Archives for August 2011

August 23, 2008: Samudra is Born, First Third Generation Captive Born Elephant in North America

August 23, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

In 2005 the bull elephant Tusko arrived at the Oregon Zoo on a breeding loan . . . with a twinkle in his eye. Rose-Tu was receptive to his advances and became pregnant.

On August 23, 2008 she gave birth to her first calf, Samudra. Samudra is the first third-generation elephant born the United States.

The Oregon Zoo’s Asian elephant breeding program is world renown, tracing its history to 1962 when Packy was born, the first baby elephant to be conceived, born and to survive in a zoo in the United States so far as the records show.

Today (August 23, 2011), the Oregon Zoo is throwing a third birthday celebration for Samudra – starting at 11:15am when the keepers present the youngster with a birthday cake.

Southeast Portland Sunday Parkways (28-August-2011)

August 22, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Portland Sunday Parkways come to close-in Southeast Portland on August 28, 2011.

Spend your Sunday morning and afternoon (11am to 4pm) winding your way on bike or foot through mostly residential streets free of car traffic, from one park to the next. The 2-way, 6.2-mile Southeast Portland Sunday Parkways route connects Laurelhurst, Colonel Summers and Ivon Parks, plus the Hawthorne Street Fair.

Food, music and activities are located in the parks and along the route.

Download the PDF map, and find more details, at PortlandSundayParkways.org.

Hawthorne Street Fair (28-August-2011)

August 22, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The 2011 Hawthorne Street Fair takes place Sunday, August 28, from 11am to 5pm.

For the third year in a row the fair coincides with the Southeast Portland Sunday Parkways, which intersects with Hawthorne at 32nd and 45th. Most of the street fair activities take place between 12th and 51st (take a look at the map). Clusters of arts, crafts, and food vendors pepper the side streets, sidewalks, and adjacent parking lots.

The Acoustic Stage is stationed at 41st and Hawthorne and features Pug Bernhard One Man Accordion Band, and others, throughout the day. The Showcase Stage at 34th features Sportin’ Lifers, Smilin’ Johns Bluegrass Band, and others.

Kids activities, including face painting, bubbles, kids music, puppet shows, and more, can be found (or avoided, as the case may be) at
35th.

Heather and I took in both the Sunday Parkways and Hawthorne Street Fair in 2009. The Hawthorne Street Fair does not really compare to Portland’s other renown neighborhood fests – the main drag is not closed to car traffic like it is during the Mississippi, Alberta, Belmont, and Multnomah Village street fairs. One pleasant surprise this year though, is the two beer gardens – one adjacent to Bazi Beierbrasserie (SE 32nd), and one at the Eagles Lodge (SE 50th).

Visit HawthorneStreetFair.com and the Facebook event page for more details, including the full music schedule and more activities.

Festa Italiana 2011

August 22, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The 20th Festa Italiana turns Pioneer Courthouse Square into a piazza Thursday through Saturday, August 25 through 27, 2011.

This is one of my favorite Portland festivals, and not just because of the strolling accordionists. Arrive early to secure a table in the beer and wine garden! You’ll have an excellent view of the stage in the middle of the square. Wine is available by the bottle or the glass; and you’ll find the Festa Italiana drink prices to be more reasonable than at most festivals. Beer is available too.

Festa favorite, Ray Massa’s Eurorythms will be back by popular demand. This year we are adding a second full band, Diamanti (Diamond in Italian), a great band from Chicago. Tenor Moreno Fruzzetti, a native of Pisa, Italy will entertain with a selection of Italian and American classics. John English, “The Voice” will sing Sinatra in a super smooth performance. And there is nothing like a little opera on a summer night. The Portland State University Opera Group will perform on Thursday night.

Visit the festa website for the full entertainment schedule. In addition to musical entertainment, enjoy the pizza toss, grape stomp, face painting, and The Carter Family Marionettes!

Fantastic food, mostly Italian, will be available from Ristorante Roma, Bastas Trattoria, a Cena and The People’s Pig. And of course gelato, dolce and Italian ice treats will also be available.

The fest runs from 11am to 11pm each day, and entry is free! Visit the Festa Italiana website or Facebook page for more details.

August 22, 1982: Last Timbers Match of the NASL Era

August 22, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The North American Soccer League Portland Timbers thrived in the second half of the 70s, but like the league, which crumbled in the early 80s, the Timbers’ franchise also lost its luster. While the league limped along through 1984, the Timbers would play their last NASL match on Sunday, August 22, 1982.

That last match was not so well attended as those in the early days, as Ken Goe reported in The Oregonian on August 23, 1982.

There were 9,517 fans at Civic Stadium Sunday afternoon to watch the Portland Timbers end their 1982 North American Soccer League season – and maybe to say goodbye.

There were some familiar faces:

Timber Jim, the chain saw-equipped Timbers’ mascot, was there. So was ever-loyal Mildred Schwab, Portland city commissioner. Coach Vic Crowe was on the Timbers bench; Willie Anderson was on the field.

More visible, though, was the absence of those not on hand. Harry Merlo, chairman of the board of the parent Louisiana-Pacific Corp., never made it. Neither did most of what once was Soccer City, U.S.A.

Seven years ago, almost to the day, 31,523 people jammed into the stadium to watch the Timbers beat Seattle 2-1. That was Timbermania. Sunday most of the maniacs were on the beach, in the mountains, playing softball, or perhaps watching cable television.

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