Art, Music, and Fun in Store at Fremont Fest   By Margaret Davis

After the BWNA National Night Out picnic at Wilshire Park, Fremont Fest provides yet another chance within the week to celebrate our neighborhood. Festival organizer Byron Ady has many activities scheduled for the day, Saturday, August 5, all kicking off with the traditional morning bicycle parade. In addition, look for the troupe Accordions Anonymous, from Eugene, to make music. That is, if visitors are not otherwise distracted by the 30 vaudevillian performers also invited to roam along Fremont.

Ady seeks a volunteer to oversee the children's sidewalk chalk art zone in front of Suzanne's restaurant, on 46th Avenue, as well as people to work the music area and the parade itself. If interested, call him at 253-5031.

To mark the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association's 20-year anniversary, and to raise funds for neighborhood projects, a postcard printed from original artwork by watercolorist Carol Sands will be unveiled at the festival.

The full-color postcard features Sands' painting of the Dutch Village Building, located at 4100-4120 NE Fremont, surrounded by a border of roses, hydrangea, and rhododendron. The BWNA will sell the postcard in packets of 5 for $3 at its table at Fremont Fest. Visitors will also have a chance to view--and win--the original painting featured in the postcard, which will be raffled off at the end of the day.

The postcards will also be available for purchase at general membership meetings of the association and by calling BWNA secretary, Margaret Davis, at 287-2419.

Sands, who graduated with a degree in fashion illustration from the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, is a Portland native and an 11-year resident of Beaumont. Eight years ago, after many years working as a graphic designer, Sands decided to take up watercolor. Since then, she has produced many paintings, more than 20 featuring Beaumont scenes and businesses. Look out for her booth, which will feature a range of work from notecards to full-size pictures, at Fremont Fest as well.

Come to the Neighborhood Picnic

Tuesday, August 1, 6:00 - 8:30 pm
Wilshire Park picnic area (just south of covered shelter)

August 1st, as part of National Night Out, the BNWA is inviting all neighbors to the biggest, one of the most successful annual events in the neighborhood. Each year about 300 people attend the picnic. If you are new to the neighborhood, here is your chance to meet people who lived here when the streets and sidewalks first went in. Those of you who have lived here all your lives, come meet new neighbors moving into one of the most livable neigborhoods in Portland.

Bring the kids, parents, friends, and in-laws. Local merchants and business owners will be donating hot dogs, hamburgers, gardenburgers, soft drinks, plates, utensils and napkins. Neighbors are asked to bring a salad, desert, or other potluck dishes to share. Also, bring extra condiments. Please put your name and phone number on the bottom of dishes or serving items you bring so that we can return them to you in case they stray.

Area businesses have also donated door prizes, and drawings will be held during the picnic. Enter to win by signing in at the picnic and listen for your name to collect the prize. BWNA tee shirts will be on sale.

We have invited the mayor, the police chief and other city officials. Officer Scruggs, out precinct contact person, has promised to drop by during the picnic. National Night Out is a nation wide event to focus attention on crime prevention and neighborhood unity. BNWA is one of Portland's most active associations and our annual picnic is an important event.

Come, enjoy the food, meet your neighbors, bring the kids, have a great night out! August 1st.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Revitalize

By Kiersten Crane

Last summer a grassroots team of individual neighbors and business representatives along 42nd Avenue joined forces in an effort to revitalize a deteriorating backbone within our neighborhood: 42nd Avenue from Prescott to Holman. This grassroots organization has worked hard and fast to become a well-known team of proponents for revitalization. Through the efforts of many individuals and the support of St. Charles Church and Central Northeast Neighbors, the revitalization team was awarded a grant last winter by the Bureau of Housing and Community Development. This grant has allowed the team to hire an experienced and motivated coordinator, Sandra Lefrancois, the former coordinator of the highly successful Alberta Street revitalization.

The last few months have been busy and very productive for the 42nd Avenue Revitalization Team! Survey responses from neighbors and businesses were received and analyzed, two open workshop forums were held and hundreds of great ideas were brought to the table. The three major goals identified were:

1. Improve the physical condition and appearance of the streetscape and improve pedestrian amenities.

2. Promote a viable neighborhood-serving business district.

3. Provide community gathering area(s) for all groups.

The Vision Plan Workgroup meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. and the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. Both monthly meetings are held at St. Charles Church. This workgroup focuses on setting and implementing an action plan to revitalize 42nd Avenue. The goals of the action plan will be based on the goals previously expressed by the neighborhood and are expected to be achieved over the next year to three years.

Other workgroups are actively working on several projects including; issuing a quarterly newsletter along 42nd Avenue, evaluating the desire for a business association and implementing a variety of tactics to clean up the avenue. General meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at St. Charles Church. Please join us as we achieve Revitalization of 42nd Avenue!

Embrace Our Differences

By Willie Nolan
BWNA President

Among the features that make our neighborhood such a great place to live, the convenient access to downtown, beautiful homes lining clean and safe streets, and great shops and restaurants, is our diversity. On the same block we have people of all ethnic backgrounds, millionaires living next to those struggling just to get by, playing children and our experienced elders. Every day we have a choice to either embrace or criticize our differences. Every day within our own neighborhood we have the opportunity to grow in knowledge and understanding that is not achievable in any university, just by talking with those around us.

Over the next few (very few?) months, Mother Nature provides us with the best excuse to get out and enjoy the neighborhood and to meet or become reacquainted with those around us. To help out, the two big neighborhood events, Fremont Fest and National Night Out, conveniently land right in the middle of summer and provide further excuse to get out of our overheated houses. Make a favorite dish, grab a neighbor and stroll over to the party. Yours truly will be flipping burgers and dogs, some of which hopefully will be edible (anyone with a smidgen of grill talent is encouraged to take over!).

A suggestion: When looking for a seat to enjoy the feast, sit next to someone with whom you could not possibly have anything in common. Seek out that surly old guy with a cane, that young girl with a pierced tongue and tattoo, or that nervous couple chatting only with each other. Approach them without judging and I bet you will be surprised how quickly the night flies by and how you can't wait to see them again.

Meet Your Neighbors: Be a Carrier

By Jeanne Federovitch

It was a thrilling moment when our "New Neighbor Packet" arrived with our first copy of the Beaumont Wilshire Neighborhood newsletter. I never really thought about how it got there, I was just glad to have a source of information about the great neighborhood we had just moved into.

As a new member to the board, I have taken over newsletter distribution from Kiersten Crane. She spent several years doing a great job to ensure that all of us received a newsletter so that we were informed about neighborhood events. I am eager to continue the job but can't do it alone. It takes 4 steps for the newsletter to reach your home:

1. I distribute the newsletters to 10 Captains.

2. The captains count and distribute newsletters to specific route carriers.

3. Each carrier then hand delivers newsletters to 20-40 households.

4. You open your door and voilà--you are in touch with your community.

A number of people have been faithfully filling these roles for months, even years! However some of them have become vacant and without your help, you may not receive your newsletter. My husband and I have taken on a route and we enjoy a walk with our dog, chatting with neighbors as we deliver. It takes about 30 minutes--once every 2 months! So get involved! Jeanne Federovitch, 460-9055.

Troop 107 Meets at Wilshire United Methodist Church

By Mary Lewis

Boy Scout Troop 107 is looking for boys, ages 11-17, who are interested in outdoor activities, leadership and citizenship. Since we formed in 1994, our troop has earned three 'Top Troop' awards at the District Camporee Competition for attitudes and skills our scouts have demonstrated, and 'Top Troop' in the Big Thunder District for having a well rounded program that meets the quality of the Boys Scouts of America.

Some of the activities our troop has done are 50-mile backpack hikes, 50-mile canoe trips, whitewater canoeing, whitewater rafting, camping, mountain climbing, and bike treks. We think we have a great outdoor program that young men will like. Our program also promotes leadership and citizenship through various activities within the troop and in the community.

Parents are encouraged to become involved as the quality of any troop's program depends on the experience and expertise that adults bring as well. We meet Tuesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 PM during the school year. Our next regular troop meeting will be on September 12, 2000. During summer months, meetings are centered on outdoor activities and for planning and preparation. If you would like more information, please call:

John Noel, Scoutmaster, 236-8797, sidhe@cnnw.net
Mary Lewis, Assist. Scoutmaster, 282-9937, akira@uswest.net
Bob Russell, Assist. Scoutmaster, 288-1651

Visitors are welcome. Meetings take place at Wilshire United Methodist Church, NE 39th and Shaver. Please call in advance.

Charlie McLean of Troop 107 Completes Eagle Scout Project

by Valerie McLean

In June, three new raised garden beds were constructed at the Kennedy School Community Garden by local boy scouts. Charlie McLean planned and oversaw the installation of the raised beds as his Eagle Scout project. Charlie McLean, age 16, is a member of Troop 107 which meets in the Wilshire United Methodist Church. Charlie is currently a Life Scout working on his final rank advancement to Eagle Scout. As part of the Eagle Scout preparation, each scout is required to plan and implement a project that benefits the community.

The raised garden beds are now part of the larger community garden operated by the City of Portland in a space behind the parking lot of the McMenamins Kennedy School. The garden beds are wheel chair accessible and will allow handicapped and elderly gardeners to tend their own vegetables and flowers without stooping over to ground level. Currently a local retirement home has requested one of the garden beds for use by their residents.

For a nominal yearly fee, community gardens provide access for neighbors to soil, water, and sunshine to grow a garden. If you are interested in finding out about the community garden, call 823-1612. And please stop by and see the garden growing. Congratulations to Charlie McLean on a successful project that benefits our neighborhood.

Business Focus
The Red Fig

Try The Red Fig on Warm Summer Night

By Janet Baker

Did you watch and wonder what in the world they were doing with that little house on the corner of Fremont and NE 46th for months and months? Well finally the answer was revealed as Chefs Matt Reddick and Jason Bonfiglio opened the Red Fig earlier this summer.

The newest addition to the Fremont dining scene offers a casual alternative that is healthy, economical and fast. You can grab your food and take it back to the office or home, you can sit inside, or you can dine on the spacious outdoor patio under the torchlights. Whichever way you go, Matt and Jason offer a variety of bentos, kabobs, salads, soups, sandwiches and homemade desserts. In addition to chicken, beef and salmon choices, there are a several vegetarian options. I quickly became addicted to the Thai Peanut Chicken Pasta salad, but will be going back to try the veggie kabob soon.

The Red Fig, 4537 NE Fremont, is open Monday through Friday 11:30-3:00 for lunch and 5:00-8:30 for dinner. On Saturdays, they are open 12:00 to 8:00. Closed Sundays. You can call ahead for takeout orders (335-7068).

Business Focus
Bonnie's Pre-Owned and Vintage Clothing

A Long Standing Tradition for Portland Women

By Janet Baker

Tucked amongst some our neighborhood's new businesses is a small jewel that has been around longer than many of us have lived in Beaumont Wilshire. Bonnie's Pre-Owned and Vintage Clothing at 4443 NE Fremont is a classy little shop offering a great selection of women's clothes. Bonnie, the owner, has run her business from the Fremont location for nearly 20 years. Her tasteful selection of dresses and sportswear reflect the time she spends on road all week searching for clothing to sell in the shop.

She offers everything from business attire to eveningwear including some vintage items. Items are carefully arranged by color and size and are all in tip-top condition. Bonnie's is the kind of place you will want to check on a regular basis to see what finds she has this week. For me, years of those "quick stop on the way home from work" visits to her shop have resulted in a closet full of purchases from Bonnie's including many of my favorite clothes. Most of these items cost less than a quarter of the cost of new clothes. If a frustrating day at the mall yields no success, try out Bonnie's. It's a far more efficient way to shop and you will be supporting another Beaumont business.

Bonnie's is open Tuesday through Friday 11-5:30 and Saturday from 11 to 5 p.m. Phone: 281-4459.

Landscaping Project Update

A New Look for the Middle School

By Janet Baker

The neighborhood association is starting to make some headway on our goal to rehabilitate the landscaping at Beaumont Middle School. In mid-July we will be meeting with the principal of Beaumont, school maintenance staff, a parent leader, and other community members that are helping to guide this project.

Our goal is have the first planting phase sometime this fall. Look for more information on this project at our neighborhood picnic. You can also contact me at janbak@pacifier.com to be put on the email list for this project.