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.
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a t the
the Centre!
Central I Library,
downtown, tells the story
..