Christmas

Giveaway: Macy’s Holiday Parade in Portland

November 18, 2013 7 Comments Christmas

Photo from Macy's Portland Parade — Photo from Macy’s Portland Parade

Did you know Portland had a Macy’s Parade? Well, they do! The day AFTER Thanksgiving… you know the day, Black Friday, Macy’s brings the fun from NYC to the streets of Portland. All the fun of you don’t even have to get out on Thanksgiving Day!

When I was a child I was in pageants. As a tiny beauty queen I was usually in parades rather than getting to watch the parade on the side lines. One of our family stories is something that my grandmother told over and over again.

She used to say that after I spent the morning smiling and waiving from an elaborate parade float, I was upset to hear that the parade was over.

“Did you enjoy the parade?” she asked.

“No,” I’d complain, “I didn’t get to see it!”

Years later I learned to appreciate both the opportunity to be in a parade and to watch the parade. But, because of that story, I’m excited to see what my son think’s of his very first parade. Really makes me wish my grandmother were here to see his face too.

I typically avoid going out on Black Friday. Sure, the sales are AMAZING. But, crowds and I do NOT get along. However, my son is now 2 1/2 and the idea of him experiencing his very first parade is just too good of an incentive. I can’t wait to see how his eyes light up when local bands march through, floats ride by, and as he see’s Santa.

Photo from previous Macy's Portland Parade — Photo from previous Macy’s Portland Parade

Portland’s Macy’s Holiday Parade

The Portland Macy’s Parade takes begins at 9 AM on Davis Street, makes it’s way down Broadway, turning at Alder, making its way down 4th Avenue, and finishing on Flanders Street one hour later.

The 2013 Portland My Macy’s Holiday Parade will feature 25 inflatable floats, local middle and high school marching bands, nearly 650 costumed characters and much more! A new red “Believe” Santa’s Mailbox float and Yes Virginia costumed characters have been added to the line-up this year. (If you haven’t heard of the red Believe Mailbox, and the Yes, Virginia campaign, then hop on over to Macy’s website to read about their commitment to give to the Make a Wish Foundation.)

The parade will conclude shortly after Santa dashes in his sleigh past Macy’s, heading directly from the North Pole to his Portland holiday post in Macy’s Santa-land, which opens at 11:00 AM. Santa-land is open November 29 through December 24 on Level A of the downtown store.

Win a Chance to Sit VIP at the 2013 Macy’s Holiday Parade in Downtown Portland on November 29!

Winners get the opportunity to sit VIP at the Macy’s Holiday Parade– in the perfect position to see all the action! And, I’ll be there with my family to celebrate alongside you! I have a limited amount of VIP seats to award.

*Winners must be able to attend the parade in Portland on November 29. The prize is only for the VIP tickets and does not include any additional expenses. Please read the guidelines in the Rafflecopter below and enter to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Not in the Portland area? Well, no worries, you can still watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade (or attend if you live in NYC!) on NBC from 9AM to Noon EST. Or, follow along via twitter at #macysparade! And, I’d still love to know…

What is your favorite Holiday Parade memory?

Blogging Tips

Holiday Mingle Pt. 2: Tips for Bloggers from PR Pros

November 13, 2013 1 Comment Blogging Tips

One of the craziest things about this whole blogging thing is getting to a point that your email inbox is filled to the gills with companies wanting to work with you for one thing or another. Blogs are great formats for sharing products and opinions about products/ businesses– and, boy are companies realizing it!

Each blogger must come to a decision about his or her blog and whether they want to work with PR companies and what guidelines they plan to utilize. It is a wild-wild-west out here. There are really no set-in-stone rules yet. Many people who blog are not people with years of experience working with publications. Though, the content they are churning out is worth something and the time that they spend on creating that content should be worth something too. But, deciding the worth is the hard part.

It is also quite difficult balancing the line of being simply a promotional fountain that spews out whatever a company will pay for to being an open, honest review with absolutely no obligation to a company. We aren’t quite journalists, yet we aren’t a particular company’s marketing team either. Unless companies, advertisers, or readers pay a blogger then a blogger is making NO money for work that takes hours and hours to complete. A blogger MUST find a comfortable position for where they stand on these issues for their blog.

These are not only issues that I’ve come across in my blog, but they are issues that every blogger I know has had to deal with at one point or another. Which is why I was thrilled to get the PR perspective at a recent Portland Bloggers meet-up sponsored by Little Green Pickle, the 2013 Holiday Mingle.

Tips for Bloggers for Working with Companies and PR Representatives:

These tips come from the awesome Public Relations professionals that donated their time and expertise, and got in a room with their competition, to talk about blogging. If you are a blogger (not just those in Portland) and want to get involved working with some really great PR pros then check out their websites and contact them via email. They love that, by the way! The PR Panel consisted of Carrie Welch of Little Green Pickle, Meaghan Burns of Broussard Communications , Lisa Hill of Lisa Hill PR, Heather Jones of Heather Jones Consulting, and Vicky Hastings of Maxwell PR . (Click on over to their websites and connect with them via email or Twitter TODAY!)

Tip One: Be Ready to Work with Companies

Have your blog up to snuff! Doesn’t everyone have that list of to-do items they want to get done for their blog? I know I do… the PR pros said not to wait any longer. Get your site where you’d like it right away.
Have an updated media kit ready to go! A simple one page explanation of your site, your site’s demographics, your numbers, and your guidelines will suffice.

Tip Two: Get Your Numbers Up

Many bloggers hate to talk about this side of the blogging world. Numbers matter. That doesn’t mean that small blogs have no shot. But, it does give incentive to work on getting your numbers up.

Most PR pros look for at least 10,000 Page Views Monthly– ideally, Unique Page Views
Most PR pros aim for at least 1,000 followers/fans for each social media platform

The panel said that it definitely isn’t ALWAYS about the numbers. Having a dedicated following in a niche field is also a great way to get in with working with good companies.

Tip Three: Act Professional

Think of your blog as your store front. You want to keep it looking nice, have the shelves stocked full (content!), and you want to provide great customer service. Interact with companies in a professional manner by answering those emails, sending updates on posts, and presenting your expectations and guidelines from the beginning.

Now, I’m the first to say that this isn’t easy… bloggers are often working more than on just their blog, life can get busy, and email inboxes can get a little bit insane. The thing to take from this though, is that being upfront, honest, and professional will help you in working with companies.

Want More?

For more tips from the PR Panel at the Holiday Mingle check out the post over on the Portland Bloggers blog. To read more about the Holiday Mingle and the awesome companies that were in attendance click on over to my first Holiday Mingle Re-Cap. To check out the websites of the people that helped make the Holiday Mingle happen…. click one of the logos below!

A Well Crafted Pantry

Holiday Mingle Pt One: Food in Portland

October 28, 2013 3 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

I was beyond thrilled when one of the Portland Blogger organizers, Bee from The Spicy Bee, worked with local PR company Little Green Pickle to bring together an amazing opportunity for local bloggers. The Holiday Mingle was slotted as an opportunity for local bloggers to get a chance to meet and connect with some amazing restaurants and food vendors from the area– right in time for their holiday projects! It was also an opportunity to listen to a panel of PR professionals talk about working with bloggers. Only in Portland can you get competitors working together to create an amazing event that hopefully, in the end, is beneficial to everyone involved.

I’m breaking this post up into two posts because there is just so much to cover… so, now I give you the amazing food and some fabulous companies! I’ll be back soon with tips for bloggers from real PR pros!

The restaurant owners and vendors that came out for the Holiday Mingle brought their A-game. I highly encourage you to read on if you are in Portland looking for great places to eat, are planning on traveling to Portland, or are looking for an item or two for your foodie friends and family for the holidays.

I’ve been impressed with many of these restaurants in the past:

The Original Dinerant was the site of last year’s birthday party (where I had amazing food and excellent service) so getting to try some more of their dessert menu and some seriously amazing deviled eggs was certainly a highlight of my evening.
The Bent Brick wow’d me back in May with a fabulous Happy Hour selection. They brought their tasty smoked salmon chips (and other tasty menu items) to the Mingle. The only thing missing was their Peat & Peet whiskey drink that I fell in love with on my last visit.
Besaws is one of my absolute favorite places to go to brunch. The hubs and I usually bring visiting friends or family there over when they are traveling over the weekend. But, did you know they also do dinner!?
Another place I bring visitors to is Departure Restaurant and Lounge— not only does it have an amazing deck with a view of the city, but seriously tasty drinks and foods. Chef Gregory Gourdet showed up at the Mingle to pretty much everyone’s delight.
Olympic Provisions is a local salumeria. Their meats make for the best charcuterie platters! I’ve totally dined on and purchased Olympic Provisions goodies before… but, was completely unaware that they also have restaurants in the area. I can’t wait to try them out. (Also, they sell their meats… and, if you didn’t know, my birthday is just around the corner!)
Water Avenue Coffee and I go way, way back. 😉 I fell in love with their rich, smooth coffee at a past Portland Bloggers’ meet-up. Since then I’ve visited their shop to also enjoy a great latte, tasty treats, and their laid back atmosphere. Whenever a blogger wants to meet at Water Avenue Coffee for a meeting the answer is always YES.

And, the new-to-me vendors really gave a great first impression:

Tails & Trotters specializes in Northwest Hazelnut Finished Pork. O.M.G. (I don’t use that phrase often.) I couldn’t believe that you could actually TASTE the hazelnuts on the pork that we tried. It was amazing and it will end up in one of my holiday dishes this year. I can’t wait to start recipe testing! Oh, and if you are in NE Portland then you should stop by and grab a ham sandwich at their sandwich counter!
Double Dragon‘s appetizers at the event were the first that I had the opportunity to try. They brought a selection of bites that had the most amazing flavors and spices. I’m pretty sure I had a foie gras pate on bread and a mushroom pate. AMAZING. And, I often frequent the SE area of Portland… I’ll be there to try some of their Banh Mi as soon as possible.
Fishpeople Seafood sent everyone home with packs of their Seafood Entree Pouches that have whole food products and no gross ingredients. I can’t wait to try these for dinner or even a quick to make lunch in the office. The ingredient list on the back of the package is the thing that really made me excited. I understand every word on the package and would cook with the ingredients in my own home.

A lot of my readers are from the PNW area and I hope that this list helps bring to light some of the awesome companies we have available. But, even if you aren’t from Portland, some of the products above can be shipped! I would be thrilled to find many of these items under the tree or at the holiday dinner table this season!