Notes from the GM, Oregon, Oregon Wine, Restaurants

Now that spring is in the air, it is time to hit the golf course- and The Summerfield Golf Course is the perfect place to play!

It is a well kept secret that Washington County, Oregon is an ideal golf destination; so we are offering the It’s Tee Time Golf Package featuring The Summerfield Golf Course.

Summerfield Golf Club is a semi-private, nine-hole executive golf course. Narrow, tree-lined fairways and challenging play previously earned this course an honorable mention by “Golf Digest” magazine for being one of the best executive courses in the State of Oregon.

We are excited to have partnered with this course because of its close proximity to The Grand Hotel (less than 3 miles!) and their challenging 9-hole, par 33 course will give any golf lover the ultimate Oregon golf experience! Click here to see the course

Please call the front desk at 866-968-5757 to schedule your tee time today!

More info:
Summerfield Golf Course
10650 SW Summerfield Drive
Tigard, OR 97224

Phone: 503-620-1200

By Jeff McRitchie

Image Credit: Travel Portland

Portland, Oregon is one of the most popular cities in the Pacific Northwest due to its wondrous natural surroundings, relaxed atmosphere, and the sheer variety of things to do. Here are five great places to visit if you happen to find yourself in Portland…

Washington Park. Portland is famous for its beautiful rose gardens which can be found in Washington Park. The Park is nestled in the city’s West Hills and you can see the roses in bloom in late spring/early summer. (June is when the city’s annual Rose Festival is held.)

The garden offers some of the best views of the city’s skyline and on a sunny day, you can see Mt. Hood as well. Washington Park is also home to some other attractions including the Hoyt Arboretum (a great place to hike), the Japanese Garden, and the Oregon Zoo which has an impressive exhibit called Steller Cove which features sea otters and sea lions.

Powell’s. No visit to Portland is complete without a trip to Powell’s City of Books. This is one of the biggest bookstores in the world (if not THE biggest) and it has an incredible selection to say the least. The store reportedly stocks over 1 million titles and offers used books right alongside the new ones. The store features a great reading series and carries a wonderful section of gift items including t-shirts, messenger bags, bookmarks, and journals. Even if you’re not a bookworm, Powell’s is worth checking out if only to say you’ve been there.

The Northwest District. One of the most popular areas in Portland is its Northwest District which can be found along NW 21st and 23rd Avenues. This is a neighborhood filled with vintage homes and apartments, great restaurants, boutiques, and even Cinema 21, the city’s premier art house theater. You can find virtually any type of cuisine in this neighborhood (Thai, Italian, kosher, vegan) and if you’re not in the mood for food, there are plenty of coffee shops you can visit instead. The neighborhood is very walkable (a good thing since parking is hard to find) and it’s served by TriMet buses and the Portland Streetcar which can take you downtown and to Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Sauvie Island. Sauvie Island is to the northwest of downtown Portland, right in the middle of the Columbia River. This island is home to a wildlife preserve, numerous farms, and several beaches that are packed during warm summer days. Sauvie Island is perfect for biking and it can also be a pleasant place to take a Sunday drive. Chances are good you’ll see a variety of birds among other critters and in the summer, the fields are dotted with colorful flowers. Sauvie Island is a beautiful place and definitely one of the city’s best attractions.

The Portland Art Museum. Finally, the Portland Art Museum is a great place to visit, especially for art aficionados. In addition to their stunning collection of Native America and Asian art, the Museum has a wonderful modern art exhibit that includes 19th century and Pop Art masterpieces. The Museum often holds special events and exhibitions so depending on when you go, you might be able to view work from the Impressionists or the riches from a famous European family. There’s always something interesting to see at the Museum, so check it out.

Those are just a few of the great places you can visit in Portland, Oregon. They’re all enjoyable and there’s something for everybody. Have fun in the City of Roses!

About the Author: Jeff McRitchie is the Vice-President of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He regularly writes articles, reviews, and blog posts on topics related to bookbinding, laminating, paper shredding, and office equipment. More than 2,500 of his articles have been published in thousands of locations on the Internet. If you’re looking for information about binding machines his articles are a great place to start.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Bridges and Boundaries: Jewish & African Americans Playing Jazz

The 2011 Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Portland Jazz Festival presented by US Bank will be held Friday, February 18 through Sunday, February 27 at venues throughout Portland. The week-long festival will include jazz education and outreach along with a series of concerts all supporting the 2011 theme: Bridges and Boundaries: Jewish & African Americans Playing Jazz.

Among this year’s headliners:

• SFJAZZ Collective, in the world premiere of new repertoire paying homage to African American pop icon Stevie Wonder;
• NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston, performing solo piano in support of his new release, The Storyteller, and autobiography, African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston;
• celebrated clarinetist Don Byron and his new project dedicated to the great Jewish entertainer, Mickey Katz – a reunion of the groundbreaking and virtuosic klezmer ensemble that recorded Byron’s eponymous Nonesuch album and spearheaded the klezmer revival in the 1990s;
• a special performance by The 3 Cohens, featuring siblings, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, saxophonist/clarinetist Anat Cohen, and pianist Yuval Cohen;
• famed African American violinist Regina Carter will return to Portland, presenting her newest project, Reverse Thread, which traces the musical history of African cultures, including tribes of Ugandan Jews;
• saxophonist Joshua Redman – son of African American saxophonist Dewey Redman and Jewish American dancer Renee Shedroff – leading his new project, James Farm, that includes both African American and Jewish American musicians;
• and the Portland Jazz Festival’s new Artistic & Community Ambassador, bassist Esperanza Spalding (who will lead her new Chamber Music Society in an exclusive Portland area engagement).

How to Purchase Tickets:

Portland Jazz Festival Box Office
Hours of Operation: 11am – 5pm, Monday-Thursday
Order by Phone: 503 228-5299
In Person:133 SW 2nd Avenue, Ste 420 Portland, OR 97204
Email: info@pdxjazz.com

PCPA Main Box Office
1111 SW Broadway
Open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday
Walk up sales only
Handling charges will apply.

You may purchase tickets online, over the phone, or in person with Ticketmaster. Additional handling and convenience charges will apply.

Visit  pdxjazz.org for the complete concert schedule:

What is PDX Jazz?
PDX Jazz is Portland’s jazz organization, producing the annual Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Portland Jazz Festival presented by U.S. Bank. PDX Jazz offers an array of distinguished programs throughout the year in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings boasting internationally recognized artists while supporting regional fan favorites from the Northwest, often times presented in newly configured formats.

PDX Jazz in partnership with Oregon Music News recently initiated a monthly jazz series at PDX Jazz @ Tony Starlight’s, an intimate music venue, located in northeast Portland.

The 2011 Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Portland Jazz Festival presented by US Bank will feature a series of headline concerts, jazz education and outreach, Gospel and Klezmer Brunches, and panel discussions based around this year’s theme, Bridges and Boundaries: Jewish & African Americans Playing Jazz.

Wooden Shoe presents Inaugural Wooden Shoe Pumpkin Fest

Iverson Farms  is already known for their tulips and Oregon’s largest Springtime event- Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.  Now the Iverson family hopes their new Fall Festival, Wooden Shoe Pumpkin Fest, will bring as much delight to visitors each autumn.

The event kicked off September 24 and it will continue through the Halloween season ending on October 31.

The new fall Pumpkin fest will celebrate the harvest season first-hand by using sustainable practices. Attendees can pick and cook fresh sweet corn right from the field, purchase and grind their own wheat or watch it turned into pasta (the option will be to purchase the uncooked fresh pasta or buy it cooked to order for lunch.)

Festival goers can make soy burgers out of soybeans grown on the farm or select freshly dug potatoes (they’ll have plenty of those!) to buy fresh or to make delicious curly fries on-site. Of course, everyone can ride the cow train through the corn maze, select your own pumpkin to take home, plant tulip bulbs, make dirt babies, enjoy the ducky races, ride the horse swings, visit the autumn themed gift shop and while imbibing local Oregon wines and select
Oregon craft brews.

Halloween Haunting will take place in the corn maze for the braver souls on October 14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, and 30 from 7p – 10p)
Where: 33814 S. Meridian Road Woodburn, Oregon, 97071 (near Tigard Oregon)
Admission: 13 & up $7, 6-12 $5, 5 & under Free, Seniors $5 (Included with admission, all the above including 5 paintball shots, 2 potato cannon shots and cow train ride)

Directions: Take the 1-5 Freeway to the Woodburn Exit 271. Travel east towards Molalla on Hwy 211 for 6 miles to meridian Rd. (flashing yellow light) turn right (south) Go 2 miles on the left is the entrance to Wooden Shoe Bulb Company.

Web: www.woodenshoe.com
Phone: 1-800-711-2006 or 1-503-634-2243

Image Credit: Travel Portland

USA Today recently announced the results of a study commissioned by the National Business Travel Association that identified the best and worst “tax” cities for travelers in the U.S….and topping the list for Best Tax City? PORTLAND, OREGON!

The study looked at 50 U.S. cities with the most air passengers and calculated that travelers pay not only local sales taxes on goods and services when they go to a U.S. city, but up to 144% more each day they rent a car, stay at a hotel and dine.

Everyone knows this is the place to come for tax free shopping and enjoyment and we are proud to provide a great value to travelers- especially during tough economic times.

The study found that travelers in the worst tax cities pay up to $101 in sales, hotel, rental car and other extra taxes aimed at them on an average three-day domestic trip- but in Portland, Oregon a traveler pays the least amount of taxes — an average of $52.49.

Be sure to read USA Today’s Article Chicago is worst tax city for travelers; best: Portland, Ore. for more information.

Oregon travelers and food lovers have a good reason to celebrate!  On August 23, Travel Oregon launched the The Oregon Bounty Wanderfeast. Oregon Bounty is a statewide promotion that celebrates Oregon’s culinary abundance and the fall harvest season.

“The intimacy of our culinary scene is one of the incredible, relatively undiscovered aspects of Oregon,” said Travel Oregon’s Director of Brand Strategy, Holly Macfee. “It’s one of the few states where you can eat or drink right alongside the producers that grow, make or cook the ingredients. Fall is one of the best times of year for Oregon foodie travel since many of the products are at their peak.”

From August 23rd through November 30th, Oregon Bounty highlights unique travel experiences, fall events and the state’s chefs, winemakers, brewers, farmers and culinary artisans. For a complete list of celebration information, contest rules and to enter, visit www.Traveloregon.com/Bounty.

What can we say? Portland, Oregon encompasses everything one would want to find in a city: entertainment, great food & drink, and beauty.  One of our favorite Portland, Oregon attractions that seems to have it all is the Portland Japanese Garden. Want to know why?  Just check out this Travel Channel video:

It’s said that the heart of a Japanese garden is harmony with Nature… Hosted by The Travel Channel, this relaxing walk through the Portland Japanese Garden with Head Gardener Michael Kondo covers five distinct garden styles. With bubbling streams, waterfalls, koi fish, raked sands, moss beds, and flowers in bloom–glimpse inside “a beautiful manicured garden in the heart of the metropolis.” Produced by Black Diamond Television, UK.

The Portland Japanese Garden is approximately 14 miles from the hotel and will take you approximately 20 minutes to arrive.  Click here for Driving Directions.

Last month, Terry Goldman became the new President and CEO of The Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA).  With over 16 years in tourism and hospitality industry, he is the ideal person to do the job! Most recently,  Terry has taken on another exciting  role as “The Washington County Wanderer”!

Terry will give visitors a glance at the hidden gems and attractions to be found throughout Washington County, Oregon in his video-blog series produced by the WCVA.   To see other travel videos highlighting our area, be sure to visit the WCVA You Tube Channel and subscribe!  Watch this premiere video as Terry visit’s Tree to Tree Adventure Park in Gaston, Oregon.

The Washington County Visitors Association serves the region’s tourism industry by actively promoting Washington County, Oregon, as a destination for sports, business, and leisure travelers. Washington County is scenically situated between Portland and the Oregon Coast. Spanning 727 square miles, it includes the growing communities of Banks, Beaverton, Cornelius, Durham, Forest Grove, Gaston, Hillsboro, King City, North Plains, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville. Washington County is home to world-class golf, award-winning wineries, an array of outdoor recreation, and superb dining and shopping. For more information about the WCVA, visit www.yourwaytoplay.com/about or www.visitwashingtoncountyoregon.com, or call 503-644-5555, toll-free, 800-537-3149.

We love travel videos…but we REALLY love travel videos that feature Oregon.  So you can imagine how great it was to come across this fantastic piece from Travel Oregon that showcases many of the adventures to be had here.  Watch as twin sisters “Swoop, swoosh and splash” their way across Oregon.

Visit TravelOregon.com for more adventure stories, photos, videos and more!

Sure you can sightsee our beautiful coast, volcanic mountains, crystal-clear lakes and rivers and deserts that stretch as far as the eye can see. But to really know our state, you have to get out and experience it. Which is why Oregon is one of the best places in the world for outdoor adventure. If youre looking for world-class golfing, cycling, kayaking, skiing, rafting, windsurfing or just about anything else-ing, look no further. Better yet, dont look, come out here and leap.