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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2008)
Committed to Cultural Diversity www.portlandob.server.com lanuaiy 30. 2008 Music, Dance and Storytelling M etro ííl" ^.lortlanb © bsetuer o m m u n ity a le n d a r C 82nd Avenue Roses Parade Saturday, April 19 at 9 a.m. the second- annual parade kicks off. The parade com m ittee recently announced the availabil ity o f sponsorships and requests for entries and volunteers. For more inform a tion to about participating, contact 503- 484-6225. For volunteer opportunities, contact503-252-9143. Tax Help in Rockwood VITA tax aide for low-income families will assist clients by appointm ent only on W ednesdays, from I to 5 p.m. at the Rockwood Community office, 18709S.E. Stark. For reserv ations, call 503-816-1530. Sauvie Island Raptor Road Trip Saturday, Feh. 2, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.. explore Sauvie Island’s bald eagles, hawks and falcons with an expert natural ist. $5 fee per vehicle includes spotting scopes and maps. Bring your binoculars and join the fun. Tree Planting Saturday, Feb. 2, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m .,the Friends o f Trees host the 25 com m unity planting project beginning with the A r bor Lodge, University P arkandS t. John’s areas; the staging area will be at 8204 N. Central St. A rrivebefore9a.m . toregister for your planting team. Lead Poisoning Workshop People w ho might not have access to the pow er o f w riting and com m u nity because of income, isolation or other barriers have the opportunity to harness this pow er while making new friends at Reflections Coffee House in northeast Portland. W rite Around Portland runs vol unteer-facilitated writing workshops to prom ote inner healing. Participants are encouraged to include those af fected by H IV/AIDS, survivors of dom estic violence, people in recov ery from addictions, people who have experienced incarceration, seniors in fostercare, veterans liv ing with stress, people with disabilities, teen parents and low -incom e adults. W ilm a A lco ck , a 6 9 -y ea r-o ld m other o f four, will be one o f the writers participating in an upcom ing series o f the w orkshops at R eflec tions. Problem Pooch Solutions Homebuyer Programs P D C s hom ebuyer assistance programs address the gap in hom e ow nership rates between whites and com m unitiesof color. For inform ation about new and expanded hom ebuyers assistance programs, visit pdc.us/nhp or call 503-823-3400. AARP Driving Refresher Tuesday. Feb. 5 and T hursday. Feb. 7, from 9 a.m. to I p.m., the Mt. H oodC om - niunityCollcgeGrcsham, 26<XX)S.E. Stark, will offer the tw o-day A A RP class de signed for age 50 and older: students with com pletion certificates become eli gible for insurance discounts. $ 10 fee. To register, visit m hcc.edu or call 503-491- 7572. Wilma Alcock is a local writer participating in a Write Around Portland work shop at Reflections Coffee House. Jamie McCoy Tw o people w orking to end the oppres sion o f racism have been named 2007 Val Joshua Racial Justice Award winners by the YW CA o f Clark County. Jam ie M cCoy and Richard Tw iss were selected for their com m itm ent to the struggle for peace, justice, freedom and the dignity o f all people. T he aw ards w ere presented at the YW CA A nnual Celebration on Jan. 23. M cCoy is the preschool director of Learning Avenues Child Care Center. She teaches her students to accept everyone regardless o f their background. She also se rv e s as c o u n c il p re sid e n t o f th e V ancouver H eights United M ethodist Church in Washington. Tw iss is the president and founder of W iconi International, an organization that w orks to help Native people becom e lead ers in the C hristian church. It serves the com m unity through international outreach and advocacy, cam ps and spiritual events and family ministries. The YW CA also presented its first Youth Social Justice A w ard at last w eek's cerem ony. Soar International and their group leader, Jean W alker, were recog nized for helping students in Rwanda, eradicate landm ines in V ietnam and pro vide school supplies to homeless children in the Portland-Vancouverarea. They have raised funds to support their work with a benefit concert at Esther Short Park. “ Because w e write and because it's a com m on thing, it’s not like w e’re strangers." she says. " It's very free ing. It's very safe.” Seeing w riting as a gift sh e's been given, Alcock has been described as an African griot, a storyteller who passes down the stories essential to the life o f a culture. She p articipated in a previous W rite Around Portland w orkshop last fall at Park Terrace A partm ents in north Portland. About that experi ence, she said. "I learned that there were all kinds of ways to write, that there isn't a given right way. We w eren't bound to write a certain way - you could let your creativity just flow." The free l()-week workshop, open to adults living on a low incom e or with a disability, invites exploration into the pow er of writing and com m u nity in a safe, respectful and creative environm ent. The workshop runs Thursdays. 6 to 8 p.m., starting Feb. 14, at Reflec tions, 446 N.E. Killingsworth. Jour nals, pens, snacks and beverages prov ided. Pre-registration is required. To sign up or for more information, c a ll 5 0 3 - 7 9 6 -9 2 2 4 o r v isit w ritearound.org. Richard Twiss Concordia University Builds Community Ties New scholarship adds to outreach efforts During the question and answ er period following his Stale o f theC ity address Jan. 18 at Jefferson High School, M ayor Tom Potter announced that C oncordia U niver sity has created a new scholarship that will benefit one Jefferson High School stu dent with tuition and books for all four years o f study as long as the student rem ains in good academic standing. In 2005, the university began an o u t reach program to strengthen and invigo rate its efforts to connect and serve its northeast Portland com m unity where it has resided for 102 years. During the 2005-06 academic year, C oncordia University students, faculty. and staff contributed nearly 223,000 hours o f practicum, internships, and service learn ing hours; and served over IO,(XX)commu- nity m em bers, 5 ,0 0 0 o f which were youth. The university has a stated goal to be a "net contributor" to the com m unity as a facilitator and resource for addressing the challenges the com m unity faces. C o n co rd ia's current and most active partnerships include: Black Parent Initia tive. Bridge Builders. theC ity o f Portland M ayor's Office. Self Enhancement, Inc., Rosemary Anderson Schixil,Trillium Fam ily Services, and the W orld Affairs C oun cil. T he outreach has m anifested itself through: The Concordia T eacher Corps (academic tutoring for K-12 students); continued on page H5 AFIRDCÄIM TTAILi £©MES T® TM i STACil Vaientine-A-Gram Send som eone special a beautiful V alen tine basket featuring delicious cinnam on buns, coffee, juice, candy, gift certifi cates and more for only $29.95 with the proceeds going to the Loaves and Fishes Center. M eals-on-W heels program; o r ders must be placed by Feb. 7. To place and order or volunteer for deliveries con tact 503-736-6325. Vocabulary of Architecture Saturday. Feb. 9, from 10 a.m. Io 11:30 a.m.. the A rchitectural Heritage Center, 701 S.E. Cirand Ave., hosts a sem inar to dem ystify the language o f architecture. T o register, call 503-231-7264 or visit A H C.org. Catch the Authors Thursday, Feh 28. at 6:30 p.m.. In O ther Words. 8 N.E. Killingsworth St..w ill host the reading night featuring five gay/les- bian/transgender authors. For more in formation. visit inotherwords.org or call 5O3-232-6(X)3. O "! Leaders for Racial Justice Doll and Teddy Bear Show Super Tuesday Party C U / community service See El Observador, page B3 Reflections workshop spreads power o f writing Saturday. Feb. 2 ,from 10a.m. to4p.m .,the Kliever N ational G uard A rm ory, North east 33rd and M arine Drive, will host this unbelievable assortm ent o f collectables and antiques for doll and teddy bear lovers o f all ages. Tuesday, Feb. 5, from 6 to 10 p.m., the Democratic Party of Oregon wi II kick off the general election campaign with spirit at the Tiffany Center. 1410 S.W. Morrison St., featuring plenty of politics, live music, com plimentary beer, wine, appetizers and raffles. F or m ore inform ation, visit oregondemocraLs.org or call 503-239-8629. z Words Promote Inner Healing Saturday. Feb. 2, from I to 1:45 p.m., a free Fix-it-Fair at Roosevelt High School in north Portland will focus on protecting your family from dangerous lead poison ing. Participants receive a free aw areness kit. To register, call 503-284-6827. Saturday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 16, at 12:30 p.m., the Oregon Hum ane Society, 1067 N.E. Colum bia Blvd., with animal behavior specialist will host the inform a tive discussion groups for pet owners. Do not bring your pet. A finicky feline course will be held on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 12:30p.m. Family-friendly production that asks 'Who are we? Hispanic? Latino? American ? opens this weekend at Milagro Theatre Ithica Tell and Amy Gray bring the African tale "Anansi the Spider" to the stage in a Tears of Joy Theatre production. Celebrating their 35th year o f enter taining Northwest audiences. Tears of Joy Theatre is bringing the African story o f "Anansi the Spider" for a series of perform ances beginning Friday and con tinuing throughout the m onth of Febru ary. The trickster spider o f W est Africa is brought to life in tw o hilarious tales. First, find out how Anansi tricked the lion out of his stories. Second, enjoy “ A n an si and the T a lk in g M elon," adapted from a tale retold by Eric Kimmel, which begins, “ Anansi loved Io cat mel ons. but he was much too lazy to grow them himself." The show is visually vibrant and clever with ingenious stage designs. African prints, and life-sized puppets of charm ing anim al characters. P e rfo rm a n c e s tak e p la ce at the W inningstail Theatre: Portland Center for the Performing Arts. 111 S.W. Broad way. Perform ances are Fridays at 7:30 p.m.. Saturdays at 11 a.m., and Sundays at 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday perform ances arc com plem ented by hands-on craft activities in the lobby. Individual ticket prices are $13 for children and $ 16 lor adults. Call 503-248- 0 5 5 7 o r 3 6 0 - 6 9 5 -3 0 5 0 o r v isit www.lojt.com.