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Committed to Cultural Diversity
May 21. 2008
Nuborn Tribe
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Reggae band supports
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See story, Arts & Entertainment
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SECTION
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Pride and Culture Festival
Live perform ances, lectures and m ore to
celebrate regional and national artists
with disabilities takes place through T ues
day, M ay at the YW CA dow ntow n, 1111
S.W. 10th Ave., from May 15-27.Formore
information, call 503-358-9085.
Gospel Fest 2008
Saturday, May 24 from noon to 10 p.m.
and Sunday, May 25 from 10a.m. to 5 p.m.,
at the M ineral Lake Event Center, in M in
eral, W ash., enjoy a w eekend o f country
gospel in the fundraiser benefiting the
Lew is County Flood Relief.
Garden Party
Saturday, May 24 from 9 to 11:30 a.m.,
volunteers are needed at the Clinton C om
munity G arden at Southeast 18th and
Clinton Street. Tohelp, call 503-823-1612.
Learn to Swim
Swimming lessons for ages 8 months and
up will begin on June 16 at the Mt. Htxxl
Community College Aquatic Center. Adult
classes available in water aerobics, sw im
ming lessons and more: beginning at 8 a.m.
on Wednesday, May 2 1. Register online at
mhcc.edu/aquatics. For a complete sum
mer schedule, cal I 503-491 -7243.
Memorial Day Blood Drive
The American Red Cross will honor veter
ans through a bkxxl drive and (low erjudg
ing contest on Wednesday, May 28 from
11:15a.m. to5:45p.m .at3!31 N.Vancouver
Ave. Donors will receive a miniature rose
while supplies last: live music by pianists
Sally Harmon and Jim Fischer.
Hip Hop
Helping Schools
Top acts come
together for
music programs
Hosted by local hip-hop starC ool Nutz,
seven Pacific Northwest bands.are donat
ing their tim e and considerable talents by
com ing together on Friday, May 30 for the
second-annual Music in the Schools ben
efit concert to raise money for Portland
Public S chools’ high-school music pro
grams.
T he Blue Scholars, a socially conscious
hip-hop duo front Seattle, will headline the
concert to be held from 7 to 11 p.m. at the
Crystal Ballroom in dow ntow n Portland.
D oors open at 6:30 p.m.
Indie bands Y A CH T, the Shaky Hands
and T yphoon will jo in local student-led
hip-hop groups G ray M atters and Slate of
M ind Crew, as well as O nlyO ne and Im
m aculate, m em bers of internationally rec
ognized Sandpeople group.
Last year, form er Lincoln senior Dash
Robb, now a freshm an at Oberlin C ollege
in O hio, spearheaded the first benefit con
Career Connections Job Fair
T hursday, M ay 29 from 11 a .m .to 4 p .m „
the Urban League o f Portland host the
annual career fair at the W orld Trade
C enter, 121 S.W. Salm on St. Dress pro
fessionally and bring lots o f resum es for
an opportunity at a new and exciting
career. Pre-register at info@ ulpdx.org;
attach a current resum e and they will be
distributed to all vendors at the fair.
Summer Camps for Kids
Plan an exciting sum m er for your child
through the Mt. H ood C om m unity C ol
lege sum m er cam p programs. All cam ps
begin at 9 a.m. and finish by 4 p.m. with
beforeand aftercare available. For regis
tration details, visitm hcc.edu/kidscam ps.
Juneteenth Celebration
Port land'sJunetecnth celebration will be
held Saturday, June 14 with a parade at 11
a.m., starting from the W ells Fargo bank
at 5730 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. B ou
levard. A ctivities will follow at Jefferson
High School from I to 8 p.m. with free food
for children, entertainm ent and booths
set up by local businesses. For more
inform ation, call D oris Rush at 503-605-
8252 orT isha Stigler at 503-249-9093.
OHSU Tram Run & Walk
Saturday. June I . from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. the
family-friendly event will start at the base
o f the aerial tram. 3303 S.W. Bond Ave.,
benefiting D(x*mbecherChildren's Hospi
tal , featuring a health fair, games and more.
Breaking the Cycle
Saturday, June 7 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.. at
Calvary Christian Center, 126 N.E. Alberta
St., hosts a w orkshop teaching men o f all
ages how to deal with addiction, depres
sion and other pressing issues; $ 10-lunch
provided. Form ore inform ation.call 503-
422-8573.
Race for Justice
Saturday, June 21, the St. Andrew Legal
C linic’s ,5 K Run/W alkand Kids Fun Run
will k ick o ff at the M adeleine Parish. 3 123
N.E. 24th Ave., follow ed by a post-event
party at the parish hall with free pizza,
beer, and r<x>t beer, proceeds to benefit
low -incom e fam ilies receive legal repre
sentation; to volunteer or register visit
salcgroup.org/evenls/hom c.cfm .
Concert Volunteers Needed
Saturday. June 28 at 7 p.m.. W arner Pa
cific C ollege will host a concert to benefit
higher education for the people o f G hana.
W est Africa. V olunteers to handout fly
ers and hang posters are needed. Call
503-348-4912
Homebuyer Programs
P IX "s homebuyer-assistance programs
address the gap in home ownership rates
between whites and communities o f color.
For information about the new and ex
panded hom ebuyers’ assistance programs,
visit pdc.us/nhporcall 503-823-3400.
Cool Nutz
The Blue Scholars, a socially conscious hip-hop duo from Seattle, will headline a concert for Music in the Schools.
Friday, May 30 at the Crystal Ballroom in downtown Portland.
cert with several other students. Held at
C leveland High School with an audience
o f over 500, these students raised over
$7.000, w hich w as evenly distributed
thro u g h o u t the d is tric t's high-school
music programs.
W ith a stellar alternative and hip-hop
lineup, these students hope to raise over
$ 18.000 by draw ing in an audience o f over
1.5(X) students and music fans from around
the city.
“Due to budget cuts over the past few
years. P P S 's m usic program s have gradu
ally been disappearing and as students of
this district we are passionate, determ ined
and feel very strongly about keeping music
and the arts in our schools,” said current
organizer, seniorG aliaSlayen. “If the dis-
trict w o n 't ensure that the arts/m usic are
kept in our schools, then we will.”
The concert is also intended as com m u
nity builder and com m unity event. Stu
dents from Lincoln. Grant. Cleveland,
W ilson and Roosevelt are all sponsoring
the event and working together to make
this happen, thinking it would be a great
way to conclude the school year. N ext
year they intend on turning M usic in the
Schools into a nonprofit organization.
Tickets will be available for purchase
online at Pdxm usicintheschools.com , be
fore the concert or at the dtxir on the day
o f the concert. Tickets are $ 12 for students
with ID. and general adm ission is $17.
F o r in fo rm a tio n , p le a se c o n ta c t
gslayen@hotmail.com or call 503-756-7461.
Cleveland Jazz Takes Center Stage
Band director
builds winning
program
W ith the 2006 hiring o f Kenney Polson
as hand director, Cleveland High School
has becom e the rising star of the metro
area's jazz scene.
Thanks to a generous grant from First
O ctave, the school’s jazz band is not only
heard on the southeast Portland cam pus,
but at neighboring schools, jazz festivals
and m onthly at the nearby Com m unity
Music Center.
T opping it all off, the band has pro
duced a 55-m inite C D recording o f 10 of
their favorite standards and will perform a
special benefit concert on W ednesday,
May 21 a t6 p .n i.at Jimmy M ak's,22l N.W.
IOth Ave..
“C om ing from a district where the arts
budget had rem ained slashed just a few
years ago, C leveland High S chool's Jazz
Band has connected our revitalized music
program s to the local com m unity," Polson
said.
The b an d 's intensive concert schedule
has included special guest perform ers from
P ortland's professional jazz com m unity
such as Thara M emory, R enato Caranto.
Derek Sim m s, Mel Brown, and W arren
Rand.
During the first school year with Polson,
Director Kenney Polson and his Cleveland High School Jazz Band are rising stars in the local jazz scene with trophies
from five jazz competitions, a new CD and a CD release party performance Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Jimmy Mak s.
the jazz band brought home trophies from
each o f live jazz com petitions, including
I st place aw ards at Sky view Jazz Festival,
the Pleasant Hill Jazz Festival and the
Mount Htxxl Jazz Festival. This past sc hcxil
year Polson has entered the band a, a
higher level of com petition than the previ
ous year, and the students took I st place
aw ards at the Clackam as C(imm unity C ol
lege Jazz Festival and at the Pleasant Hill
Jazz Festival, making Cleveland High the
most decorated jazz band in the Portland
Public Schools.
An established jazz musician. Polson
( K enneypolson.com ) insists on teaching
only well-known jazz standards to give his
students access to the language directly
from the jazz greats, also com posing and
arranging many o f the b an d 's selections
to capitalize on the b an d 's strengths.
"The talented and dedicated students
in the band have all the ingredients for
greatness.” Polson said.
Jazz is considered one o f the most
A merican o f musical styles, and is ex p eri
encing an upsurge am ong young m usi
cians.
C leveland added another section of
jazz band for this school year, giving twice
as many students the opportunity to play
jazz from professional charts. The stu-
enntinued
on PaSe