Hey, if seeing a roller coaster lit up for a Halloween drive-through haunted house is exciting, surely it can be exciting for a drive-up holiday show!
For some background, the Cinnamon Bear did not start out exclusively as a part of Portland holiday history. It originated in Hollywood in 1937, and was syndicated for national broadcasting (though with some issues).
http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/cinnamon_bear.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cinnamon_Bear
However, Portland jumped on the boat right away, beginning the series a night early the first year, and having Paddy O'Cinnamon available to meet children with Santa at Lipman's department store (later purchased by the equally defunct Frederick and Nelson).
Even as radio serials decreased in popularity, Cinnamon Bear was frequently seen around town around the holidays (probably more before Frederick and Nelson closed). You could know Cinnamon Bear without listening to the radio, though with some effort you could still find the broadcast for listening. Eventually the story was incorporated into a Portland Spirit cruise (apparently in 2012, though I could not verify). A storybook came out in 2007.
Then Covid happened, and filling a boat up for a two hour cruise with young children and characters they will want to hug became just a terrible idea. People are being creative, though, and that leads to the Cinnamon Bear Holiday Show at Oaks Park.
https://www.pdxpipeline.com/portland-spirits-presents-cinnamon-bear-holiday-show-oaks-park/
Would the show be more exciting if all of the performers were not trying to stay six feet away from each other? That is quite possible. However, it is still kind of a fun idea.
It is different. You stay in your car, so applause is indicated by honking horns and flashing lights. You can tune into the soundtrack on FM radio, but we found the acoustics worked well enough that we did not need to. The Cinnamon Bear and his fairy companion came close to all of the cars on two rounds - one at the beginning and one at the end - so while there is not hugging there is certainly waving and blowing kisses.
Santa even shows up, and you get the voices of the Wintergreen Witch and Queen Melissa. Captain Taffy stays off stage, but is part of the story.
Most of the heavy lifting - for narrating and singing - is done by the Cocklebur Cowboys. There are traditional Christmas songs and it is easy to sing along. There were also some less traditional Christmas songs, like "Sweet Caroline" and "Black Water", which was a little more surprising, but maybe it wasn't; they did need to fill ninety minutes. (The FAQ reference an intermission as well, but there was not one at our show.)
Or maybe they didn't; young children seemed to start getting fussy at the 80 minute mark. Maybe a 75 minute show would be best. I am sure there is a question of wanting to make sure people feel that they are getting their money's worth. We three (cynical but interested in cute things) adults enjoyed ourselves. And I was having fun with the glow stick.
One of the other highlights was that Oaks Park mascot Chipper was waving us in at the entrance, but it went by too fast to get a picture. Directing traffic has gotten smoother, and cars are set up in a checkerboard pattern that allows for easy visibility.
A variety of souvenirs are available, but it may take some searching. The book and character ornaments are available through the Portland Spirit gift shop, but they have no silver star. That came through Oaks Park concessions.
https://giftshop.portlandspirit.com/
https://cinnamonbear.shopsettings.com/
You can find available show times at https://oaksamusementpark.centeredgeonline.com/areas/areadatetime/50c01235-28ee-42eb-97e8-84556a65c171.
Shows continue through the end of the month.
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