Page 4 The Skanner December 21, 2016
News
Events & Announcements
Community
Calendar 2016
brought to you by
Portland Metro
THURSDAY – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22 – 23
NATIVITY LIGHTS A SIMPLE, FREE DRIVE THRU DISPLAY ON STAF-
FORD ROAD: Come drive thru from the comfort of your own vehi-
cle to enjoy the Christmas lights. It is free, but donations will go
to Teen Challenge Portland Recovery Center. 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., The
Neighborhood Church, 21065 SW Stafford Rd. Tualatin.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23
“TA-DAH” HOLIDAY PERFORMANCE: “Ta – Dah” performs holiday
songs as part of the Square’s seasonal event series. Noon to 1
p.m. Pioneer Courthouse Square, downtown Portland.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24
KIDS’ STORYTIME: Join us for kids’ storytime today. We’re ready-
ing How This Book Was Made. Bu Mac Barnett. 11 a.m. Powell’s
City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St.
COME ADORE HIM: Make memories as a family during this “Come
Adore Him” Christmas service. Come hear the Christmas Story
and sing carols together. Please bring new packages socks and
gloves for those in need in our community this winter season. 4
p.m. Heritage Church, 8808 NE 76th St., Vancouver.
CHABAD OF OREGON MENORAH LIGHTING: 1st Night Celebration!.
For the 33rd year, Chabad of Oregon will hold a public Menorah
Lighting. All are welcome to come and enjoy. 6:30 p.m. – 7:30
p.m., Director Park, 815 SW Park Ave.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25
Merry Christmas!
CHABAD OF OREGON GRAN MENORAH LIGHTING: Please join us
for the Grand Menorah Lighting in Director Park. There will be
entertainment and children’s activities and much more. 4:30
p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Director Park, 815 SW Park Ave.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 26
50TH ANNIVERSARY 2016 KWANZAA FESTIVAL OF EVENTS: Cele-
brating family, community and culture. Professional musicians
and dancers from Ghana celebrate the 50th anniversary of
Kwanzaa. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Matt Dishman Community Center, 77
NE Knott St.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29
REMARKABLE OREGON WOMEN REVOLUTIONARIES & VISIONAR-
IES: Without the efforts of inspiring, brave women of the past,
the progress and individualistic Oregon we know today might
not exist. Author Jennifer Chambers tells these stories of pro-
gressive, radical women who fought for change within their
state. Admission is adults $13, seniors (60+) $9, youth (13-18) $7,
children under 3 are free. 1 p.m. – 2 p.m., End of the Oregon Trail,
1726 Washington St., Oregon City.
Seattle Metro
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22
IS SHE READY? FREE COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS! Let us help
you get to the next level by identifying and gaining the tools
you need to achieve academic and career success! For girls ages
13 – 17. 2 p.m. – 6 p.m., You Grow Girl, 2200 Rainier Ave. S. Suite
201.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Visit with Santa 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m. &
2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. The Dickens Carolers Concert is at 11:30 a.m. &
1 p.m. Create a Reindeer Tree Buddy in the art studio and also do
some carpet skating. Free with museum admission. 10 a.m. – 4
p.m., Imagine Children’s Museum, 1502 Wall St. Everett.
See Community Calendar on page 5
Martin Luther King, Jr. BREAKFAST
JAN. 16, 2017
LIMITED SEATING, PURCHASE TICKETS AT:
www.TheSkanner.com/mlk-breakfast-tickets
PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION
Visit us at a store near you
Winter Break Swimming
Portland Parks & Recreation indoor pools are offering extra family swims and open swims when schools are out during winter break
(Dec. 19–30, 2016). Open swims are for all ages. Non-swimmers and children under 48 inches tall must be supervised in the water by an
adult swimmer. During family swims, children under 18 years old must be accompanied in the water by a parent or guardian.
Portland News Briefs
Oregon College Savings Plan Offers
Complimentary eGift Service
For a truly meaningful gift this holiday season, the
Oregon College Savings Plan is encouraging families
and friends to open or contribute to a child’s 529 col-
lege savings account. The Oregon College Savings
Plan makes giving simple, straightforward and se-
cure with its eGift feature, enabling account owners
to send gift invitations to family and friends. The
Plan also offers downloadable gift certificates for
Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa for those inter-
ested in making an unsolicited gift contribution to a
loved one’s account.
The Oregon College Savings Plan is a state-spon-
sored, tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan that
offers a variety of low-cost investment portfolios to
choose from, including age-based, multi-fund, sin-
gle-fund and guaranteed options.
Anyone with a Social Security or federal tax ID
number may open an account or contribute to an
Oregon College Savings Plan account, and in certain
cases, the contributor can receive state tax benefits to
incorporate the gift into their overall estate and leg-
acy planning (consult a tax advisor). An account can
be started with as little as $25; any earnings grow free
from federal tax, and many states offer a state income
tax deduction or tax credit for contributions (limita-
tions apply; see the Disclosure Booklet for details).
The Oregon College Savings Plan also offers certain
gift and estate tax planning benefits (consult your tax
advisor). Withdrawals are tax-free at both the feder-
al and state level when used for qualified higher ed-
ucation expenses, and saved funds can be used for
tuition, required fees, certain room and board costs,
books, supplies, computers and related technology
costs, including internet access fees and printers.
Funds can be used at most accredited colleges and
universities in the United States and certain colleges
abroad.
For more information about gifting opportunities
into the Oregon College Savings Plan, visit www.ore-
goncollegesavings.com/gift.
Survey Seeks Input from Portland
Restaurant Workers
An online survey running through December asks
Portland restaurant workers, “Does your job work
for you?” The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Associ-
ation (ORLA) is conducting the Portland Restaurant
Workers Survey to collect feedback from hourly staff
in advance of potential policy changes that could im-
pact Portland restaurants in 2017. The anonymous
questionnaire asks about quality of life, compensa-
tion, benefits, job satisfaction and more.
The survey will allow ORLA and its members to
hear directly from the people who make Portland’s
red hot restaurant scene work. Little data about
working in Portland restaurants exists year-to-year,
and information can change quickly. As a result,
most discussions about the industry are based on an-
ecdotal evidence. As the city and region face drastic
cost of living increases, housing pressures and rapid
growth, ORLA is committed to providing its members
with survey data to illustrate what is working well
for restaurant workers, what isn’t and what changes
are top priorities for staff.
All hourly food service employees—including cook
staff, servers and hosts—are invited to take the sur-
vey, and everyone who completes the survey to the
end can enter for a chance to win one of five $100
Amazon gift cards. The survey is available online at
bit.ly/2fxVs0e and takes around 10 minutes to com-
plete. ORLA hopes for strong and diverse participa-
tion from workers across Portland over the next few
weeks.
For more information, contact Lori Little at LLit-
tle@OregonRLA.org.
RACC Awards $733,608 in Project
Grants for 2017
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has
awarded $733,608 in grants to 92 local artists and 52
nonprofit organizations for artistic projects that will
take place in calendar year 2017. This represents a
10% increase over last year thanks to increased fund-
ing from Multnomah County, the City of Portland
and RACC’s workplace giving campaign, Work for
Art. Additional funding was provided by Clackamas
County, Washington County and Metro.
“As 2016 draws to a close, we can start looking for-
ward to a tremendous variety of innovative arts ac-
tivities scheduled to take place in 2017,” said executive
director Eloise Damrosch. “I am especially pleased
that 57% of our grants this year are going to artists
and organizations that have never received RACC
project grant funding before.”
Some examples of funded artists and organizations
that are receiving their first-ever project grant from
RACC include:
• Alan Alexander III, $5,400 in the Theatre category
to fund a public performance of an original musi-
cal theatre work titled “Homeless (the musical).”
Book, music and lyrics by Alan Alexander III with
additional music and lyrics by Kathryn Grimm.
• Irina Boboia, $6,495 in the Multi-Discipline cate-
gory to fund “Two Worlds and Nowhere,” a project
aimed at revealing the stories of local immigrants/
refugees through video, still images and text.
• Ashleigh Flynn, $5,600 in the Music category to
help create an LP record of self-penned Americana
See Briefs on page 5