Notes from the Road: Portland

Rediscovering Rip City

I hadn’t been back to Portland in about 12 years, but the moment I learned I’d be attending the annual National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP) conference, I was ready to get reacquainted with Rip City.

I arrived just ahead of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and a distinct festive feeling filled the air, thanks to the November chill and the holiday music playing in nearly every store I walked into. Even though I’m not someone who loves celebrating the holidays too early, the frosty air made the pre-festivities feel appropriate.

Caffeine and Necessities

As a conference attendee, I wanted to make sure I knew exactly where the nearest coffee shops were. Luckily, the Starbucks in Pioneer Courthouse Square was about three blocks from my hotel. There were plenty of independent cafés within walking distance, too, for attendees who prefer a more local vibe, but I’m the type who likes to submit my drink order from my hotel room to stay ahead of the day’s schedule.

Directly across the street from Starbucks is a CVS, which is ideal for anyone who forgot to pack toothpaste or wants a set of water bottles for the room.

Since I arrived a day early to explore, I followed a recommendation from one of our design team members and checked out Push Pull, a cute local coffee shop. It was a cozy spot to rest and recaffeinate after several hours of walking.

Places to Explore

While this wasn’t a traditional FAM trip, I still saw a lot of what Portland has to offer. The Travel Portland team set me up with a VIP pass that allowed me to visit a wide mix of venues throughout the city.

One of the highlights was OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), a hands-on museum featuring exhibits ranging from animal skeletons to a mineral library and a full chemistry lab. I even participated in a Crime Scene Chemistry session before exploring the space capsule. OMSI is available for event rentals, and judging by how much the students on a field trip loved each exhibit, I’m pretty confident a group of adults would love it even more.

The Portland Art Museum is another fantastic option for group outings and features a wide range of exhibits that inspire and delight. And for planners seeking something quirkier, a few blocks away is The Skeleton Key Odditorium, a museum filled with all sorts of spooky curiosities. A quick note for the brave: In the back of the museum sits a haunted doll named Samantha, aka Sammy, positioned above a bell powered by electromagnetic field sensors said to react to paranormal energy. I spoke to Sammy with zero response. But the moment I turned to leave, a sharp ding rang out and made my stomach drop.

If you have a chance, make sure you swing by Powell’s Books, too. On a normal day, I could lose hours exploring the different aisles.

Places to Host

I stayed at the Hilton Portland Downtown, which also served as the host hotel for the conference. The 455-room property offers 66,000 sq. ft. of event space on both its upper and lower levels, making it easy to find each session without getting turned around.

For the opening night of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals, we gathered at the Porsche Museum, a standout with nearly 14,000 sq. ft. of indoor/outdoor space for networking, dining and dancing.