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