up requiring three different trips to see everything, but there were multiple factors involved, including being combined with other activities.

In some ways participation is easier: exhibits can be temporary and nothing needs to be lit up.

At the same time, the exhibits can be much more ephemeral. Some planned for fading, or started with plants that were already dried.

 Some used other materials to give the impression of flowers.

I admit to favoring the ones with real flowers, but some of them were done where you were not necessarily sure.

We know most about the technique used by Jen Rich of Rich Earth Designs, who created sister windows at Crafty Wonderland on SW 10th and Event Cosmetics around the corner on Taylor.

For the multi-week festival she has a plan that included the metamorphosis into a monarch butterfly, where the chrysalis will fade before sprouting flowery wings. 

We know this from a delightful conversation with Event Cosmetics founder Katherine Sealy, who incorporated botanical samples and a photo booth with floral props, while pointing us toward local businesses and telling us more about the tour.

It is nice to walk around and find new things to see, but the tour is a wonderful business opportunity. For example, Mercantile Portland on Alder displays art by local artist Boo Johnson, but also takes advantage of spring floral prints in the clothing displays.

Getting everything coordinated right between a business and an artist (and possibly between artist and florist) is not easy, but it can result in displays that really capture beloved aspects of the city, like this display by Gone West PDX outside World Foods on NW Everett.

The Bloom Tour continues through June 30th, but in what condition? The Pioneer Courthouse Square display seems to have already disappeared, though there are still plenty of hanging baskets and greenery.

For now, there is plenty to see. and many of the installations are clustered together, where you can at least see a few with relatively little effort. Yes, it can be easy to get sidetracked.

COVID: One way the web page is not accurate is that it shows only two of the installations being inside.. it is more than that. Still, the majority of the pieces are at least visible from outside, if not actually outside. Some places did have staff masking as well.

(Different kind of masks, outside of The Fossil Cartel on SW Taylor)

Accessibility: Pretty good, with walking access to everything, and most places being not just close to public transportation but specifically to MAX and Streetcar.

https://downtownportland.org/2023-bloom-tour/