Milagros helps change how families connect
By Marsha Sandman | CNA Media Team
Welcome to parenthood… then get ready for the ride of your life. There will be so many questions and challenges but mostly pure joy.
Erica Matteson, Milagros Boutique owner, has created a cozy little spot where Concordia parents can find answers, help, connections and some of those cute little baby necessities.
The store celebrated its 15th anniversary recently. Erica, who has been a birth and postpartum doula for 20 years, purchased the store from the original owner about six years ago.
She recognized the necessity to make changes due to internet competition, so the retail portion of the store was downsized to add more services. Milagros Boutique now includes support groups, classes, new parent education and personal services.
“My desire with Milagros is to provide families in our community a customizable launching ground,” Erica said. “My goal is to walk alongside each family, one on one, on how they come to the information. It is easy to blaze your own trail if you are connected to others who are also learning.”
Erica’s goal is to include her store as a community service. Milagros invites parents with newborns to a welcoming daily retreat from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. where they can relax, connect to other parents and get support.
She said she got a little teary eyed recently when five parents showed up for the daily group gathering.
Milagros stocks infant carriers, cloth diapers, breastfeeding supplies and locally-made artisan items. “These items connect to the classes taught by either our staff or providers in our local area,” Erica explained.
“Our goal is to have items on hand that lessen that overwhelmed feeling that new parents have when walking into a large baby store. In carriers, we want everyone safe and comfortable. Our cloth diaper rental kits allow families to find a system that works for them and fits the budget.
Newborn feeding takes care and time to become “easy,” and sometimes having that one little product makes the difference.
Milagros offers baby photography, group sessions and individual customizable consultations by appointment through MilagrosBoutique.com.
Erica invites parents to visit Milagros Boutique for a quiet moment from the festivities Sunday, Sept. 8, at the 3-9 p.m. block party on 30th Avenue.
Milagros Boutique is at 5429 N.E. 30th Ave., and the phone number is 503.493.4141. Information about classes, workshops and happenings are on the store’s website.
Milagros Boutique
After living east, south, north and west, Marsha Sandman is home at last. And she wants to hear your story. Contact her at MarshaJSandman@gmail.com.
Ready, Set, Grow offers services to families
By Tamara Anne Fowler | CNA Media Team
Ready Set Grow (RSG) is a new movement, art, education and wellness studio dedicated to families.
Classes are offered for new parents, ones well past postpartum, for parents who didn’t give birth to their children and for kids, including those with sensory and learning differences.
Opened in February, RSG is the creative brainchild of Daniele Strawmyre, a professional dancer, choreographer, yoga instructor and installation artist.
After growing up in Philadelphia, she moved to Portland with partner Mike four years ago. The family – including children Colin and Donavyn, 6 and 3 respectively – purchased a home in north Portland.
Daniele created RSG as a program before she rented space for clients to come to her. After giving birth, she was shocked at how long it took to recover and feel strong again. She wanted to help other mothers recuperate in healthy, nurturing ways.
Those ways include yoga, dance and Pilates-based classes, including some fun ones for parents like “Ballet & Babies,” “Ma-ma Modern Dance,” and “Core Baby Bounce.”
Not only are there movement classes, there are educational series for parents as well as childbirth education, baby sign language and baby sleep classes. For class lists, schedules and events, visit AndReadySetGrow.com or call Danielle at 503.505.6989.
Often, in other schools’ classes, once the child reaches a certain age or ability, it’s difficult to find anything for the parents with kids still present or allowed. RSG’s offerings include classes that are for parents of kids of all ages.
As for children’s classes, they range from “Kids Contemporary” to “StoryTime Ballet” and “Wild Force Kids Yoga” in this cozy space at 5433 N.E. 30th Ave. That’s next door to Milagros, one of RSG’s several collaborators in serving local young families. See the CNews story about Milagros’ 15th anniversary on Page 8.
Art events are also hosted at RSG. One is the art gathering from 6 to 8 p.m. the last Thursday of every month. That’s when the art on the walls is changed out.
“It’s really important for me to support artists as well as parents and families,” Daniele said.
In fact, she’s looking forward to the opportunity to host dance, theater and music events, and she would like to rent the space to dancers in need of rehearsal space.
Ready Set Grow
Tamara Anne Fowler is Edit Kitten, a writer with 20-plus years of experience offering a sof ter, gentler approach to editing and coaching. Her personal editors — Armani, Max Factor and Spicey’D — are also her cats. Visit her at EditKitten.com or contact her at Tamara@EditKitten. com.
Eat, drink, dance and repeat at block party
By Marsha Sandman | CNA Media Team
Get ready to put your food, drink and dance on. Local businesses invite you to their 10th annual block party on 30th Avenue between Emerson and Jarrett streets.
Both 30th Avenue blocks will be closed to vehicles Sunday, Sept. 8, from 3 to 9 p.m.
This area is also known as Foxchase.
Curious? That’s what the recorded plat said in 1889 when Alberta Street was a dirt track. Read some interesting and unusual facts about Foxchase, here.
The event is sponsored by the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) and Dayna McErlean, with additional support and involvement from the other local vendors.
Dayna is a longtime Concordian and a well-known Portland restaurateur. She is the developer and owner of Yakuza Izakaya, D.O.C. and Nonna Tavern, all on 30th between Emerson and Jarrett.
“This celebration is all about community – building it, nurturing it, promoting it,” Dayna explained. She is a creative visionary dedicated to bringing interesting and inspiring businesses to her neighborhood.
The festive block party started 10 years ago as customer appreciation with about 200 people in attendance. Dayna estimated there were 1,000 people there last year and expects even more this year.
It’s an opportunity for folks to sample and learn more about the goods and services offered by the local businesses. There will be complimentary tastes and product samples.
There will also be a variety of musical entertainment curated by Brent Folis, a drummer with Pink Martini. Be prepared to boogey.
All businesses in the two-block radius are invited to participate.
John McSherry, CNA board member, is involved with preparations. He promises a day of kid-friendly fun with a children’s play area and games at Yakuza’s backyard patio.
The block party will be a great chance to mingle with your neighbors and taste all this area has to offer.
A night of food, music, dance, drink and friends. Does it get any better?
After living east, south, north and west, Marsha Sandman is home at last. And she wants to hear your story. Contact her at MarshaJSandman@gmail.com.
CNA Voices – Love is the greatest
By Ike Harris | CNA Board Member
Remember Muhammad Ali, the greatest heavy weight boxer of all time? I do. Those quick hands and feet.
Once upon a time he made this statement. He said to his audience and followers and fans, “I wish you would love everybody the way you show affection for me.”
If we are to be truly great – here at home, across the country and throughout the world – we need to love. I can identify six types of love:
- Eros: romantic love
- Philos: affectionate love
- Philautia: self love
- Storage: familiar love
- Pragma: enduring lovetake
- Agape: unconditional love
That latter – unconditional love – is the greatest. It was important 2,000 years ago and it’s important to achieve today. Look what was said in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, New English Version:
What if I could speak all languages of humans and angels? If I did not love others, I would be nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
What if I could prophecy and understand all secrets and all knowledge? And what if I had faith that moved mountains? I would be nothing unless I loved others.
What if I gave away all that I owned and let myself be burned alive? I would gain nothing unless I loved others.
Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud or rude.
Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep record of wrongs that others do.
Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil.
Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful and trusting.
Love never fails.
For now there are faith, hope and love, but of these three the greatest is love.
If everyone loved one another with this kind of unconditional love, we would all be the greatest!
Isham “Ike” Harris has served on the Concordia Neighborhood Association Board of Directors for countless years. Husband for 43 years, father of three and grandfather of four, he is a retired postal carrier and a pastor for Upper Room Church.
Editor’s note: CNA respects the views and beliefs of all cultures and faiths. The views expressed by this writer do not necessarily reflect the views of CNA.
Madison project sends students to Marshall
By Nancy Varekamp | CNews Editor
campus, students will attend classes in the Marshall High School building 3.8 miles to the south. Art courtesy of Portland Public Schools
In a few weeks Madison High School students will pack their schoolbags and head to classes – at Marshall High School. In the meantime, the Madison building is two months into 24 months of renovation and modernization.
The $201.5 million for the project was approved by voters in 2017, along with funds for projects at Kellogg Middle School, and Lincoln and Benson high schools.
“Madison’s proposed modernization will completely reconfigure and update learning spaces with a focus on indoor environmental quality, sustainability and historic preservation,” reported Harry Esteve, Portland Public Schools communications director.
Major items in the project are:
- Cafeteria, commons and an atrium will connect all major wings and three classroom levels to the main entrance.
- Science labs will consolidate near the front of the school.
- Performing arts will move into a stateof-the-art music and theater facility.
- Community resources will continue to include a child care center, clinic and food pantry.
- Athletics facilities will feature an entirely new gym building with a 1,700-seat main gym, auxiliary gym, weight room, wrestling/dance room and a new softball field.
- Career technical education specialty labs – for digital design, engineering, robotics, digital art, biomedical, sculpture, construction and sustainable agriculture – will adjoin new maker space.
Square footage of the school buildings will be 292,000, an increase of 170,000 square feet to accommodate 1,700 students. Enrollment in the 2017-18 school year was 1,146.
General contractor is Fortis Construction Inc., a local, employee-owned firm. Fifty subcontractors and many more second-tier subcontractors will provide a workforce expected to peak at 300.
As for the students during the next two years, assistant vice principal Lajena Broadous said only the Marshall building will be different.
“The same great Madison teachers, staff and programs will be there. There’s even a new turf field and track.”
Depending on where they live, students will use private and/or public transit to commute to Marshall, 3.8 miles south of the Madison campus.
Nancy Varekamp is semiretired from her career in journalism, public relations and – her favorite work engagement – writing and editing targeted newsletters.
Oakshire brings its brews to 42nd Avenue
By Steve Elder | CNA Media Team
efforts by, among others, (left to right) Hannah Child, Kyler Dressel and Jeff Althouse. Photo by Chris Baker
Northeast 42nd Avenue is becoming a corridor for food and drink in the Concordia and Cully neighborhoods.
Oakshire Brewing is opening Oakshire Beer Hall, featuring a wide range of beverages, including as many as two dozen beers from its original Eugene location.
The beer hall is in the former location of Old Salt Marketplace at 5027 N.E. 42nd Avenue.
“Oakshire will be a neighborhood place with reasonably priced food and drink,” said Hanna Child, Oakshire retail operations director.
It will expand outside the original Old Salt to create a patio area for seating and food carts. There will be no pool table and just one television in the back room.
The kitchen will turn out fresh, savory and spicy Chamorro cuisine under the sure hand of Ed Sablan of Biba, founder of the PDX671 food cart.
Chamorro people are from the Mariana Islands. They took their delicious food to Guam, where it incorporated flavors from the Philippines, China, Japan and the Americas.
“People will increase their visits to taprooms and brewpubs, and will favor those providing the best combination of service, environment and high quality fresh beer,” said Jeff Althouse, Oakshire Brewing founder and CEO.
The beer hall will eventually have rotating food carts on the outdoor patio, in addition to the kitchen providing offerings directly to guests. The restaurateurs operating at Oakshire will use real plates, bowls and silverware, avoiding wasteful single-use service items.
The location also features a 500-square-foot space for pop-ups, seated private events, Oakshire beer dinners and tastings. The space will also be available to the food cart and kitchen operators to host their own dinners.
Oakshire plans to collaborate with the food cart partners for the beer dinners.
“The kitchen is really a work of art,” Hannah added. “It features a well-appointed back line that will be used to service the event space and serve as a commissary kitchen for the food carts.”
Dan Russo is Oakshire Brewing operations director. “In 2018 our brewing team released a dizzying number of beers under our Pilot and Vintage programs,” he said. “That’s 38 new beers in total, and nearly all out of our Public House in Eugene.
“Our Portland beer hall will pour draft wine, cider and kombucha, just as it does in Eugene.
Steve Elder, East2@ ConcordiaPDX.org, is an inactive lawyer, a developer, activist and old grouch.
Cully Community Garden Displacement: August CNA LUTC Agenda
This month, we will have folks from the Cully Community Garden join us, who are being evicted to make room for De La Salle High School — North. They’re looking at three opportunity sites for a new garden in Concordia, and would like to discuss.
We also can discuss speeds on Alberta and Ainsworth streets. Both streets were recently reduced to a 20 mph speed limit, but traffic counts show that speeding continues to be a problem. We have the opportunity to work with PBOT and PPB on a speed enforcement program, combined with potential medium- and long-term design solutions. Let’s discuss our options.
BUF improves educational paths
By Vanessa Miali | CNA Media Team
Photo by Lloyd Kimeldorf
Since its inception in 1983, the nonprofit organization Black United Fund of Oregon (BUF) has been pursuing its mission “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.”
Headquartered at 2828 N.E. Alberta St. and founded by local leaders in north and northeast Portland, BUF has responded to the decades of underfunded programs within the African American community.
It has created its own philanthropic programs and partnerships to channel charitable funds to underserved areas.
A recent report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy found that the population of Oregon is 23 percent people of color. However, the largest charitable organization in the state gave only 3.6 percent of its grant dollars to nonprofits that empower L communities of color and other marginalized groups.
For 28 years BUF has been establishing an educational support system and pathway for at-risk and disadvantaged high school students in Oregon to receive academic scholarships and attend college.
Promoting educational opportunities such as mentoring, coaching and workshops on writing are at the core of its scholarship programs. From academic tutoring, career exploration, counseling and guidance throughout the college admission and attendance process, students gain a wealth of knowledge and individual support to help turn their college dreams into reality.
In May, BUF hosted its yearly scholarship awards luncheon, at which 24 students of color were awarded scholarships totaling $332,000 for attendance at universities locally and nationally.
BUF has established itself as one of Oregon’s leading social entrepreneurial programs to increase educational access, encourage small business development, enhance financial literacy among women and foster philanthropy within the black community.
BUF executive director LM Alaiyo Foster, Ed.D., was born and raised in Portland, received her bachelor’s degree from Portland State University and her doctorate from Lewis & Clark College.
A BUF volunteer from the age of 10, Alaiyo logged more than 1,000 hours by the time she turned 18. She believes that, through philanthropic alignment, the nonprofit can grow exponentially.
“I love what this organization stands for and the commitment from our fourperson staff and over 700 volunteers,” she explained.
“The work we do is so important and I am excited about its growth and continuation of this amazing legacy.”
Stay tuned at BUFOR.org for fundraising events, continued scholarships and expansion of the headquarters. Call 503.282.7973 for information on volunteering and details on scholarships.
Vanessa Miali has lived in Concordia for 18 years. She is a former public relations professional with two kids who cooks every day and gardens occasionally
EcoVibe offers same ‘vibe’ with home decor
By Nancy Varekamp | CNews Editor
decorating the home than dressing the person. Photo courtesy of EcoVibe Home.
There’s a second EcoVibe on Alberta Street. But don’t plan to shop for your wardrobe here, unless you’re in the market for garden togs. You’ll find some of the signature apparel pieces here, but you’ll discover so much more.
EcoVibe Home opened in June at 1906 N.E. Alberta St. It has the same owners and the same environmental, ethical, sustainable vibe, if you will, as EcoVibe Apparel.
Like that 2½-year-old store six blocks west, EcoVibe Home donates to nonprofit organizations that create positive environmental impact, and it stocks products that are environmentally conscious and ethically produced.
When Andrea “Dre” and Leonard “Len” Allen closed their flagship EcoVibe Apparel store on northwest 23rd Avenue at the end of 2018, they planned to concentrate on the Alberta Street apparel store, close to their home and the neighborhood where Len’s family has lived for generations.
But sometimes opportunities just arise,” Dre pointed out. They had mentioned to their Alberta Street landlord Brad Fowler that – because they’ve enjoyed their local retail experience – they’d like to someday expand that apparel store.
Brad said space was available in his new 1930 Alberta building. It wasn’t large enough for an expanded version of EcoVibe Apparel, but it appealed to the Allens.
The large corner windows and the greenery and animals of the mural on the west wall exterior made Dre think of a garden and home décor store.
She originally suggested that her sister and brother-in-law open a plant and home décor store there, similar to DIG Gardens, the store they operate in Santa Cruz, California.
“I don’t want to do that, but you should,” Dre’s sister replied.
The more the Portland couple thought about the idea, the closer it moved to possibility, then reality. Dre comes from a family of gardeners and has a background in botanical medicine.
“She’s my botanical queen,” Len declared.
The products are a different challenge, but not daunting, Dre said. “There’s dirt everywhere, and the pots are bulky and heavy. It’s not like just pulling clothes out of the box and putting them on hangers. “There is more involved, but we love it.”
Her sense of style also serves them well at the new store, according to Len. “The design, the décor here in the store – it all looks like what you’d see walking into our home.”
Len credits Dre’s talents for the new store’s success. “From the day I met her, she’s had an earthy side, and it just had to come out. Here she’s blossomed.
Nancy Varekamp is semiretired from her career in journalism, public relations and – her favorite work engagement – writing and editing targeted newsletters.