Aurora, Oregon

Combine your quest for getting your garden in with the short trip to Aurora, whether it’s combing one of the nearby nurseries for the right plants or to give the body a break for some post-digging R & R!  You’ll find our location close to many of the area’s top plant-sourcing businesses.  Don’t worry about “dressing up” to visit Aurora’s shops — we’ll be happy to just take you the way you arrive.

May 12  Antique Radio Show & Sale and Special Radio Auction, 9-3, American Legion Hall.  Free admission.  Sponsored by the Northwest Vintage Radio Society, this popular event is a must see!  Lots to look at, purchase and kibitz about with these very knowledgeable guys. Special auction begins at 1pm includes radios from the 1920′s-30′s in original condition from a Portland collector.  For details see www.nwvrs.com.

May 12  3rd Annual Remembering Emma Day with author Jane Kirkpatrick.  Old Aurora Colony Museum. This day celebrates the life of original Colony member Emma Wagner Geisy who is the central character in a trilogy of popular novels.  Tickets $35 includes a talk by Jane, tour “where Emma walked” including the cemetery where Emma is buried and a reception with refreshments at the Frederick Keil house.  Morning book signing in Emma’s house at the museum complex begins at 10:30am (museum admission applies to those not purchasing tickets for the entire day.)  Call (503)678-5754 www.auroracolony.org.

May 13 MOTHERS DAY IN AURORA, 11-5.  All shops open.  Bring Mom and Grandma for an afternoon stroll through the shops after you take them to brunch.  Special Mothers Day displays, sales and treats.

May 11-June 10  Iris Festival at Shreiner’s Iris Gardens, just 15 minutes south of Aurora off I-5.  Stroll the beautiful gardens, buy cut iris and tubers for your own garden.  www.schreinersgardens.com/

Save the Dates:

June 24  Strawberry Social

August 11 Aurora Colony Days Outdoor Antiques Faire

The cherry trees are bursting with white blossoms as Aurora heads into spring.

Take the short trip from Portland or Salem to visit the North Willamette Valley because it’s going to be FLOWER TIME! And Aurora is at the northern gateway to these famous fields of flowers.  From April until July you’ll find that Aurora is the perfect stop when taking in this visual cavalcade of blooms including tulips, iris, roses and peonies plus nursery stock for your own yard.

Now through May 6.  Tulip Fest! at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, Woodburn.  Just a few miles south of Aurora you’ll delight in 40 acres of constantly blooming color.  Plenty of things to do besides gawking at the tulips, they include childrens activities every day, gift shop, order bulbs and buy cut flowers plus food and extra entertainment on the weekends.  Weekdays $5 per carload, weekends $10.  Look online for daily field report. www.woodenshoe.com

Open every day in April is St. Josef’s Winery.  Drop into Aurora on the way to the tulip fields and make the loop to catch St. Josef’s on the return.  This European style winery is worth stopping for!  Beautiful tasting room, gift shop and friendly hosts will make your “Tulip Trip” memorable.  28836 S. Barlow Road, Canby. 97013.  www.stjosefswinery.com

May:  Shreiner’s Iris Gardens, about 15 minutes south of Aurora off I-5.  Stroll through fabulous gardens of iris as you pick your favorites for planting later.  Open daily.

May 5  First Saturday in Aurora!  Flea Market, American Legion Hall, 9-4  This is the last flea market until September.

May 5  Celebrate Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee at Time After Time, 21611 Main Street. 11-3.  View special collections of 60 years of Queen Elizabeth souvenir ware from collectors Karen Stopper, Oregon City and Heidi Alasio, Salem and enjoy a “spot of tea” including Harney & Sons Royal Wedding blend commissioned for last summer’s royal wedding.  www.timeaftertimeoregon.com

May 12  Antique Radio Show & Sale, American Legion Hall, 9-3.  Sponsored by the NW Vintage Radio Society.

May 12  3rd Annual Remembering Emma Wagner Geisy Day with author Jane Kirkpatrick. Old Aurora Colony Museum. Advance tickets $35 includes talk with Jane, “walk where Emma walked” tour including cemetery and reception with refreshments at the historic Keil house.  (503)678-5754. www.auroracolony.org  Booksigning 10:30 am in Emma’s house at the museum complex, regular museum admission applies for those without event tickets.

May 13  Mothers Day in Aurora! 11-5.  Bring mom and grandma out for an afternoon stroll through the shops after you take them to brunch!  All shops open with special Mothers Day displays, sales and treats.

Who would know that this picture was taken on Ground Hog Day in Aurora? Find a bit of sunshine here even when it's rainy all around

Just minutes from Portland or Salem, Aurora is ready to welcome browsers and shoppers every day.  Whether you’re looking for something special to decorate your home or just have some fun time on your hands, this is the perfect place to spend the day.   Enjoy our cozy shops while we wait for the spring sunshine, see daffodils and tulips coming up and indulge in a special lunch and dessert selections that are all part of our appeal!  Easy parking and public restrooms to make your destination complete, too.

Spring Break  We love families in Aurora!  Pack up the kids for a day of nostalgic pointing-to-things-since-forgotten in our full shops or pop into the Old Aurora Colony Museum for a tour of pre-civil war Oregon.  This is a place that they are sure to remember as a highlight of their vacation.  Check it out at www.AuroraColony.org.  Special prices for students, seniors and AAA members.  Closed Mondays.

The Colony Pub now has family dining!  Voted “most memorable burgers” by the Oregon Restaurant Association, take the kids for a REAL hamburger with the trimmins’ in this full service restaurant in the heart of Aurora.

Tulip Fest March 30-April 30.  40 acres of dazzling tulips and we’re bound to have sunshine for most of this!  Lots of kids’ activities all week long, special features every weekend.  Cut tulips (take home some beautiful blooms), gift shop, order bulbs for next year and don’t forget your camera!  Daily field reports www.woodenshoe.com.  Just 15 minutes from Aurora so plan on stopping here too.

Need Gas?  Check out Aurora’s Shell station for some of the best prices around!  There’s lots of reasons to love a trip to Aurora!  Happy Spring!

Saturday, February 4 10am-4pm.  Look for Punxsutawney Phyllis in Aurora’s shops and eateries and get chances to win “Aurora Bucks,” cash to spend all year in our businesses.  Fun for families, singles or couples of all ages, there is over $300 to win and the “hogs” are not all that difficult to find.  When you arrive in town, pick up your pink “map guide” at the shops and begin your search.  Find as many ground hogs as you have time for and get a chance for each member of your group, kids count too!  (Drawing is at 4pm but you need not be present to win.)

Pheasant Run Winery will be offering food and wine during the afternoon with live music for you to relax from your searching.

Flea Market, 9am-4pm at the American Legion Hall.

Old Aurora Colony Museum opens for the season with a new exhibit.  www.auroracolony.org

February 14.  Valentines Day.  Bring your Valentine sweetheart for a day of romantic antique shopping and leisurely  browse til your hearts are content.  Great lunches, desserts and coffees in our cozy shops.  Ok for smooching anywhere!

February 17-18 Oregon Antique Bottle Collectors Show, American Legion Hall.  Aurora’s oldest collectors show includes antiques and collectibles in addition to all the interesting old bottles.

It can be snowing all around us and yet Aurora may not catch much of it due to our location.  We are located at the northern gateway to the Willamette Valley or “valley floor” as it is often referred to by weathermen.  Aurora misses those famous east winds and much of the icy weather that Portland experiences.

Is it worth the short drive to visit our shops?  Many of the shop owners live in town or near Aurora so there will be shops open even on the snowiest days.  To find out what Mother Nature has brought to Aurora on a day you might be considering a visit here, you can count on Main Street Mercantile to be open and ready to welcome you and give you a report.  Call them after 10am (11am Sundays) at (503)678-1044 for an “on the scene” update on the day’s weather in Aurora.

Picturesque Aurora Presbyterian Church located on Liberty Street & 2nd Streets across from the Old Aurora Colony Museum features the original pews from the 1850′s Colony church.  (And they’re pretty comfortable!  They were no doubt built for lengthy services!)

WINTER CALENDER

Mark your calendar for our big mid-winter event!

February 4 Ground Hog Hunt! 10-4. Find Punxsutawney Phyllis in the shops and enter to win Aurora Bucks, cash to spend in Aurora’s shops and eateries.  Fun for the whole family!  Over $250 in “Aurora Bucks” will be given out.  When entering town this day, just pick up your pink “map guide” at any shop and start looking for Phyllis.  Keep your eyes peeled for special features and sales marked with her “pink tags” as well.

February 4 First Saturday in Aurora! Flea Market, American Legion Hall, 9am-4pm

February 18  Antique Bottle Collectors Show, Aurora American Legion Hall, 3rd & Main Streets.

Plan to visit Aurora during the holiday season.  The village takes on a special appeal with fresh greenery decorating our historic buildings.  Enjoy leisurely shopping, delicious refreshment and historic tours.  Bring your guests for a day they’ll long remember!

Finish out the year or begin 2012 with the short trip to the Aurora village!

Our Aurora gift certificates called “Aurora Bucks” can make gift giving easy and they can be used all year for any of our businesses.  Purchase them at $10 each from merchants in town or call the Aurora Colony Visitors Association and order over the phone.  (503) 939-0312.

• Mark your calendar for the New Years Day Antique Auction at McLaren Auction house.  Special items saved just for this auction will be pictured on their website in readiness.  Have some antique items you want to clean out this month?  Contact them at (503)678-2441.  www.mclarenauction.com
• FREE TASTINGS at Pheasant Run Winery Tasting Room at the foot of Main Street in the historic bank building.  Open through the end of the year, Fridays through Sundays, 12-5pm.  Enjoy local wines while you leisurely pick out your favorite vintages for gifts.
• Many shops are open for the New Year’s Weekend, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 11-5.  Rain or shine, our cozy stores are ready for your leisurely browsing.

•  Antique jewelry, glassware, kitchen collectibles, fun kitsch, handmade fiber arts, furniture from primitive to midcentury modern as well as extensive collections of hard-to-find vintage items are yours to discover in one of the nations’s top eight antiques shopping destinations. 

You’ll find a FULL DAY of antiques browsing on any day that you come to Aurora.  Free parking, great lunches (and desserts) as well as plenty of new year’s spirit!

Enjoy an extended summer and autumn from now until those last leaves hit the ground.  A drive to our country will reward you with great color, freshly stocked fruit stands and clean air to breathe.  Pack a picnic lunch or buy it when you arrive!

Scarecrows in front of Timeless Antiques.

“Storefront Scarecrows” will abound in front of Aurora’s businesses this fall.  Come out to Aurora to find a pumpkin patch, bring the kids for Halloween games and enjoy fresh-baked homemade pie.

Pumpkin Fest at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. October 1-30.  Fun games and activities for kids and loads of pumpkins to find your favorite.  Just 15 minutes from Aurora. www.woodenshoe.com

St. Josef’s Winery and Pheasant Run Winery Tasting Room. Check their calendars for frequent events pairing music, wine and fun!  Take advantage of the season for some memorable times.  www.stjosefswinery.com and www.pheasantrunwine.com

October 14-23  Aurora Colony Quilt Show, Old Aurora Colony Museum.  The state’s oldest quilt show with new themes each year, “Bountiful Oregon”.  www.auroracolony.org.

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• Harvey - Commercial - White Rabbit Bakery

   

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• Quite the Couple - 1st Place Commercial - Main Street Merchantile

   

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• What's Cookin' at Amy's? - 3rd Place Commercial - Amy's

   

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• Bootiful Bride Face

   

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• Bootiful Bride Left at the Altar - 2nd Place Commercial - Time After Time

   

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• Yarn - Commercial - Beyond Art

   

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• Scarecrow - Commercial - Sprout!

   

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• Anybody Home? - Commercial - Aurora Antiques

   

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• Never Ending House Painter - 1st Place Residential - Delia & Sunniva Weidman

   

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• Scarecrow - Residential - Becky Imholt

   

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• Hero - Residential - Stephanie Lingmann

   

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• Firefighter - 2nd Place Residential - Megan Patterson

   

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• Shhh, Baby Sleeping - 3rd Place Residential - Ty House

   

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• Duck Fan - Residential - Noel & Danielle Kinder

   

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• Commercial - Timeless Antiques

   

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