The Pacific Northwest is positively brimming with arts offerings that visiting groups can take advantage of. From museums of fine art that double as off-site event venues to festivals, theater and music performances, Oregon and Washington provide a full calendar of opportunities for planners to enrich any meeting itinerary.
"Oregon’s arts scene is one of the liveliest in the nation," says Christine D’Arcy, executive director at the Oregon Arts Commission-Cultural Trust, citing the Portland area as home to thousands of creatives—architects, designers, artists and writers—and Ashland as the base of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the largest regional theater company in the country. "About 20,000 artists make their home in Oregon, contributing to our creative vitality."
And according to Marsha Massey, executive director with Washington State Tourism, the Evergreen State is a mosaic of cultural influences and has long been a magnet for creative and independent thinkers.
"From our foundational roots in iconic Native American arts to modern-day icons like Bing Crosby, Robert Joffrey, Dale Chihuly or Kurt Cobain, just to name a few, Washington has nurtured a broad array of arts excellence," she says. "Art here happens in the big halls and the small coffee houses, in the museums and in the public spaces."
Following are some the region’s group-friendly locales with plenty of arts on the agenda for attendees.
OREGON
Portland
Portland is a city with a strong creative class and powerful DIY mentality that permeates its artistic community, from professional galleries that open their doors in the Pearl District for the First Thursday Art Walk each month to the innovative Museum of Contemporary Craft, which has meeting spaces such as a rooftop deck for use in the warmer months.
The Portland Art Museum offers everything from a private art library to a grand ballroom for group use, plus the option of using some of the museum’s permanent art collection as a backdrop for an event, according to Barbara Steinfeld, vice president of tourism sales at Travel Portland.
"Our convention sales and services team can help planners utilize our artistic venues to create something very unique and memorable for their delegates," she says, adding the city is best known for its performing arts companies, festivals and unique indie music scene, featuring artists as diverse as The Shins, Pink Martini and The Decemberists. "Many of our companies and indie music bands tour original work throughout the country and the world."
BodyVox Dance troupe, a Portland dance company that explores movement with a focus on athleticism and theatrical elements, now has its own studio that can be used for off-site meetings and for treating attendees to a private performance.
"Portland’s art scene is growing by leaps and bounds, especially in visual arts and music," Steinfeld says, citing the Fertile Ground Festival, which premieres original plays in January, and the Portland Cello Project, which is known for highlighting modern music played in a classical style.
Eugene
In Eugene, creativity is everywhere, according to Lisa Lawton, director of community relations at Travel Lane County, pointing to everything from the annual Art in the Vineyard Festival at Alton Baker Park to First Friday Art Walk around downtown’s galleries.
"Being home to seven performing arts companies, there’s always a season of opera, ballet, choral and symphonic works to look forward to," she says, adding that the area is punctuated by public art. "Local studios, art and education centers offer classes and workshops for all skill levels, whether you want to learn how to paint, sculpt or blow glass."
To that end, Studio West Fine Art Gallery and Glassblowing Studio offer glass-blowing demonstrations and classes,
The Hult Center for the Performing Arts is the most well-known landmark in Eugene, hosting everything from the 19-day Oregon Bach Festival to Broadway shows and everything in between. Situated next door to the Hilton Eugene, the Hult Center is also available for receptions, conference sessions and award ceremonies.
"The Shedd Institute for the Arts is quickly becoming another well-known venue and host of highly acclaimed artists and a concert series, including the Oregon Festival of American Music," Lawton says, adding that the outdoor Cuthbert Amphitheatre, the historic McDonald Theatre and WOW Hall also have full calendars of events for groups to check out.
"Arts-related facilities in the area are well-known for extending hospitality to meeting delegates," Lawton says. "Groups have received discounted tickets to performances and many venues have opened their doors for special off-site events or activities. For example, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art [at the University of Oregon] has held a variety of receptions and tours for delegates."
Bend
Bend has a thriving arts scene often described as "cosmountainpolitan"—Western with a big-city flair, according to Tawna Fenske, spokesperson for Visit Bend.
"There are a number of local galleries as well as [places] like Atelier 6000, which is a great place for hands-on classes," she says. "Local galleries and businesses throw open their doors for the monthly First Friday Art Walk. You can sip wine and stroll the streets to scope out artwork, do a little shopping, or meet the artists."
Every summer in a green grass park full of flowers next to the Deschutes River, Bend plays host to Art in the High Desert, a festival that features fine art and craft artists from across the country representing 14 different medias. It’s worth noting the nearby Old Mill District often has open storefronts that could be used for meeting sites.
October’s annual BendFilm Festival is an avant-garde event featuring foreign and domestic independent films. The festival offers special events for groups; in 2010, part of the Oregon Governor’s Conference programming included a production from BendFilm of the "best of" film shorts. Over 400 people attended.
"Bend has been one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities for the last decade, so it’s no surprise the arts scene has been growing right along with it," Fenske says, citing the annual, and unique, Under Pressure steamroller printing event at Atelier 6000, which turns heavy equipment into a large-scale printing press culminating in the "Under Pressure" exhibition and silent art auction.
Ashland
Home to the internationally renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), more than 80 art galleries with year-round events and theaters such as the Oregon Cabaret Theatre, Ashland welcomes over 300,000 visitors each year to enjoy the arts between the convergence of the Cascade and Siskiyou mountains.
According to Katharine Flanagan, spokesperson for the Ashland COC/Visitor and Convention Bureau, Ashland accommodates groups of all interests and invites them to consider incorporating its many arts offerings into itineraries. For instance, group tickets are available for the OSF and planners can combine a backstage tour, lunch and a matinee performance for attendees.
"Ashland’s art scene is constantly emerging through promotion and participation of talented performers and artists," she says. "[Groups can] join us for First Friday Artwalk provided by the Ashland Gallery Association in addition to the Taste of Ashland each year in April, combining art, music, food and drink."
Flanagan adds that planners are encouraged to contact the Ashland Gallery Association to arrange private group tours of galleries, including the Davis and Cline Gallery, Gathering Glass Studio and Illahe Studios and Gallery.
WASHINGTON
Seattle Area
Seattle is known worldwide as a mecca for arts and culture; just ask Frasier and Niles Crane. Offerings range from the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet to more than two dozen professional theater companies, according to Jerri Lane, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Seattle’s CVB.
"Known for being the home of grunge, Seattle’s diverse and active music scene is nearly unrivaled," Lane says.
Experience Music Project (EMP) is dedicated to exploring creativity and innovation in American popular music. The 140,000-square-foot museum features a collection of more than 80,000 artifacts, including one of the world’s largest collections of Jimi Hendrix memorabilia.
Artsy venues available for off-site events in Seattle include Experience Music Project; Olympic Sculpture Park, a nine-acre space with major works by world-renowned artists such as Richard Serra and Alexander Calder; and Benaroya Hall, where the Seattle Symphony performs.
Home of the Rainier Symphony and Northwest Symphony Orchestra, nearby Seattle Southside, consisting of the cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, Kent and Des Moines, is one of the most diverse regions on the West Coast, with year-round festivals showcasing local artwork, music and theater, according to Ashley Comar, spokesperson for Seattle Southside Visitor Services.
"Each year there are more and more festivals popping up focusing on the importance of sharing art and culture," she says, citing the Annual Poverty Bay Arts Festival, which takes place at the end of summer in conjunction with the Poverty Bay Blues and Brews Festival. "Local artists display their wares for purchase all around the city of Des Moines and blues musicians play during a beer-tasting event set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Puget Sound."
She adds that Mill Creek Earthworks Park, with picnic tables, open fields, an amphitheater and plenty of parking, is the perfect place to hold an off-site presentation, concert or barbecue.
And across Lake Washington from Seattle in downtown Bellevue, the Bellevue Art Museum doubles as a venue for group gatherings.
Additionally, the annual Bellevue Festival of the Arts draws large crowds and provides much fun for visiting groups.
Tacoma
Tacoma is defined by the intricate art of glass- blowing and local artisans, from Dale Chihuly to the Spaceworks Tacoma project, according to Shauna Lunde, director of sales and marketing at the Tacoma Regional CVB, whose tagline is "Where Art and Nature Meet."
"The most common theme with Tacoma art is glass," she says. "Glass art is on our bridge, in our restaurants and in our museums."
The city’s Museum District ranges from the Tacoma Art Museum to the Museum of Glass and is connected by the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. Not to be outdone, Lunde adds, the Broadway Center for the Arts brings nationally touring acts and local productions to its three historic stages.
"The Tacoma Art Museum and Museum of Glass are popular destinations for receptions, meetings and events large and small," she says. "The Broadway Center for the Arts is also a popular location for meetings and gatherings of all types, with its many meeting spaces and beautiful lobby areas."
Olympia
From the Washington Center for the Performing Arts to programs at Capital Playhouse, Olympia’s Theater District has an array of arts options for visiting groups.
"Capital Playhouse has been host to a variety of groups that couple their event with a night out to the theater," says Stephanie Nace, spokesperson for the venue. "Olympia Downtown Association has held its annual meeting in the theater for at least the last four years, during which the cast of the current production has provided entertainment."
Nace adds that the live theater scene in Olympia continues to grow at a rate that is impressive for what is classified as a small city; it currently boasts more than 300 annual performances.
Myrna Orsini, founder/director of the Monarch Contemporary Art Center and Sculpture Park, says the facility is another top artsy attraction in Olympia. Over 150 sculptures can be found on the grounds, she adds, and points of interest include a hedge maze in the shape of a butterfly and the Sound Garden, where visitors can play the musical sculptures. The on-site Papillon Gallery hosts art shows and provides the space for art classes and receptions, as there is a full-service kitchen.
Spokane
Spokane is rich in historic arts venues, including the Bing Crosby Theater (formerly the Clemmer Theater) and the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, which provides tours and group discounts for performances such as Spokane Opera and Spokane String Quartet; public art such as the Sculpture Walk in Riverfront Park; and museums like the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture and the Jundt Art Museum at Gonzaga University.
"Much of the growth in our ‘scene’ is in events created by and for young adults from 18 to 35," says Karen Mobley, arts director for the city of Spokane and Spokane Arts Commission. "We are the fastest-growing city for this age group in Washington, and it is clear that this is having an influence, whether it is special events like Terrain and the Visual Arts Tour or festivals like ArtFest and concerts at Audubon Park."
There is also a very active theater community in Spokane with a full spectrum of performances, from musical to dramatic.
And the Looff Carousel, a National Historic Landmark at Spokane’s Riverfront Park just steps away from the Spokane Convention Center, blends art and machinery.
"It’s a great stop for any group to take a break from their meeting, walk to the park and be transported back in time for a child-like experience," says Dana Haynes, spokesperson for the Spokane Regional CVB.
Port Townsend
Known as Washington’s Victorian seaport and arts community, Port Townsend is a haven that attracts artists from every genre, nurturing and celebrating creativity outside the box, according to Christina Pivarnik, spokesperson for the City of Port Townsend.
Fort Worden State Park, Pivarnik says, is home to Centrum, a renowned arts organization that hosts major music festivals throughout the summer, including Fiddle Tunes, Jazz Port Townsend and Acoustic Blues Festival, as well as additional partners working in various art forms like the Port Townsend Woodworking School and Corvidae Press, an association of artists who share an interest in non-toxic printmaking.
"Each of these organizations offers classes and workshops at various times throughout the year," Pivarnik says, adding that Port Townsend is expanding its meeting and conference capabilities. "As such, activities varying in length from a short mid-morning break to a one-hour class or several-day workshop can easily be arranged and customized to accommodate a group’s interests. These can focus on any form of the arts a group may be interested in, from painting and crafting classes to workshops for writers, dance and movement sessions, and acting classes for team building."
Other noteworthy arts options in Port Townsend are performances at Key City Public Theatre, downtown’s Gallery Walk, held the first Saturday of every month, and the annual Port Townsend Film Festival in September.
Bellingham/Whatcom County
In the Bellingham/Whatcom County region, you’re never far from a fine art gallery, museum or performance venue, according to Jacqueline Cartier, spokesperson for Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism.
"The arts scene in Bellingham is growing in a major way in 2011," she says, explaining it will soon be home to the new Pickford Film Center, located in downtown’s Arts District. The expanded 29,000-square-foot double theater will showcase independent films and will be the only LEED-certified movie theater in the U.S.
The Arts District is also home to the Mount Baker Theatre, a circa-1927 venue listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the Whatcom Museum, a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate; and the 95-seat, cabaret-style Upfront Theatre, which hosts corporate events, "biz prov" business skills classes and private performances that can be custom-tailored to fit each group’s needs.
Lastly, more than 40 artists participate and exhibit during the annual Whatcom Artist Studio Tour, which is held on the first two weekends of October. This tour features the artists, among them glassworkers, jewelers, painters and potters, in their home studios throughout Bellingham and the surrounding Whatcom County region.
Freelancer Carolyn Blackburn often spends time in the Pacific Northwest and really enjoys its artsy offerings.
