Walla Walla, Washington, August 20th. A lifestyle story… About a four hour drive northeast of Portland, more than 100 wineries draw wine lovers. The Walla Walla Valley is home to 1,800 acres of vineyards and a beautiful agricultural landscape. Photos from a recent trip give you an idea of what to expect. The Long Shadows winery and tasting room have a grand view of surrounding countryside with simple modern architecture highlighted by Dale Chihuly’s glass art including a chandelier and several large organic pieces.
You need a reservation to visit Long Shadows Vintners, contact the winery for current hours at 509-526-0905.
Spanish for bee, the Abeja winery was inspired by the simple beauty of farming the earth.
The luxury Inn at Abeja, is a lovely place to stay. It is a century-old farm with beautifully restored buildings in the rolling foothills of Walla Walla’s Blue Mountains.
Created by Portlanders Ken and Ginger Harrison, Abeja has private wine tasting just for guest of the inn.
Walla Walla’s L’Ecole wine is sold in all 50 states, Canada and Japan.
Woodward Canyon has a small restaurant on site and is now offering small plates in the Reserve House on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning at 11:30 AM.
There are some great restaurant located in downtown Walla Walla which receive good reviews:
Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen – outstanding, organic menu with attention to detail, knowledgeable staff, great service.
Brasserie Four – delicious french food, outstanding shellfish and dessert.
Olive Marketplace & Cafe by T Maccarone’s – great for a wine country picnic, with a deli filled with gourmet cheeses, meats, pastries, coffee and a big menu for dining in – breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The farmer’s market in downtown Walla Walla is also worth exploring.
The Walla Walla Farmer’s Market is located & 4th and Main.
There’s a website with lots of news about the market: http://www.gowallawallafarmersmarket.com/
Of course you’ll find the famous Walla Walla sweet onions.
The people are friendly, too.
The Market is open during the weekends.
During a trip to the Walla Walla wineries, you’ll find passionate winemakers eager to talk about their unique blends. Here are a few links to check out…
August 18th. Portland resident wins Toastmasters’ 2012 World Championship of Public Speaking! Rising above 30,000 participants, 25-year-old Ryan Avery is youngest ever to win world’s largest speech contest!
With an inspiring speech that shared insights on pushing past one’s fears to succeed in life, Ryan Avery, a Toastmaster from Portland, WON in the final round of the Toastmasters 2012 World Championship of Public Speaking.
Ryan Avery at the 2012 Semi Finals of Toastmasters in Orlando,FL
In the finals competition, Avery delivered a speech titled “Trust is a Must,” a story about growing up and keeping one’s promise. Avery, a Director of Marketing for Special Olympics Oregon and a member of the Portland Toastmasters club (District 7), impressed and entertained the crowd at the Toastmasters International Speech Contest Semifinals a day earlier. “It took lots of practice to get to this point!” says Avery. “In my bedroom I have a sign that says, ‘What would Michael Phelps do?’ If he could get up early to practice every day and eat healthy, so could I. I also have lots of mentors, and my wife was incredibly supportive. The process has helped me grow as a person and realize that Toastmasters is an amazingly supportive organization: It’s where friendships are made!”
Avery progressed through a six-month process of elimination in the world’s largest speech contest, reaching the top nine finalists from a pool of 30,000 competitors.
A panel of 14 Toastmasters judges evaluate the finalists on a range of criteria, including speech content, organization, voice quality and gestures. The five- to seven-minute speeches cover wide-ranging topics.
The speech contest highlights the annual four-day Toastmasters International Convention, which draws a capacity audience of some 1,500 people from around the world.Contenders in Toastmasters clubs from 116countries enter the contest on a local level, progressing through club, area, division and district competitions.
Congratulations to Ryan!
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About District 7
District 7 is one of 88 districts around the world. It comprises more than 170 corporate and community clubs in Western Oregon and Southern Washington. To learn more, please visit www.d7toastmasters.org.
About Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Founded in October 1924, the organization currently has more than 280,000 members in 13,500 clubs in 116 countries. Each week, Toastmasters helps more than a quarter million people of every ethnicity, education level and profession build their competence in communication so they can gain the confidence to lead others. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit www.toastmasters.org. Follow Toastmasters International on Twitter @Toastmasters.
August 17, 2012. The Cat Adoption Team (Sherwood, Ore) is offering cat owners a deal this September. Get your fertile cat or kitten spayed or neutered for FREE. And CAT will also include a free FVRCP and/or Rabies vaccination (based on cat’s need). Qualified cat owners only.
When: Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Cost: Free feline spay/neuter, includes FVRCP and/or Rabies vaccination as well 70 surgery spots available.
Qualified cat owners only: live in Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington, or Clark Counties
AND receive government assistance, such as Medicaid, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Section 8/Public housing, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Oregon Health plan and Subsidized Lunch Program funding.
Residents in or near Hillsboro may be able to schedule a convenient transport pick up from Washington County Animal Services to the Cat Adoption Team in Sherwood for surgery. Ask about this free service when you call to make your cat’s appointment.
Call: (503) 925-8903 to make your cats appointment now.
Portland, August 14, 2012. – Artists Rep begins its 30th Anniversary season on September 4 with the World Premiere of Aaron Posner’s And So It Goes…, directed by Posner. This quirky love letter to the human race flows from Kurt Vonnegut’s first collection of short stories, Welcome to the Monkey House. The play runs through October 7 on the Alder Stage, 1516 SW Alder, Portland, OR 97205.
Can we ever protect ourselves from the idiocy of our hearts? Down a well-worn path, hand-in-hand, take a walk…through leaves and over bridges, breathe in the soul’s seductive moments through three love stories set in mythological small-town America. It’s 1962 New England when we join Tom, our tour guide, for a stroll with a host of hearts just like our own. Along the circuitous course of love we travel with our new friends hoping to catch a genuine glimpse of humankind’s most elusive sentiment in the wonderfully flawed characters muddling along before us.
Playwright and Director Aaron Posner wrote the first version of And So It Goes…, under the title Who Am I This Time?, in the 1980s while at Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre.He said back then adaptation was often done in a strictly narrative style, that it was just a matter of “taking short stories and doing them on stage.”
25 years later, after several more incarnations of that production and an even deeper understanding and appreciation of Kurt Vonnegut’s work, Posner wrote And So It Goes….
“My imagination weaved the stories together in a more fluid, connective way,” he said at the production’s first rehearsal.
Posner referenced what Critic Robert Scholes said about the author of 14 novels including Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions and Cat’s Cradle: “Kurt Vonnegut puts bitter coating on sweet pills.” Posner said it is Vonnegut’s ability to “portray the difficulties of being human beings with optimism, hopefulness, love and texture” that enables his stories to come to life on the stage.
And So It Goes…
Written by: Aaron Posner
Adapted from stories by: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Directed by: Aaron Posner
Featuring: Tim True, Valerie Stevens, Andy Lee-Hillstrom, Kayla Lian, Alex Hurt, Leif Norby, Sarah Lucht
Performance Dates: Sept. 4 – Oct. 7
Wednesday through Sunday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2pm
Wednesday matinee – Sept. 26 at 11am
Opening Night – Friday, Sept. 7 at 7:30pm
Aaron is a freelance director and playwright, an Associate Artist at both the Folger Theatre in Washington DC and the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and is a founding Artistic Director of Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company. Aaron has directed at major regional theatres from coast to coast including Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, American Player’s Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Barrington Stage, Cal Shakes, Children’s Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Studio Theatre, Theatre J, Woolly Mammoth and many more. Aaron won Barrymore Awards for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Director), and The Chosen (Playwright), both at the Arden. He has won the Helen Hayes Awards for Best Director three of the last eight years, all for work at the Folger: Measure For Measure, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Cyrano. His many published and produced adaptations include The Chosen, My Name Is Asher Lev, Ellen Foster adapted from Kaye Gibbons, Third & Indiana adapted from Steve Lopez, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men adapted from David Foster Wallace, and Sometimes A Great Notion adapted from Ken Kesey. His musical adaptation of Mark Twain’s A Murder, A Mystery & A Marriage (with James Sugg) was nominated for 10 Barrymore Awards and the Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play.
His new adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull, entitled Stupid Fu*king Bird will premiere at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in May of 2013. Aaron is an Eisenhower Fellow, holds a B.S. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, is from Eugene, Oregon, and lives in Maryland with his wife, actress Erin Weaver, and his tiny daughter, Maisie.
Artists Repertory Theatre
The 2012/13 Artists Repertory Theatre season is presented by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and Ronni Lacroute/WillaKenzie Estate. The 2012/13 print media sponsor is The Oregonian and the radio sponsor is KINK.FM. Season hotel sponsor is Hotel deLuxe. Other support comes from Regional Arts Culture Council, Work for Art, Oregon Arts Commission, All Classical and Maletis Beverage.
Portland’s longest-running theatre company, Artists Repertory Theatre celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Over the past three decades Artists Rep has made a name for itself offering adventurous plays – comedies, dramas and musicals alike – that are supremely entertaining, thoughtful and provocative. Artists Rep feeds our community’s artistic soul with premieres, re-imagined classics, new play development and educational outreach.
Portland, August 8th. The Beach Boy grabbed Marilyn’s wig and ran! It was all part of Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) and Peacock Productions first ever Bat ‘n Rouge softball tournament featuring drag queens, music, and general hilarity at Lillis-Albina Park. The benefit raised $10,600 to send HIV infected and affected kids to Camp Starlight and build scholarships for the Audria M. Edwards Scholarship Fund.
Portland’s legendary Entertainer, Darcelle threw out the first pitch.
The Queen of Drag, Darcelle XV, added, “How could the Queen of Portland not be at an event like this? It marries all the things I love: Camp Starlight, LGBT Youth and Higher Education, drag performance, and hot men. I’m delighted to attend the first Bat ‘n Rouge event.”
The Ambiguously Gay Super Heroes (with tights and capes) were the winners of the event!
The exhibition tournament featured a team of drag queens, each dressed as Marilyn Monroe, as well as a three other archetypal LGBT groups, including: Beach Boys (yes, men in speedos); Ambiguously Gay Super Heroes (with tights and capes); Construction Lesbians (with hard hats and caution vests). Photo credit, Roger.
2nd Place went to The Marilyn Monroes (Drag Queens) who took the field in heels! (Photo credit, Roger)
The benefit softball game attracted spectators of all ages. (Photo Credit, Garbero Photography)
There was a tie for third place between The Construction Lesbians and The Beach Boys!
Portland’s own local comedians, Whitney Streed and Xander Deveaux, offered color commentary while CC Slaughter’s resident DJ, DJ Slutsky spinned tunes.
The Cascade AIDS Project annual AIDS Walk Portland is coming up on Sunday, September 23rd.
About Cascade AIDS Project Incorporated in 1985, Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) is the oldest and largest AIDS Service Organization in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Our mission is to prevent HIV infections, support and empower people affected and infected by HIV/AIDS, and eliminate HIV/AIDS-related stigma. With a staff of 50, and a volunteer corps that includes over 700 individuals providing more than 21,000 hours of service each year, CAP manages a diverse array of programs and an annual budget of $4.6 million. Fifteen percent of CAP’s staff are individuals living with HIV, 25% identify from communities of color, and 30% are bilingual. Our programs serve the broad and diverse set of communities impacted by HIV, from community-specific programs focused on teens, Latinos, the gay community, individuals and families living with HIV, to the thousands of individuals throughout the state who seek education though our AIDS/STD hotline each year. A committed 18-member volunteer Board of Directors provides strategic guidance and oversight to ensure CAP accomplishes its mission and continues to operate with integrity and transparency. www.cascadeaids.org. About Peacock Productions, Inc.
Established in 1999, Peacock Productions, Inc. (PPI) is a 501c3 non-profit corporation whose mission is to enhance the quality of life of members and allies of the LGBTQ community by offering entertainment, providing scholarships, and networking to celebrate diversity and build equality. PPI administers the Audria M. Edwards Scholarship Fund which was founded by Lady Elaine Peacock and Misty Waters, in honor of their Mother in 1988. To date, the AME Fund has granted more than $182,000 to LGBT students and/or the students of LGBT parents throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington. To find out more about Peacock Productions, Inc., visit www.peacockafterdark.com.
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