Smoke signals., June 15, 2016, Page 12, Image 12

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S moke S ignals
JUNE 15, 2016
Float wins Queen’s Award
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
PORTLAND — The Spirit Moun-
tain Casino Grand Floral Parade
on Saturday, June 11, was a case
of “excessive celebration” in the
streets of Portland.
“It’s the perfect day for a parade,”
said Rose Festival President Frank
Chinn during breakfast with his
family in the VIP Chalet near the
beginning of the parade route.
“Excessive Celebration” was the
theme of the 2016 parade, which
is the highlight of the annual ive-
week event in Oregon’s largest city.
This year marked the 20th anni-
versary of the Grand Ronde Tribe’s
irst loat entry in the Grand Flo-
ral Parade. The 45 foot-long loat
featured three coyotes made out
of grasses and a sign up front that
announced the casino’s newest
marketing campaign, “Have Some
Real Fun.”
The Tribe’s float, which paid
tribute to the irst loat entered by
the Tribe 20 years ago and featured
massive amounts of red, blue and
yellow flowers, won the Queen’s
Award for best non-animated loat
for the second year in a row. The
loat was designed with a mother
coyote watching her two cubs as
they play in front of her.
The Royal Rosarians Foundation
loat won the Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde Award this year for
best depiction of community spirit.
The Rosarians’ loat honored Heath-
er Anderson as Oregon’s Teacher
of the Year and Melyssa Ferro as
Idaho’s Teacher of the Year.
Just before the loats entered the
parade route, members of the Rose
Festival Court gathered in Vet-
erans Memorial Coliseum for the
coronation of a new queen for 2016.
Princess Grace Ramstad of Centen-
nial High School, who along with the
other members of the Rose Festival
Court visited Grand Ronde the week
before, was named 2016 Rose Festival
Queen. She will attend Georgetown
University in September.
The Tribe’s loat was the irst of
15 to enter the parade route follow-
ing the Portland Police Bureau, the
Portland Mounted Police Patrol,
the oficial parade car, the Happy
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Spirit Mountain Casino’s loat “Have Some Real Fun” rolls down Northeast Weidler Street during the 2016 Spirit
Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade in Portland on Saturday, June 11. The loat won the Queen's Award, which is
awarded to the most outstanding non-animated loat in the parade.
From left, Junior Miss Grand Ronde
Isabelle Grout, Veterans Special
Event Board Princess Iyana Holmes
and Little Miss Grand Ronde
Kaleigha Simi wave to the crowd
as they walk through the Veterans
Memorial Coliseum during the 2016
Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral
Parade in Portland on Saturday,
June 11.
Canyon Trail Horse, the Boy Scouts
of America, the Clown Prince and
the Star Valley High School March-
ing Band from Wyoming.
The loat was preceded by Junior
Miss Grand Ronde Isabelle Grout,
Veterans Special Event Board Prin-
cess Iyana Holmes and Little Miss
Grand Ronde Kaleigha Simi, who
waved to the crowd along the irst
part of the parade route.
“I was inspired by that loat,” said
Erwin J. De Luna, president of the
Fiesta San Antonio Commission of
San Antonio, Texas. “I think there
is a lot of symbolism in that loat.
Tribal Elder Victor Cureton, left, and Veronica Gaston work on the Spirit
Mountain Casino sign for the casino’s loat “Have Some Real Fun” at the
Funtastic Traveling Shows oice in Portland on Wednesday, June 8. The
loat was in the Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade in Portland on
Saturday, June 11.
I think there is a lot that shows
about nature and how we honor
those spirit people.”
De Luna, who is Taos Pueblo and
Navajo, was enjoying the Spirit
Mountain Casino Grand Floral Pa-
rade as part of a sister city relation-
ship. De Luna said he was visiting
Portland as part of an exchange
between Rose Festival organizers
and Fiesta San Antonio oficials.
“When you look at it you can feel
the spirit within it,” said De Luna
of the Spirit Mountain Casino loat.
“When you combine it with the
nature that is all around it – you
guys did a great job, you really did.
I would think there would be a lot
of pride. To have that loat coming
through to show those people who
we are as American Indian people
and who we are across the country
kind of uniies us.”
Grand Ronde Tribal Elders and
Spirit Mountain Casino employees
spent the days leading up to the
parade in a Portland warehouse
creating the loat.
“I’m very, very excited,” said
Spirit Mountain Casino Marketing
Director Shawna Ridgebear. “We’ve
been working on the loat all week
and we are just super excited to see
it now that all the inishing touches
have been done on it.”
Ridgebear, who is a member
of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western
Shoshone and a member of the
Edge Water Clan of the Dine Na-
tion and Mescalero Apache Tribe of
New Mexico, was experiencing the
parade for the irst time. She said it
was “really cool” to see Spirit Moun-
tain Casino’s name everywhere at
the event.
“It really strengthens our com-
mitment to the community,” said
Ridgebear of the casino’s title spon-
sorship, now in its sixth year. “I’m
so amazed by the sense of commu-
nity and the pride that Oregonians
have – it’s like nothing I’ve ever
experienced before; being part of
this just takes it to another level.”
Ridgebear said watching the loat
come to life and the commitment
to excellence made by everyone in-
volved with this year’s entry made
her a little emotional.
“To have Spirit Mountain out
in such a positive way like this is
overwhelming almost at times,”
said Ridgebear. “Watching the com-
munity members that came out to
help with the loat – the Elders from
Grand Ronde and the employees
from the casino – it brought me to
tears just seeing the commitment
that everybody has to make us re-
ally look good. It just really cements
our place in the community and our
commitment to the event. It’s such
an amazing opportunity.”
During the parade, casino Spon-
sorship Administrator Jocelyn
Huffman, Ridgebear and Tribal
Council member Jon A. George
announced that Spirit Mountain
Casino would return as the title
sponsor of the Grand Floral Parade
for another three years. 