Com m itted to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
D ecem ber 17. 2003
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Holiday Shopping
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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