Today we awarded winners from our first ever photo contest!  The WCVA awarded prize money for their wonderful shots of the county. It was fun holding a photo contest.  It’s not as easy as you might think though, definitely fun but it does require time and management.  We plan on adding all the images that were submitted as entries to our photo library which we will in turn use for our many publications and online to promote tourism in Washington County.

Barbara Scoles, Grand Prize - $1,000

We all reap the benefits here.  The WCVA gets fabulous pictures and locals and visitors get to enjoy the scenery, contribute to the greater good of our community and tourism.

Congratulation to our photos contest winners!!!
When are you taking some shots?  See current photo contest. 

From L: Mary Lane Anderson, Kevin Pastores, Bob Wayt, Barbara Scoles, Scott McDonald, Ruthie Reinert,CEO-WCVA (missing-Bob Streicher, Larry Andreasen)

Hikers discover the natural beauty of Cooper Mountain. The site is now home to the new Cooper Mountain Nature Park.

Amid the musical trill of the White-Crowned sparrow was the shrill call of a cicada, a sound I haven’t heard since I left the desert of Southern Nevada for the cooler, greener pastures of Northwestern Oregon. These insects, as naturalist James Davis pointed out, are not common west of the Cascade Range. So these desert dwellers, much like myself, found their way to the new Cooper Mountain Nature Park, which opens to the public June 27.

Washington County’s newest nature spot, located in Beaverton, features three miles of trails with varying difficulty through three distinct habitats - forest, prairie and oak woodlands. Our hour-long walk did not take us through all three miles, but what we didn’t cover trail-wise, we sure earned in newly-acquired knowledge.

Along the trail James pointed out many of the native plants and invasive species that lined the gravel trail. We were educated about the Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine, which is being reintroduced to the area after virtually disappearing from years of logging and urban growth; spotted poison oak and learned how to identify it in the wild; saw a lone St. John’s Wort plant, which is used as an herbal treatment for depression; and discovered a couple of Bitter Cherry trees, which provide nourishment to various birds and wildlife.

Further evidence of wildlife living in the park included the discovery of mole holes and squirrel nests, while bird enthusiasts on the tour identified the songbirds behind the chorus of musical chirps.

For this desert girl, the guided walk through the park with a group of naturalists provided an eye-opening look into the wonders of nature. Although the loud sound of the cicadas made me a little homesick, the sweet singing of the birds made me realize that this is my home, and I wouldn’t trade it for, well , all the wine in the Willamette Valley.

For those who want to learn more about the wilds of Washington County, Cooper Mountain Nature Park will be hosting guided walks, star parties, garden demonstrations, wildlife talks and more throughout the summer.  Check out our event calendar or visit the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District for more information

Are you and your kids fans of cute and cuddly baby animals? Come on, who isn’t? For a chance to “ooh” and “ahh” over some particularly adorable characters, visit Alpacas of Oregon now to see their seven new baby alpacas, or crias, in a variety of colors. There are even four more crias on the way, so if you’re lucky you could see a live birth! Visitors are welcome to stop by for a tour, a cuddle with the babies, and to check out the shop filled with beautiful alpaca wool products. So, now that the kids are out of school, what are you waiting for?!

Recently, we’ve been promoting our newest Washington County attraction, the ‘Vineyard & Valley Scenic Tour’, which is a driving tour that is part of the Oregon Scenic Byways Program. It’s about 50-miles in length and uncovers a lot of Washington County’s rural areas.  There has been a lot of work involved in making this happen, I won’t bore you with the details here.  But many community leaders, agencies and committee members have been involved in making this attraction possible not only for out of town visitors but for in town visitors as well.  After all, this scenic beauty is in our backyard.  We should go explore it.  One of the pieces coming to fruition now is crop signs!  No, we don’t mean of the extra-terrestrial kind, but the agricultural kind! 

The WCVA stirred up such excitement over these crop signs it was quite unbelievable to someone like myself who is unfamiliar with the world of farming and agriculture.  The Oregon Agri-Business Council shared in the cost for these crop signs, while WCVA covered the rest.  The hope is to have up to 30 crop signs posted by end of 2009. Our local participating farmers couldn’t be happier! Look for them on the Tour Route!  More info on Vineyard & Valley Scenic Tour.

Hi Washington County groupie,

Here is a little post from one of our stakeholders.  Summer eves + wine + outdoor lounge + movie??!!  I don’t drink much wine personally (I know, it’s a shame), but I’d go just for the outdoor lounge.  It’s gorgeous! 

   Check out this week’s flyer.

Hi Friends,
Thanks to everybody who made it out last Friday.  It was a really nice evening of wine, garden time and one of our favorite movies, Cinema Paradiso.  This week we are going to be open on both Friday and Saturday.  Friday’s movie, ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’, is fun and represents a solid departure from most of our other selections.  For those who haven’t seen Saturday’s movie, ‘Jean de’Florette’, you should, it’s beautiful and a great story. 

We hope to see you,
Melinda and Stuart                                                        

Links - http://budurl.com/GrdnVyds  & GardenVineyards.com

The results are in! The Washington County Visitors Association proudly announces the results of the inaugural photography contest. It was a difficult decision, as the WCVA staff reviewed submissions based on the following criteria:

1. Originality
2. Technical Excellence
3. Composition
4. Overall Impact
5. Artistic Merit
6. Relevance to Tourism

Thanks to all those who submited photos to our contest. And keep an eye out…you may just see one of YOUR Washington County photos in an advertisement or in our next Visitors Guide.

And the winners are (drum roll, please):

Grand prize: Swallow Squabble

Grand Prize Winner ($1,000) by ‘bescoles’, Barbara Scoles

Second Prize (x2): Henry Hagg Lake, Winter Sunrise

Second Prize ($500) by ‘moontan2008’, Bob Streicher

Second Prize: Springhill Rd, Harvest, Gaston

Second Prize ($500) by ‘mlaphoto’, Mary Lane Anderson

Third Prize (x4): Red Carpet

Third Prize ($250) by ‘Bobshots’, Larry Andreasen

Third Prize: Train Bridge

Third Prize ($250) by ‘kevinpastores’, Kevin Pastores

Third Prize: Jenkins-Estate, Cooper Mtn.

Third Prize ($250) by ‘yankeecam’, Bob Wayt

Third Prize: Scotch Church

Third Prize - ($250) 'scott.mcdonald1962', Scott McDonald

A tale of your average day at the WCVA?  A few weeks ago, a group of fun visitors stopped by our office looking for local hotel information- but that’s not all there is to this story.  These weren’t your ordinary leisure travelers- they were engineering graduates from the University of Utah and they were here to race an electric car they’d built to compete in an “Electrathon” event.  You won’t believe it by the photo- because they look as fresh as daisies- but they had just pulled an 11 hour overnight road trip after playing a brutal softball game the previous evening in Salt Lake City, Utah!  One of them was also going to be interviewing for a job with a company located in the same building as our WCVA office.

The boys from Salt Lake City, UT. Hope they made it back in one piece!

Hopefully, they will see this blog and update us as to how they did on the race track!   Thanks for stopping in guys!

Why, this car is aerodynamic….

Are you going to the Grand Floral Parade on Saturday, or watching it on television perhaps?  If so, look very, very carefully for the green trim along the bottom of the St. Mary’s Academy float.  It will surely be some of the finest tree branch artistry you’ll ever see- especially the front corner on the passenger side which- ahem- just so happened to be the section I worked on.  O.k., o.k., it was a very small section and some of my coworker friends from the WCVA stayed longer volunteering as float decorators than I did.  I’m sure their branch work is top-notch too.

Heft those tree trimmings Heather!

Make sure to cheer loudly for any Washington County representation in the parade: Tualatin High School Dance Team, Sunset High School, Washington County Fair & Rodeo Queen Melissa Weimar, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Posse.  Speaking of posses and horses- cheer even louder for the volunteers on scooper duty!

The North Willamette Vintners are kicking off their Vinology class series, featuring a Wine Lovers track and another for Professionals. The Wine Lovers series is the one for you whether you’re an avid wine lover or just discovering the lifestyle. This is an educational, entertaining and hands-on opportunity to advance your love of wine, with classes including:

1. SWIRL, SNIFF, SIP, SPIT:
   FUNDAMENTALS OF WINE TASTING; June 13, 2009, 1pm – 3pm at Oak Knoll Winery

 

2. PRECISION VITICULTURE:
   FARMING FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND QUALITY; July 18, 2009, 1pm- 3pm at Patton Valley Vineyard

 

3. SPARKLING WINE 101:
   EVERY DAY SHOULD BE A CELEBRATION; August 8, 2009. 1pm-3pm at J. Albin Winery

 

4. BARREL MAKING 101:
   THE CRAFT WITHIN THE CRAFT; September 12, 2009, 10am – 12pm at Elk Cove Vineyards

 

5. SAKÉ 101: October 10, 2009, 10am – 12pm at SakéOne

For more details on these classes, complete details on the Professional series, and to purchase tickets, visit the North Willamette Vintners website.

Each class is only $30 in advance or $40 during the week of the class - don’t miss this opportunity to get the inside scoop on wine and saké from the pros!

The Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA), awarded just under $200,000 in tourism grants to local organizations. The WCVA is a destination marketing organization charged with marketing the county as a tourism destination. Up to $200,000 are allocated to local organizations annually for tourism development.

Selected by the WCVA’s grant committee, which is comprised of members of its board of directors, the seven recipients will receive the funds beginning in July for projects designed to enhance Washington County’s tourism products.

Recipients of the WCVA’s 2009-10 tourism grants are: 

• Banks Community Foundation ($15,000): Funding support to produce a Banks, Ore., visitor guide highlighting the attributes of L.L.
  

  First store built in Banks, 1901.

  “Stub” Stewart State Park, which is an important attraction for out-of-town visitors

• Broadway Rose Theatre ($30,000): Funding support to hire part-time staff dedicated to promoting upcoming theater productions to out-of-town groups, and funding support for out-of-area advertising
• Horning’s Hideout ($18,826): Funding support to build two competition-quality disc golf courses, with the goal of hosting tournaments, which will potentially attract out-of-town visitors
• Hulaman Triathlon ($50,000): Funding support for the Hulaman Triathlon sporting event, with the goal of positioning the event at a higher competitive level to attract and increase the number of out-of-town athlete attendees
• North Willamette Vintners Association ($30,000): Funding support to develop programs and wine events in Washington County to attract out-of-town visitors
• L.L. “Stub” Stewart State Park ($8,350): Funding support to build a competition-quality disc golf course, with the goal of hosting tournaments, which will potentially attract out-of-town visitors
• Tualatin Riverkeepers  ($40,000): Funding support to purchase equipment and hire part-time staff to implement a guided river-rafting program in Washington County, which will enhance the county’s tourism assets for the group tour and independent travel markets

Hornings Hideout

The sole purpose of the funds allocated is for the development or promotion of emerging events, activities and other tourism-related attractions in Washington County. To be considered for funding, projects must have the potential to attract and draw tourists from at least 50 miles outside of Washington County and the Portland Metro area, thereby increasing visitor spending in the local economy.

All grant recipients are required to demonstrate how the awarded funds increased visitor spending in Washington County from visitors who traveled from out of the Portland Metro area, as well as report a return on investment on these grants.

Congratulations to all of this year’s recipients!