Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandob.server.com
lanuaiy 30. 2008
Music, Dance and Storytelling
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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.