St. Johns Boosters is sponsoring some fun, family-friendly events and you’ll want to mark your calendar!
Spring Fling
When: April 15th throughout St. Johns, all day / in the Plaza 11 am – 2 pm
The Spring Fling returns to the St. John’s Plaza Saturday, April 15th. Plaza events kick off at 11 a.m., with mini horses for petting, chalk art, a photo bus, and more, until 2 p.m. Local merchants offer day-long activities and specials, so be sure to make the rounds of our many different shops.
St. Johns Spring Bites
When: April 15th – May 15th
St. Johns Spring Bites also kicks off on April 15th. Just for grabbing your usual beverage or meal at our varied restaurants, cafes, bars, or food trucks, you can win a $50 gift certificate to local shops. All you do is Instagram a photo of your food or beverage and tag the business and #stjohnsbites. You’ll be automatically entered to win one of the three weekly drawings. That’s 12 chances to win!
Whether you’re a regular or have been meaning to try a new local spot, St. Johns Bites is a great time to sample the food and drink right here in our neighborhood. Jumpstart your chances of winning a $50 prize when you circulate during the April 15th Spring Fling, and finish with a bang at the May 13th St. John’s Parade and Bizarre.
Thank you to Venture Portland and Prosper Portland for their ongoing support of our district events.
We can all use a little Spring cheer, so let’s show our local businesses how much we appreciate them.
St. Johns gets spooky and fun on Saturday, October 29th.
Join the St. Johns Boo-sters for trick or treating from 1 -3 pm. Enjoy treats around the St. Johns Business District on downtown Lombard and adjacent streets. Wear your costumes for more fun!
St. Johns is a happening place. Just look at what the St. Johns Boosters have lined up for the next few months!
St. Johns Bites
Visit a St. Johns food establishment and post a picture of the meal to Instagram. Include the #stjohnsbites hashtag and tag the restaurant in your Instagram post, and you are entered to win a $50 Gift Certificate to that business. Three winners are chosen each week!
Happening:
September 20th – October 20th at all St. Johns restaurants, bars, coffee shops, food trucks, etc.
St. Johns Boosters present the Fall Fling Shopping Event with specials and sales at all participating St. Johns Businesses. Love Revolution will play in the Plaza from 2 – 6 pm. Come enjoy the fun and support your local St. Johns small businesses.
Happening:
Saturday, September 24th, 2 – 6 pm at St. Johns Business District shops.
Come join the St. Johns Businesses along Lombard and adjacent streets for Trick or Treating. Wear your costume for more fun!
Happening:
Saturday, October 29th from 1 – 3 pm at St. Johns businesses.
Light Up St. Johns Events
Warm for the Winter Ugly Sweater Community Tree Lighting
While lighting the tree, choirs will be singing, Ugly Sweater ornaments kits will be given out along with hot Chocolate and cookies! There will be Ugly Sweater photo ops, Shopping passports and Holiday Markets to enjoy! Come join the fun of St. Johns.
Happening:
Friday, November 18th from 5 – 7 pm in the St. Johns Plaza.
Warm for the Winter Ugly Sweater Shopping Event
SUPPORT LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES!
Come to the St. Johns Plaza for Gift Certificates to purchase from St. Johns Home and Service Businesses. Get a Shopping Passport for Raffle Basket entry and enjoy the Holiday Markets and specials at the Store Front businesses. Ugly Sweater photo ops and Hot Chocolate will be handed out to keep you “Warm for the Winter with an Ugly Sweater”!!!
Happening:
Saturday, November 19th, 11 am – 2 pm in the St. Johns Plaza.
Warm for the Winter Ugly Sweater Bar Crawl
Go to any St. Johns Drinking establishment and post a picture on Instagram with a drink while wearing an Ugly Sweater. Include the #lightupstjohns hashtag and tag the restaurant in your Instagram post, and you are entered to win a daily $50 Gift Certificate to that Business.
Happening:
Friday, December 9th – Sunday, December 11th at all St. Johns drinking establishments.
The St Johns Boosters (“Boo”-sters) Pumpkin Giveaway and Decorating Contest starts Friday October 1st!
Plumper Pumpkin Patch and Tree Farm is family-owned and has been open since 1998.
We received a donation of 40 Sugar Pie Pumpkins from Plumper Pumpkin Patch, a wonderful farm off of Skyline Road. It’s a beautiful property and a great place to visit, with activities for kids and kids-at-heart.
April of Plumper Pumpkin Patch and St Johns District Manager Tanya of Venture PortlandPlumper Pumpkin Patch and Tree Farm
If you participated in our contest last year, the pickup locations are the same.
IQ Credit UnionOregonians Credit UnionReggie Guyton State Farm InsuranceA Nice Lady in St Johns
How to Participate:
Pick up a pumpkin at participating businesses between October 1-October 31st (while supplies last!)
Decorate them at home – carve, paint, decorate however you like!
Post a public photo to Instagram using the hashtag #stjohnsboo and tag the business where you got the pumpkin.
On October 31st, winners will be selected and receive prizes from A Nice Lady in St Johns!
St Johns Boo-sters Pumpkin Giveaway Poster
Thank you to Venture Portland for choosing our business association to be a part of the Catalytic Investment Initiative Grant and supporting events such as this one!
We find ourselves in year two of a holiday season in the pandemic, but it can’t dampen the strong community spirit in St. Johns. We have some really fun things planned! Here is what is happening in September.
Mike Bennett Art Crypto-Zoo
Crypto-Zoo Museum of Mystery by Mike Bennett
You may have heard the buzz about artist Mike Bennett‘s latest (and biggest!) project, the Crypto-Zoo: Museum of Mystery in St. Johns! Last year he created his Crypto-Zoo, releasing the name and lore of a different Cryptid each day. This year he will be releasing new Cryptids which you can along with the originals in a pop-up “museum” that Mike created in the currently unoccupied former bank building at 7410 N. Chicago Street (at Lombard). We are so thrilled that Mike chose St. Johns and that it’s in the heart of our downtown business district! Thank you to Debbie Thomas Real Estate for coordinating so seamlessly and generously with us and with Mike.
Hundreds of volunteers stepped up to help prepare the project, including a lot of students and staff at Wayfinding Academy (think of them when you see the crows!), and IQ Credit Union stepped in as a sponsor, so we are proud of how our community has showed up for this effort. On our part, we hired our landscaper Ernest Brown, and his team did a great job preparing the outdoor space for opening day.
Check out Mike and his neighbors at See See Coffee on the news!
Walk through the immersive Museum of Mystery, filled with 26 life-size Cryptids, Monsters and Mythical Beasts! Play games, win prizes and lookout for surprise guests!
Masks required. Admittance limited for social distancing.
Stay tuned to a fun Halloween event that we are planning to tie in to the Crypto-Zoo. Details soon!
St Johns Bites
St. Johns Bites Poster
Get ready to get a bite of St. Johns, starting September 20! 🍽 Participate in St Johns Bites and be Entered to Win a Weekly $50 Gift Card!
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
Visit any restaurant, cafe, bar, or food truck in St. Johns between Sept 20-Oct 20, 2021. Be sure to follow each business’s safety guidelines! 📷 Take a picture of your order. It can be consumed there, or it can be takeout or delivery. Post your photo to your Instagram account with the hashtag #stjohnsbites Be sure it’s a public photo and remember to tag and/or name the business! 3 winners will be selected on Tuesdays starting Sept 28. Each winner will receive a $50 gift card to the business in their photo. Winners will be notified via Instagram messages.
The Aspire Project is celebrating eight years of serving the Portland Community with their first annual gala fundraiser, Raising the Barre.
Through generous individual donor support, no student is turned away at The Aspire Project. This dance program has grown from offering four classes a week in 2009 to 49 classes a week today. Each term 300 students take ballet, tap, and jazz dance classes. In addition to the youth and adult dance and fitness classes, The Aspire Project offers academic tutoring and computer programming.
Located in the heart of the St. Johns business district, this program is making a difference in our community and deserves our support.
Raising the Barre, First Annual Gala
The gala fundraiser will be Saturday, October 21st beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the Laurelhurst Club, 3721 SE Ankeny St., in Portland. It includes a silent auction, dinner, and refreshments, program, and more.
Cost is $50 per person or come with your friends and reserve a table for eight for $400.
Photo by Joe Alcala. Taken in 2016 of the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival in beautiful Cathedral Park.
Photo by Joe Alcala. Taken in 2016 of the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival in beautiful Cathedral Park.
The Jazz Society of Oregon’s Cathedral Park Jazz Festival (CPJF) has finalized the lineup and schedule of jazz, blues, R&B, and soul performances for all three days of this year’s free event. Held in Cathedral Park, under the historic St. Johns Bridge in Portland, this is the 37th year for this annual event.
The CPJF was started by a group of volunteers looking to commemorate the construction of spectacular Cathedral Park — one of Portland’s most beautiful settings. It has evolved into a celebration of Portland’s diverse music scene. It is still free and still run by volunteers. In fact, this is the longest-running community event in the Greater Portland area.
Performers include both nationally recognized artists, such as Manuel Valera, Joe Powers, and Ezra Weiss, as well as local artists, including two youth groups.
Performance Schedule
Friday evening, July 14th
5 – 5:30 p.m. — United By Music North America: Professional musicians mentor a program for musically-talented people with developmental and intellectual challenges.
6 – 6:45 p.m. — Julie Amici: jazz singer Julie Yanko, blues bass player Dean Mueller with guitarist Dan Gildea, drummer Carlton Jackson and special guest Mary Kadderly.
7:15 – 8:15 p.m. — Rose City Kings: One of Portland’s top blues bands with 5 critically acclaimed albums, including last year’s A Love So Strong, which stayed 7 months on the Top 50 Blues Album chart.
8:45 – 10 p.m. — Andy Stokes: The Northwest’s “King of Soul”, with a smooth R&B style and gritty emotion.
Saturday afternoon and evening, July 15th
1 – 2 p.m. – Roosevelt High School Jazz Band: North Portland is home to this swinging group of student musicians.
2:30 – 3:30 p.m. – The Bylines Quartet: Song stylist Marianna Thielen and pianist Reece Marshburn write together and perform jazz-inspired, story-driven tunes.
4 – 5 p.m. – Midnight Serenaders: The hot, retro swing group, but very different from your grandparents’ swing; ukulele and Hawaiian steel guitar give them a Hawaiian accent.
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. – Shirley Nanette: Veteran Portland vocalist pays tribute to the late Ernestine Anderson in a quartet featuring tenor star Renato Caranto.
7 – 8 p.m. — Manuel Valera Trio: Grammy-nominated NYC-based, Cuban-born pianist-composer Valera plays his sophisticated blend of Latin and jazz, called Forma Nueva.
8:30 – 10 p.m. — Ural Thomas and the Pain: Thomas topped the soul charts in the 1960s, and a group of young Portland musicians brought him back to the live music scene. A showcase for vintage soul and funk that will get the audience dancing.
Sunday afternoon and evening, July 16th
1 – 2 p.m. – Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra Vanguard Alumni Band: Alumni from 16 years of PYJO bands mixed in with talented high school musicians perform Ellington, Coltrane, Woody Shaw and more.
2:30 – 3:30 p.m. – Clay Giberson Quartet: One of the most sought-after sidemen in Portland, composer-pianist Giberson showcases his sensitive style of jazz.
4 – 5 p.m. – The Ezra Weiss Big Band: Composer-pianist Ezra Weiss leads some of the best players in town in Portland’s most popular homegrown big band.
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. – Joe Powers & Friends: Harmonica wizard and international Tango artist, Joe Powers, celebrates the music of his mentor Toots Thielemans.
7 – 8:15 p.m. – Michael Beatzilla Whitmore & The Store of Funk: A horn- driven blend of jazz, rock, soul, funk and R&B, this music is eminently danceable.
Background on the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
This year marks the 37th consecutive year of the Cathedral Park jazz Festival, which has been managed for the past four years by the Jazz Society of Oregon.
This is a free, non-profit festival that provides the best jazz, blues, R&B, and soul music from around the region to the greater Portland/Vancouver community. In fact, the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival is both the longest-running free annual jazz festival west of the Mississippi and Portland’s longest-running annual community event.
Margie Smith
Managing Director
Volunteers Needed
The CPJF planning committee is still looking for community sponsors and volunteers to fill a variety of positions. Sponsors may contact the festival planning committee at sponsor@jazzoregon.com.
The Jazz Society of Oregon is an all-volunteer non-profit organization, 501(c)(3), whose mission is to promote jazz music in the Pacific Northwest. The Society supports jazz education as well as fostering a greater appreciation of this thoroughlyAmerican art form.
Information on the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, including news on sponsorships, poster contest, volunteer opportunities and talent, can be found at the Jazz Society of Oregon website.
The studio at Shanti Om Yoga offers plenty of room to stretch out. Here instructor and owner, Bhakti Foster-Purvine, leads a class through the morning salutation exercise.
Have goals for the new year? “New year new you,” can be a motivational phrase, but staying on track when working alone is hard. It becomes easier when we join with other like-minded folks. In St. Johns we have many opportunities to join with friends and neighbors to achieve our goals and encourage each other.
Take advantage of these or other opportunities. It is one of the best things about living in St. Johns, a small town in a big city.
Beginner Yoga at ShantiOm
The studio at Shanti Om Yoga offers plenty of room to stretch out.
This month ShantiOm Yoga is offering a beginning yoga series starting Saturday, January 7th. Yoga is meant for every body, though for a beginner it can be confusing and intimidating. This four-week series taught at ShantiOm Yoga will improve your posture, connect you more deeply with your breath, and help quiet your mind. It will also introduce you to basic yoga positions and make you more comfortable walking into most yoga classes.
Saturdays, January 7th, 14th, 28th, and February 4th from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. $65.00
[button link=”http://shantiom.com/”]Register at ShantiOm[/button] [divider_flat]
Art Classes at Salty Teacup
Salty Teacup is teaming up with The Roaming Studio to offer studio painting in their back room through this winter and spring.
Classes are taught by local professional working artists, including Leah Kohlenberg and Don Bishop. Additional classes are scheduled at The Roaming Studio location.
The classes at Salty Teacup include:[divider_flat]
Figure Drawing, Wednesdays from 7:00 – 10:00 PM, January 18th – February 22nd or Sundays from 1:00 – 4:00 PM, January 15th – February 19th. Model fees, instruction and some materials are included. $360.00
Figure Painting Workshop, Sundays 1:00 – 4:00 PM, March 5th and 11th. Includes instruction and model fees. $130.00
Drawing Faces, Wednesdays from 7:00 – 10:00 PM, March 29th – April 26th or Sundays from 1:00 – 4:00 PM, March 26th – April 23rd. Includes model, instruction and textbook fees. $300.00
Painting Portraits, Saturday from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM, May 6th. Includes model fee, instruction and textbook. $130.00
[button link=”http://www.theroamingstudio.com/”]Register at The Roaming Studio[/button]
New Year New You
Whether your goals are to increase your artistic skills, try something new, or get into shape, you will get further with encouragement from friends. Take advantage of the opportunities St. Johns offers.
If you know of additional opportunities, let us know. Comment on this post and help us spread the news.
Background on the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
