Portland Rose Festival

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The Rose Festival Announces New Leadership and the 2011 Theme

Nearly 20 years ago, Sue Bunday's dad encouraged her to get her kids involved with the Rose Festival's Junior Parade. She ended up taking nearly 75 Cub Scouts and Bluebirds to the parade and being recruited as a Rose Festival volunteer. Today Sue's positive get-it-done attitude and increased skills at organizing kids of all ages have earned her the title of Rose Festival President (for a two year term starting November 1, 2010). The West Linn resident is the sixth woman named president to Portland's Official Festival and she succeeds another West Linn resident (2009 and 2010 president Robert Hansen) to the post.
At the Portland Rose Festival Foundation's Annual Board meeting on October 28, Bunday announced the 2011 Rose Festival theme, Carnival of Roses, which she helped select.

In March of 2010, the Portland Rose Festival Foundation moved into the historic John Yeon Building (located in Tom McCall Waterfront Park), now unofficially dubbed as the 'Rose Building.'
Nearly two years of work by a large group of people went into the planning and implementation of the restoration of the building, which had been standing vacant for some time. City Commissioner Randy Leonard saw the potential of the building that some were suggesting should be demolished. He felt the property would be an ideal fit as the new Rose Festival headquarters.

4A Schools Added to Eligibility List
Applications are out and recruiting is underway for the 2011 Portland Rose Festival Court Program presented by Pacific Power. After successfully unveiling its expanded Court program in 2009 to accept metro area schools, the Rose Festival is again loosening its eligibility requirements to allow students from metro area 4A schools to apply. Now for the first time in Rose Festival history students from Molalla, Estacada, Gladstone and LaSalle can compete for the crown of Queen of Rosaria. Applications are due on December 15, 2010.

Message from the Rose Festival President

Sue Bunday
I am honored and humbled to be leading the Portland Rose Festival Foundation and following in the very large footsteps of the other men and women who have served this organization with passion and vision.
Our Foundation is 104 years young, and we are still growing and changing. And, yes, that is a good and healthy thing! I'm a great lover of history, and the Rose Festival's historical heritage is a favorite topic of mine. But I'm also an advocate of change when it's necessary. As an organization, the Portland Rose Festival Foundation is not afraid of reviewing and challenging our key events to ensure they are true and relevent to our mission and goals. And this year is no exception. We completed a staff reorganization this summer; and one of our most popular events, Waterfront Village, is already in the planning stages, under the auspices of a revitalized committee and new staff leadership.