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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2002)
Committed to Cultural Diversity October 23, 2002 www.portlandobserver.com CL l te ^ìortÌanh (Observer ommunity a le n d a r SECTION Northeast Portland resident Obo Addy (left) has been perform ing traditional Ghanaian music in Portland and around the world for 25 years. C College of Oriental Medicine Open House M em bers o f the public can at tend a celebration for Oriental M edicine D ay and receive infor mation about acupuncture. O ri ental therapeutic m assage, C hi nese herbal m edicine and O rien tal m editative exercise. S uper vised by licensed practitioners, O CO M interns will provide free sam ple treatm ents to the public from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on T hurs day, Oct. 24. T he school is lo cated at 10525 SE Cherry Blos som Drive. PHOTOS BY D avid P i eghi ? T he P ortland O bserver B Holding Traditions Dear Community Reading Fair Partners in V ocational O pportu nities Training ( PI V O T ) will host a book fair on Friday, Oct. 25 from 1:30p.m. to3:30p.m . at 2508 NE Everett. The public is asked to bring a new or used book to the book drive. All books collected will be donated to the Books for Kids project, w hich gives books to less fortunate children and teenager through O regon’s so cial service programs. Make a Difference Day In celebration o f the 12th anni versary o f M ake a D ifference D ay, a food drive w ill be help from 10a.m . to 2 p .m .o n S atur day, O ct. 26 at the Salvation Arm y M oore St. location at 5325 N. W illiam s Ave. All donations will benefit the O regon Food Bank, local shelters and group hom es. For m ore inform ation call 503-209-3890. Portland Farmer’s Market C elebrate H allow een at P ort land Farm ers M arket’s “G reat Pum pkin E vent” on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. This e v e n t c o in c id e s w ith th e m arket’s final day o f the 2002 season and features free pum p kins, on-site carving lessons, a chef dem onstration and a pum p kin pancake breakfast. A H al low een parade starts at 11 a.m. Call 503-241-0032. Hip-Hop Music Forum M em bers o f the P ortland State U niversity B lack C ultural A f fairs B oard and Just Fam ily R ecords w ill host a public fo rum to discuss issues o f racism and violence in the Portland club scene and other hip-hop issues. City officials, police and state adm inistration will be in attendance. A panel discu s sion on Sunday, O ct. 27 begins at 5 p.m. in the m ulticultural room o f the Smith Center at PSU. F or m ore inform ation call 503- 921-2809. Explore Truths, Myths about Bats W ashington State U niversity f a c u lty m e m b e r C h r is tin e Portfors will present a free pub lic lecture called "B ats are G ood G uys” on M onday, Oct. 28 at W SU Vancouver, located 14204 N E Salm on C reek A ve in the S tudent S erv ices B u ild in g 's lecture hall. T he lecture begins at 7 p.m. and fam ilies are en couraged to bring their children. F or m ore inform ation, contact Portfors at 503-546-9434. Treat on Alberta Street Children and families are invited to attend T rick o r T reat on A lberta Street on H allow een. Bring a bag for safe treats and jo in a costum e parade to visit stores from 4 p .m . to 6 p. m . The parade will end in costum e co n test at 7 p.m held in the parking lot at the Starry Rose Cafe. C os tum e contest w inners will be aw arded with gift certificates to A lberta businesses Obo Addy's drumming (above) has blossomed into a career in African music and dance. Music and dance is life blood for west African native by D avid P lf . chl T he P ortland O bserver O bo A ddy grew up in a sm all village outside the coastal capital o f A ccra, G hana. T he little country on the w est coast o f A frica has long been a place o f feverish m usic and dance, traditions held d ear w ithin A d d y 's family. His mother, he says, was a beautiful singer. His father was called W onche, which roughly translates to Father o f the Spirits. “M y father was a m edicine m an," Addy said. “He perform ed his spiritual cerem onies w ith drum m ing. 1 w as raised around drum s, th a t’s w here I cam e from .” And that is how Addy learned - by w atch ing, then trying the rhythm s him self. W ords w ere largely irrelevant, the m essage and the key w ere contained in the drum m ing “W e d o n ’t like questions m uch,” Addy said, “If you w atch properly, you don ’ t have to ask questions.” A ddy calls it w arrior music. It is high- pow ered drum m ing. T he pow er o f A d d y 's drum m ing lifts you. H is music goes beyond the im m ediate. It gallops from the past into the present and on into the future. On the sm all “talking drum " A ddy’s fin gers generate rolling sounds, like m urm ur ing creeks, his fingers jum ping and tapping like tiny dancers. A d d y 's m usic carries from the sim ple to the com plex. Som etim es it is im m easurably fast, then slower. A lw ays there is a rhythm , the song takes tw ists and turns and stretches on like a journey. Addy loves to recount the songs o f G hana w hich range from the satirical to the sad but many o f the songs he plays now are his own com positions. W hen you listen to A d d y ’s m usic you feel he is teaching you som ething. T he rapid pace o f his drum m ing tem pers but never fades. “The w ord tired does not exist in the drum m ing language,” A ddy said. He plays a X ylophone type instrum ent called a Jiri m ade o f aged w oods, leather, and spider w ebs pasted over holes in gourds that m ake the instrum ent sound "kazoo like.” The traditional sounds o f G hana have carried A ddy and m em bers o f his fam ily all o ver the w orld. In 1972, he w ent to London to play. In 1973, he toured the United States with his five brothers perform ing traditional music and dance. He has spent years play ing in Europe and he has toured A ustralia continued on page B3 School Finds Success in Reading Volunteers work with teachers to raise reading test scores P o rtlan d M ay o r V era K atz w as at C h ief Jo se p h E le m en ta ry S ch o o l F rid ay to c e l eb ra te the jo in t effo rts o f sch o o l p e rso n nel and lite ra c y v o lu n te e rs w h o have w o rk ed to sig n ific a n tly raise read in g te st sc o re s at the no rth P o rtlan d sch o o l. O v er th e past fo u r y ea rs. C h ie f Jo sep h rea d in g te st sco res h av e im p ro v ed m ore th an 15 p erc en t w ith alm o st 90 p erc en t o f stu d e n ts now rea d in g at o r ab o v e grad e level. “T he tu to rs m ak e a trem en d o u s d iffe r e n c e ,” said C h ie f Jo se p h P rin c ip a l K athy Jaffe. “T h e ir p rese n ce say s to a ch ild that so m eo n e ca res an d th a t rea d in g is really im p o rta n t.” V o lu n te ers at C h ie f Jo sep h spend one h o u r a w eek rea d in g w ith a ch ild th ro u g h the S M A R T (S ta rt M aking a R e ad e rT o d a y ) p ro g ram . R esearch show s th a t c h ild re n are m ost lik ely to rea ch th e ir p o te n tia l as rea d ers if they h ave early e x p e rie n c e s w ith b o o k s in safe, c o n siste n t, ca rin g su rro u n d in g s w ith ad u lts. A study by th e E u g en e R esearch In stitu te show s also th a t S M A R T s tu d en ts c o n tin u e to do b e tte r in sch o o l for y ears a fte r th e y 'v e fin ish e d w o rk in g w ith a tu to r. In ad d itio n to S M A R T , M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty sc h o o ls also o ffe r v o lu n te e r o p p o rtu n itie s th ro u g h the O A S IS tu to rin g p rogram (for volu n teers aged 50+) an d the M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty L ib ra ry ’s B ooks 2 U program . T h e e f f o r t to a ttr a c t lite r a c y v o lu n te e rs is s p e a rh e a d e d by th e C o m m is sio n on C h ild re n , F a m ilie s an d C o m m u n ity o f M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty a n d th e L e a d e r ’s R o u n d ta b le - a g ro u p o f to p Firehouse Roasts Roy Jay Portland Mayor Vera Katz gets immersed in a reading assign ment with Chief Joseph Elementary students Joey Cullen (left) and Olivia Sinks. “Children reading well by 3fd grade sets the stage for them to success in the rest o f their education and the rest o f their lives," Katz said. photo by M ark W ashington /T he e x e c u tiv e s fro m p riv a te an d p u b lic o r g a n iz a tio n s in c lu d in g B o e in g , P o rtla n d G en eral E lectric, Flex C ar, L egacy H ealth S y s te m s , th e C ity o f P o r tla n d an d P ortland O bserver M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty . T o learn ab o u t v o lu n te erin g , call the C o m m issio n on C h ild re n , F am ilies and Com m unity at 503-988-4383. T he In tersta te F ire h o u se C u ltu ral C e n te r fu n d ra is e r, “T h e F ire h o u se R o asts R oy Ja y ,” w ill be held T uesday, O ct. 29 from 7 p.m. to 10p.m . at 5340 N. In terstate A ve. Roy Jay is the executive director o f the African American Cham ber o f Commerce and this event celebrates this popular entrepreneur's accom plishm ents and fea tures compl imentary cham pagne, Oregon w ines, coffee and great desserts. C o rp o rate sp o n so rs fo r the b en efit are Safew ay, A lbina C om m unity Bank, B ullivant H o u ser and B ailey and Eli L illy and Co. Local dignitaries on the attendance roster include Jim F rancesconi, Dan Saltzman. IFCC FounderC harles Jordan, Serena C ruz, JoA nn Bow m an. Susan Hagm ier, A vel G ordley, V era Pool and M aria Rojo DeSteffey. The IFCC is a non-profit, com m unity- based perform ing and visual arts center in partnership with Portland Parks and Recreation. IF C C s mission is to create an environ ment in w hich people o f every ethnic and cultural background can com e together as artists and audience to explore, pre serve, and honor their diversity. »
