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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2002)
June 26,2002_______________________________________ ( T h e ® b s e r u e r ____________________________________________ Paee A5 Focus Concentration steadies the movements o f La Tasha Brown and her fellow debutantes as they prepare for the annual Les Femmes Debutante Ball. At th e Movies Les Femmes c o n tin u e d Lilo (middle) and her “dog" Stitch (second from right) dance a traditional hula. Lilo & Stitch John Anderton (Tom Cruise) conducts an array o f images that lead him to a murder that has not yet occurred. Lilo, a little girl in H aw aii, unknow ingly adopts a dog she nam es Stitch, who is actually an evil alien. Stitch is really a crim inal w hose ship crashed on Earth w hile he was being transported to an intergalactic prison. He is only taking the form o f a dog (thus hiding tw o o f his six legs) to escape detection from alien police w ho are searching for him. T hrough her love, faith and unw avering belief in “ohana” (the H aw aiian concept o f family), L ilo helps unlock S titch’s heart, unexpectedly giving him the one thing he was never designed to have— the ability to care for som eone else: (G en re: c h ild r e n 's a n im a tio n , co m ed y, sci-fi: R a tin g : G ) Minority Report Based on a short story by fam ed science fiction w riter Philip K. Dick, this action-detective thriller is set in 2054, a tim e when W ashington. D.C., police are able to utilize a psychic technology— Pre-Cogs, three psychic beings w hose visions o f m urder have never been w rong— to arrest and convict m urderers before they com m it their crim es. D estroyed by a tragic loss, C hief John A nderton— the head o f the Pre-C rim e U nit, has throw n all o f his passion into a system that could potentially spare thousands o f people from the tragedy he lived through. U nfortunately, it is he w ho is ultim ately accused o f a “future” m urder o f a man he h asn 't even met. W ith no way to defend him self against the charge o f Pre-Crim e, A nderton has only 36 hours to uncover the truth behind the question he has spent the past six years w orking to elim inate: Is it possible for the Pre-C ogs to be w rong? (G en re: s c i f i , action , th riller, a d a p ta tio n : R a tin g : M P A A ) weekly guide to events and activities in the Portland area. Â <1 II Paintings by Joseph Glasgow entitled “Along the Columbia River" features photographic silver prints at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, located a t 53 4 0 N. Interstate Ave. His documentary-like works are on display at the center gallery until Friday, June 28. Call 503-823-2072. Peace and Justice Family Camp; June 27 - 30 T he tw elfth annual Parenting for Peace and Justice Fam ily C am p will begin on the evening o f Thursday, ’ June 27 until Sunday, June 30. The cam p nurtures and em pow ers fam ilies for a little m ore justice and peace in o n e ’s heart and in society. T here will be m usic and dram a for the w hole fam ily at the A ldersgate C onference C enter in T urner, OR. Call Bud Bunce at 503-233-8373. Lakewood Theatre Anniversary; June 2 8 ,2 9 & 3 0 This sum m er m arks the 50,h anniversary o f continu ous theatrical productions by L akew ood Theatre Com pany in Lake O sw ego. T o celebrate, they will present four perform ances o f Stephen S ondheim ’s m usical m asterpiece, “F ollies,” concert version on June 28,29and 30. For more information, call 503-635- 3901. The center is located at 368 S. State St. Good in the ‘Hood Festival; Sat., June 29 The annual G ood in the ‘Hood M ulticultural Music & Food Festival features a variety o f ethnic dance, food and m usic at tw o different locations: Legacy Em anuel H ospital, 2801 N. G antenbein Ave. and at the Holy Redeem er A rea School, 8 N.E. 15th Ave. For more information, call 503-283-5175. African American Health Coalition; June 29 & 30 Join the A frican A m erican Health C oalition for two fam ily affair events: com edy and theatre with re now ned com edian N orm an M itchell. For kids, a youth event will be held at the M att D ishm an Center, 77N .E. Knott on Saturday, June 29,3p.m . HIV testing available at 2 p.m. A dults can attend the event th at's on Sunday, June .30 at the M iracles C lub, 4069 N.E. M LK on Sunday, June 30, 5:30 p.m. HIV testing offered at 4 p.m. Call 503-413-1850. Essay Contest; Sunday, June 30 April H enry, acclaim ed O regon m ystery novelist, is sponsoring an essay contest in conjunction with the publication o f her new book. “Learning to Fly.” C ontest entrants are invited to subm it an essay on the them e “ Learning to Fly: How I Reinvented My Life and Lived M y D ream .” Essays should share w hat you did to m ake a dream com e true. Contest deadline is June 30. Essays are not to exceed 500 words. G o online to www.AprilHenryM ysteries.com. Washington State University; Sun., June 30 Vibrant paintings by Pacific Northwest artist Patricia Berg called “Solar Sojourns" will be on display till the I Based on a classic novel, the upcoming performance o f “ The Phantom o f the Opera” tells the story o f a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs o f the Paris Opera House. Performances o f “ The Phantom o f the Opera" will be from July 3 - July 28 at the Keller Auditorium. For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 503-790-ARTS or through the Portland Opera Box Office at 503-241-1802. Robin Stewart practices her curtsy in preparation for the upcoming Debutante Ball. Stewart joined Les Femmes in order to be around other positive black females who were active in the community. fr o m F ro n t p resen ted as elig ib le young w om en to an u p p er cru st so ciety . T he d e b u tan te s p ick th e ir esco rts, but they are asked not to ch o o se b o y frie n d s, so m ost en d up w ith frien d s o r b ro th ers. M an y o f th e g irls h av e jo in e d the gro u p because they w ant to be m ore involved w ith the co m m u n ity , o r they have seen w hat L es F em m es has d one fo r a sister, frien d , o r ev en p arent. T he g irls m eet on th e se c o n d S unday o f each m onth to d isc u ss issu es relatin g to the liv es o f yo u n g w om en. Each m eeting highlights a different topic. O ne week it was etiquette training, the next it was self-defense. The girls learn traits like d ig nity and hum ility to help them b e c o m e s u c c e s s fu l y o u n g women. R obin Stew art o f B enson H igh says the group teaches y o u n g w o m e n h o w to b e stro n g . “ I w an ted to be aro u n d p o sitiv e black fem ales,” she said, “(Les Fem m es) teaches you how to be a lady.” B rian a P eterso n , also o f Benson, agrees that the group has made her tougher. “It helps you face challenges like people pushing you dow n,” she said. W ith the help o f w hat she has learned with Les Fem m es, Peterson has received a full tu- photos by D avid P lechi / T he P ortland O bserver ition scholarship to the U niver sity o f Oregon. The girls have organized free Easter egg hunts for the public, fed hom eless people d o w n tow n, and prepared thanksgiv ing baskets for fam ilies in need. They also act as hostesses at com m unity events. Ball C hair Person and past debutante, Rica B rooks says Les Fem m es “builds cam ara derie and sisterhood betw een the girls.” B rooks says the friendships the girls m ake now help them as th ey e n te r co lle g e w hen p rev io u s m em b ers o fte n act a s g u id e s to g r a d u a t i n g Femmes. “ I t’s nice to h av e so m eo n e help them along the w ay ,” she said. A rite o f p assag e cerem ony at the ball w ill p resen t each girl w ith a trad itio n al A frican clo th th a t rep rese n ts the p a s sage to w om an h o o d . “ You have to earn the Kente C loth,” says Brooks. Brooks says her ladies are ordinary girls that can get o v er looked. Les Femmes helps them be noticed. Though some of the girls are outstanding students, Brooks says the majority of the girls fall some where in the middle. “T h ey a re n o t o u t th ere achieving so high but not so low either,” she says. “They are the ones that are doing what they are supposed to be doing, but never get recognized.” T he 5 1 “ an n u al D eb u tan te Ball w ill be held Sunday, June 30 at 7 p.m . at the M a rrio tt H otel, d o w n to w n . end of July at Washington State University. Four o f her acrylic paintings on canvas are on display in the Student Services Building gallery and two are featured in the W SU Vancouver boardroom. The campus is at 14204N.E. SalmonCreek Ave. Call 360-546-9600. Goo Goo Dolls; Monday, July 1 T he assured and accessible lyrics o f the G oo Goo D olls’ new album “G utterflow er” are m atched, note for note, w ith music that both celebrates the b and's stylistic diversity and conclusively consolidates their cohesive ensem ble sound. They will be per form ing on M onday, July 1 at the A rlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 8 p.m. For tickets, call T icketm aster at 503- 2 2 4-4400 or go onl ine to www.ticketmaster.com. Phantom of the Opera; July 3 - 2 8 “Phantom o f the O pera" now returns to P ortland’s Keller A uditorium to take your breath aw ay. It’s a tim eless story o f seduction and despair and the one show “T he London Sunday T im es” called “G o d 's gift to the m usical theatre. The musical will be held at the Keller A uditorium , at the co m er o f S.W . 3rd and Clay St., from July 3 -2 8 . Show times vary. For tickets, call Ticketm aster at 503-224-4400 or go online to www.ticketmastcr.com. July 4th at Blue Lake Park; Thursday, July 4 C elebrate a classic A m erican holiday w ith friends and family at Blue Lake Regional Park in Fairview on Thursday, July 4. Bring your favorite picnic and a blanket to enjoy a festive day at the park ending in a spectacular pyrotechnic show. Festivities begin at 4 p .m .w ith fireworks starting at 10p.m. $ 6 p e rc a rfo r entry in the park. Interstate Firehouse Classes; July 8 - 1 2 The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center is offering tw o classes for students: Mask & M ovement and Ethnic Dance, from July 8 - 12 for middle and senior high school students. Mask & M ovement teaches how to incorporate theatre, dance, music and literary arts. Instruction is from 10 a.m. - noon. Ethnic dance will be taught from 1 - 3 p.m. Call 503-823-2001. The Vagina Monologues; July 9 - 1 4 Pow erful, provocative and hilarious m onologues explore and explode the m yths and m ysteries su r rounding that most private fem ale part. A rotating cast o f local celebrities will perform. The event will be held from July 9 - 1 4 at the N cwmark Theatre, located at the co m er o f S.W. Broadway and M ain St. For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 503-224-4400or goonline to www.ticketmaster.com. I I
