Concordia Neighborhood Association | Portland, Oregon

Category Archives: Arts & Culture

Sewing, fashion are inside and out

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By Karen Wells | CNA Media Team

The art of fashion – and the practice of it – are the specialty of Silhouette Design, Tailoring and Dressmaking in nearby Beaumont-Wilshire. Photo by Karen Wells

A mural inspired by signature fashions of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s momentarily transports the viewer back in time. It’s no coincidence that it adorns a wall of Silhouette Design, Tailoring and Dressmaking.

Julia GaRey, women’s tailor and dressmaker, had been wanting a mural painted on the side of the building for years. She wanted a mural that captured the art of vintage sewing patterns, despite the limited space of the 12-foot eastside wall. Hers is the smallest shop on the block.

Building owner and 30-year Beaumont-Wilshire resident Georjean Melonas was very supportive of the project. She was instrumental in guiding Julia through the permit process with the city and with the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association.

Location: Silhouette, 4225 N.E. Fremont St., at the opening to parking behind the building.
Artist: Raziah Roushan has lived in Portland for about seven years. San Diego is her hometown and where she got her start as a muralist. She received her bachelor’s degree in painting from Pacific Northwest College of Art and has more than 20 large-scale murals in her portfolio.

She recently finished three murals for the Cedar Hills Crossing Mall renovation. To see more of her murals visit: RaziahRoushan.com/galleries/murals.

Raziah loves working with clients during the creative process and receiving positive responses from the community. While working on this mural, a 90-yearold resident stopped to watch her work and commented, “I’ve never seen a muralist in action. Fascinating.”

What the mural represents: The art of sewing and signature vintage fashion styles using the mannequin form
Installation: 2016 If you have an off-the-rack garment in need of special attention to make it fabulous, Julia may be able to help. See her work at SilhouetteTailoringStudio.com.

Karen is a retired early childhood community educator, health and safety trainer. Reach her at 619.244.7892.

Red Door Project

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THE AUGUST WILSON RED DOOR PROJECT GIVES PORTLAND STUDENTS A SHOT AT BROADWAY

The August Wilson Red Door Project

The August Wilson Red Door Project is thrilled to announce the re-launch of the August Wilson Monologue Competition, which gives Portland-area high school students, grades 10-12, the opportunity to perform monologues from African-American playwright August Wilson’s plays and compete for a chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to New York City for the National Finals. So much more than an acting competition, the AWMC is a transformational journey of self-discovery and an opportunity to engage directly with the most urgent and fundamental issues in our society. As a playwright, August Wilson gave voice and value to populations who were previously absent from American stages. Wilson, the first person to put the African-American vernacular down on paper, put forth the idea that this way of speaking should be celebrated and exalted, instead of ignored, corrected or cleaned up. In the words of Red Door’s founder, Kevin Jones, “What’s unique about the AWMC program is it meets students where they are with powerful stories straight out of African American culture and history.”

Applying for the competition is the first step of a six-month journey that will push students to discover their own talents and gifts and hold them accountable for their own success. The August Wilson Red Door Project team will be there to support students at every stop of the process, from selecting a monologue from Wilson’s catalogue, working on memorization, script analysis and character building. At the heart of completion is a series of six weekly intensive masterclasses, where students selected for the competition work on their pieces with help from leading professional theater artists from Portland and beyond. For two finalists, this journey will culminate with a trip to NYC and the opportunity to perform in the August Wilson Theater on Broadway.

There is no cost to apply for or participate in the AWMC. If you are a teacher or work with youth, we are offering an in-class recruitment presentation through Nov. 30, which gives a bigger picture of August Wilson’s work, his impact on American theater and contemporary society, and how his work directly connects to themes of gentrification, incarceration and social justice that are so alive in our current times. While we are actively looking for students of color, we encourage students from all ethnicities, backgrounds and experience to apply online by November 30 at reddoorproject.org.

Key upcoming dates for the Monologue Competition

Application Deadline: NOVEMBER 30, 2016

Orientation: DECEMBER 30, 2016
Preliminary Auditions: JANUARY 7, 2017
Callbacks: JANUARY 8, 2017
Master Classes: JANUARY 14, 21, 28 and FEBRUARY 4, 11, 18 2017

Regional Finals: FEBRUARY 27, 2017
National Finals: APRIL 28-MAY 2 2017

For more information, please visit http://reddoorproject.org/awmc.

Concordia murals: “La Fertilidad de la Tierra” / “The Fertility of the Earth”

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pablos murals alberta streetEditor’s note: This month launches a regular CNews feature by Carrie Wenninger to highlight the murals in the Concordia neighborhood.

Mural location/age: La Sirenita Taqueria, 2817 N.E. Alberta St. / about 1 year

Artist: Pablo Garcia, a Portland mural artist with roots in Mexico and more than 50 pieces of work on view around our city, in collaboration with friend Consuela Del Moral

Representation: The eclipse surrounding Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, is telling us that we are running out of time. At the same time, Quetzalcoatl is giving the energy from the sun to us, to help us grow along with the Tule tree, an enormous and ancient cypress. The earth is strong because of the energy of this nature god.

Business Owner: Luis Moreno, La Sirenita, proprietor

Fun fact: Pablo is also responsible for the mermaid La Sirenita – the business’s namesake – on the front of the building, whose shimmering scales were fashioned from recycled CDs.

See more of Pablo’s work: www.pablosmurals.com

Artist adds coloring books to his repertoire

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Aaron Trotter - Illustrated playing cards
Aaron Trotter debuted “Color Alberta” Aug. 13 at the Alberta Street Fair. The second in his new series of coloring books – along with the first book and all 28 decks of his playing cards – tempted local shoppers. They’re available in stores near and far, and at Portland Saturday Market.

Alberta Street coloring book debuts at Alberta Street Fair

By Nancy Varekamp, B.S. CNews editor

A coloring book for all ages – and that’s all about Alberta Street – debuted at the Alberta Street Fair. Aaron Trotter, known for his Illustrated Playing Cards, enlarged and simplified 18 drawings from the deck of cards he created in 2013 in partnership with Alberta Main Street. “Color Alberta” is the second coloring book he has produced – following the May release of one that’s based on the 2010 Portland Landmarks playing cards. He plans to follow it this year with another that uses illustrations from his Mississippi Avenue deck.

Although he toyed with the concept of coloring books early on, Aaron didn’t get serious about it until this year.

“In the past year, they’ve crept into Portland big time, and no one had developed any actually about Portland,” he explained.

It took discipline for a pen-and-ink artist who revels in details to delete some details from his illustrations for the coloring books. But it was necessary for customers to enjoy the coloring experience. He should know.

“One of the ways I learned to draw was from coloring when I was a kid,”Aaron pointed out.

The coloring books are the latest venture for the artist based at Alberta Studios. What started with a studio in the basement of his home – and selling pen and ink drawings in restaurants, cafes and bars – developed into printing his illustrations onto postcards to sell to local stores.

Sales encouraged him to pursue his art full time in 2010, when he began finding success selling 52 illustrations at a time in the form of playing cards.

“This is the longest I’ve ever had a job,” he said with a smile. “Working for myself is the best job I’ve ever had.”

The first deck, Portland Landmarks, was a tribute to Aaron’s hometown, and a Kickstarter campaign financed the printing. That deck just completed its 100th printing – of 100 decks each.

Aaron has 27 more decks to his credit, and he plans to complete five more this year. They range from Portland scenes and Oregon ones to major U.S. and foreign cities. Those decks – and now his coloring books – are available in stores throughout Oregon and eight other states, and online at IllustratedPlayingCards.com.

His playing cards and coloring books are at Portland Saturday Market – including Sundays –through Dec. 24. His work is also available at five Alberta Street locations. A variety of cards are at his studio and Local Discoveries. The new coloring book and the Alberta Street playing cards are available at Frock, Alberta Main Street and Collage.

National Night Out to include parade, music, fun!

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Neighbors are invited to join in on the National Night Out Celebration on the evening of Tues., August 2nd.

This unique community event will be fun for the whole family with a focus on community building to prevent crime and fear of crime. National Night Out is held on the first Tuesday of August every year around the country and is designed to strengthen neighborhood spirit and community partnerships, generate support for participation in local anti-crime programs, heighten community awareness of crime and drug prevention, and send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Our neighborhood celebration will begin at 6 p.m. with a pedestrian and bicycle parade at Dekum Court, Home Forward’s Public Housing Community, located at NE 25th & Saratoga. The parade will wind its way to Fernhill Park via Dekum, NE 33rd Avenue, Ainsworth St., and NE 37th Avenue. We hope to see everyone, individually or in groups, get out and join the parade. Children and adults, marching bands, sports teams, church and civic groups, city officials, dance troupes and kazoo bands are all welcome! We will have a bicycle decoration station at Dekum Court beginning at 5 p.m., so bring your bikes, trikes, and strollers and get creative! The celebration will continue at Fernhill Park with the last concert of our free Summer Concert Series, Wanderlust Circus Orchestra at 6:30 p.m.

Last Thursday official season continues July 28

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LastThursday paper

“The Last Thursday mural” was recently completed by artist Matt Schlosky. The mural can be found on the front of the Black United Fund building at 2828 N.E. Alberta St.

Now in its 19th season, Last Thursday is held on N.E. Alberta Street on the last Thursday of every month year-round. It is a venue for creatives, artists, musicians and performers, and the visitors who come to enjoy the display.

Tribute & fundraiser for Melody Winn May 22

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Key figure in Fernhill Park Playground Project succumbing to cancer

By Rachel Ivey

We don’t always know who to thank for the things that make our community what it is. Some fit in so seamlessly or are so vital that it’s hard to imagine ever having been without them. Yet the playground at Fernhill Park is just such a place. Beautiful, functional, fun. But there was a time when it didn’t exist. Making it what it is today was an uphill battle, championed primarily by two women; one of them was Melody Winn, the former owner and lead teacher of Our Place Preschool.

Opened in 1999, Our Place was home to over six hundred children in the 30+ years it was in operation. In childcare, the days can be long and exhausting, no matter how full of joy. It’s impossible to overstate how impressed I am that Melody found the time to undertake the Fernhill Playground project. Talking with her about the multi-year challenge to raise the funds for it, I came away with a small sense of how she managed.

“I have always been a very positive person and have given 200% all of my life…I worked 60 hours a week with the children and it wouldn’t be unusual…to work another 20 hours in the evenings and weekends,” Melody said.

All of the work she and fellow community member Anne Rothert did paid off eight years later as their efforts, (combined with a contribution from the Parks Bureau) raised over $90,000 for the structure. The voices of Melody and Anne in the community attracted helping hands for all the various hurdles, such as design, and meeting city requirements.

Heartbreakingly, Melody has since been forced to change gears. On April 6th last year, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a year to live. Her decision to close Our Place was a devastating one, but necessary.

“I wasn’t able to offer the children all…they deserved and I didn’t want to be around them if I was going to die quickly,” Melody said.

Despite the sudden change of pace, she hasn’t been bored. As we turned the corner into spring, Melody looked forward to a group of former students coming over to make pizza. There, she told her visitors of finishing her volunteer training at Doernbecher Children’s hospital.

“I have to say that my love for children has paid off…I have so many children who come to visit me… they tell me over an over how much I meant to them…I feel good that I was able to touch other people’s lives and it makes me feel like I did right with my time here.”

I can’t think of a more beautiful legacy than a community of happy children and a place we can all watch them play. Come thank Melody Winn in person at a fundraiser and community party at The Spare Room on Sunday, May 22nd from 6pm-9pm. Proceeds will help Melody with travel expenses for treatment.

Rachel Ivey is a mother, owner and operator of Room To Grow Childcare and researcher of all things home and child. She is proud to have her nest and business in the heart of Concordia. For tips, tricks, and advice on thriving with children, please feel free to contact roomtogrowportland@gmail.com.

Alberta Main Street seeks performers, sponsors & vendors for annual street fair

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The 19th Annual Alberta Street Fair is Saturday August 13, 2016. Alberta Main Street is currently seeking performers, sponsors and vendors for the event. The Alberta Street Fair is a daylong celebration of community, art and music that brings over 25,000 people to Alberta Street. Hosted by Alberta Main Street, the street fair includes three stages of entertainment and over 300 vendor spaces between NE 10th Ave and NE 30th Ave.

Call for Performers: Alberta Main Street seeks a diverse array of performers appropriate for a family-friendly event. The non-profit seeks performers of all kinds: musicians, dancers, children’s performers and other acts that appreciate and represent the cultural diversity of our neighborhood. Performers are invited to learn more and apply online. All acts must perform original material or works that are clearly in the public domain. The application deadline is April 17, 2016.

Sponsorship Opportunities: The eclectic mix of entertainment and craft at The Alberta Street Fair epitomizes the Portland draw and is a fantastic opportunity for exposure for your business. By sponsoring Alberta Street Fair, you can: directly connect with an active and engaged audience, showcase products, bolster your brand by partnering with a respected event and support your consumer’s community. For more information available online.

Vendor Registration: Local artists, crafters, makers, organizations and food vendors are invited to participate in this popular event. Vendor registration fees vary by the type of vendor and size of booth. More information and registration is now available online. Register before June 15, 2016 for early bird pricing! For additional information about Alberta Main Street contact Sara Wittenberg at  or visit albertamainst.org.

Summer Concerts in Fernhill Park Needs Y-O-U

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A Call to Business Owners, Families, and Individuals!

There’s no better way to spend a warm and breezy summer evening than gathering with friends and neighbors in Fernhill Park for music, dancing and family fun! For the last eleven summers, the Fernhill Concert Series has been a smashing success- offering the finest musical talents that Portland has to offer free of charge! This year it all happens on four Friday nights starting July 8th through July 29th and ends with a big shebang on Tuesday August 2nd for our Concordia Neighborhood National Night Out! The CNA Fernhill Concert Committee has begun the long, hard slog of fundraising for the Summer Concert Series, but we need your help to raise enough money to fund all five concerts! So, if you have the means, PLEASE DONATE! We are looking for local businesses and individuals to donate anything they can to help make the concerts happen! It doesn’t matter if you are a business owner, a family, or an individual, WE NEED YOU to help raise the money to produce another memorable concert season in Fernhill Park.

If you would like to help the CNA Fernhill Concert Committee fundraise for this year’s fabulous season, please contact Katie Ugolini at social@concordiapdx.org or 503-449-9690. HELP SUPPPORT THE POWER OF LIVE MUSIC TO BRING OUR COMMUNITY TOGETHER!

Furthermore, if you are a business, institution, or individual and want to be a Fernhill Concert Series Sponsor by contributing $300 or more, you will receive these awesome benefits of sponsorship:
​•​Opportunity to have promotional table at all 5 concerts to display, give or sell items.

​•​A chance to give to your neighborhood

​•​A tax deductible contribution staying “close to home”

​•​Your Business Name Recognized:

Here are the options:

Please join us at the concert sponsorship level that is comfortable for you!

Champion Sponsor: $3,000
Presenting sponsor status for one night of a concert series
Opportunity to emcee and welcome audience to the concert
Logo or name on the concert banner, select Summer Free for All movie screens, season brochure and neighborhood flyer
Listed as presenting sponsor in the season brochure and the neighborhood flyer
Listed on the PP&R Summer Free for All website
Recognized from the stage at all concerts
Thanked in Concordia News and on the CNA Website and recognition in the  SFFA final report
Listed in the newspaper guide distributed in seven languages
Invitation to sponsor night

Major Sponsor: $1,250 and up
Logo or name on concert banner, one Summer Free for Allmovie screen, season brochure and  neighborhood flyer
Listed on the PP&R Summer Free for All website
Recognized from the stage at all concerts
Thanked in Concordia News and on CNA Website
Name listed in the newspaper guide distributed in seven languages

Contributing Sponsor: $600 and up
Name in bold on the concert banner
Name in bold in the season brochure and on neighborhood flyer
Listed on the PP&R Summer Free for All website
Thanked in Concordia News and on the CNA Website

Good Neighbor Sponsor: $300 and up
Name listed on the neighborhood flyer
Listed on the PP&R Summer Free for All website
Thanked in the Concordia News and on the CNA Website

Any sponsor may have a promotional table at the concerts they are supporting.

Sponsorship commitments are needed by April 1 but payment is not due until June 1, 2016 to be included in promotional material.  If you are a business, please let us know how you would like to participate as a sponsor by contacting Lynn Shisler, Concert Production Manager at lynn.shisler@portlandoregon.gov.  If paying by check, make checks payable to Portland Parks & Recreation/Fernhill Concerts and mail to Portland Parks & Recreation,  ATTN: Lynn Shisler, Concerts: 6437 SE Division St.,  Portland, OR 97206. CREDIT CARDS ALSO ACCEPTED.

The Murals of The Black United Fund

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When you walk by the Black United Fund’s building at 28th and NE Alberta you can’t miss noticing a recently completed 25 x 100 ft mural that swirls across its west side facing wall. The vibrant mural honors iconic women of the civil rights movement.

Vox Siren, a Creative Change Agency that focuses on promoting gender equity and ArtUprising, a non-profit that connects artists and non-profit organizations working to dismantle institutional oppression partnered with the Black United Fund of Oregon on the mural.

Black United Fund, Alberta Street, Portland, Oregon
Photos courtesy of Carl Jameson

The Black United Fund of Oregon is the only black-owned, community specific nonprofit that operates and owns its building and property on Alberta Street. The organization’s mission is to assist in the social and economic development of Oregon’s low-income communities and to contribute to a broader understanding of ethnic and culturally diverse groups.

Kimberlee Sheng, the Executive Director of Black United Fund provided leadership in the creative design said, “As a child growing up the women depicted on this mural were major inspirations in life; they embodied the vision I held for myself, and the determination that was required to create real and lasting change.”

Artists Eatcho and Jeremy Nichols collaborated on the mural that features historical figures of Coretta Scott King, Ruby Bridges, Ruby Dee, Angela Davis, and Maya Angelou. “These women, along with countless others- some who will never be named, opened many doors of opportunity for both women and men, and have had a tremendous impact on how communities of color navigate “systems” of inequity,” Sheng said.

Murals of the Black United Fund, Alberta Street, Portland, Oregon

There is another important person represented in the mural: a young girl stands below the image of Maya Angelou and reflects on her predecessors. She represents a generation boldly ready to continue the legacy of powerful leadership. Sheng said, “In our more than 30-years of operation, the organization has always been lead by women therefore it is fitting that this mural would pay tribute to a few of the iconic black women of the civil rights movement. Upholding a beacon of hope for all, these historical women stood alongside our brothers and numerous communities involved in the struggle, just as we still do today.”

The mural was supported by the Public Arts Murals Program, administered by Regional Arts and Culture Council. Watch a video “A Voice to be Thankful For” created by Vox Siren about the mural.

There’s more murals to come for the building. Alberta Art Works, an organization that supports the neighborhood’s art, artists, performers and creatives, commissioned six 8 x 8 foot murals for the building’s Alberta Street side.

Murals of the Black United Fund, Alberta Street, Portland, Oregon
The murals will tell the story of Alberta Street’s history, economic growth and diversity. Two murals are complete, two are in progress and the rest are scheduled to be completed in Spring 2016.