Portland, OR. There’s a new exhibit at the Japanese Gardens and it features Suiseki, which is the Japanese art of stone appreciation. Formed over centuries by wind, water and erosion, viewing stones are valued for their distinct shape, color, and texture. Viewing stones take many forms including distant mountains, plunging cascades, and other natural wonders. Traditionally, they are placed on a fine bed of sand in shallow bronze or ceramic trays creating distillations of nature enjoyed indoors.
The Ice and Stone Suiseki Viewing Stone exhibition at Portland Japanese Garden (through March 24) features more than two dozen pieces from the Jim and Alice Greaves collection at the prestigious Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The exhibition is curated by Huntington Cultural Curator, Robert Hori.“Since ancient time, people in Japan have found beauty in rocks and cherished them for their unique patterning. They evoke the grandeur of nature,” said Hori.
“Since ancient time, people in Japan have found beauty in rocks and cherished them for their unique patterning. They evoke the grandeur of nature,” said Hori.
To commemorate this year’s 60th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Portland and Sapporo, located on the island of Hokkaido, the stones are paired with black and white photography of rugged Hokkaido landscapes by Northwest photographer Michael Kenna. The commonalities of Portland and Sapporo remind us that the Pacific Ocean is not a barrier but a bridge between our two countries.
Ice and Stone is the first of four Art in the Garden exhibitions of 2019. It is included with Garden admission (adult $16.95) and is on display in both the Tanabe and Pavilion Galleries.
Portland Japanese Garden is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since opening year-round to visitors in 1967, the Garden has been immersing its guests in beautiful scenery while they experience the art and culture of Japan. Celebrated as one of the most authentic Japanese Gardens outside of Japan, the Portland Japanese Garden features eight separate garden styles on its 12-acre site.
Portland, OR. United Way partners with H&R Block to offer MyFreeTaxes.com, free online tax preparation and filing for anyone making less than $66,000 a year. Now in its 10th year, 1.1 million people have used MyFreeTaxes.com, bringing more than $1.4 billion in tax refunds back to local communities.
If your household earned less than $66,000 in 2018, you can file both your federal and state returns for free using MyFreeTaxes.com. This is the only free, national, online tax-filing product offered by a nonprofit. United Way has made it available to over 100 million U.S. taxpayers as part of its fight for the financial stability of every person in every community.
From United Way of Greater Portland:
United Way of Greater Portland, together with committed partners and donors, are working toward lasting large-scale change around our community’s shared vision, Thrive2027. We build powerful partnerships across our region and innovate the way people, organizations, and systems work together to improve education, financial stability, and health for every person in Greater Portland.
The collaborations we forge with community partners are powered by the collective community and led by United Way. Organizations and individuals come together around a common agenda – Thrive2027 – with shared goals, strategies, data, and guiding principles. We build on strategies that are known to achieve the best results, and we rigorously evaluate our progress. Working together, we are capable of achieving real and lasting population-level impact. This is the collective impact model.
Learn about our partners and how we all move towards the same clear goals.
Portland, OR. The Milagro Latino Theatre company is featuring The North American Premiere of La Segua, a cautionary tale by playwright Alberto Cañas Escalante. La Segua transports audience members to 17th Century Costa Rica where ambition, narcissism, and madness abound. Inspired by the legend of la Segua, Cañas crafts a story of two young lovers who are haunted by a ghost standing in the way of their happiness and sanity. The play runs through March 2nd at the Milagro Theatre, at 525 SE Stark Street, in Portland.
NOTE: La Segua is a Spanish Language Show with English supertitles
(Photo credit, Russell J Young)
Here’s more information about the show:
Performances are through March 2nd, 2019
Thursday – Saturday at 7:30 PM, Sunday at 2 PM
TICKETS: Adult tickets are $27 in advance, $32 at the door.
Senior tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door.
Student/ Veteran tickets are $20 in Advance, $25 at the door.
Special Pricing: Preview tickets are $18 in advance, $22 at the door
Opening night pricing: $40 for all general admission tickets
Additional discounts for groups 15+, and welcomes Arts for All pricing.
Buy tickets: 503-236-7253 or milagro.org or https://milagro.org/event/la-segua/
At Milagro Theatre, 525 SE Stark Street, Portland
ABOUT THE PLAY
In the city of Cartago in colonial Costa Rica, a beautiful woman, Encarnación Sancho, is haunted by the spectre of La Segua, who appeared to her former suitor, driving him mad. Blaming herself, Encarnación resists starting a new relationship with a new suitor, Camilo de Aguilar, a fortune-seeking adventurer who has fallen in love with her. In La Segua, Cañas takes a hard look at Costa Rican values, including ambition, hypocrisy, and follows themes of machismo, vanity, and narcissism. A cautionary tale for all to heed.
ABOUT THE LA SEGUA LEGEND
La Segua is a Costa Rican legend designed to scare men into being loyal and staying close to home at night. As men wander home, often drunk, a patch of fog appears, and in it stands a beautiful woman, with porcelain skin, long black hair, and big dark eyes.
Charmed by her beauty and forgetful of their relationships, the men offer to accompany her home. But when they turn to look at her, their dream is really a nightmare. The beautiful woman has disappeared and has been replaced by a monster with a horse’s head, accompanied by burning red eyes and big yellow teeth, terrifying the men (sometimes to the point of killing them) and in some cases making them lose their minds.
La Segua has a variety of origin stories in Costa Rica. One version says that in colonial Cartago, a young woman fell in love with a Spanish officer who eventually left her, prompting her to wander the streets of the city forever, on the lookout for men to torment as revenge. Another version relates that also in Cartago, the town’s most beautiful young woman was invited to a dance by a wealthy Spaniard. However, her family refused to let her attend due to his “don Juan” (term for a man who seduces women) reputation. The young woman lashed out at her mother and was punished by an otherworldly force who made it so that men would always be drawn to her because of her body but would flee when they saw her horse face.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Alberto Cañas Escalante (16 March 1920 – 14 June 2014) was Costa Rican politician, writer, intellectual, public servant, and journalist. He is considered one of the most important figures in the cultural, political, and social life of Costa Rica during the latter half of the twentieth century. Among his many achievements, he was Vice Minister of International Relations (1955–1956) and was the first Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports (1970). In 1971, he founded the National Theatre Company (Compañía Nacional de Teatro.)
He wrote La Segua in the late 1960s in an effort to reconnect and modernize myths and legends, especially his own. The play premiered as the closing performance of the First Central American Festival of Collegiate Theatre in 1971, and was revived by the National Theatre Company in 2015 in his honor after his death in 2014.
In La Segua, Cañas draws on Costa Rican folklore to criticize the country’s attitudes toward beauty, a message impactful far beyond Costa Rica and long after the play’s 1971 debut. In an epilogue to the play, Cañas explains that he wanted to play with mythology, and he found his chance while glancing through a history book. He stumbled upon the story of two women who were accused of being witches in colonial Costa Rica. In the account, Cañas saw the perfect moment for la Segua to appear. In the play, she doesn’t actually make an appearance, but her presence is alluded to and feared.
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Carlos Escalante Macaya was born in Barcelona, Spain of Costa Rican parents. He studied at the University of Costa Rica in the School of Musical Arts. During his studies, in 1992, he won the “September 15” Permanent Central American Contest for his piece “Violin and Piano Sonata”. In 1995 his opera “The Two of Us”, book by Carlos Tapia, was produced at the National Lyric Company. He has written music for orchestras as well as chamber music, film scores, choral music, music for dance, and a large variety of incidental music for theatre. He moved to Cape Town, South Africa in 2000, where he completed his post-graduate studies with Maestro Peter Klatzow, a former student of famed French composer Nadia Boulanger. He currently teaches at the National Music Institute and the University of Costa in the School of Musical Arts.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Roy Antonio Arauz is a Costa Rican-American director, choreographer, and Milagro’s Producing Creative Director since 2016. Select directing credits: Anna in the Tropics (Latino Theatre Projects); The Gene Pool, The Temperamentals, The Hen Night Epiphany (Arouet); La Mariposa (Book-It, touring); My Mañana Comes(Associate Director, ArtsWest); Annie, The Music Man (Driftwood Players); The Humans (Assistant, Artists Rep); Éxodo (Co-director, Milagro). Choreography credits include: Female Hitchhikers(Consenting Adults, Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Choreography); Annie, The Wizard of Oz (Snoqualmie Falls Forest Theatre.) He founded and was artistic director of Arouet in Seattle from 2011–2015, and is a founding member of Theatre9/12, where he was mentored by Charles Waxberg. He is a member of the Latinx Theatre Commons Steering Committee, the 2015 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, and the 2016 Directors Lab West.
LA SEGUA
By Alberto Cañas Escalante
Original music by Carlos Escalante Macaya
Directed by Roy Antonio Arauz
ENSEMBLE
Johanna Echavarría | Encarnación Sancho
David Cabassa | Camilo De Aguilar
Patricia Alvitez | Manuela/Petronila
Laura Di Mare | Baltasara/María Francisca
Enrique Andrade | José Manuel Sancho
Carlos Adrián Manzano | Ensemble Marian Mendez | Ensemble
Elizabeth Vizcaíno | Ensemble
From Milagro:
The Milagro MainStage theatre company produces a full season of regional or world premieres, including one Spanish language play each year, as well as its long-running Día de Muertos signature production.
Teatro Milagro, Milagro’s touring and arts education program, presents its original bilingual plays and educational residencies to diverse and underserved communities across the nation. Milagro provides a home for Latino arts and culture at El Centro Milagro, where it enriches the local community with a variety of community engagement projects and educational programs designed to share the diversity of Latino culture.
Portland, OR. Stan Foote, Artistic Director of Oregon Children’s Theatre (OCT), announced his plan to retire at the end of the 2018-2019 season. Foote began working with Oregon Children’s Theatre in 1991 and was named its first Artistic Director in 2001. Across his 28-year tenure, he directed nearly 50 plays and shepherded the creation of 20 brand- new scripts based on beloved books for children and families.
These adaptations include collaborations with award-winning children’s’ authors such as Lois Lowry (The Giver) and Louis Sachar (Holes) and became a hallmark of OCT’s rise to national prominence amongst its peers.
OCT made the announcement:
Originally hired to develop OCT’s education programs, Foote is responsible for creating and shaping the company’s acclaimed Acting Academy and Young Professionals Company, as well as programs that are delivered in schools and the community. Under his artistic direction, the company has grown to be the region’s largest provider of performing arts experiences for young people.
Stan Penkin, OCT’s board president said, “Meeting Stan some eight years ago was a special moment for me,” said Penkin. “I was immediately captured by his wonderful soul, his obvious caring for children and his dedication to helping transform lives. His exceptional character, tireless spirit, and unquestionable integrity are deeply embedded in an organization that will miss his presence.”
On making his decision to retire, Foote stated, “It has been a joy and an honor to be the Artistic Director of OCT. I am grateful to the staff, board, patrons, artistic community, business partners, and my peers in the field of theatre for young audiences for embracing me, guiding me, and traveling on this creative journey with me. I am humbled by their trust and support and could not have done it without them. By the way, I see sunny beaches in my future. Salud!”
OCT’s Managing Director, Ross McKeen, expressed his admiration for Foote and his confidence in the company’s future. “Working alongside Stan as co-leaders over the past 12 years has been a gift for me. His artistic vision in this field is remarkable. More than that, he has given this company a solid foundation of guiding values and vision, particularly in his respect and care for young people and his commitment to reaching every child.”
Foote’s innumerable contributions to Oregon Children’s Theatre will be recognized at OCT’s annual evening gala on August 24, 2019, and a campaign to honor his legacy will be launched this spring. (octc.org/gala). Foote is currently directing OCT’s 20th world premiere production, The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors, and will continue as Artistic Director until September 2019. At that time, Associate Artistic Director Marcella Crowson will serve as Interim Artistic Director while OCT’s Board of Directors make plans for filling the role permanently.
About Oregon Children’s Theatre:
Since 1988, Oregon Children’s Theatre has been creating extraordinary theater for young audiences. We bring great stories to life on stage, with productions distinguished by their professional polish and awe- inspiring staging. For many children, attending an OCT production is their first experience with professional performing arts.
Our work is grounded in the belief that theater and storytelling can educate, inspire, empower, and entertain in remarkable ways. Each season, we reach more than 125,000 children and families through: unforgettable theater productions that delight and inspire families and school groups; Acting Academy programs that teach the craft of theater while fostering life skills; and dynamic performances, classes, workshops, and residencies in schools and in the community that use theater and storytelling to teach and inspire.
OCT was created by Sondra Pearlman as the “Theatre for Young People” under the auspices of the Portland Civic Theatre in 1988. When Portland Civic Theatre closed its doors in 1990, Pearlman formed Oregon Children’s Theatre with the goal of providing children their first exposure to theater and the performing arts through field trip performances. Since that start, we evolved by adding family performances and robust arts education programs.
Portland, OR. This is the largest donation in the Dougy Center’s 36-year history. Kimberly Wuepper Rudick, a local agent with New York Life Insurance Company, presented the $1 million check on February 8th. Ashleigh Gunter, The Dougy Center’s Board Chair and Brennan Wood, The Dougy Center’s Executive Director were on hand for the presentation. The grant will fund expansion of The Dougy Center’s program development trainings in the U.S. and round the world.
Based in Portland, Ore., The Dougy Center provides peer-based support programs for children, teens, young adults and their families grieving the death of a parent or sibling.
Portland, OR. What’s the biggest event of the year for the Oregon Humane Society? The Doggie Dash. Registration opens Thursday, February 14th and is free until March 31. Doggie Dash is a Portland tradition and one of the largest gatherings of pets and people in the country.
In 2018, more than 7,000 people and thousands of pets converged on Waterfront Park for the epic celebration.
Doggie Dash is also the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Oregon Humane Society. Donations raised by Dashers help fund critical life-saving services including adoptions, veterinary care, pet behavior services, disaster response and help for abused and neglected animals.
What – Oregon Humane Society Doggie Dash
When – 7:30 a.m. registration, 9 a.m. run/walk, Saturday, May 11
Where – Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Naito Parkway and SW Stark
Participants can sign up for a specific wave time and have the option of a 1.5 or 2.5 mile loop. A huge pet festival with entertainment, raffles, a free pancake breakfast and activities will greet finishers. Dashers who raise $500 or more will have access to a VIP area with snacks, bag and coat check and deluxe bathroom facilities. Prizes are also available for Dashers who reach specific fundraising levels. New for 2019 – the first 100 Dashers who raise $25 will receive an adorable pair of pet-themed slippers.
Dog-less dashers, cat fans and all animal-lovers are welcome at this fun event!
Some quick facts about the Oregon Humane Society:
In 2018, OHS found homes for more than 12,000 pets. It was the ninth year that adoptions exceeded 11,000 and the first time 12,000 pets found their new home through OHS.
OHS receives no tax dollars and relies on private donations to help pets in need.
The OHS medical team provides free and low-cost spay and neuter surgeries for thousands of pets owned by low-income families.
In 2018, OHS’s Second Chance program set another record by welcoming more than 8,000 pets from shelters around the region, across the country and from areas affected by disasters.
From Basic Manners to Reactive Rover, OHS offers dozens of pet behavior classes and workshops plus a free pet behavior helpline.
OHS educators reach more than 12,000 youths and about 2,000 adults annually through humane education programs.
The Oregon Humane Society is the Northwest’s oldest and largest humane society, with one of the highest adoption rates in the nation. OHS receives no government funds for its adoption, education, medical and behavior programs. Visit oregonhumane.org for more information.
Seattle, WA. Matt Broshat made news by pedaling the perimeter of the U.S. to raise money for his favorite charity, Young Life. On February 5th, the 26-year-old boxed up his bike and flew home to Minnesota. Matt Broshat had biked 11,075 miles, starting in August in Portland and ending in the Rose City, 176 days later. Along the way, he surpassed his fundraising goal by $5,000, raising nearly $30,000 for Young Life Capernaum. It’s a nonprofit program for students with disabilities. The money will be used to send kids to summer camp and other events.
Matt Broshat grew up in Minneapolis and graduated from the University of Minnesota. He quit his job at Land O’Lakes to take on the bike trip, camping and staying with volunteer hosts along the way. “I’ve been overwhelmed with the support and encouragement from thousands of people this whole entire journey. I feel like some kind of celebrity, but in reality I am just a guy who likes bikes, a challenge and doing ministry,” he explained.
176 days and 11,075 miles later, Matt Broshat marked his arrival back to Portland with a selfie.
Matt Broshat’s route took him to Maine, Florida and San Diego, CA.
This is a photo, taken on Day 32, shows Matt overlooking Lake Michigan.
As he completed his ride, Matt Broshat made a list of experiences, writing:
“I can’t pin down a specific emotion to describe it, but there were many things running through my head:
-The risk I took to quit a job and seek an adventure of a lifetime
-The thousands of people who were part of my journey
-My friends and family who provided encouragement along the way
-The countless amount of poptarts and sardines required to make it all happen
-The overcoming of ACL surgery 1 year ago
-The prayers of many who helped to keep me safe throughout
-Those who donated to a ministry I love @younglife
-And the realization that I just biked the US perimeter!”
Matt Broshat is looking forward to time with friends and family now. You can keep up with his future plans on his website: https://www.bikerbroshat.com/.
Portland, OR. The opera As One tells the story of a transgender woman named Hannah, and her journey into adulthood. In this coming-of-age story, two voices—a mezzo-soprano and a baritone—share the role of the heroine as she works to resolve the discord between her self and the outside world. As One is a chamber opera for two voices and string quartet. The Portland Opera production which runs from March 22nd – March 30th features music by Laura Kaminsky and a libretto by Mark Campbell. The chamber opera also incorporates a film, directed and created by Kimberly Reed.
Here’s an interview with the creative team:
To celebrate the Portland premiere of this critically acclaimed piece, Portland Opera teamed up with award-winning photographer Gia Goodrich to commission a series of portraits and interviews featuring transgender members of Portland’s community. The gallery of portraits will be available for public viewing in the rotunda of the Antoinette Hatfield Hall (located at 1111 SW Broadway Ave., Portland, OR 97205) beginning with an opening reception on Thursday, March 7. The gallery will be open to the public Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm, in addition to event nights/matinees through March 30.
Free and open to the public.
This photo from the “As I Am: Exhibition Celebrating Trans Identities” features Vivian. (Portrait by Gia Goodrich)
This photo from the “As I Am: Exhibition Celebrating Trans Identities” features Linda. (Portrait by Gia Goodrich)
This photo from the “As I Am: Exhibition Celebrating Trans Identities” features James. (Portrait by Gia Goodrich)
This photo from the “As I Am: Exhibition Celebrating Trans Identities” features Jack & Jay. (Portrait by Gia Goodrich)
Hillsboro, OR. With the support of 200 guests like Adam Good and Shantel Gritsch from the Hillsboro Hops, Tuality Healthcare Foundation’s Derby Gala raised more than $195,000. The Kentucky Derby-themed event on January 28th launched the next goal of the “On the Road to Prevention” Campaign: a cancer care fund. Funds raised will provide travel and accommodation assistance for patients away from home while receiving treatment at OHSU Tuality Healthcare, and may include capital improvements and state of the art equipment investments in Tuality’s cancer care facilities. (Photo credit, Andie Petkus)
Heather Humelbaugh, Director of Diagnostic Imaging at OHSU Tuality Healthcare and Rev. Julie Smith and Tom Smith
Pacific University Students Jasmine Kha and Carolyn Ngo
Breast Cancer Survivor, Eleanor Mills, pictured with Tuality Healthcare Foundation volunteers Sue Horton and JoAnn Lumaco
OHSU Tuality Healthcare Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joe Hardman and President Lori James-Nielsen kick off the event.
OHSU Tuality Healthcare has seen an increasing number of patients traveling daily from coastal and rural communities to receive chemotherapy and radiation. With treatments lasting an average of five weeks, for some the added cost and stress of travel can mean missing appointments, preventing patients from successfully completing their care. For local patients, finding a reliable ride to and from appointments can be challenging without a support network of friends and family. Funds raised at the “Derby Gala” for a cancer care fund, as part of the “On the Road to Prevention” campaign, aim to help patients overcome these barriers to care through gas cards, taxi vouchers, lodging and meal assistance.
In 2018, the Tuality Healthcare Foundation launched goal one of the “On the Road to Prevention” campaign: the purchase of a $1 million state-of-the-art mammography van to increase access to life-saving, preventative care. To date, more than $700,000 has been raised toward the purchase of the van, and fundraising will continue until completed.
OHSU Tuality Healthcare president Lori James-Nielsen, R.N., B.S.N., M.H.A remarked, “The community’s extraordinary generosity will help our neighbors, friends, and family members access the care they need, when they need it most. This is what community is all about.” The benefit was presented by Farmington Gardens.
From Tuality Healthcare Foundation:
The Tuality Healthcare Foundation supports OHSU Tuality Healthcare by funding projects and programs that enrich the patient experience and wellness of our community. The Foundation envisions a region— from Washington County to the coast—where there is access to consistent, patient-focused, high-quality care.
Renowned pianist Hunter Noack has been selected as the first Artist in Residence.
The AIR program, which is designed to foster creative and professional growth for emerging and established performing artists, selected Hunter Noack as the Artist in Residence and Taylor Yoon as the Young Artist in Residence. Residents will have access to All Classical Portland’s world-class facilities and studio time, coupled with on-air opportunities including appearances on Thursdays @ 3, at station events, concerts and special broadcasts. The program, announced January 17th, provides residency for both a professional and a young musician, with plans to announce a poet and visual artist in the fall of 2019.
“We’re thrilled to launch our Artist in Residence program,” said Suzanne Nance, president and CEO of All Classical Portland. “Hunter Noack and Taylor Yoon are talented artists and performers who embody All Classical Portland’s mission of building community.”
Noack is a world-renowned pianist, known for his In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild project, an outdoor concert series involving a 9-foot concert Steinway in state and national parks, historic sites, and other spectacular locations, instead of traditional concert halls. The audience is free to wander through the landscape while listening to the live music through wireless headphones. Here’s a video about the project:
A lifelong musician, Yoon and her sisters formed a musical group called the “Yoontrio,” and have held multiple benefit concerts for various causes. Yoon was also instrumental in launching Olivenbaum, a non-profit organization that utilizes music to bring all races and nations together into peace and harmony. This past summer, the group performed in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea as part of the Lindenbaum Music Festival.Yoon is a senior at Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego.
Noack and Yoon will make their performance debut at All Classical Portland’s Lovefest Concert on February 26th at the Newark Theatre. Additional information on the program, including selection criteria, can be found on the All Classical Portland website.
From All Classical Portland:
All Classical Portland is Portland, Oregon’s classical radio station. Established in 1983, our mission is to advance knowledge of and appreciation for classical music; to build and sustain culturally vibrant local and global communities around this art form; to reflect the spirit of the Pacific Northwest; and to foster integrity, quality and innovation in all that we do. For more information, visit www.allclassical.org.
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