Casino float honors 20th anniversary in Grand Floral Parade

Spirit Mountain Casino’s float entry in this year’s Grand Floral Parade will cause a sense of déjà vu for those with a good memory.

Casino Sponsorship Administrator Jocelyn Huffman said the float is a recreation of the casino’s first float ever – a mother coyote playing with her two babies.

“We’re calling it ‘Have Some Real Fun,’ ” Huffman said.

In addition to commemorating the casino’s 20^th anniversary of being involved in the Grand Floral Parade, the float honors Peg Roseboro, who designed the first float and passed away in December 2015 at the age of 91.

The Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade will wind its way through the streets of Portland beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 11.

The parade’s path begins at Memorial Coliseum and travels down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, across the Burnside Bridge and into downtown Portland, ending at Lincoln High School.

Spirit Mountain Casino has been the main sponsor of the parade for six years, signing its second three-year contract in 2014.

Tribal Elders and Tribal employees will be traveling to a Gresham warehouse on Wednesday and Thursday, June 8 and 9, to put the finishing touches on the casino’s float. Float judging day is Friday, June 10.

People interesting in helping to decorate should contact Huffman at 503-879-3054 by Monday, June 6.

Because Spirit Mountain Casino is title sponsor, the Tribe’s float will be the first to emerge from the back door of the Portland Coliseum at the start of the parade for the four-mile parade route.

Tickets for indoor seating are $30 reserved and $15 super-saver while outdoor seating is $30 for reserved chairs and $25 for reserved bleachers.

For more information, go to www.rosefestival.org on the Internet.