The Wonderful World of Disney

Before the ice had set and before the skates were sharpened, Disney On Ice Presents Worlds of Fantasy was given a kings welcome at the R/West offices.

To help gear up for the opening night ahead of us, the PR squad blasted such favorites from our childhood throughout the halls including, but not limited to:

1. Under The Sea
2. Hakuna Matata
3. Can You Feel The Love Tonight

Molly and Ali took off for opening night interviews and media at the Rose Garden. We were pleasantly surprised with FANTASTIC seats and quickly learned that front row seats can also equal awkward moments of eye-contact with the skaters. I'd never been that close to a hyena or giraffe in my entire life!

The next morning was an early one. As noted on previous R/West posts - The early morning PR bird gets the worm- that's the saying, right? A cast of 4 R/Westies joined a cast of 30+ Disney On Ice performers at 4:30am to start shooting for the two top local morning shows:





Out and About with Drew Carney on KGW Channel 8 and...












On the Go With Joe featuring Joe V. from KPTV Channel 12.










Brittney and I even got to get in on the action - I mean who wouldn't want a picture with Flounder and Sebastian?




The afternoon was filled with a lovely event planned alongside the FABULOUS folk from Special Olympics Oregon. We were able to set-up a skate clinic with stars from Disney On Ice Presents Worlds of Fantasy at the Rose Garden with athletes and their friends/family. Ten Special Olympics Oregon athletes were able to make it for the clinic and they were all smiles, all afternoon. One athlete was so excited that she brought along a photo book of her Disney cruise hoping to reunite with her favorite characters.

We all agreed that the best part of this event was in seeing the faces of these girls (Yes, we couldn't persuade any boy athletes to attend) light up as they took the ice.

The athletes and skaters were then escorted to a private suite where they met the world's favorite mice - Mickey and Minnie of course!

All in all, a great year for Disney On Ice. Can't wait to put on the ol' skates this winter and see if I can try one of those triple axle things- doesn't look too hard...

The R/West crew is a bunch of...

WINNERS! Ok, I'll back up and let you in on the details...

So a few months ago, our little PR team decided that we do some pretty cool stuff, and that it was time to see how we stack up in Portland's PR world. So we applied for four PRSA Spotlight awards - and good news - we stack up pretty well!

Last night we donned our best attire (had to pull out those fancy dress-up clothes that we never have to wear to work - thank goodness!), prepped ourselves for possible acceptance speeches (ok not quite, but we were excited!), and headed to the Governor's Hotel for the PRSA Spotlight awards ceremony.

It was great to mingle with Portland's PR pros and even greater to find out that we had won! (Keep in mind we have never entered awards, and we definitely flirted with the deadline!) We won three of the four awards we applied for - one for The Game Factory's Build-A-Bear Wii Celebrity Launch Event, and two awards for Taco Del Mar's Free Tacos on Tax Day! We wanted to share the good news with you - and here are our new, most prized possessions. (They have taken the place of our candy jar - that's how much we like them...)

On another very exciting note, our design department won a Rosey award last night for their amazing work on BridgePort Brewery's Raven Mad bottle labels - they were 3D and even came with 3-D glasses, very cool! Congrats R/West team!!

Disney On Ice Ticket Giveaway!

That's right. Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy is coming to the Rose Garden this Thursday, Oct. 22 through Sunday, October 25th.

In our final week before the show, we have teamed up with some amazing Portland area bloggers who have taken part in our Pixie Dust Hunt ticket giveaway. Each blogger has posted pictures of Tinker Bell's Pixie Dust for the past two weeks, asking viewers to guess the location of the Pixie Dust in Portland.

For your chance to win a family 4-pack of tickets visit these participating blogs:

Mad Hatter Mom

Portland Parents

Mom Mag

Frugal Living NW

Thrifty NW Mom

All shows are at the Rose Garden:
Thursday, October 22 – 7:30 PM

Friday, October 23 – 7:30 PM

Saturday, October 24 – 12:00 PM, 3:30 PM. 7:00 PM

Sunday, October 25 – 1:00 PM, 4:30 PM

Tickets for Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy are available at http://disney.go.com/disneyonice or by calling the Rose Garden box office at (877) 789-ROSE.

HairM's Portland's Hardest Working Man Contest

Think you or someone you know has what it takes to be named Portland's Hardest Working Man? HairM, Portland’s premier full service salon for men located in Beaverton and downtown Portland, is searching the Rose City for “Portland’s Hardest Working Man” to recognize him for his hard work and reward him with a well-deserved day of pampering, including a cut and a 55-minute massage, and night on the town--dinner at Fenouil in the Pearl and a stay at Hotel Lucia.

Whether he works 80-hour weeks, cleans up city streets, or simply works a job you're glad you don't have, tell us why he's worthy of this title!

Submit nominations now through October 31st with a quick post on HairM’s Facebook Fan Page or by emailing pdxworkingman@gmail.com.

Le Tour des Plants Goes On the Go With Joe

In the wee hours of the morning, Dennis' 7 Dees Landscaping and Garden Centers, Cedar Hills, was just coming to life with colorful fall flowers, beautiful japanese maples, and the buzzing of its expert staff. Featured as one of 36 stops during Le Tour, Dennis' 7 Dees numerous activities throughout the week are sure to inform and excite all levels of green thumbs. Pick up a Le Tour guide at any participating nurseries for a coupon for a free Japanese maple from Dennis' 7 Dees, grown by their very own Vice President.

Check out the online segment here: http://www.kptv.com/onthegowithjoe/20901465/detail.html

And remember, Le Tour des Plants continues through this Sunday, Sept. 20th. For more information please visit: http://www.letourdesplants.com/

Le Tour Des Plants Begins Tomorrow!

The fourth-annual Le Tour des Plants, presented by Oregon Association of Nurseries begins tomorrow and will continue through the 20th. As one of the largest nursery tours in the nation, this year’s event features more than 30 nurseries and garden centers from Oregon and Washington. With more than 100 events and activities during Le Tour’s nine-day gardening excursion, there is something for everyone—from the best in fall gardening, to cooking with herbs and preserving the harvest, to many family-fun festivals and activities for kids.

What could be better than spending time in the garden and soaking up those last rays of sunshine? This is northwest gardening at its best!

For events and locations visit: http://www.letourdesplants.com/

Ron Tonkin Repaints Portland

Have you noticed a change downtown? Perhaps some new colors added to the corner of SW 2nd Avenue and Washington St. by the Morrison Bridge?

Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships has teamed up with local commercial artist, Howell Golson, to repaint a mural in downtown Portland. The previous Cherub mural, painted eight years ago, now displays a fresh and colorful depiction of “For the Love of Cars.”

The inspiration behind the mural comes from a place that lives and breathes a love of cars.

“A car is more than just a way to get from point A to point B. People love their cars, and often see them as an extension of themselves, even as a member of the family. And we love helping people find that perfect car, a car they love. We are looking forward to revealing the new mural, and hope Portlanders will appreciate this beautiful addition to our city.”—Brad Tonkin.

Commercial artist Howell Golson was chosen to create this message. “This mural obviously has to create emotion around owning a car, but I also felt the piece should elicit feelings of pride for citizens of Portland, along with Tonkin’s connection and history with the city.” Golson’s work includes projects for Cartoon Network, Newman’s Own, and Portland’s BridgePort Brewing Company.

Check out the mural's progress: