Photos by Trib’s Jaime Valdez: Kids celebrate Rose Festival in Fred Meyer Junior Parade
Published 5:33 pm Wednesday, June 4, 2025
It’s just as much of a Rose Festival tradition as the Starlight Parade and Grand Floral Parade — but for kids!
The Fred Meyer Junior Parade took over streets in the Hollywood District on Wednesday, June 4, our Portland Tribune photo Jaime Valdez documented the event with some great photos.
A little bit of Junior Parade history, courtesy of the Rose Festival:
Fun reigns at the Fred Meyer Junior Parade from the moment the lovable Fred Bear cuts the ribbon to the last float that goes down the street. Children from all parts of Portland participate by dressing in costume, transforming wagons into floats, decorating bikes with colorful flowers, or just by parading with friends and family.
Elementary and middle school marching bands fill the Hollywood District with song, and dance teams add swirls of color to the celebration. Regardless of how you participate in this pint-size parade, the kids of Portland enjoy their moment in the spotlight on Fox 12 Plus live, local television.
Celebrating our community’s children started early in the history of the Portland Rose Festival. In 1918, six kids in the Hollywood District were sorely disappointed about the cancellation of their beloved Rose Festival due to World War I. So, they decided to hold their own parade!
With a procession of two bicycles, one tricycle, and an express wagon carrying their own Queen down Northeast 44th Street, the first version of the Junior Parade began. Having been an official Rose Festival event since 1936, the Junior Parade is the oldest and largest children’s parade in the nation.
