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.
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.
Portland, August 18th. A Lifestyle Story….You may have heard about this little designer ice cream business with a lines wrapped around the building. At Salt & Straw you can try flavors like: Bone Marrow and Cherry, Chevre with Marionberry Habenero Jam, Sweet Summer Corn Buttermilk Sherbet, and Honey Lavender. Salt and Straw was started by two cousins, Kim and Tyler Malek, who wanted to whip up a farm-to-cone ice cream and in the process have gained national attention from media organizations as far-flung as CBS Sunday Morning Show and Oprah Magazine.
Customers are invited to taste the unique flavors on tiny stainless steel spoons.
Owners Kim and Tyler Malek explain, “Ice cream is handmade in small-batches using only all-natural dairy with the best local, sustainable and organic ingredients Oregon has to offer, as well as imported flavors from small, handpicked farms and producers around the world.”
Salt and Straw owners, and cousins, Kim and Tyler Malek
One Chef inspired flavor from Boke Bowl includes, Kaffir lim leaf and lemongrass ice cream with ribbons of fish sauce caramel
Margaret Devlin, Chad Bledsoe, Noah Lawson, and Liz Van Rossen
This is the Salt and Straw at 838 Northwest 23rd Avenue in Portland. It’s one of three locations for the business.
Here’s a video about Salt & Straw from “Unique Sweets”!
Locations in addition to the shop on NW 23rd include:
Scoop shop at 2035 NE Alberta St Portland, OR | Open 11am-11pm daily | {503}208-3867
Scoop shop & bakery at 838 NW 23rd Ave Portland, OR | Open 7am-11pm daily | {971}271-8168
Ice Cream Pushcart at 3330 SE Division St. Portland, OR | Open 12pm-10pm daily
About Salt & Straw: Our story is part luck, part strategy and part love (for ice cream, family, local foods, and other stuff we can’t mention here). I (Kim) have been wanting to open an ice cream scoop shop since 1996. I thought it would be nice to have a local spot where you could run into your neighbors, celebrate with your family, reward yourself…whatever! And I love exploring fun, interesting new flavors. After toiling away in safe mode working for several amazing Fortune 500 businesses, I moved back to Portland for love and found the window of opportunity and support that I’d been lacking to jump start my idea.
In the mean time, my cousin Tyler had been studying in China and traveling in Asia. He completed his business degree and had just announced to the family that he was going to enroll in Culinary School. I actually saw a posting on Facebook that he was considering moving to Portland and phoned him up…not even knowing about his plans! We traded stories and updated each other – coming to realize we are on similar paths by coincidence. Next thing I knew, I was getting reports from Tyler regarding ice cream tests he was running with his friends and family as tasters. He had a million ideas and wanted to join me in this crazy idea. How could I resist? He litterally dropped what he was doing, loaded up his car and drove to Portland from Seattle to start work as our head ice cream maker the very next day. I would probably be somewhere rocking back and forth in a corner without him. He’s amazingly talented, super smart, hard working, and quite possibly the nicest person ever.
So…I cashed in my 401K, signed a lease, created a custom push cart, and spent days and days in Sarah Masoni’s kitchen (head of R &D at the Oregon Food Innovation Center) creating ice cream recipes. And now, here we are.
We’re hoping to create the kind of company that’s fun to support, work for, and partner with. We’re about building strong local community – both in the neighborhoods where we do business and by purchasing as many local products as possible (to keep our money in Oregon and help create stronger local economies).
But at the end of the day, we just really hope you enjoy the ice cream.
Portland, August 15th. Have a pint, change the world. That’s the slogan of the Oregon Public House at 700 NE Dekum. Slated to open this fall, the pub will use a unique business model by asking customers to select a charity to benefit from the profits of each visit. The goal is to generate $10,000 a month to funnel to local charities.
Oregon Public House on NE Dekum
Founders, who believe there should be synergy between Portland’s love of brews and nonprofits, say their vision is to create, “a family-friendly pub environment where our neighbors from the surrounding area can come to enjoy community around good food and craft beer while supporting great causes.”
Oregon Public House is located under the Village Ballroom in a 100 year old building. Ryan Saari, one of the people behind the idea, started the project a year and a half ago and has helped organize volunteer workers building with donated materials to keep the project debt-free.
Here’s a video where founder Ryan Saari explains the business model is explained in the video below: (it plays best in the internet explorer browser.)
When the pub is up and running, managers will hire a few full time employees to help operate the business, but sat they will not take a salary themselves.
Interested charities can request an application to be vetted. Charities will be featured on a rotation, which will change every six months, or so. There’s still room for volunteers to help with the build out and remodeling. Organizers are also still raising money. Construction on the Oregon Public House is about 90% complete and the doors could open this fall.
The founder’s next project, building an independent brewery so the pub can supply its own beer.
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