Greetings from Portland, Oregon. Below is an update on the area’s newest travel-related developments. We hope you will find this information useful. If you prefer not to receive future media updates on Portland, please click here.

JANUARY TOPICS

Festivals – Oregon Seafood & Wine Festival Debuts

Green Transportation – Portland Aerial Tram Construction Underway

Craft Beer – Historic BridgePort Brewpub Prepares to Reopen

Oregon Seafood & Wine Festival Debuts (Feb. 3-4, 2006)

Banish those mid-winter doldrums with the Oregon Seafood & Wine Festival (Feb. 3-4), an inaugural event that will feature Portland’s largest oyster bar, the world’s biggest seafood cocktail and Oregon’s largest crab feed. Scheduled smack dab in the middle of Oregon’s Dungeness crab season, the event will take place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Visitors can sample Oregon wines and fresh seafood from more than 60 wineries and restaurants; exhibits and music too. Tickets for the festival are $10 per person and can be purchased on-site at the Oregon Convention Center’s box office. Discounted tickets ($8 per person) are available to those who book a “Big Deal” hotel room at www.travelportland.com. For more information on hotel packages and discounted event tickets, click here. For more information on the Oregon Seafood & Wine Festival, visit www.oregonseafoodfestival.com.

Media Contact: Sean Guard, Events Northwest, Inc., 360.210.5275, sean@eventsnw.net, www.oregonseafoodfestival.com.

Portland Aerial Tram Construction Underway

Construction is underway on what many feel will become a city icon: the Portland Aerial Tram. When it opens to the public in the fall of 2006, the 3,400-foot tram system will ferry passengers from downtown Portland’s South Waterfront District to the top of Marquam Hill, where the Oregon Health & Science University campus is located. Designed primarily as a neighborhood connector that will allow commuters to forgo using cars, the $40 million tram – much like the hugely popular Portland Streetcar – should prove to be an equal hit with visitors. As the tram cars make their three-minute journey from the South Waterfront to Marquam Hill, riders will enjoy views of the Willamette River, Mount Hood and downtown Portland. Each bubble-inspired tram car will be designed to hold approximately 80 passengers. Making commuting even easier, the tram plaza at South Waterfront will be located adjacent to the Portland Streetcar’s RiverPlace Station. For further information on the Portland Aerial Tram, visit www.portlandtram.com.

Media Contact: Jonas Allen, MAP Communications for Portland Aerial Tram, 503.219.9294, jonas@map-communications.com, www.portlandtram.com.

Historic BridgePort Brewpub Prepares to Reopen

More than a year ago, BridgePort Brewing Company – Oregon’s oldest craft brewery – closed its on-site brewpub to embark upon a 14-month renovation and restoration of its hop vine-covered National Historic Register building. During the renovation, BridgePort’s brewing facility continued to create many of the award-winning beers that had previously won medals at the Australian International Beer Awards, the Great American Beer Festival, the World Beer Cup and the Brewing Industry International Awards. The recent renovation project, which will be completed in February 2006, brings major changes, including the creation of an on-site bakery and the expansion of the pub’s main bar to two stories. A large glass atrium will pierce the rooftop in the middle of the building, allowing a significant amount of natural light to illuminate the brewpub. For additional information on BridgePort Brewing Company, visit www.bridgeportbrew.com.

Media Contact: Chris Crabb, Crabbsoup Public Relations for BridgePort Brewing Company, 503.282.1583, crabbsoup@comcast.net, www.bridgeportbrew.com