PAGE 8 | December 7 , 2018 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
LET THERE BE LIGHT!
IBEW Local 48 electricians keep
with 31-year tradition by helping
light up The Grotto light festival
Some 50 volunteers from IBEW
Local 48 spent Saturday, Oct. 27,
helping set up the temporary power
for The Grotto’s Christmas Festival
of Lights. The Grotto is a Catholic
shrine and botanical garden meant
to provide spiritual inspiration.
Local 48 and the National
Electrical Contractors Association
(NECA) have been involved with
the distribution of power for the
Festival of Lights since its
inception in 1988. That first year
the festival ran for just 10 nights
with approximately 60,000 lights.
It later ramped up to more than
500,000 lights. Last year, the
festival switched to LEDs, boosting
the light count to more than 1
million. The festival now runs
from the day after Thanksgiving
through Dec. 30.
The Grotto says its festival is
the largest Christmas choral fes-
tival in the world. It features
nearly 160 indoor holiday con-
certs performed by school,
church, and civic choirs. The fes-
tival also has a petting zoo and
holiday foods and beverages.
More than 55,000 people attend
the walk-through event each year.
The festival runs nightly from
5 to 9:30 p.m. through Dec. 30.
General admission is $12 for
adults; $11 for seniors 65 and
over, and military personnel; $6
for kids ages 3 to 12; and free for
children 2 and under. Visitors are
encouraged to bring a donation of
canned or dry food benefitting
Snow-Cap, the East county’s af-
filiate of the Oregon Food Bank.
Parking is free.
The Grotto is located at 8840
NE Skidmore St., Portland. The
main entrance is located at NE
85th and Sandy Boulevard.
December dinner gift cards
offered to those in need
Labor’s Community Service Agency
has announced a December Dinner
Gift Card Program for unemployed
union members and those facing dif-
ficult times. Referral forms are
available for local union staff to fill
out and send in. The agency will
send those union members a gro-
cery store food card (from a union
grocer) that can be used to buy a
holiday meal for the family. The
deadline to send a referral is noon
Dec. 14. For more information, or to
obtain a referral form, contact Eryn
Byram at 503-231-4962 or email
programs@lcsaportland.org.
Machinists help foster teens
The Young Machinists of Local 63
are partnering with the Oregon De-
partment of Human Services to
bring Christmas to foster teens. Fos-
ter teens are a forgotten group that
most toys drives don’t cover. This
year, the Young Machinists will pro-
vide a Christmas tree, a “want” gift,
a “need” gift, and a stocking to 130
foster teens in the Gresham area.
The Young Machinists are taking
donations and/or selling Christmas
trees to raise money for the event.
To order a tree, call Scott Lacey at
503-490-2599 or Beth Lacey at
503-875-6306. A Go Fund Me page
has been set up at gofundme.com/
iam-ll63-foster-care-christmas.
Bethany Sherer
971.978.9534
12/31/18
2018