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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 17, 2003)
Com m itted to Cultural Diversity www.portlandobserver.com D ecem ber 17. 2003 <3Ti|c •¡fJorthmir (D hscrncr C o m m u n ity a I c n cl n r Holiday Shopping LJiban Kbyl'brt) Hail Mary Gallery, 1609N.E. Alberta St., is holding a holi day bazaar from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sat urdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 24. For more information, call 503- 281-6096. Ladies highlight hip-hop showcase Home Improvement The C o m m u n ity E nergy Project holds free workshops on water conservation and weatherization. A self-help weatherization workshop is from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8 at Montavilla Commu nity Center, 8219 N.E. Glisan. For more information, call 503- 284-4962. Chimps Gone Wild « Jane Goodall brings enthusi asts closer to nature with “Wild Chimpanzees,” through May at the Omnimax The ater, 1945 S.E. Water Ave. Tickets are $8.50. For more in fo rm a tio n , visit www.wildchimpanzees.org. Get in Shape Providence Health Systems o ffe rs W e stsid e fitn ess classes at 4015 S.W. Mer cantile Dr. in Lake Oswego. Classes include step, ball and bar, cardio mix, cardio step, gentle-paced fitness, group strength training and Tai chi. to name a few. For a full schedule, call 503-574-6595 orvisitwww.providence.org/ classes. No Excuses Pacific N orthwest Regional Blood Services asks O rego nians to run out o f excuses when it com es to donating blood. The agency is holding its annual MLK Day Blood and M arrow drive on Satur day, Jan. 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the American R ed C ro s s , 3131 N. V ancouver Ave. For more inform ation, call 503-528- 5476. Wild Oats Wellness W ild Oats W ellness Center presents free workshops at 3535 N.E. 15th Ave. (at Fre m ont) in upstairs studio A. P re -re g is te r at 503 -2 8 1 - 3262. A Healing Song Sankofaa H ealth Institute offers a free diabetes sup port group from 6 to 7:30 p.m. every third Thursday at A lberta Sim m ons Plaza, 611 N.E. MLK Blvd. For more inform ation, call 503- 285-2484. NAACP Meetings The Portland Branch of the NAACP will hold two monthly executive committee meet ings, one on the second Thurs day o f the month and the Thursday before the fourth Saturday of the month. Gen eral membership meetings are held on the fourth Saturday of each month. For more infor mation, call 503-284-7722. I Oldominion s Syndel and Hungry Mob's Toni Hill make up Siren's Echo, a pillar in Portland's hip-hop community. Hypnotic beats and subversive rhymes will pulse through Portland's hip-hop scene with the 8,h annual Portland hip-hop festival, POH-HOP. The celebration of sound and culture opens Thursday, Dec. 18 with a full lineup to the ladies o f hip-hop sounds, including local favorites Siren’s Echo andTuriya Autry of Good Sista Bad Sista and Womb Dialectic, DJ Deena B and Beyonda. Autry is the former host o f Helia Fresh Fest and Portland's Poetry Slam. She has been a lyrical force making waves in the Northwest and nationally for several years. Turiya Autry stands for serious hip-hop sounds. The spoken word artist and slam poet will wail Thursday at Portland's hip-hop festival POH-HOP. The Ash Street Saloon, 225 S.W. Ash St. hosts the first night of this electric creative expression fest. Street beats then continues Friday, Dec. 19 at B erbati's Pan, I0S.W . 3rd Ave., with many o f P o rtland’s and S eattle’s leading creators in the hip hop scene, including Young Fame: The M ovem ent, the beat- heavy, row dy o-boy m usic o f T riple Double, Sleep, Maniac Lok and much more. Both shows begin at 8 p.m. with $8 covers. F or m ore in fo rm a tio n , v isit w w w . Jusfamilyrecords.com WMMHta For the Love of Java Neighborhood Pride Brings Café Startup For the love of their north and northeast Portland neighborhood, father and daugh ter team James and Eleza Faison have opened A.J. Java, a new coffee shop across from Peninsula Park on North Albina and Port land Boulevard. Creating a welcoming café atmosphere is the Faison’s way to give back to the Pied mont neighborhood. The Faisons have created a place for positive interactions in the community. Local business leaders also see the shop as a shining example of how the Portland Development Commission can help boost minority-owned businesses in north and northeast Portland. The commission helped to expedite a small business loan for the Faisons, open ing their doors much sooner than they planned. Roy Jay, PDC liaison for City Com mis sioner Randy Leonard, said local govern ment support brings vitality into north and northeast Portland and helps set economic roots for a prosperous and local African- photo m M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Roy Jay (from left), Eleza Faison, Gloria Jackson and James Faison welcome customers to the grand opening o f A.J. Java located across from Peninsula Park at the corner of North Albina Avenue and Portland Boulevard. American business base. The family-owned business offers Port land Roasting coffee, cappuccino, mochas. lattes, smoothies, pastries, sandwiches, chips, juice and soda. The cafe also offers customers Internet access and Wi-Fi Hot Spot. A J . Java was named for F le /a 's children, Alexander James and Ada Janisse. For more information, call 503-285-1820. Activist Earns New Voices Fellowship Josie Margalo Michael realized her dream to be come a community organizer and activist with the help of the prestigious New Voices Fellowship, adminis tered by the Academy for Educational Development. Michael, formerly an accountant for 15 years, beat out 4(X) other applicants for the fellowship, and was chosen as the only recipient from Oregon. She was nominated by Oregon Action, the statewide commu nity group that works for economic justice out of its offices on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boule vard. She will spend the next two years working with Oregon Action, as a community organizer. “,'v e been really wanting to switch from accounting and being isolated to talking directly to people. This is like a dream come true," Michael said. Josie Margalo Michael photo ba M ark W ashington ZT hp P ortland O bslr M'R