With Peace, Love & Music as there theme, how could they go wrong? See why so many people enjoy going to events like these in East Portland …
S.E. Woodstock Boulevard was lined with neighbors on the morning of July 18th, there to enjoy the parade, themed “Peace, Love and Music” – in observance of the 40th anniversary of another Woodstock Festival – a the rock festival held on a farm in upstate New York.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
After a one-year absence, the Woodstock Parade and Festival returned – bigger and better than ever – on July 18.
S.E. Woodstock Boulevard was lined by adults and kids by the 11 am, when the parade started its westward journey from Our Lady of Sorrows at SE 52nd Avenue to All Saints’ Episcopal at S.E. 41st.
Former “first couple” of Portland, Mayor Tom Potter and Karin Hanson, say they’re happy to be the parade’s Grand Marshals.
The energetic “March Fourth Marching Band” and their dancing stilt walking dancers were a hit with the Woodstock crowd.
Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division officers cleared the street as the happy procession began – led off by the repeat Grand Marshals, former Portland Mayor and Woodstock resident Tom Potter, and his wife Karin Hansen – riding in a classic Lincoln Continental convertible.
Groups from area grade schools, the Woodstock Branch Library, and other civic organizations marched down the route.
The most entertaining parade entry was the “March Fourth Marching Band” and their dancing stilt walkers. The “Deviant Dance” belly dance troupe added color and flair to the parade.
Carrying the banner for civic organization SE Portland Rotary are editor of THE BEE, Eric Norberg, his long-haired German Shepard, Drew, by his side, and the Rotary Club’s Secretary, Patricia Nichols.
Breony and Danica Grimsted ride the parade route in their kid-size Jeep.
The “Deviant Dancers” perform a “dance Orientale” number along the parade route.
“I would guess we had between forty and fifty parade entrants,” said Lori Boisen of Advertise in the Bag, the event’s coordinator for the organization presenting the Festival, the Woodstock Neighborhood Business Association (WCBA). “We had many last- minute entries who joined in.”
Hundreds of folks stayed around after the parade to enjoy the Woodstock Festival all afternoon. “Our theme, ‘Peace, Love and Music’, was chosen to commemorate the original Woodstock Festival forty years ago in New York State,” Boisen explained.
Vendor booths lined the side streets; many Woodstock merchants chose to give space to community and non-profit organizations in front of their establishments.
Throughout the afternoon, ten acts played in three areas: The Main Safeway Stage, the Pizza Roma Stage, and the Bike Gallery Stage. “So many people have said how much they enjoyed the parade and festival this year – merchants, participants and those who came,” Boisen said.
“And a special thanks to the residents who came out and participated in the 2009 Woodstock Festival and Parade. They were the main reason the Festival was such a success,” Boisen, this year’s Vice President of the WCBA, added. “Hope to see you next year!”
Lloyd Nachdway, of the South Riverside Kiwanis Club, sells peanuts and tells of their club’s good works.
© 2009 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News