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OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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December 2022
Greetings from the OSU Portland Center team.
Pioneer Courthouse Square is once again a vibrant hub of urban activity, and OSU’s Portland Center, located just steps away from the city’s famed brick living room, is experiencing a welcome upswing in university and community programming. Emerging relationships with community partners, business leaders and OSU faculty and staff have helped to revitalize the center, lift staff spirits, and inspire a growing vision for the center’s future. Beginning with this inaugural monthly newsletter, we will provide you with regular updates on opportunities to engage at OSU’s Portland Center.
We have dynamic offices, touchdown desks, meeting and conference rooms available to meet your needs while in Portland. Please reach out to [email protected] to request this type of resource.
We have gained a reputation of excellence for meetings and events and have become a premier choice for regional and national conferences. Please visit Portland’s Event Services to see photos and learn more about how to use the Portland Center.
Make your reservation today.
We have also launched a new Voucher Fund program to support your events. Each unit will be allocated funds each fiscal year, essentially a credit, to use for space rentals. Please see your unit leader if you might find this fund useful.
We also now offer parking validation to help make your time in Portland that much better.
Access OSU
Access OSU is a multidivisional partnership between the Division of Extension and Engagement, the Division Student Affairs, the Office of Institutional Diversity, the OSU Foundation and Alumni Association and Enrollment Management. This cross-divisional collaboration will work to create seamless comprehensive pathways to enhance academic success, personal development and career exploration for Black/African American, Native/Indigenous/Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latine/x students within the Portland Metro area.
This work will focus on integrating existing and new partnerships with local community based organizations, school districts and other resources to form the basis for a consistent, long term community relationship. The Access OSU team is excited to provide post-secondary learning opportunities for students through community panels, seminars and networking events which will allow for participants to explore campus life, student activities, community partners and the many educational and supportive programs that OSU has to offer to future students.
The Oceanic Observatory Initiative Facility
This summer, more than 100 stakeholders of the Ocean Observatories Initiative Facility Board (OOIFB) joined together at the OSU Portland Center for the NE Pacific Conference. Seventy in-person attendants connected with dozens of virtual participants to explore research and advance understanding of oceanic processes of the Pacific Northwest in a series of plenaries, break-out groups and productive informal discussions.
U.S. Department of Commerce Briefing
On October 27, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) presented a briefing to help academic institutions protect themselves from exposure to those that would harm national security. This combined in-person and livestream event was part of the new Academic Outreach Initiative under the BIS to empower academic institutions to remain leaders in global research. It brought together representatives from 11 universities in seven states across the Western U.S.
College of Education
The College of Education’s counseling, adult and higher education, and educator preparation programs have used the Portland Center’s state-of-the-art classroom space since 2018. The Center provides an accessible, central location for our Ecampus students to come together and learn in an OSU branded space. The College of Education is proud to host several key events in the Portland Center including our annual Charles E. Carpenter Lecture, which supports professional development for community college leaders throughout the region.
The OSU Portland Center never fails to impress its many guests and visitors, and site staff members are honored to help Oregon State University uphold its standing as a leading research institution within the modern, yet historic walls of the Meier & Frank Building. Hear from recent students and visitors about their experiences!
Nov. 25–Dec. 30, 2022
Christmas Festival of Lights
The Grotto - $6 – $14
Presenting the sights, sounds and sensations of the season, The Grotto’s Christmas Festival of Lights is the largest Christmas choral festival in the world.
Nov. 30–Dec. 31, 2022
PDX Pop-Up Shops
Various Downtown Locations
The pop-up shops are back this holiday season, turning Portland’s vacant retail space into temporary destinations for local designers and artists to “set up shop” Downtown. Downtown Portland Clean & Safe is pleased to announce this year’s holiday PDX Pop-Up Shops line-up.
Nov. 21, 2022–Jan. 5, 2022
ZooLights
Oregon Zoo - $21 – $29
Kids and adults agree: it wouldn’t be the holidays in Portland without a visit to ZooLights. In addition to the classic walk through a dazzling display of 1.5 million lights, you can bring your family and friends to explore the lights by car with a drive-through experience on select nights.
Nov. 25–Dec. 31, 2022
Winter Wonderland
Portland International Raceway - Cost Varies
Recognized throughout the Pacific Northwest as the “Largest Holiday Light Show West of the Mississippi”, Winter Wonderland will grab your attention with glimmers and glows around every corner.
Nov. 23–Dec. 22, 2022
A Very Merry PDX-mas
Broadway Rose New Stage - $20 – $50
Combining classic carols, holiday pop songs, and original offbeat material created especially for Broadway Rose audiences, this holiday revue reminds you of everything there is to love about this “ever-green” city.
Nov. 25–Dec. 18, 2022
Holiday Express
Oregon Rail Heritage Center - $23 – $92
Join Santa Claus and his elves for a magical ride behind Portland’s famous steam locomotives. Vintage rail cars transport you through the wilderness in the heart of the city. Round-trip rides run from Oaks Park Station through Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge to the Springwater Trail gateway on the Oregon Pacific Railroad.
Dec. 2–21, 2022
Christmas Ship Parade
Willamette & Columbia Rivers - Free
The Christmas Ship Parade began in 1954 with one lone sailboat from Portland Yacht Club. Today, the Christmas Ship Fleet averages about 55 to 60 boats between the Columbia and Willamette River fleets.
Friday, Dec. 9, 2022
The Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition
Pioneer Courthouse Square - Free with Registration
Pioneer Courthouse Square is excited to host the Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition – a fun, festive, and joyful competition that will bring caroling groups to Portland’s Living Room and extend to a ten-block radius downtown.
Dec. 10–18, 2022
Portland Bazaar
Premier Gear & Machine Works Building - Free
The PORTLAND BAZAAR is the city’s finest holiday gift showcase and sale. Started in 2011, our mission is to create an exciting event to highlight the skilled artists, makers and small businesses of Portland, Oregon.