Jazz at Curious Comedy in Vanport Square

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Farnell Newton

Farnell Newton

Cherry Extract Music presents a late-night, locally grown jazz music series, titled ‘Round Midnight, which showcases some of Portland’s world-class musicians, talented up-and-coming bands, vocalists and spoken word performers. ‘Round Midnight will be held every Saturday from 11:30pm to 1:30am at Curious Comedy Theater, 5225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in Vanport Square. A portion of the $8 admission fee will go to support jazz and art programming at Jefferson High School.
May 30: The Farnell Newton Project, featuring trumpeter Farnell “Bleek” Newton, who was born in Miami where he was exposed to many forms of music, from jazz, salsa, funk and hip hop. His musical family includes saxophonist and arranger Conny Murray and Sunny Murray, considered “father of avant-garde drumming.” Farnell performs regularly with Klezmocracy, Mel Brown, Thara Memory, Cana Son, Johnny Polanco, Ricardo Lemvo and Darrell Grant, to name a few. Farnell recently recorded his debut CD, Sense of Direction, co-led by pianist Marcus Reynolds.

June 6: The Bobby Torres Ensemble, featuring world class percussionist Bobby Torres, along with pianist Brian Ward, drummer James Taylor, Al Criado on bass and singers Margaret Linn, Mary Linn and Sean Homes. Bobby has played or recorded with Dr. John, Tom Grant, Jackson Browne, Kenny Rogers, Tom Jones and Etta James. Bobby, who also teaches and makes films, has been spicing up Portland’s jazz music scene for more than 40 years.

See you Saturday, ‘Round Midnight at Curious Comedy. To see a complete schedule of performers, go to http://www.roundmidnightpdx.com and for ticket information, contact Curious Comedy Theater 503-477-9477 or go ONLINE.

Blue Door Project Needs Volunteers

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Please come out and volunteer for a Blue Door Project to be held on Saturday May 30th at the home of Mrs. Mary Evans. She has lots of work to be done, cutting back bushes, cutting grass, weeding flower beds and planting a small garden. Bring your favorite tool and gloves and we’ll have some too. Attached is an event flyer on the Blue Door Project for you to see what we are trying to accomplish. We will meet at the Northeast Coalition Office located at 4815 NE 7th at 9:30 AM to sign waivers and then we’ll go to her house about a mile away. We should be done before noon.

We’ll need ten people for this project. Let Allyson know if you can make it. Please send your reply to allyson.spencer@comcast.net. She will confirm your participation once everyone replies. If you can’t this time there will be one held every month through October.

Blue Door Project Event Flyer

Jefferson High School Centennial Celebration

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jeffhsTheme: “Celebrate 100 Years of Alumni Achievement”

Jefferson High School’s 100th Centennial Celebration is coming soon with a three-day
celebration. Our all-class reunion will be spanning the years from 1909 through the class of 2012. What a wonderful celebration for everyone to experience and share with each other.

Thursday, May 28th we will be having a Golf Tournament to be held at Riverside Golf and Country Club. The shotgun start will begin at 1:00 PM. The entry price is $150.00 covering golf, cart, and dinner. Non-golfers can attend the post tournament dinner for a $20.00 fee including a non-golfers goody bag. Please complete the golf registration form. Directions to Riverside HERE.

Friday, May 29th be sure to attend our gala all class dinner-auction at the Holiday Inn Airport & Convention Center.

Ambassador Edward Joseph Perkins ’47 to speak at Friday dinner!

Dinner choices will be filet mignon, chicken champignon or grilled salmon with garden salad, vegetables and garlic-mashed potatoes or Vegetarian Pasta with a Garden Salad. An enjoyable dessert buffet of decadent chocolate mousse cake, caramel apple crisp or cheesecake will also be served. The no-host reception begins at 5:30 pm; the silent auction at 6:00 pm and dinner at 7:30 pm. Enjoy DJ music from many eras for your dancing pleasure after the dinner. Please see the registration form for prices and to register to attend. Auction donations are encouraged, with proceeds benefiting the alumni association.
Saturday, May 30th will be OUR CENTENNIAL ALL CLASS CELEBRATION at The School of Champions…a fun-filled day to share enjoyable events with former classmates and Jefferson Democrats of all ages.

For more info, go to: http://www.jeffersoncentennial.com/

Vacant Lots Sought for Gardens

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Urban Gardens: Coming to a Lot Near You!

Urban Gardens: Coming to a Lot Near You!

Thanks to NeighborhoodNotes.com for the tip:

Woodlawn neighbor Nat West saw an empty lot across the street from him was filling up with trash. He then set out to create an orderly farm out of the chaos. Under the tutelage of friend Dan Bravin whose POP farming organization consults people interested in installing urban farms around the city, West has transformed the space into 1440 square feet of an intensely planted organic vegetable garden.

He says that he grows what he and his family like to eat. “We eat cauliflower and broccoli maybe three times a year, but we eat greens and lettuces all the time. With a CSA, (community supported agriculture) there is pressure to deliver something new every week. People might get bored if you only have mustard greens for three weeks in a row.” So, he says, he sees the future leading him more toward a market garden, selling to restaurants, than expanding into a full-blown CSA. He is testing the waters this year, deciding what this excellent resource will evolve into. He is keeping track of his progress and pitfalls so that he might take this project to new heights next year. And he’s got his eye on other lots in the area.

West says he really loves the effect this has had on the neighborhood. Turning a veritable garbage dump into a flourishing garden has lifted the spirits of all the people in the area. A home owner whose property flanks the garden is allowing West to use his water. Others have offered to help with the farm work. Many people, he says, walk by and ask, “What’s getting built here?” Which makes him smile and answer, “Nothing!” He recently put up a sign to tell people about this project, which he calls Fruits of Our Neighbors, and offering his contact information for the large amount of curiosity he and the farm are generating.

Despite having one full-size lot at his disposal, he is still looking for big open plots in Woodlawn, Concordia, Piedmont, King and Alberta Arts neighborhoods. Drop him a line if you’ve got something – natjwest@gmail.com.

Read the original full article at:NeighborhoodNotes

Council Seeks Two Youth Members

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PIACAre you interested in increasing the community’s ability to have an impact on government decisions? Would you like to help the City of Portland to involve the public in ways that are more inclusive and meaningful? If so, consider serving on the Public Involvement Advisory Council for the City of Portland.

Two positions are currently open for youth who live in Portland and are between the ages of 16 and 22. Applications being accepted until June 25th, 2009.

The Public Involvement Advisory Council (PIAC) was created in 2008 to strengthen the City’s commitment to public involvement. PIAC assists City bureaus in creating consistent expectations and processes for public involvement activities. PIAC is made up of both community members and city staff.

http://www.portlandonline.com/oni/index.cfm?c=48951&a=245409