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.
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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
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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.
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