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• Family Fun – Ahoy, Swashbucklers! It's the Third Annual Portland Pirate Festival
• Honors – Portland Earns Platinum “Bicycle Friendly Community” Status
• Deals – Save $50 on Passes to Portland's Time-Based Art (TBA) Festival

Shiver me timbers! The Third Annual Portland Pirate Festival is set to take place, Sept. 20-21, in historic Cathedral Park. Set against the backdrop of the beautiful St. Johns Bridge, this year’s event features a family activity village with a walk-through Pirate Adventure; the new-and-improved Cannon Battle Show; two stages of music, including performances by Captain Bogg & Salty, the Seadogs and the Brothers of the Baladi; wandering jugglers; jet boat rides on the Willamette River; storytellers; sword-fighting demonstrations by the rapscallion Pirates of Puget Sound; puppet shows; and general mayhem – as well as two musical stage shows – provided by the B.O.O.M. (Brotherhood of Oceanic Mercenaries) Pirates. On the festival grounds, the Scoundrels’ Court area will offer a scavenger hunt and interactive games, while the Marauders’ Marketplace will brim with treasures to take home.

Half of the festival’s sponsorship revenue will be donated to the Children’s Cancer Association. For advance ticket sales (at a discount), visit the festival website or call Ticket Alternative toll-free at 1.877.725.8849. For more information on the Portland Pirate Festival, go to www.portlandpiratefestival.com.

Before ye go, ye best discover yer pirate name at www.piratequiz.com.

Media Contact
Beth Blenz-Clucas, Sugar Mountain P.R.
503.293.9498, bethpr@msn.com

Portland’s gone platinum – and we aren’t talking record sales. The League of American Bicyclists recently honored Portland with a prestigious platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designation. Portland is the first large city in the United States to gain the designation and joins Davis, Calif., as the only other platinum BFC in the country.

More than 200 communities have applied for BFC recognition since 2003. Of those, 84 currently have a bronze or higher designation (levels include bronze, silver, gold and platinum). Portland was awarded gold status in 2003 and has been working ever since to reach platinum. In ranking cities, the League of American Bicyclists looks for those communities that “are realizing the potential of bicycling to address the challenges of climate change, traffic congestion, rising obesity rates, and soaring fuel prices.”

Since the 2000 Census, Portland has increased bicycle ridership by 144 percent. Portland’s bikeway network includes 270 miles of on-street bike lanes, bike boulevards and paved trails; another 40 miles of unpaved trails offer mountain biking opportunities in city parks.

Media Contact
Deborah Wakefield, 503.275.9795
deborah@travelportland.com

This fall, visitors can once again immerse themselves in the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s (PICA) outlandish, interactive, cutting-edge Time-Based Art (TBA) Festival, Sept. 5-14. TBA is an annual convergence of contemporary performance, dance, music and new media that turns the city into a multifaceted arts space offering workshops, installations, performances, and no shortage of late-night activity.

Visitors who book their TBA festival stays at a participating hotel (listed below) by Aug. 1 can add a TBA Immersion Pass or TBA Flex Pass at $50 off the retail price. (There is also a $25 discount on TBA Works Passes.) The Immersion Pass, $225 (regularly $275), provides access to all performances, films, lectures, noontime chats, workshops and THE WORKS Late Night Program. Flex Passes can be added for $125 (regularly $175) and provide access to your choice of eight main-stage performances, films, lectures or workshops, as well as unlimited access to noontime chats and THE WORKS Late Night Program. Passes also entitle holders to discounts on PICA merchandise. Those who book a TBA:08 hotel package receive exclusive hotel rates plus complimentary overnight parking, continental breakfast for two and valuable coupons for dining, shopping, arts and entertainment.

Participating TBA hotels include the Ace Hotel Portland, The Heathman Hotel and the Mark Spencer Hotel. For more information on the TBA:08 hotel package and other specials, visit www.travelportland.com/deals. For more about TBA:08, visit www.pica.org.

Media Contact
Deborah Wakefield, 503.275.9795
deborah@travelportland.com