In addition to activities hosted at the official conference site, there are more NEW and exciting opportunities than ever to augment your SPLC Summit experience!
Early Arrival Events: Sunday, May 19
Other Conference Side Events: Monday May 20 – Thursday May 23
Please note that all activities, with the exception of the morning group runs and Wednesday happy hour, require advance registration.
At 5,200 acres, Portland’s Forest Park is one of the largest urban forests in the United States. With more than 80 miles of trails, fire lanes and forest roads, Forest Park stretches for more than seven miles along the eastern slope of the Tualatin Mountains, overlooking Northwest Portland and the convergence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Forest Park offers an unparalleled opportunity for visitors to experience a true Northwest forest without leaving the Portland city limits. Led by knowledgeable staff and local experts, Forest Park Discovery Hikes are a great way to learn more about the Forest Park ecology, topography and history.
Cost: $60/ person. Includes transportation and guide.
Get the ultimate Oregon experience as you explore the incredible waterfalls of Silver Falls State Park and luscious pinot noirs of the Willamette Valley. Learn how these two Oregon treasures are linked by a fiery natural history while taking to the trails and tasting fine wine with your naturalist guide.
Start your morning in Oregon’s largest state park, Silver Falls. Breathe in the piney scent of an evergreen tree, pick salmonberries in the summer, and get gently misted by one of the Park’s glistening falls. Visit both the North and South Falls, walking with your guide along peaceful nature trails to experience these iconic natural wonders from different angles. Venture along a path that takes you behind the falls, where you can watch the water create a flowing curtain for the amphitheater you’re standing in.
Spend your afternoon tasting pinot noirs and other fine wines in the intimate settings of boutique wineries. Take in the rolling hillsides and serene vineyards of the Willamette Valley and learn how the terroir of the land influences the wine in your glass! At the first wine stop, enjoy Oregon’s culinary bounty with a fresh lunch served at Left Coast Cellars.
Cost: $175/ person. Includes transportation, wine tasting, lunch and guide.
Welcome to Portland, or as some of us call it, Beervana! Brewers throughout Oregon have long been ahead of the curve when it comes to craft beer, and Portland remains the epicenter of this culture. In fact, there are more breweries in Portland than in any other city in the world!
Lots of visitors to Portland dip their toe into the waters, often by visiting the larger regional breweries with flagship pubs in downtown’s Pearl District. Join us as we venture out to some of the cities most unique facilities, where smaller operations are on the cutting edge.
We’ll visit three breweries this afternoon, and will learn all about the production process, as well as the variety of ales and lagers that make the world of beer so interesting. This will include a behind-the-scenes tour at your first brewery stop of the day. You’ll sample various styles of beer at each brewery, and snacks will be included at the last stop. You’ll also receive a personal beer journal with which to take notes on your favorite, and a souvenir glass from your hosts, Brewvana: Portland Through Craft
Cost: $109/ person. Includes transportation, beer tasting, snacks and guide.
Set out to experience two of the greatest attractions of the Pacific Northwest – the Columbia Gorge Waterfalls and Oregon wines! Hear the amazing narratives that lie beneath the scenic beauty, as you admire the basalt cliffs, lofty waterfalls, and placid vineyards and orchards that define the area.
Begin your afternoon along the mighty Columbia River, watching for bald eagles and ospreys, as you make your way to the verdant forests of “Waterfall Alley.” Your guide will provide a naturalist perspective on the mossy environment as you meander around some of the 70 waterfalls that drape the region’s cliffs. As you continue east, the wet forests of the coastal Pacific Northwest give way to Garry Oak, Ponderosa Pines, and other more arid vegetation.
Enjoy lunch and spend some free time in the historic downtown of Hood River, where you can explore shopping, breweries, wineries, or if it’s a clear day, take a brief excursion with your guide to a viewpoint of Mt. Hood.
Cost: $135/ person. Includes transportation, lunch and guide.
Enjoy dinner with fellow attendees at nearby popular Portland restaurants on Monday evening. These restaurants were chosen for their commitment to local and/or sustainable cuisine and showcase the amazing food culture of the city. Visit the Dine Around page for more details.
Make a fresh start to your conference day with a group run on Portland’s waterfront. Meet SPLC staff in the lobby of the Hilton Portland Downtown on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. A 2 mile and 5 mile option will be offered each day. There will be a slower and faster group to accommodate all preferences.
*Pre-Registration NOT Required*
This bonus evening session is a continuation of the Wednesday 2:30 panel discussion “The Role of Procurement in Achieving a Sustainable Workplace – from Office to Building.” Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the LEED Platinum Edith Green – Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, and to hear a presentation by the US General Services Administration’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Kevin Kampshroer, while enjoying complimentary locally sourced hors d’oeuvres and an open bar of Oregon wines and craft beers. The evening will also include presentation of the EPEAT Purchaser Awards, honoring organizations that have made a commitment to sustainable IT procurement. GEC invites all Summit attendees to join them at this complimentary event.
Enjoy a final send off with other Summit attendees with a happy hour directly after Summit activities end at the fashionable Jackrabbit Portland.
Please note this is an on-own event and is not hosted by the Summit.
*Pre-Registration NOT Required*
Within every neighborhood (or district) there lies the opportunity to design truly innovative, scalable solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing city makers today: income, education and health disparities; blight and ecological degradation; the growing threat of climate change; and rapid urban growth. Lloyd EcoDistrict is a living laboratory for sustainability, pioneering collaborative community-scale solutions for social and environmental health. We bring together residents, organizations and businesses in Lloyd to educate, set goals, aggregate resources, and catalyze action.
The tour highlights some of the great work partners and neighbors are doing to make Lloyd a healthier, greener, and more connected community. Join us for a well-paced walk as we visit green roofs, bike lanes, water treatment systems, and LEED buildings. Visit the tour website for more detailed information.
The Portland Innovation Quadrant serves as the creative hub for Portland’s science and technology community, fostering an emerging innovation-focused district. The Portland IQ formed when Portland’s higher-ed anchor institutions OHSU, PSU, and PCC recognized that shared goals, overlapping constituencies, close proximity, increasing community investment, real-estate development and complementary public infrastructure investments presented a rare opportunity for collaboration. The Portland IQ represents a unique opportunity for educational institutions, entrepreneurs, incubators, and companies — large and small — to jointly influence, advise, and foster an innovation ecosystem that creates a better future for Portlanders intentionally.
This tour will showcase the South Waterfront, which is blossoming as a hotbed for life science, medical device, and digital health startups, and the Central Eastside, which is quickly emerging as a hub for collaborative tech innovation. We’ll ride the Portland Aerial Tram to get a birds-eye view of Marquam Hill, stop by the OUS Robertson Life Sciences Building, and traverse the Willamette River by Portland Streetcar across the Tilikum Crossing.
Most people think Portland’s livability is organic, but in fact it was an intentional set of policies and ideas that helped make Portland the great place it is today. Now, Portland is leveraging its livability to grow its economy. Known as one of the nation’s greenest metropolitan areas, Portland is attracting talent from around the world interested in cashing in on the “second paycheck” of urban livability in the creative city. But does the livability dividend accrue to all Portlanders equally?
Through a series of stops along SE Division Street, this tour will unpack the secrets to Portland’s successes as well as the challenges it faces, including collaborative governance, climate action planning and resilience, social justice and equity, rapid growth and the housing crisis, and transforming the city for a post-carbon future.
To add a tour or dine-around option to your existing Summit registration, follow the steps below:
1. Login to your registration account.
If you did not create a registration account password, enter your email and click “Continue”. You will receive an auto-generated email with your registration access link. If you created a password, but cannot remember the code, click “Forgot Your Password” and an email will be sent with login information.
2. Once you are on your account overview page, click the blue “Add’l Events & Tickets” link in the edit section. You may add the events here.
3. Click “Continue” and it will direct you to the checkout page, where you can provide payment information (if necessary).
4. You will receive an email receipt upon completion of your transaction.