Greetings from Portland, Oregon. Below is an update on the area’s newest travel-related developments. We hope you will find this information useful. If you prefer not to receive future media updates on Portland, you may unsubscribe here.

MAY TOPICS

• Green – Lucky Labrador Brew Pub Goes Solar
• Events – It’s Tramtastic! OHSU Tram Run & Walk
• Food & Wine – Cacao Chocolate Now Twice as Nice

Southeast Portland’s Lucky Labrador Brew Pub (“Lucky Lab,” as locals call it) is the first brewpub in Oregon to use a solar thermal system to brew beer. Solar panels on the roof of the pub generate energy to heat the water used in making beer. The renewable energy is also used to heat water needed for dishwashers and bathrooms. Even on cloudy days, of which Portland is known to have a few, the panels can generate enough energy to warm water to 145 degrees.

Lucky Lab, one of several Portland-area brewpubs that welcome dogs in their outdoor seating areas, plans to brew a special “Sun Beer” to celebrate its solar-heating system. All three Lucky Lab pubs are repurposed buildings: the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub’s building was formerly a roofing and sheet-metal warehouse; the Lucky Labrador Public House in the Multnomah Village neighborhood resides in a former Freemasons’ Hall; and Northwest Portland’s Lucky Labrador Beer Hall is located in an old trucking warehouse.

The Lucky Lab Brew Pub is located at 915 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., Portland. For more information on the pub or its sister properties, visit www.luckylab.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Gary Geist, Lucky Labrador
503.236.3555, hops@luckylab.com

Since it opened in January 2007, Portland’s Aerial Tram has been a huge hit with visitors. As the tram’s ultra-sleek gondolas make their three-minute journey from Portland’s South Waterfront District, where Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) Center for Health & Healing is located, to the top of Marquam Hill, site of OHSU’s main campus, riders enjoy picture-perfect views of the Willamette River, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens and downtown Portland. And on Sunday, June 1, riders can soak up those great views while benefiting a good cause.

OHSU’s annual Tram Run & Walk includes a 5K time-trial race, a 5K walk (strollers welcome) and a health and fitness expo with food, games, music and more. Registered runners and walkers will board the tram for a complimentary ride to the event’s starting point atop Marquam Hill. It’s all downhill from there, as the route winds its way back to the South Waterfront tram station. Special microchips attached to the runners’ shoes will provide accurate time records for each runner. The chips begin recording when participants cross the timing mat at the start line; recording ends when runners cross the mats at the finish line.

Proceeds from the Tram Run & Walk benefit the OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Participants can register online at www.ohsu.edu/tramrun; registration fees are $30 per person in advance, $35 on the day of the event.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Gerri Lutes, OHSU
503.494.4156, lutesg@ohsu.edu

Visitors to Portland typically get their endorphins flowing with biking, skiing and hiking. But there is another, more delectable route to nirvana: chocolate. Chocolate devotees who have already discovered Cacao, a stylish downtown Portland chocolate shop and tasting room, will be thrilled to know that that a “Cacao Annex” is set to open in June at the historic Heathman Hotel.

Cacao proprietors Jesse Manis and Aubrey Lindley are expert guides to sublime satisfaction, expounding upon the allure and attributes of designer chocolates without ever making their patrons feel the slightest bit unsophisticated. They will even arrange detailed chocolate tastings (by appointment), much like vintners do with their best wines. Their shop’s selection of top-quality chocolates includes rare and artisanal confections from around the world, as well as drinking chocolate (not to be confused with hot chocolate), a rich mixture served grownup-style in espresso-sized portions.

The Cacao Annex, which has street-front access, is located inside the Heathman Hotel’s building at 1001 S.W. Broadway. Cacao’s original store can be found at 414 S.W. 13th Ave. in downtown Portland. For more information on Cacao, visit www.cacaodrinkchocolate.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Jesse Manis, Cacao
503.241.0656, jesse@cacaodrinkchocolate.com

Aubrey Lindley, Cacao
503.241.0656, aubrey@cacaodrinkchocolate.com