King School PTA News

Next PTA meeting: Thursday, April 12th, 5:00pm in the school library. Dinner, childcare, and Spanish interpretation included.

Hello everyone! A lot is going on at King and the pace is picking up. Here’s a glimpse of what we’re up to:

Courtyard Garden

A volunteer youth group led by kindergarten parents Duke and Caroline Revard gave the garden program a big boost by building planter boxes in the courtyard by the cafeteria. If you haven’t seen the progress, check it out. As spring gets going, the kids will soon be planting. Do you have gardening skills, expertise, or supplies to donate? If so, contact us at: info@kingpta.org.

Whole Foods Tasting Fair—April 4th

Support the King School garden program and sample each course of a full meal for only $5 at the Whole Foods at 15th/Fremont starting at 5:00pm.

Papa Murphy’s Fundraiser—April 11th

Our monthly fundraiser at Papa Murphy’s at 15th/Fremont runs from 4:00-8:00pm

¿Por Que No? Profit Share—April 18th

To fund the costs associated with putting on the Mother’s Day event ¿Por Que No? taqueria at 3524 N Mississippi Ave. will be donated a portion of proceeds from all King supporters on this night. The 18th is a no-school Wednesday.

Enzo’s Profit Share—April 19th

Support our King Parents Linh and Enzo Lanzadoro and the PTA at the same time by enjoying great hand-made Italian food in a comfortable atmosphere. This final profit share of the year begins at 5:00 pm at Enzo’s Caffe Italiano, 2529 NE Alberta next to Halibut’s.

First Annual King School 5K Fun Run and Health Fair—April 28^th

Join us for the 5K (3.1 mile) fun run/walk through the neighborhood and/or the health fair in the King Facility parking lot.  There will be a lot of good information about healthy food, gardening, cooking, child safety, and more.  Registration forms for the run/walk will be coming home soon.

First Annual King School Auction—May 4th

Tickets are on sale now for the first King School Auction. Individual tickets are $35 and a table for seven is $300. Get your tickets at http://www.kingpta.org or drop by the PTA office. The scramble to have everything all lined up is beginning and we need to find volunteers to work the night of the event to handle all of the logistics from taking coats and giving directions to collecting the bids and getting the items to the purchasers to cleaning out the hall after it is all over. Drop by the PTA office/parent room or email info@kingpta.org.

To keep up with all these events, check the King School Calendar regularly at: www.kingpta.org/calendar

INA Market to Open in Cascade Square

Chong Ball, the new owner of the Cascade Square storefronts at 8th and Killingsworth, contacted the King Neighborhood Association recently to introduce herself, solicit neighbor concerns, and assure that under her ownership the strip will be much improved. She detailed the investments she is making in the building such as addressing maintenance items that had been deferred for many years, upgrading the electrical systems, adding security cameras and removing bars from the windows in favor of roll down security doors to be used at night. There will be new lighting and signage.

Cascade Square was the former location of the infamous Boston Market corner store which Ms. Ball said she evicted for non-payment of rent. She is opening her own store, the INA Market in the former Boston Market space. She explained that she has run a successful market in the SW suburbs and has recently sold that business to invest in NE. A few years ago she would not have purchased there, she said, but now the area appears to her to have potential. That potential is also apparent to Rodney Muirhead who moved his popular Podnah’s Pit restaurant to a large space just eight blocks east.

King Farmers Market to Add New Vendors, Open May 1

From Portland Farmers Market:

Spring is slowly but surely coming, and with it comes the reopening of the popular King Portland Farmers Market! Our opening day for 2011 is Sunday, May 1 at 10 AM. New vendors for 2011 include:
• Eatin’ Alive, a bicycle powered mobile vending station that believes in harnessing raw energy in both transport and cooking. A Portland company, they use all organic, locally grown produce to create seasonal, freshly prepared raw snacks such as: seed and nut pates, wild crafted pesto, garden wraps, a variety of prepared salads, and delicious sweet treats.
• Good Natured Gardens, a small, family run vegetable and herb farm located on Sauvie Island that grows a wide verity of heirloom produce and seedlings using organic methods to insure the highest quality.
• KCK Farms, is a family owned and operated nursery in the heart of the Willamette Valley of Oregon offering fresh cut peonies, bare root, containerized trees and perennials.
• Trailhead Coffee Roasters, the bike-based Portland coffee roaster featuring coffees produced by women farmers and served from Trailhead’s rolling bike cafe.

Coffee with Representative Frederick

Your state Representative Lew Frederick invites you to attend his second Saturday chat this Saturday, December 11th, Reflections Coffee House, 446 NE Killingsworth Street, (1/2 block east of MLK) 9:00 am to 10:00 am. As constituents, we need to send Lew to Salem next month representing us so come and share your concerns, ideas and hear his as well. This is one of a continuing series of coffee chats on the second Saturday of each month at Reflections.

P.S.: Check out Lew in the 1980 documentary: Albina

Fundraiser at Widmer Gasthaus for Loaves and Fishes

Fans of Widmer Brewing and the Widmer Gasthaus can spend an enjoyable evening out while helping to feed homebound seniors at the same time.

From 4 until 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20, half of all proceeds earned at the Widmer Gasthaus will go to support the Martin Luther King, Jr. Loaves & Fishes Center. Patrons are encouraged to come early or after the dinner hour to ensure that the restaurant raises as many funds as possible. Parties of five or more are asked to call ahead and make a reservation.

About Loaves & Fishes Centers:
Since 1970 Loaves & Fishes Centers has provided a nutritional and social lifeline for seniors through 33 meal sites in Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties and Meals-On-Wheels delivery to homebound seniors. With the help of more than 8,200 volunteers, the nonprofit, secular organization now serves 5,000 meals daily and more than 1.4 million meals each year. Loaves & Fishes celebrates 40 years of service to seniors in 2010. Visit: www.LoavesAndFishesOnline.org.

Where:Widmer Brothers Gasthaus, 955 N. Russell, Phone: 503.281.3333
When: Wednesday, October 20th, 4:00-10:00 pm

For more information, contact:
Julie Piper Finley, ABC, Director of Marketing & Communications
Loaves & Fishes Centers, The Meals-On-Wheels People
503.953.8136 or 503.318.1362
jpfinley@lfcpdx.org
MLK Center Loaves & Fishes, 5325 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (503)-953-8207.
www.loavesandfishesonline.org

New Restaurant to Open in Beech St Foursquare

The 1906 foursquare formerly occupied by Sound Roots which relocated to Williams Avenue, is to become the Beech Street Parlor. The business has applied for a full liquor license and plans to be open from 5:00 pm to 2:00 am at 412 NE Beech, just off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Build-a-Burger for Foodshare Fund NE

Enjoy a fresh, local Burger and Support Foodshare Fund NE! Please join us on the Sunday, 4th of July for “Build-a-Burger!” at King Portland Farmers Market. Get a $5 meat or veggie burger fresh grilled at the market from 11 am – 1 pm. The market is situated beside a park with play equipment, making for a perfect holiday picnic.

Foodshare Fund Northeast, a project of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN), is in its second year of providing matching funds for our neighbors using food stamps to buy fresh, local food at the market. Nearly one in five Oregonians is now receiving food stamps, 39% of them children.

This year, in response to a growing and urgent need, we’ve expanded the program. Foodshare Fund NE provides funds from our community — businesses, community groups, neighbors — to match food stamps spent at King dollar for dollar, up to $10 per week. Last year, the average match was $234 per Sunday. This year it has risen to $1000 per Sunday. Help us meet our goal to run this project through the full season until October without running out of matching funds.

Please join us and celebrate July Fourth with a Burger!

If you can’t be there but would like to donate, you can do so at the market every week at the NECN info booth, on-line through PayPal at www.necoalition.org (specify “Foodshare Fund” in comments), or by mail, 4815 NE 7th Avenue, Portland, OR 97211-3939.

Many thanks!

Paige

Paige S. Coleman, Executive Director
Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods

New Food Cart/Market Proposed in King

A new “Cartisans Market” is in the works on NE Garfield between Beech and Failing. Sassafras Consulting is currently looking for carts that serve food, sell artisanal products, crafts and more. They are also looking for an urban farmer that would like to grow food for the food carts and for sale at the market. And finally, they are looking for filmmakers, performance artists, musicians and more to activate the space as a summertime community funtime space. They know the King Neighborhood is filled with talented people so they would like to get the word out.

If you have any questions, call:
Kelley Roy
Sassafras Consulting
www.sassafrasgreenbuilding.com

p.503.852.1645
f. 503.232.3479

1111 East Burnside, Suite 312
Portland, Oregon 97214

http://www.sassafrasgreenbuilding.com/blog/

PPS Students to Operate Waffle Cart on Alberta

News from Portland Public Schools:

Students helped design and will help manage Solar Waffle Works, a new food cart located at N.E. Alberta St. and 23rd Ave.
A new solar-powered food cart in northeast Portland serves up more than waffles.

Located at N.E. Alberta St. and 23rd Ave. and set to open this month, the small blue trailer housing “Solar Waffle Works” is a nonprofit project that helps high school graduates gain independent living skills and vocational training.

Read the full story at: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/news/1575.htm

Elevated Coffee Seeks Wine and Beer License

Elevated Coffee in the Vanport Square development at 5261 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, has applied for a beer and wine license to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. The license would allow on-premise sales of malt beverages not more than 14%, wine not more than 21% and cider not more than 10% alcohol. They propose to operate from M-Th, 6am-7pm, F 6am-9pm, and Sat-Sun 7am-9pm and have live and recorded music. Any objections to the application should be directed to the OLCC at 9079 SE McLoughlin Blvd, Portland OR 97222. The license investigator is Charles Ellis, 503-872-5210.

http://elevatedcoffee.com/