Portland celebrated another joyful holiday season with Mike Bennett’s Snow Day Village at Director Park and the 15th annual PDX Pop-Up Shop program. These two festive initiatives brought seasonal cheer to the city, creating memorable experiences for the community while supporting local businesses throughout downtown. Between November 15 and December 31, 2024, 17 media stories covered Snow Day Village and PDX Pop-Up Shops, generating 43 media mentions and a 146 million editorial reach—underscoring the significant impact of our holiday programming on downtown Portland’s vitality.
Director Park’s Snow Day Village Delivers Joy to the Community
From November 15 to December 31, 2024, Snow Day Village brought holiday magic to Director Park. A heartfelt thank you to our partners—NW Natural, Mike Bennett, and Central City Concern—and the community members who helped transform the park into a festive wonderland.
Highlights include:
- 50,000 visitors enjoyed Snow Day Village*
- 120 gifts donated to Central City Concern through the Giving Tree Initiative
- 300 Santa letters delivered, including one sent to India
- 47 activities hosted throughout the holiday season
- $1.5 million estimated economic impact
*Please note that our figures are based on manual clicker counting conducted at the park during select periods where staff are present. These figures may differ from other reports, such as our Downtown Foot Traffic Report, as these methods use digital tracking to estimate foot traffic and may not account for all demographic variations, such as children.
Holiday PDX Pop-Up Shops Bring Vibrancy to Downtown
Celebrating its 15th year, the PDX Pop-Up Shop program has played a pivotal role in shaping the retail scene in the area. Thank you to the incredible businesses that participated in this season’s program: Ceramics Northwest, Mike Bennett’s Holiday Gift Shop, Sinister Coffee, Black Santa PDX, Portland Indigenous Marketplace, Newks Hot Sauce, House of Veracruz, and Bentley Fleurs. We’re excited to announce that Sinister Coffee and Bentley Fleurs have signed leases and are moving into their new downtown locations.
A big shoutout to the shop owners, the Portland community, and our partners for helping make this holiday season a resounding success. The PDX Pop-Up Shops program is a proud component of the Visit Downtown Campaign, a collaboration between Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, the Portland Metro Chamber, and the City of Portland.
