Portland Timbers to visit Hood River in inaugural 'Rose City Road Trip,' presented by Providence Health & Services

PORTLAND, Ore. – Players and staff of the Portland Timbers will hit the road on Monday, Aug. 17, to visit with fans and conduct community events, a youth soccer clinic and host a pub event with a Q&A session in Hood River as part of the inaugural “Rose City Road Trip,” presented by Providence Health & Services.

The Timbers, including players Diego Chara and Jorge Villafaña, and mascot Timber Joey will begin the day with a hospital visit, spending time getting to know patients at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital before heading to Wy’East Middle School for a community event in collaboration with the SPROUTS program. The SPROUTS program is an effort to get kids into gardening and healthy eating. It is an after school horticulture program where kids start all plants from seeds, grow vegetable starts, harvest vegetables and cultivate flowers.

“Creating healthier communities is our goal and much of that work happens outside of the medical environment, in places like soccer fields and other areas where families can be active,” said Ed Freysinger, Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital chief executive. “We look for areas to promote exercise and partnering with the Timbers to present the ‘Rose City Road Trip’ in Hood River, including the free kids’ soccer clinic, is a great example of using sports as a vehicle toward a healthy, active lifestyle.”

Following the project, the Timbers will host a free youth soccer clinic from 3-5 p.m. (Pacific) at Westside Elementary School led by the club’s youth academy staff for children ages 5-13. The clinic is free and open to the public, and participants must pre-register online at www.timbers.com/rosecityroadtrip.

Closing out the visit, the club will conduct a pub event at The River City Saloon (207 Cascade Ave.). The event is free and open to fans for the chance to interact with players through a Q&A session, photos and autographs from 6-8 p.m. (Pacific).