Pase 10__________________________________ ®
*!* ^Jortlanh
(Dhseruer____________________
May 9.2012
St. Johns Parade to Turn 50
Saturday festivities
to mark five decades
of memories
T he 50th annual St. Jo h n ’s Parade w ill take o ff at noon
on S aturday, M ay 12, in conjunction with the 6th annual St.
Jo h n s B izarre, a street fair w ith dozens o f local artists and
craft m akers, and locally brew ed beer.
T he St. John's Parade is alw ays the second Saturday o f
M ay. T his y e ar’s G rand M arshal is Jake B enshoof, 89, the
fo u n d er o f the parade.
T he St. Johns Parade has been a tradition in the north
P ortland area since 1962. People from near and far look
forw ard to this event every year. M any fam ilies have their
favorite view ing spot, and m any w ho have m oved aw ay
com e hom e for this special w eek-end to w atch the floats,
bands, drill team s, and horses. Parade p articipants from the
early y ears are now w atching their children and g ran d ch il
dren as they m arch o r ride the parade route.
T he parade is a free event! A nyone can en ter - young
and old! T he parade will w rap around the w est end o f N orth
L om bard S treet from B urr to N ew Y ork avenues.
The street fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Over
70 local arts and crafts vendors will highlight a market of
handmade goods. A Plaza Stage at the foot of the St. Johns
Bridge will accommodate a line up of musical entertain
ment.
photo by J ason E. K aplan /P hotography
The St. Johns Parade has been a tradition in north Portland since 1962. The annual event will kick off at
noon on Saturday, May 12.
Students Empowered by Planting
Science-based
learning improves
habitat for fish
Sixth grade students from Vancouver’s Pleasant Valley Middle School plant native
plants to improve fish habitat along Salmon Creek.
Determined to help restore fish habitat
in the Vancouver area, a large group of
science students planted hundreds of
native plants at a local park.
Fifty-five students from Pleasant Val
ley M iddle School in V ancouver re
cently planted over 500 native plants at
Pleasant Valley Com munity Park along
Salmon Creek with help from educators
with the Lower Colum bia Estuary Part
nership.
After learning about local ecology in
the classroom, the students had the op
portunity to apply their knowledge with
their work around the shore as they planted
cedar, Douglas fir, willows, nine bark and
red Osier dogwood.
“By taking classroom lessons outside
and working with the students to plant
trees at the park next to their school, they
can see how closely we all are connected
to nature and they become part of the
solution to improve habitat for fish,” said
Debrah Marriott, executive director of the
Estuary Partnership.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foun
dation and Salmon Recovery Funding
Board are funding the project, with a goal
to create off-channel spawning and rear
ing habitat for salmon on an existing
spring-fed tributary o f Salmon Creek
within the park.