Dave Knows Portland

The Portland Earthquake Walking Tour (12-June-2012)

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Cascadia Subduction ZoneJoin Yumei Wang of the the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries tonight, Tuesday, June 12, 2012, for the Portland Earthquake Walking Tour.

Portland’s Old Town is a crossroads of urban
arteries, essential city services, and historic
architecture. On this twilight walking tour you will
learn to identify unreinforced masonry buildings,
consider ways to strengthen our bridges, ponder
soil liquefaction risk near the Willamette River
Harbor Wall, and examine the extensive seismic
retrofits at Portland Fire Station #1.

This free event is open to the public and begins at 7 p.m. at the Mercy Corps Action Center (28 SW 1st). Join the Q&A session in the Mercy Corps Aceh Room after the tour.

Authors in Pubs (4-June-2012)

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Authors in PubsAuthors in Pubs takes place tonight, Monday, June 4, 2012, at the Jack London Bar (529 SW 4th – in the basement of the Rialto Pool Room).

This month’s lineup:

Don Van Kirk – writer, ex-bartender, Host & MC
Nancy McKnight- poet, bartender, mother
Patrick Hoyer – Sous Chef, writer, bartender
Kehl Van Horn – writer, restauranteur
Jennifer Willis – writer

Intermission – Tonights guest painter – Jen Clark

Grant Keltner – photographer, published author, artist
Jonathan Ems – published author, actor, dad
Featured Author: Brook Gerity-Miles – published author, inspiration for the story: ‘Mama Meets the Boomer Boys’

Doors open at 7:30 p.m., show beings at 8:00 p.m.

Created by local writer Don Van Kirk last September, Authors in Pubs is a First Monday event that aims to give local writers a chance to share their work, and receive feedback. The shows run about two hours, but visitors are encouraged to arrive early and stay late to talk with authors and peruse their books. Visit the PortlandWiki entry and the Yelp event page for more details.

The Many Lives of South Portland: From Immigrants to Hippies and Highrisers (4-June-2012)

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The Oregon Encyclopedia, in conjunction with McMenamins and the Northwest Examiner, presents The Many Lives of South Portland: From Immigrants to Hippies and Highrisers on Monday, June 4, 2012 at the Mission Theater (1624 NW Glisan).

In 1955, a Mayor’s Advisory Committee identified the blocks at the southeast end of downtown Portland—bounded by Market, Front, Arthur, and Fourth—as suitable for a land clearance and redevelopment project. Civic leaders wanted to use new federal legislation that had expanded the Housing Act of 1949 to include what soon became known as “urban renewal.”

This area, later extended to include twenty-six acres between Market and Jefferson, was known as the South Portland/South Auditorium Urban Renewal Project. Hundreds of residents and small businesses were displaced during the project over the years, radically transforming the neighborhood and downtown.

The presenter is Carl Abott, Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University, and author of the book Portland: Planning, Politics, and Growth in a Twentieth Century City.

Admission is free to this, and all the OE History Night events. Children are welcome if accompanied by a parent or guardian. Doors open at 6 p.m., presentation starts at 7 p.m.

Think & Drink: The Future of Food (30-May-2012)

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Oregon HumanitiesThe Future of Food, a presentation in the Think & Drink series presented by Oregon Humanities, takes place this Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at the Mission Theater (1624 NW Glisan) from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Buy local, eat organic, avoid GMOs. Sound familiar? We all want to do our part, but what is the true impact of these choices? How do biotechnologies create change for the better, and how can they impede the future of international food security? . . .

This is the second in a four-part series that explores how technology shapes the future. The conversation will feature Robert Paarlberg, professor of political science at Wellesley College and author of Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know; and Susan Bragdon, executive director of the Agriculture and Innovation Policy Network.

Richard Read, economics and international affairs reporter for the Oregonian, will moderate the series.

Think & Drink is a happy-hour series that sparks provocative conversations about big ideas. The series, which invites the public to think and talk together, reflects Oregon Humanities’ emphasis on infusing important public conversations with critical thinking and fresh ideas.

Think & Drink events are free and open to the public. Doors open at 5 p.m., minors are allowed if accompanied by an adult.

Village Building Convergence 2012

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Village Building Convergence 2012The 12th annual Village Building Convergence (VBC), a ten-day placemaking festival that combines crowdsourced activism, creative community development, hands-on education and celebration, takes place in Portland from May 25 through June 3, 2012.

We will come together to create benches, community kiosks, gardens, street paintings, tile mosaics, and more! Come join your neighbors as they bring to life the natural building, permaculture, and public art projects that they’ve been planning. Learn valuable skills for urban sustainability and social regeneration while celebrating the creativity and diversity of our wonderful city!

This event is hosted by City Repair, an organized group action that educates and inspires communities and individuals to creatively transform the places where they live.

During the day, participants have the opportunity to participate, for free, in creative, community designed placemaking projects all over town.

Speakers, presentations, and food fill the evenings – Tickets are available at the door (the central venue is St. David’s of Wales at 2800 SE Harrison).

Download the The Village Builder event guide, and visit the Village Building Convergence website for more project and event details.