S moke S ignals
JUNE 1, 2018
7
Casino float ready to ‘play’ during Grand Floral Parade
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Spirit Mountain Casino Spon-
sorship Administrator Jocelyn
Huffman is coy and vague when
asked about the casino’s float entry
in the 4.2-mile Grand Floral Parade
being held Saturday, June 9, in
downtown Portland.
“It’s about the Tribe’s love of
nature and Oregon,” she says,
resisting follow-up attempts for
more details. “What I can say is it is
themed around the love of wildlife.”
The theme of this year’s Grand
Floral Parade is “play happy,” which,
Huffman says, was inspired by the
Portland Thorns winning the 2017
National Women’s Soccer League
championship, as well as Portland
resident Shalane Flanagan winning
the 2017 New York City marathon.
The Tribe’s float – always the first
out of Memorial Coliseum – was
designed by Portland-based SCI
3.2, which provided the casino with
several design concepts and the
final choice was picked internally.
SCI has built every casino float for
the last 22 years.
Spirit Mountain Casino is in the
second year of its second three-year
sponsorship deal with the Grand
Floral Parade. Huffman said that
the parade sponsorship promotes
the Grand Ronde Tribe’s primary
economic enterprise and is perhaps
even more important now that the
Cowlitz Tribe has opened its Ilani
casino 16 miles north of Portland.
“The marketing and advertising
benefits are phenomenal,” Huffman
says. “But it’s also just a great plat-
form to tell the Tribe’s story.”
This year marks the 111th year
of the Rose Festival and the 106th
time the parade has been held.
Because of war and construction
issues over the years, the parade
has not always been held.
The casino also was involved in
the Rose Festival kickoff event held
Friday, May 25, with casino chefs
preparing food for people to sample
at the Portland waterfront.
In addition, the Rose Festival
If you go
Spirit Mountain Casino
Grand Floral Parade
When: 10 a.m. Saturday, June
9
Where: Memorial Coliseum
down Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard to downtown Port-
land ending at Lincoln High
School
Grand marshal: Diesel, an
English mastiff in honor of the
Oregon Humane Society.
Admission: Indoor: $30
reserved and $15 supersaver;
Outoor: $30 reserved chairs,
$25 reserved bleachers
More info: www.rosefestival.
org
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Court was in Grand Ronde on Tues-
day, May 29, visiting the Elders
Activity Center and achaf-hammi,
the Tribal plankhouse.
Tribal Royalty will participate
in the Starlight Parade being held
9 p.m. Saturday, June 2, in down-
town Portland and Tribal Royalty
and Veterans Royalty will accom-
pany the casino float when it exits
Memorial Coliseum and starts the
route through downtown Portland
on June 9.
The casino also is recruiting em-
ployees and community members
to travel to Portland on Wednesday
and Thursday, June 6-7, to put the
final decorating touches on the casi-
no’s float. Those interested in par-
ticipating should contact Huffman
at 503-879-3054 by Friday, June 1.
Last year’s float, “Persistence
of Culture,” won the Governor’s
Award for the best depiction of life
in Oregon.
Will the casino sign up for anoth-
er three-year sponsorship?
“We’ll probably start those dis-
cussions soon after this year be-
cause there is still 1.5 years left on
the contract,” Huffman says. “But
it’s something we’re very happy
with. You really couldn’t buy this
much publicity for what we pay.”
Senior Miss Grand Ronde Isabelle Grout, left, and
Rose Festival Court Princess Madison Nieuwendorp
do “The Blue Heron Song” dance along with other
royalty and Rose Festival Court princesses at achaf-
hammi during the 2018 Rose Festival Court visit to
Grand Ronde on Tuesday, May 29. After eating lunch and watching the Tribe’s
25th Restoration video at the Elders Activity Center, the princesses visited
achaf-hammi for a Tribal history from Tribal Cultural Education Coordinator
Jordan Mercier and Tribal Cultural Advisor Bobby Mercier, as well as singing
and dancing. Grand Ronde Royalty and Veterans Royalty greeted the
princesses on their arrival to the Elders Activity Center and spent the rest of
the day with them. Nieuwendorp is a senior at Roosevelt High School.
Ad created by George Valdez
Ad created by George Valdez
Rose Festival Court princesses Kash’Imani Thomas, left, and Anna Kien look
at Senior Miss Grand Ronde Isabelle Grout’s crown during the 2018 Rose
Festival Court visit to Grand Ronde on Tuesday, May 29. Thomas is senior at
Jefferson High School and Kien is a senior at Wilson High School.