I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who lent their time and support to Concordia’s Spring Egg Hunt.
On April 8, the Concordia Neighborhood Association hosted a double event, a neighborhood clean-up followed by our annual egg hunt, and I am happy to report that both events were a resounding success!
I want to give a special shout-out to all those who helped fill the eggs. Your hard work and dedication brought smiles and happiness to hundreds of local kids.
I want to especially thank James, our youngest volunteer, 5 years old, who coordinated with his parents and showed up at 10 a.m. sharp to help hide the eggs. He was more interested in setting up for other kids than he was in finding eggs, and for that, he earned one of the gift cards from Gabbiano’s and a special thank you from the neighborhood.
Another big thank you to Darcy Gabriel and her husband Sam, who showed up and helped during setup. They earned the second gift card from Gabbiano’s.
I also want to recognize Gina Levine, who helped with the neighborhood cleanup and made sure that Concordia is a bit cleaner. Levine also helped stuff thousands of eggs with her children and other young volunteers, earning her a gift card from The Knock Back for her time and efforts. The second Knock Back gift card was earned by Sigrid Casey, who donated her time and truck to pick up large items of trash from our streets.
We hid around 6,000 eggs and gave away around 10,000 pieces of candy and an assortment of prizes. Thank you to POP Cart, who was there with music and helping us direct the event.
Thank you to Flour Market for the delicious pastries for our volunteers, and to Kiss Coffee for their donation of coffee for the clean-up and 100 hot chocolate coupons for the egg hunt!
I also want to give a big shoutout to the board members who helped so much. Brittany Van Der Salm, our vice chair, and her husband Paul were instrumental in taking charge of the lost and found, bringing a lot of peace of mind to our neighbors. Rich Bruton, chair of our Land Use and Transportation Committee (LUTC), helped set up the borders of the hunt according to ages. Astrid Fustner, our board member for East 2, and her family took charge of the prize booth. Megan Gobble, our board member for SW2, gathered her family and made sure the park was ready and clean for the event. Patricia McMahon, AL2, was there setting up and laying eggs, and helping with the pickup. John McSherry, AL3, helped with release forms and picking up. Heather Pashley, our treasurer, helped with the cleanup. Kieran Lee, our chair, brought tables to set up.
To all of the other volunteers, too many of you to name here, my most heartfelt thanks for your time and effort.
First Fridays
On a separate note, I want to share when the social committee will be meeting and how you can get involved. Starting in May, we will be meeting on the first Friday of each month, and we will be rotating locations. Please email me at Social@ConcordiaPDX.org or call/ text me at 503-343-5561 for locations.
Our first meeting takes place at 2 p.m. Friday, May 5, at Chilango, 2217 NE Alberta St. Members of the social committee will each get a free taco. Speaking of Cinco de Mayo, Concordia residents are in for a treat: Chilango, a vegan Mexican restaurant, will be hosting a special party that day from 3–7 p.m. The party will kick off after the social committee meeting. Attendees can indulge in the restaurant’s delicious tacos while enjoying live entertainment. Chilango [See related feature Pag
e 5] has been a part of the community for many years, and this event is an excellent opportunity for residents to celebrate the culture and diversity of their neighborhood. Don’t miss out on the fun and festivities!
Javier Puga-Phillips holds the Southwest 1 position on the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) Board of Directors, manages rentals of the McMenamins Kennedy School Community Room and chairs the CNA Social Committee. He is a real estate professional locally, and he is a published author and motivational speaker in Latin America and Spain.