STORY:
Family is the Focus of Portland's Party

15-block street party in Oregon is set up to be fun for the whole family

The block party will begin at 9 p.m. and continue until 1 a. m. It will feature plenty of food and fun. A couple of swing dancing groups will entertain the crowd and at midnight partygoers will be treated to a laser and fireworks show.

The free "Millennium Celebration" will center on Pioneer Courthouse Square and traffic will not be allowed according to the Oregonian newspaper. In fact, organizers are keeping traffic off a 15-block area so the crowds will be safe to wonder the streets. Bus and Max train service will shuttle partygoers from parking areas to the street party.

Eleven primary city bus routes will operate every 15 minutes and if the crowds are huge there will be enough buses, 30 buses will be kept on standby. To keep the bus stops safe an extra 100 security guards will be on duty.

You’ll find your share of city police wondering the streets also, an estimated 100 officers will be on hand to monitor the celebration. While it’s not illegal for people 21 and older to be drunk, police plan to arrest people for disorderly conduct and drinking in public. They will take troublesome drunks into custody to keep the streets safe. They plan on snagging quite a few troublemakers because police are setting up supervised area where people will be held until they sober up.

The city is also hoping to raise enough money to light up four bridges for New Year’s Eve and keep them lit for more than a year. Seattle is considering and similar plan. The city’s mayor wants to see the lights up through January 23, 2001 that’s the day Portland will celebrate its 150th anniversary. The bridges that will be decked out include Burnside, Steel, Hawthorne and the Broadway Bridge.

With Portland’s anniversary and Year 2000 coming so close together city planners want to look at the millennium celebration as a chance to figure out where Portland is going as a city and promote community involvement at the same time. Source: The Oregonian

DATE: 10/19/99

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