The Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) Congressman Earl Blumenauer Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge will provide a critical car-free connection between two of the Rose City’s fastest growing neighborhoods, the Lloyd and the Central Eastside.
In the spirit of how this bridge will bring us together, PBOT will host a family-friendly community gathering to celebrate the formal opening of the new crossing.
The new crossing completes a major segment of the future Green Loop, a concept for a 6-mile linear park with leafy green canopy, urban pedestrian plazas, comfortable mobility zones and engaged adjacent development that unites Portland's Central City neighborhoods.
Update, 3 p.m., July 30:
Due to forecast extreme heat, the Community Celebration in the north and south plazas has been re-scheduled to start and end one hour earlier. Vendors and tabling will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., rather than 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Times for the musical performance at 11:30 a.m. and Opening Ceremony at noon have not changed.
Schedule
8 - 10 a.m. Breakfast on the Bridges
North Plaza, along NE Lloyd Boulevard
One morning each month, Shift2Bikes volunteers offer free coffee, pastries and good cheer to bike commuters at several Portland bridges. They'll welcome early risers to Portland's newest car-free bridge!
10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Milagro Theater and The Street Trust welcome you to Milagro Plaza
Milagro Theater, 525 SE Stark St. (at SE Sixth Avenue)
Arrive to the ceremony in style! Join Milagro Theatre and The Street Trust for a south-side biking/walking/rolling parade. Join us beginning at 10 a.m. for bike decorating, bow-tie crafting, refreshments, and music before the half-mile parade to the Opening Ceremony! After the festivities on and around the new Blumenauer Bridge, return to Milagro anytime between 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for more music, snacks, and to see artists at work. Milagro is the premier Latino arts and culture center of the Pacific Northwest and has provided extraordinary Latino theatre, culture, and arts education for the enrichment of all communities since 1985.
10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Go Lloyd welcomes you to Hassalo Plaza
Off-street plaza at NE Eighth Avenue and Hassalo Street
Join us for a celebration of the Lloyd neighborhood in Hassalo Plaza, a car-free public space. Arrive at 10:30 a.m. to participate in the bike and pedestrian parade to the Opening Ceremony at the Blumenauer Bridge. Prior to the parade, we will decorate our helmets and make flags while enjoying coffee and snacks. After the parade, we will keep the community celebration going. Enjoy music from a live jazz band, a chalk drawing contest, or get a free bike tune-up or repair. All are welcome!
NEW TIME: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (updated 3 p.m. July 30, due to forecast extreme heat)
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Community celebration!
North Plaza, along NE Lloyd Boulevard
South Plaza, along NE Seventh Avenue between NE Everett and Flanders streets
Pop-up block parties, food and beverage vendors and more!
11:30 a.m. Get excited with a musical performance by Karma Rivera
With her clever, edgy lyricism and riotous stage persona, Karma Rivera has risen to star status in the Portland music scene. The emerging rapper and Hype queen explores the strength and value behind words with meaning and she does this with an unrivaled individualist style.
Willamette Week describes Rivera's style as "A cooler, alt-pop Megan Thee Stallion."
12 - 12:30 p.m. Official Opening Ceremony and Celebration
South Plaza, just south of the bridge
Hear directly from U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Portland Transportation Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty and leaders of the local community organizations that helped fund Portland's newest car-free bridge. See the unveiling of the brass plaque that will forever memorialize the new bridge.
1 p.m. Bridge architecture and design tour
Starts at 1 p.m. in the North Plaza, ends at the South Plaza
During this tour of the bridge, members of the design team will be on hand to answer questions and explain why the bridge takes its particular form: how it was shaped by specific engineering requirements, how it was constructed within its tight urban setting, and how the plazas are designed to knit the bridge elegantly into the neighborhoods on both ends.
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. -- Blumenauer Bridge Celebration Ride
Starts at 1:30 p.m. in the North Plaza (plan for two hours)
Join us for an 8-mile bike ride highlighting the bikeway system in the central city, following parts of the future Green Loop. We’ll cross bike-only bridges, use bike-friendly streets, lanes, and paths, and see some of the ways we make bike routes more comfortable in a dense urban environment.
3 - 10 p.m. Block party with Depave
SE Seventh Avenue and Sandy Boulevard
After the bridge opening, come celebrate with Depave a few blocks away as we reimagine our urban landscape through re-greening and community placemaking. This block party will demonstrate the potential of a "green street" project in the Central Eastside, one that amplifies greenspace by depaving and rethinking intersection safety. In coordination with Friends of the Green Loop, the project site offers the opportunity to create a "green node" along that future bike route. We'll have food trucks, lawn games, artisan vendors, skate features, a live planting event with Friends of Trees, and an opportunity for public input about the Depave project. We'll have live music with sound provided by Friends of Noise and eight different bands playing throughout the day!
4 p.m. Ride the Green Loop
Hassalo on Eighth Plaza, 1088 NE 7th Ave
The opening of the Earl Blumenauer Bridge brings us one step closer to seeing the complete route of the Green Loop available. Join Friends of Green Loop to ride the most complete route to date around the Green Loop. We'll meet at Hassalo Plaza and ride the Green Loop in a counter clockwise direction, ending with a celebratory ride over the Blumenauer Bridge.
Vendors/Tabling Organizations expected at North and South Plazas:
AfroVillage
BabbleBuy
Bar Botellon
BikeLoud
BIKETOWN
B-Line Urban Delivery
Buckman Neighborhood Association
Central Eastside Industrial Council (CEIC) / Merchants and Makers
Citizens' Climate Lobby
Clever Cycles
Coffee Roasters Trailhead
Coopers Hall Winery
Cosmic Bliss
Fink's Fermented Foods
Friends of Green Loop
Friends of Green Loop
Go Lloyd
Gourmet Brothers
Grapevine Outdoor
Habiba Abdul Rahim Art
Helioterra Wines
Here for Portland/Kuto App (intentional shopping/dining)
Here for Portland/Kuto App (paid worker campaign)
IDEAL PDX
Lime Scooters
Lloyd Center Mall
Lloyd EcoDistrict
Metro Paint
Mt Scott Neighborhood Association
Mystic Chili
OHSU nursing students
Oregon Walks
Organics to You
PetWants Pearl District
Portland Bureau Emergency Management
Portland Bureau of Transportation
Portland Streetcar
Portland Winterhawks Tickets Dept
Reflective Society
Rose + Lincoln
Sheridan Fruit Co.
Spin Scooters
Straightaway
The Street Trust
Today's Treat Co.
Trash for Peace/Ground Score Association
Urbanite
Volunteers Of America- Al Forthan Memorial Scholarship
Water Avenue Coffee
Wellspent
Westward Whiskey
Yaad Style Cuisine
Yin Yoga Space
Vendors/Tabling Organizations expected at Hassalo Plaza
Garrett Baxter Quartet (jazz band)
PDX Mobile Bike Repair
Yeah Mon Foods (street style jerk chicken)
Foodi Menus
The Bookmobile Babe
Staccato Gelato
Ride Connection
###