By Kepper Petzing | Contributing Writer
We are excited to celebrate 50 years of building a strong neighborhood community and invite everyone to join us for a family-friendly celebration on August 7th at 6 pm! A jazz ensemble from the University of Oregon (U of O) will perform. Bring your lawn chair or blanket and spread out on the grass. Fun activities will include face painting, cornhole, crafts, and more. CNA tees and other merch will be for sale. There’s no party without food. Check out the food trucks or bring a picnic from home.
From the Winter Party to the egg hunts at Easter to yard sales in the summer, the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) has become a part of the rhythm of life in Concordia. But it wasn’t always that way. CNA was founded in 1975 as part of a city-wide effort to have more input in how our city develops.
CNA has seen many changes in 50 years. Alberta and Killingsworth streets have a complicated history of being vibrant cultural spaces for businesses, art and music yet also have seen periods of exclusion and gentrification. We have witnessed the popping up of little free libraries and the razing of Whitaker Middle School (but not before Gus Van Sant turned it into a movie set). This summer our new project, the Concordia Commons at NE 30th and Killingsworth, has free live music every Sunday from 4-6 pm and game night every Thursday from 5-7 pm.
As we celebrate 50 years, we welcome the new without leaving the past behind. CNA continues to have a print newspaper, still delivered free to all residents each month and also available online. We have active Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Kennedy Elementary School opened in 1914 and closed in 1975, but its history lives on as a McMenamins hotel where you can find photographs, murals, and other items linking the past to today. Did you know that NE 33rd used to be a cattle-herding road? Can you find the Martha Jordan room and learn her story? In addition to celebrating our history, McMenamins Kennedy School helps CNA thrive by providing a community room for meeting space and rental income.
Sometimes the old becomes new again. Concordia University, the namesake of our neighborhood, was founded in 1905 and closed in 2020. The University of Oregon purchased the campus in 2022. Come to the party and see for yourself the transformative renovations U of O has made and learn about its programs for the upcoming year.
And now the U of O Portland campus is the new home of an old favorite, summer concerts in the park. For over a decade, in collaboration with Portland’s Parks & Recreation (PP&R) free summer concerts were held at Fernhill Park. They were cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. Changes in priorities at PP&R have meant that these concerts have not returned. As we mourned their loss, Uof O stepped up to partner with CNA to continue this tradition on the first Thursday in August, Neighbors Night Out. Now we’ll enjoy live music and community conviviality at the U of O Portland outdoor amphitheater. Hopefully, it will be the first annual event. We hope to see you there!
Kepper Petzing has lived in Concordia for 42 years. They are nonbinary. They love community and the public spaces where we can be together