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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 2004)
Æl’e | J n r t l a t t ò © b s c r u e r Page A4 December 22. 2 0 0 4 M etro îlic |Jortlanb (Observer C Last Thursday on ‘fllbprta o ni ni u n i t y a le n d a r Business Meeting Join North/Northeast Business Association meetings on the first Monday of each month from 6 to 8 p.m. at Albina Community Bank. 2002 N.E. Martin Luther King BI vd. Morning networking meetings are the third Wednes day o f each month from 7:30 to9 a.m. at the Blazers Boys andGirls Club, 5250 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd. For more informa tion, call 503-249-0487 or visit www.nneba.org. Volunteer for Hospice Kaiser Permanente offers train ing for tri-county hospice vol unteers Tuesdays and Thurs days from 12:30 to 4 p.m. from Jan. 18 through Feb. 3 with one Saturday session on Jan. 29. V o lu n te e rs fro m T ig a rd , Tualatin, Gresham and Sandy are especially needed. For more information or to register, call 503-499-5285or503-499-5408. Get Schooled Leam how to improve schools and jobs at a forum with State Superintendent of Public Instruc tion Susan Castillo and President ofOregon’sAFL-CIOTim Nesbitt at7p.m .Jan. 13 at the Hollywood SeniorCenter, 1820N.E. 40*1. Free, sp o n so red by M ultnom ah County Democratic Party. Learn in London Portland Community College of fers a learning opportunity to earn credit in London. An infor mational meeting is from 6 to 7 p.m. M onday, Jan. 10 in the Spruce Room of the CC Building at the Sylvania Campus, 12000 S.W. 49,h Ave. The London trip is set for March 31 through June 11. For more information, call 503-614-7151. Get Fit, Stay Healthy! Sankofaa Health Institute offers a free diabetes support group from 6 to 7:30 p.m. every third Thursday at Alberta Simmons Plaza, 6707 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. For more informa tion, call 503-285-2484. Creative Space For Dance Aurora Dance Studio, 5433 N.E. 30th (at Killingsworth), offers an array of classes forchildren, teens and adults at all levels of ability. Call503-249-020lorvisitonlineat www.hevanet.com/auroradance for additional information. Work For Change Com m unity Advocates invites those interested in protecting children from abuse to become an event volunteer, event out re a c h , te c h n o lo g y e x p e rt, graphic artists or office support team member. For more informa tion, call 503-280-1388. Home Improvement The Com munity Energy Project holds free w orkshops on water conservation and w eatheriza tion. For more information, call 503-284-4962. R. Lyne Martin (right) stops on Alberta Street to look for the perfect wine to complement an evening meal and gets some help from Everyday Wine shop owner Beth Boston. Galleries engage in multi-cultural neighborhood n e ig h b o rh o o d d e s p ite th e flig h t o f gentrification. “I was here before the punk rockers,” Donna Guardino said proudly, sitting at the several sculptures o f women are scattered throughout the front space. Originally from Illinois, Guardino arrived in Oregon and acting on a long-cherished M artha S. F i . etchf . r F or the P ortland O bserver by Alberta Street has experienced phenom enal changes in the last decade. The trans formation o f a vice al ley to an arts district has skyrocketed rents and pushed out some lower-income residents, including some long time members o f the local African-American community. Two gallery owners, Donna Guardino and Reggie Petry, have different approaches to making Alberta work for them and build pride in a multi-cultural neighborhood. While Guardino em braces both the new and old community, which has poured money into blossoming Alberta Street businesses, Petry makes an effort to engage the original com munity more by hiring locals and en couraging them to keep their money in the Alberta Arts Pavilion owner Reggie Petry front desk of G uardinoGallery, agallery and frame shop at 2939 N.E. Alberta. Smallquilted and appliqued pieces made o f sparkling metallic silks are displayed on the walls, and dream of ow ning a print shop and living above it, she and her husband Sal pur chased her Alberta site in 1996. Much o f the other enterprises on the street at that time were churches and crack dealers. Other properties had been aban doned and boarded up. Real estate prices were so low that people could pay for prop erties with their credit cards. But McM enamins had just purchased the Kennedy School building on Northeast 33"* Avenue and N ature's was building a grocery store at 15,h and Fremont. Guardino felt that these would be good “anchors” for her busi ness. “We had some vandalism at first. Som e one broke our window, she said. “They spray- painted the anarchy symbol, ‘Gardens not galleries’ and ‘Yuppies go hom e.’ A police man told me that home-ownership would turn the neighborhood around.” In 1997, a real estate broker friend o f the Guardinos suggested that they begin a “ Last Thursday” art walk. At first only a few artists and businesses, such as the newly opened Videorama, partici pated. Unfortunately, the week before the event was scheduled to occur, there were a rash of shootings on the street. continued yf on page AS Birth Ready W hether you need childbirth preparation classes, or just a re fresher, Providence Health Sys tems has a workshop for you. Prepare for pain, take a weekend seminar or prepare big si sters and brothers-to-be throughout the su m m er by v isitin g www.providence.org/classes or call 503-5746595. Love that Pooch Problem pooch classes are a must take for anyone who may be new to the world of pet parenthood or is interested in considering adopting a new friend. Come to the Oregon Humane Society to find out why your dog does those silly little things. Meetings are every first and third Saturday o f the month at 11 a.m. For more information, call 503-285-7722. Observations from the art walk M ar tha S. F letcher F or the P ortland O bserver by My Last Thursday walk started on a dark an d w in d y n ig h t sprinkled with rain. 1 began at Everyday W ine, al 1520 N.E. Alberta. Upon entering, I was greeted by a friendly black lab, who did his best to make me feel welcome. Everyday W ine has the ambiance o f a family TV room, with gentle Enya music playing in the background, sturdy square tables, and soft cushy chairs ar ranged around a large-screen TV and baskets o f childrens’ books The wine is displayed on shelves and the place is well lit by halogen track lights. A few couples occu pied a table: another table was held shop ow ner gossiped with friend by w e ll-d re s se d m id d le -a g e d as I fingered a $300 handmade women, discussing the importance shantung silk dress and sipped o f owning an emotional issue. I thei”com plimentary wine. downed my wine as quickly as pos I entered a building that had a sible and headed out into the night. large event room, classically re I wandered up Alberta, stopping stored, on the first floor. Upstairs, in at 1627 Studios, 1627 N.E. Alberta, a man gave an entertaining slide a gallery and studio space shared lecture on the Second Law ofTher- by several artists. I noticed people modynamics. The next room was o f different ages, octogenarians and a tattoo and piercing studio. O p babes in arms co-existing with art tic Nerve Arts, with a notable students and collectors. The art buffet o f salmon on rye, baklava, ists com mented on the slowness of and spinach pastries. After eat the night; the trickle o f participants ing my fill, 1 ran into a friend and were only a fragment o f the hun proceeded to Jo e’s Place, where dreds that usually show up for Last we spent a comfortable hour drink- Thursday. Further down the street, continued on page AS at Guardi no Gal lery and T o o t' s, the A passerby is in motion near Star E Rose Café on Alberta Street. y^
