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A Century of Celebration!

In 2007, the Portland Rose Festival celebrated 100 years of Tradition, Innovation and Celebration with once-in-a-lifetime events! Many joined us for an unprecedented tribute to Portland's history, culture and community as we reinvigorated traditions and created new customs to endure throughout the Rose Festival's next century!

There were gala affairs, dynamic and historical programming and more magical, phenomenal, fantastical spectacles than ever before!

The History of the Portland Rose Festival

After the city's first floral parade on June 10, 1904 and on the heels of the success of the Lewis & Clark Exposition of 1905, Mayor Harry Lane decided the city should have a festival of roses. An electrical parade was a sparkling feature at the first festival in 1907 and was described as the most lavish spectacle of its kind on the continent. Following the 1907 event, a group of businessmen formally organized the Portland Rose Festival as a non-profit civic enterprise to plan and finance the annual event. In these early years, the Rose Festival highlights included horse drawn floats in the floral parade, aquatic events in the nearby harbor, and fireworks at night. These visionaries created a celebration withstanding 100 years and a lifetime of memories for millions.

Meet the Historical Figures of the Portland Rose Festival

Mayor Harry Lane

Sometimes called the 'Father of the Rose Festival,' Portland's Mayor Harry Lane was a doctor and a scrapper, down-to-earth and surprisingly honest. At the end of the celebrated Lewis & Clark Exposition in 1905, Mayor Lane gave a speech that announced a plan to use the proceeds of the fair – actual stock dividends – to purchase the land around the forestry building for a park and to fund a "permanent rose carnival" to be held each summer. And he offered up his stock dividend of $30, plus an additional $100, to get the funding started. “It would be the greatest permanent advertising for this city that was ever attempted and would make Portland’s fame as a rose city world-wide," he said. See Mayor Harry Lane come to life for the Rose Festival's Centennial celebration! Learn more about Mayor Harry Lane.

         

Georgiana Pittock

Mrs. Henry Pittock is an iconic Portland figure who was instrumental in organizing the first Rose Show in 1889 and is often called the 'mother of the Rose Society.' She was a pioneer in the truest sense, emigrating via wagon train on the Oregon Trail and ending up a woman of spirit who was ahead of her time in her civic activities and causes. The first Rose Show was a fundraiser for Georgiana's church. Vivacious and frank, she was a great lover of gardening and of the rose, and her influence helped to christen Portland 'the City of Roses.' Today her home, the Pittock Mansion, is one of Portland's beloved landmarks and popular tourist attractions. Meet Georgiana Pittock during the Rose Festival's Centennial celebration! Learn more about Georgiana Pittock.

         

Rex Oregonus

In 1907 the governor's daughter, Carrie Lee Chamberlain, served as 'Queen Flora' and reigned over the first Rose Festival celebration. From 1908 to 1913, the festival's ruler was a king – Rex Oregonus -- a local figure selected by committee who kept his identity hidden beneath a mask until he was 'unveiled' at the annual ball. Rex was a traditional 'carnival king,' fashioned after the monarchs who reign over mardi gras-style celebrations around the world. He made a brief reappearance in the 1920s, sharing the throne with the Rose Festival Queen, before reluctantly retiring from public life. The Rose Festival is enthusiastically resurrecting Rex for the Centennial celebration. Watch for him! Learn more about Rex Oregonus.