Tag: event planning

Why Your Association Should Host Its Next Conference in Portland, Oregon

Posted on by Shawn Granton
Portland as viewed from Pittock Mansion

As an internationally-focused event planning company, EJP Events has extensive knowledge about destinations worldwide. But we have even deeper expertise in our hometown: Portland, Oregon. This Pacific Northwestern metropolis, located about 70 miles/115 km from the Pacific Ocean and 180 miles/300 km south of Seattle, offers abundant natural beauty, decent weather year-round (if you don’t mind a little rain), and exceptional venues for association and corporate events, conferences, and meetings. Here’s your primer on what The Rose City has to offer.

Top Portland Event Venues: Hotels & Meeting Spaces

Oregon Convention Center: Where Sustainability Meets Scale

View of Oregon Convention Center prefunction area from above. A large hall with a pendulum sculpture suspended above, with a group of people gathering and mingling in the hall.
Oregon Convention Center prefunction area. Courtesy Travel Portland.

The Oregon Convention Center isn’t just LEED Platinum certified—it’s a sustainability pioneer. As the first convention center in the world to earn LEED certification (2004) and one of only two in the U.S. with Platinum status, OCC proves that large-scale events can be environmentally responsible. Solar panels generate over 25% of the building’s electricity, waste diversion programs keep materials out of landfills, and the recent Platinum certification from the Events Industry Council for Sustainable Event Standards confirms OCC’s position as a global leader. With 255,000 square feet of exhibit space, 52 meeting rooms, and direct MAX light rail access, this venue makes it easy for purpose-driven organizations to practice what they preach. EJP Events has planned many events at the OCC, and it’s one of our favorite large-scale venues that brings sustainability, affordability, and active transportation all together. 

Ideal for: Sustainability conferences, mission-driven associations, environmental organizations, and nonprofits seeking venues that align with their values.

A woman (Oregon Governor Tina Kotek) in a grey pantsuit stands on a stage in a hotel ballroom. The room is full of attendees and two screens on either side of the stage show the logo for "Celebrate PACCO", an annual business networking event in Portland Oregon.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek addresses the group at Celebrate PACCO at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Portland, Oregon, on December 15, 2023. Business meeting planning by EJP Events.

The Ritz-Carlton Portland: Luxury Downtown Event Space

Brand new to the scene and housed in the ultra-sleek Block 216 Building (Portland’s fifth-tallest building), the “Ritz” brings a touch of modern class to downtown Portland. This 251-room five-star hotel with spa features:

  • 17,883 square feet (1,661.4 m²) of meeting space over nine rooms
  • Ballroom that can hold 800 guests
  • Bellpine restaurant and bar on the twentieth floor offering panoramic views of the city and lands beyond, including Mounts Hood and Saint Helens on clear days

Ideal for: Corporate conferences, galas, and upscale business meetings

The Hotel Zags. ©Evrim Icoz Photography

The Hotel Zags: Boutique Portland Meeting Venue

Located on the south side of downtown, The Zags has a hip vibe, billing itself “the perfect Portland portal.” The young and young-at-heart will appreciate The Zags’s loaner bicycles, skate boards and other gear available. This distinctive venue provides:

  • The Colosseum Room with capacity for ninety attendees
  • Two smaller board/breakout rooms
  • Perfect spot for a smaller meeting, or a special “add-on” to another big event

Ideal for: Executive retreats, creative workshops, and intimate corporate gatherings

The Allison Inn: Oregon Wine Country Event Destination

Located approximately forty-five minutes from downtown, The Allison is snugly ensconced in Oregon’s Wine Country, a region rich with vineyards and tasting rooms. The Allison’s 77 guest rooms and 8 suites make a great “home base” for viticultural explorations. This premier venue bills itself as “Oregon’s premier event venue and meeting space” with:

  • 25,000 square feet (2,323 m²) of overall space
  • Private outdoor terraces for receptions
  • On-site spa and restaurant
  • Wine tasting experiences nearby

Ideal for: Multi-day conferences, executive offsites, social events, and incentive programs

Portland Team-Building Activities & Outdoor Experiences

The breadth of outdoor activities within a one-hour radius from Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse is staggering. Here’s a sample of what’s available:

Multnomah Falls: Columbia River Gorge Excursion

Nestled in the mighty Columbia River Gorge east of Portland, Oregon’s highest waterfall drops 620 ft (189 m) from plateau to valley floor. Multnomah Falls is a natural photo-op (many an engagement photo has been taken here). And it’s just one of many falls along the Historic Columbia River Highway, a road built over 100 years ago linking our city to the east and offering numerous vistas and scenes of beauty for the traveler willing to get off of busy I-84. And the Columbia Gorge Express allows easy car-free access to the Falls and other destinations in the Gorge.

Washington Park & Forest Park: Easily Accessible Urban Nature Escapes

There’s no need to even leave the city limits to enjoy spectacular scenery and connections to nature. Nestled in the Tualatin Mountains, aka “West Hills,” which rise sharply just west of downtown, these parks feature:

  • Scenic vistas and miles of wooded, winding paths (including the famed Wildwood Trail)
  • Hoyt Arboretum with diverse collections
  • Pittock Mansion with historic charm and sweeping views
Hoyt Arboretum

Why Choose Portland for Your Next Event

No Sales Tax in Oregon

Oregon is one of five states to have no sales tax, and no local sales tax either. (We do have lodging tax, though.) No need to pull out a calculator when figuring out the total of your purchase! And Portland has many great shopping districts, like Downtown, the Pearl, SE Hawthorne, Sellwood, NE Alberta, and N Mississippi.

Event benefit: Your event budget goes further with predictable costs for catering, equipment rentals, and attendee purchases.

Public Transit That Gets You Places

For a mid-sized American city, Portland’s public transportation is impressive—a mix of light rail, streetcar, aerial tram, and of course buses connecting to all corners of the Metro area (including the Airport). Many lines feature frequent service, meaning waiting no longer than 15 minutes for the next conveyance. Paying your fare is easy, whether via Tri-Met’s (our local transit agency) Hop card or phone app, or paying via phone pay or credit card—no need for an app!

Event benefit: Attendees can navigate Portland independently without rental cars, reducing your transportation coordination needs and impact on the environment.

Bicycles! Portland’s Bike-Friendly Infrastructure

Like transit, our bicycle infrastructure is great for a mid-sized American city. Many destinations in inner Portland are just a half-hour or less bike ride away, and you can often get places by bike faster than on the bus or in a car. Didn’t bring a bike with you? No problem! Biketown, our ride-share system, has hundreds of community e-bikes scattered throughout the city—use it when you need to, then dock when done.

Plan Your Portland Event with Local Experts

Ready to explore Portland venues for your next corporate or association event, conference, or meeting? EJP Events brings deep local knowledge and international event planning expertise to ensure your Rose City event succeeds.

Contact us today to start planning your event.

Accessible Event Transportation for the Portland metro area

Posted on by Shawn Granton
A van that can hold two wheelchairs, with a ramp on the passenger (right) side extended to the sidewalk.
Photo from MTA, used under Creative Commons license 2.0

Whether it’s a conference, meeting, or wedding, ensuring that all of your attendees can access your venue(s) seamlessly is crucial for fostering inclusivity and enhancing the overall experience of your event. As the planner, you must do your due diligence and research your options. You don’t want an attendee to feel left out because your event lacks the appropriate transportation for someone with accessibility needs. You also can’t assume that your transportation provider will just have this ready for you. We’ve found several vendors who offer accessible event transportation for the Portland metro area and beyond.

Important things to note: Most of these services require reservations AT LEAST two days in advance, some months in advance if booking a larger vehicle, to guarantee availability. Some providers have limited service hours (typically weekday business hours) which can make things tricky for night and weekend events. Those that have indicated 24/7 service are listed in bold. Many of these providers offer different vehicles depending on needs, such as wheelchair vs. walker, so make sure you let them know what you need, as price can vary depending on service. While this list is meant to inform you of possible options, we do not endorse the providers listed here, and can’t guarantee they would work in every particular situation.

Please check each provider below for more info:

Credit: Sarah Petersen for Portland Bureau of Transportation

Travel Portland also maintains its own Accessible Portland page, with tons of resources on accessible event transportation for the Portland metro area. If you’re having an event that includes biking, you can rent Adaptive Biketown accessible bike rentals too!

Man standing in front of a wheelchair accessible van with the lift extended and ready for a passenger.
Image via Willamette Valley Transport’s website.

Nonprofits can also provide useful services for accessible event transportation for the Portland metro area. We found one called Ride Connection, that may be able to provide door-to-door service as long as one is registered in advance and provides 4 days advance notice. One must start the registration process by phone. Check out their website here.

We don’t want to forget to mention our own local public transport service, TriMet. TriMet in Portland offers bus, light rail, and streetcar services, all accessible. However, it isn’t point-to-point, so you do have to plan in advance for the last few miles or blocks of travel. TriMet does offer accessible LIFT service, but from what we’ve researched, there is an application for eligibility, and some bureaucratic hoops to jump through. While there is a visitor eligibility application process, it’s only available to apply by phone. Thus it may not be the most convenient for on-demand, event transportation services.

And don’t forget that EJP Events is there for your event planning needs. Feel free to get in touch if you need assistance with your event, or with accessible event transportation for the Portland metro area.

San Francisco Bay Area Meetings and Events

Posted on by Shawn Granton
An ariel scene looking down at the dimly-lit rotunda. Tables with party food and people standing around, talking. Two stiltwalkers dressed flamboyantly with lit-up butterfly wings dominate the scene.
A grand afterparty in the Rotunda at San Francisco City Hall

The San Francisco Bay Area has a lot going for it when it comes to meetings and events. The northern California metropolis hums with excitement and energy, a diverse mix of different cultures, vital urban areas, and beautiful natural landscapes. Where else can you go in the US and have a super dense city and a remote feeling hilly coastline less than ten miles apart? Through its numerous airports (SFO, Oakland, San Jose), one can catch a flight to and from most of the important destinations in the world. Today we take stock of three different venues representing different areas of this region. We hope this helps you make the most of planning your San Francisco Bay Area meetings and events.

San Francisco: Fort Mason Center

The Golden Gate Bridge is arguably the most iconic thing about the Bay Area. But catching a glimpse of this technological marvel is mostly impossible in the city proper. So how about a venue that has the bridge and bay as a glorious backdrop? This former Army base in the Marina neighborhood was active during World War II. Fort Mason’s thirteen-acre campus features 12 different venue options from 500 to 50,000 square feet (75,000 total square feet), space big enough to hold a comic convention! (I attended the Small Press Expo here in the early 2000’s.) There is also a 437-seat theater, a 162-seat theater, and ample parking. In short, there’s space for pretty much any type of event you’d want to hold.

Exterior of Fort Mason, showing two three story white stucco buildings and red trim.
Interior ballroom of Fort Mason set up for dining, with people eating.
Fort Mason Center (from their website)

Marin County (north): Marin Museum of Bicycling

Located in the Marin County town of Fairfax, the Marin Museum of Bicycling houses an extraordinary collection of interesting bikes from 1868 to the present. Since Fairfax is the birthplace of mountain biking, the museum also houses The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. The fully accessible museum can also be a great venue for your next event. The indoor section can accommodate 80-100 people seated or 160 standing, while the outdoor spaces can hold even more folks. And whatever configuration you pick, you’ll get to check out some cool bikes!

Exterior of Marin Museum of Cycling, showing the sign and bikes on the roof.
Interior of Marin Museum of Bicycling, filled with tables with people sitting at them.
From Marin Museum of Bicycling’s Website

East Bay: Claremont Hotel and Spa

Located on the border between Oakland and Berkeley, this impressive edifice of hospitality sits at the foot of the Berkeley Hills. Opened in 1915, The Claremont Hotel offers a commanding view of the bay. It has all the charm and class of the grand resort hotels completed in California around the turn of the 20th century. With 20,000 square feet of combined meeting space, both indoor and outdoor (including a secret garden!) The Claremont is also close to the commercial districts of Elmwood (Berkeley) and Rockridge (Oakland) with lots of shops and restaurants, and not too far from the Rockridge BART station.

Exterior of Claremont Hotel, a structure built in a grand early 20th Century style with ten-story tower at the center.
Claremont Hotel by David Corby, used under Creative Commons license
Conference room set up with long tables and chairs.
A conference room in the Claremont Hotel, from their website

Incorporate a ferry into your event…

The Bay Area has tons of iconic modes of transportation, from the vision-of-the-future-in-1972 subway system known as BART, a fleet of historic streetcars, and of course, the Cable Car. But the Bay Area’s biggest asset is the water itself, so getting around by ferry has a special charm. (Fun fact: Ferry service was all but gone during the mid twentieth century. While unfortunate, the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 helped bring it back.) And you can book special private cruises via Blue and Gold Lines, who can pick you up and drop you off at a number of bayside ports.

…or the Ferry Building itself!

The San Francisco Ferry Building sits at the foot of Market Street downtown. Opened in 1898, this terminal was the city’s major transportation hub. It survived two large earthquakes and years of neglect brought on by bridge and freeway building. When the controversial Embarcadero Freeway was removed after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the building was reconnected to the city. An extensive remodel was taken in the early twenty-first century, and now the Ferry Building is not just a place to catch a boat to somewhere else, but a destination in itself with lots of shops, restaurants, and offices. And you can rent out the Ferry Building for a special event! The Grand Hall can hold a grand event for up to 650 people, while the Port Hearing Room is perfect for a smaller meeting of up to 100 people. The outdoor plazas can be rented as well.

San Francisco Ferry Building’s Grand Hall, from their website

Why not think big and have your event at San Francisco City Hall?

Sometimes called “The People’s Palace”, San Francisco City Hall opened in 1915 and is a great example of a Beaux Arts building from the “City Beautiful” era. Its beautiful Rotunda can accommodate up to 660 people, plus there are multiple other spaces around the Rotunda that can be used for things like a gala or afterparty. We got to experience the gloriousness of this space at the end of Meeting Professionals International’s conference in 2022. Fun fact: City Hall was also featured in a James Bond movie!

We hope that you found this post informative and that it helps you to source for your next San Francisco Bay Area Meetings and Events. Want more info? Check out our post about Berkeley event venues. There is so much more to the Bay Area, California’s Wine Country, and beyond for meetings and events in this area of the country. If you need any help planning your next corporate meeting, event, or conference in the Bay Area, EJP Events is here to assist!

Luke and Rekhna: An Indian Wedding in Central Oregon

Posted on by Shawn Granton

In the picturesque landscape east of the Cascades, amidst the breathtaking beauty of towering mountains and high desert greenery, a vibrant tapestry of colors and traditions unfolds as an enchanting Indian wedding in Central Oregon took place last fall. The air is filled with anticipation and joy, as family and friends gather from far and wide to celebrate the union of Luke and Rekhna.

Elaborate floral decorations adorn the venue, while the aromatic scent of Indian delicacies mingles with the crisp mountain air. Against the backdrop of nature’s splendor, the bride and groom, draped in resplendent attire, embark on a lifelong journey together, surrounded by the warmth and love of their loved ones.

We look forward to another Indian wedding in Central Oregon.