PORTLAND, Ore. — All three Portland Rose Festival parades will return in June 2022, but they'll have reduced or revised routes this year.
The Starlight Parade will remain in downtown. The Grand Floral Parade, which traditionally starts in Northeast Portland and goes over the river into downtown, will travel exclusively on the east side of the Willamette this year.
"The business of making a comeback is serious," said Rose Festival organizer Marilyn Clint. "Takes a lot of work and a lot of resources."
Clint explained that the Rose Festival and City of Portland worked together to come up with the new shorter routes after considering safety and limited police resources.
Clint said the different parades spread out over the first two weeks of June will still give many people a chance to see them.
"The folks in downtown are going to be served, and our friends on the east side will be served," she said.
The Starlight Parade in downtown will start an hour earlier than usual, at 7:30 p.m., also with safety in mind.
RELATED: PHOTOS | 2019 Starlight Parade
The Rose Festival website lists routes and times of all parade events this year:
The last proper Rose Festival was in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic relegated the traditional parades and activities to virtual and porch-side events for the last two years.
Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain low in Oregon following the massive spike in causes associated with the omicron variant over the winter.