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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2011)
December 14. 2011 ^Jortlanh (Obstruer Mississippi Alberta North Portland E T RO Page 9 Vancouver East County Beaverton Largest Christmas Choral Festival Heaven and earth sing with nightly concerts The w o rld ’s largest C hristm as choral festival, the G ro tto ’s C h rist m as F estival o f L ights features five indoor concerts each evening in the G rotto’s 600-seat chapel, know n for its cathedral quality acoustics and full tw o second echo. The G rotto is located at N o rth east 85th A venue and Sandy B ou levard. T he festival runs nightly, except for C hristm as D ay, through Dec. 30. H ours are 5 p.m . until 9:30 p.m . w ith festival grounds closing at 10 p.m. Festival general ad m is sion is $8 for adults a nd $4 for c h il dren (3 to 12 years o f age). Festival visitors are also asked to bring a gift o f canned or dry food b e n e f itin g S n o w C a p , th e e a s t c o u n ty 's C hurch C om m unity A c tion Program , an affiliate o f the O r egon Food Bank. The them e for this y e a r’s festival is “Joy to the W orld.” T his and o th er carols reverberate w ith a fu ll ness o f richly textured sound in The G ro tto ’s chapel h ig h lighting the ex citem en t and w onderm ent the C hristm as celebration brings to the w orld as heaven and earth sing. ine Grotto s Christmas Festival o f lights runs nightly except for Christmas Day through Dec. 30. T raveling from locations around the region and C anada, choirs love to perform in this vibrant chapel setting, and m any schedule their a n n u a l p e rfo rm a n c e six to ten m onths in advance. N early one million lights are spec ta c u la rly p re se n te d a ro u n d The G ro tto ’s p ristin e gardens. A ddi tional co n tin u o u s nightly fam ily en tertainm ent in The G ro tto central p laza includes o u td o o r caroling, C h ristm as-th em ed puppet shows, and a live anim al petting zoo. H oliday shopping opportunities as well as hot food and beverages are available. W hen first presented in 1988, the festival featured 23 concert perfor m ances o v er 10 nights. A ttendance that first y ear w as ju st o v er 10,000 people. This y e a r’s concerts w ill be perform ed by approxim ately 7,000 volunteer singers and m usicians. A nnual attendance now regularly exceeds 50,0 0 0 visitors. T he festival is a w alk-through event and visitors w ishing to hear a specific concert in T he G ro tto ’s chapel should arrive at least 30 to 45 m inutes p rio r to the scheduled con cert tim e. W hile all entertainm ent areas are fully tented and concerts are p e rfo rm e d in d o o rs, v isito rs should dress for the w eather, in cluding w arm rubber-soled shoes. Central Library Hosts Pride & Passion Exhibit brings history of African-American baseball Pride & Passion: T he A frican-A m erican B aseball E x p eri ence, a traveling exhibition at the C entral L ibrary dow ntow n, exam ines the challenges faced by A frican-A m erican baseball players as they sought equal opportunities in their sport beginning in the post-C ivil W ar era. In the 1880s, m ore than 30 A frican-A m ericans w ere on team s in baseball s m ajor and m inor leagues. B ut opportunities dim inished as R econstruction after the C ivil W ar ended, and segregation becam e entrenched as part o f A m erican culture. D uring the 1887 season, league ow ners agreed to m ake no new contracts w ith A frican-A m erican players. From that tim e on, until Jackie R obinson broke the co lo r b arrier in 1947, baseball w as a segregated sport. In response, m ore than 200 independent all-black team s organized and barnstorm ed around the country, developing a reputation for a fast-running, pow er-hitting gam e. By the 1920s, black baseball had its ow n successful professional leagues. N egro league baseball grew into a m u ltim illio n -d o llar enterprise and a focus o f great pride in the A frican-A m erican com m unity. L egendary figures such as R ube Foster, B uck Leonard, continued on page 18 The Pittsburg Crawfords were the champions o f the Negro National League in 1 9 3 5 A new traveling eih ihi. 4. XU x\ --------- . f »wuvi lUf LtagU C III t tron on at ihrarv HnwnMutn ____ o , f African Americans in baseball. * nGW iraveiinS exniDh a t the the Centre! Central I Library, downtown, tells the story ..
