Portland, January 18th, 2013. The Sundance Film festival kicked off in Park City, Utah. Each year Sundance selects 200 films from nearly 12,000 submissions, then over ten days, more than 50,000 people attend screenings in snowy Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance – many fans are from the pacific northwest. One film getting advanced attention is, “C.O.G.” which is based on an essay by humorist David Sedaris about a transformational summer during the apple harvest in Oregon.
C.O.G.’s star, Jonathan Groff and DaleDickey
Director, Kyle Patrick Alvarez explained when deciding where to shoot “C.O.G.” there was really only one option; it had to be filmed in Oregon. “We knew we wouldn’t be able to get the specific beauty of those apple farms anywhere else.” The film was shot in just 18 days around the Portland area – places like Hood River and Sauvie Island. Alvarez talks about “C.O.G.” in this Sundance interview.
David Sedaris explained why he allowed C.O.G. to be his first movie option. “I liked the first movie Kyle made (Easier With Practice)…I said OK. I don’t want any control over this movie. I don’t want script approval. I trust him. Most movies never get made, but I hope this one does because I just think so highly of this young man.”
The film stars Jonathan Groff, (who gained popularity on Glee) Dean Stockwell, (above) Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, Casey Wilson, and Troian Bellisario.
Jonathan Groff and Denis OHare
Other highly anticipated films at Sundance include, “jOBS”, The first major feature about Steve Jobs since his death, which stars Ashton Kutcher. “The Way, Way Back” has quite a bit of buzz with stars like Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph and Liam James. Many Hollywood actors, directors and producers make the trek to Sundance.
Volunteers are getting ready for the 2013 Sundance Film Festival
This is a video from the opening day news conference:
The festival also features loads of VIP parties (we took this at the Bing Bar last year) as wells as musical performances.
The party scene this year included the celebration of the launch of a free music streaming service from Nokia. It teamed up with Sundance Channel and SomeSuch & Co to produce a new documentary series entitled “New American Noise.” The series features six short films created by independent directors, including Abteen Bagheri, Emily Kai Bock, Bob Harlow, and Tyrone Lebon.
The celebratory happy hour had a DJ set featuring DJ Rusty Lazer, bounce dancers and celebrity attendees like Adrian Grenier, recording artists Lil John, Melanie Fiona, Skylar Grey and Emily Wells, KCRW’s Jason Bentley, celebrity blogger Just Jared, Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun and more.
Lil Jon, Emily Kai Bock (Photo credit: John Parra)
Adrian grenier and Tyrone Lebon
Abteen Bagheri, Lil Jon, Tyrone Lebon (Photo credit: John Parra)
The OHSU Foundation’s Circle of Giving is reaching out to community members with educational programs about research. Susie Porter, Dr. Lisa Coussens, Patti Warner and Barry Menashe had a chance to catch up during one outreach gathering. It was held at the home of Sue and Barry Menashe in SW Portland. Dr. Sue Coussens explained her pioneering cancer researcher on the role of immune cells and their mediators as critical regulators of cancer development.
At the Coussens Lab researchers have found, “During the early development of cancer, many physiological processes occur in the vicinity of ‘young tumor cells’ that are similar to processes that occur during embryonic development and to healing of wounds in adult tissue, e.g., leukocyte recruitment and activation (inflammation), angiogenesis (development of new blood supply) and tissue remodeling. During tumor development however, instead of initiating a ‘healing’ response, activated leukocytes provide growth-promoting factors that typically help tumors grow. We are interested in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate leukocyte recruitment into neoplastic tissue, and the subsequent regulation those leukocytes exert on evolving cancer cells.”
OHSU fundraisers are hoping to hold more in-home informational sessions to help build interest in the university’s outstanding research programs.
OHSU has designated two independent nonprofit foundations — the Oregon Health & Science University Foundation and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Foundation. The foundations exist to secure private philanthropic support to advance OHSU’s vital missions, and to invest and manage gifts responsibly to honor donors’ wishes. Each year tens of thousands of donors contribute millions of dollars in financial support to OHSU through these organizations. The foundations also oversee the efforts of hundreds of volunteers who participate in community-based fund-raising programs and events supporting OHSU.
This broad range of support places OHSU among Oregon’s top beneficiaries of private philanthropy. And it makes the OHSU Foundation, with more than $650 million in assets, one of the largest public university foundations in the Northwest.
The OHSU Foundation also administers a separate grant-making program, the Medical Research Foundation grants and awards, supporting biomedical research statewide in Oregon. On average, 10 grants of up to $40,000 each are awarded quarterly with one annual grant of $75,000. Three additional awards honor outstanding biomedical research mentors and investigators.
Both the OHSU Foundation and Doernbecher Foundation are governed by boards of trustees made up of business, civic and philanthropic leaders. Trustees are responsible for formulating long-range goals and policies while a full-time staff manage day-to-day operations.
This year OHSU will also be celebrating its 125th anniversary with events such as an exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society Museum March 14th — June 3rd 2013.
Portland, Dec. 12th. CASA For Children, a nonprofit agency advocating for the best interests of children who are under protection of the court, received a $25,000 grant from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund. On hand were: Kathleen George, Director of the Spirit Mountain Community Fund; Tim Hennessy, Executive Director, CASA for Children; Kimberly McAlear, CASA Board President; and Sho Dozono, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Spirit Mountain Community Foundation.
The Spirit Mountain Community Foundation awarded more than $3,000,000 in quarterly awards to 143 non-profit organizations this year. Kathleen George, Director of the Community Fund, said she was pleased to be able to support the CASA for Children program and was impressed by their CASA Roadmap project – a plan to close the gap between children who have a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and children who still need one.
The presentation was made at the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Governance Center in Grand Ronde with Tim Hennessy, executive director of CASA; Kathleen George, Director of the Spirit Mountain Community Fund; Louis King, Program Coordinator, Spirit Mountain Community Fund; and Kluane Baer, Spirit Mountain Community Fund.
“We are so pleased to support the work of CASA to help children in the court system get the best possible outcomes and find supporting, safe homes,” said George. “ Helping children get stable, loving foundations is a responsibility that the tribe and Spirit Mountain Community fund are dedicated to. CASAs have proven to be tremendously effective in improving placements for children by ensuring there is a voice in the courtroom solely focused on what is best for the child.”
The mission of CASA is to provide trained, court-appointed volunteers who investigate, monitor, and serve as advocates in court to help abused and neglected children find permanent placement in safe, nurturing homes.
“We are thrilled with this grant,” said Hennessy. “This will enable us to effectively work with more volunteers which will then translate into more children served.”
“A CASA volunteer advocate is a tireless and passionate protector of abused and neglected children who are going through the trauma of the court system. They work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of these families — to help these children find a permanent home as quickly as possible,” Hennessy said.
“Volunteers are the backbone of our program,” said Hennessy. “Without them, it would be impossible for CASA to meet the needs of the children and to adequately advocate for them. However, it isn’t just the children who benefit from this volunteerism. CASA volunteers find that they have the opportunity to learn more about the judicial system, social services, and other disciplines that create the team to care for these children. With the new on-line educational units and seminars, they will have the opportunity to enhance skills they already possess, and develop new ones.”
CASA volunteers are community citizens who are deeply committed to helping abused and neglected children. All CASA volunteers receive more than 30 hours of in-depth training, plus an additional 12 hours of continuing education per year through in-services, lectures, videos, and books. Upon completion of the initial training, CASA volunteers then become sworn officers of the court. In 2011-2012, 383 CASAs 330 advocated for 920 children.
CASA conducts many volunteer training sessions per year. Potential volunteers must be 21 years of age or older, and possess no criminal record. CASA welcomes volunteers from all cultures, professions, and ethnic and educational backgrounds. Applications may be requested by calling the CASA office at 503-988-5115. For additional information about CASA or to volunteer, please call 503.988.5115, or visit www.casahelpskids.org.
Portland, January 11th, 2013. The Oregon Zoo’s Lilah Callen Holden Elephant Museum — home to elephant-related art, historical artifacts and a 7,000-year-old fossilized mastodon skeleton — will close its doors for good this month, as the zoo prepares for construction on Elephant Lands, a dramatic expansion of the Asian elephant habitat. Zoogoers wishing to see the museum one last time may visit Jan. 11-21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Much of the artwork and many historical artifacts on display at the Elephant Museum will remain at the zoo — some within Forest Hall, the indoor portion of the Elephant Lands habitat — but this month will be the last chance for visitors to experience the museum in its current space.
It will also be the final opportunity to see the museum’s massive mastodon skeleton, on loan from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Later this month, a team of expert vertebrate paleontologists will begin the job of dismantling the fossilized giant, which will be shipped back to its permanent home at the Smithsonian in early February.
The skeleton — an Ice Age relic that stands around 8 feet tall and measures 14 feet from tusk to tail — dates from the late Pleistocene era and is believed to be at least 7,000 years old. It was discovered in 1901 by Levi Wood, who unearthed it from a peat swamp on his farm in southern Michigan. Following an appearance at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, the mastodon found a home in the Smithsonian’s newly opened “Hall of Extinct Monsters” in 1910, remaining there for more than 50 years until a 1963 museum renovation. The last time the skeleton was moved was in 1986 for the opening of the zoo’s Elephant Museum.
Other items of interest at the Elephant Museum include:
· An etching of an elephant skull by well-known English artist Henry Moore.
· “Animal Alphabet,” a 1973 work by Henk Pander (the celebrated Dutch-born painter has been a Portland resident since 1965).
· “Mammoths,” a print by prominent Northwest artist Tom Hardy. Hardy’s bronze sculpture “Wooly Mammoths” is also featured, mounted on an exterior wall just outside the museum’s exit.
· A pencil-and-ink drawing of African elephants by Kamante, friend and major domo to writer Isak Dinesen during her years in Kenya.
· A kinetic wire elephant sculpture by artist Steve Clisby (donated by the Girl Scouts in 1983).
· Memorabilia from the time of Packy’s birth in 1962.
Since opening in December 1986, the Lilah Callen Holden Elephant Museum has been dedicated to the acquisition, preservation, interpretation and exhibition of materials related to elephants and their relationship with humans.
The brainchild of former zoo director Warren Iliff, the museum was named in memory of Lilah Callen Holden, a long-time elephant lover and friend of Iliff’s, who died in 1983. The Holden Family has been the museum’s champion for more than a quarter of a century.
“Exhibit themes naturally change over time, and the bulk of this collection was acquired for illuminating themes deemed important at the time of the grand opening,” said Rebecca Patchett, museum collection coordinator. “Items exhibited in Forest Hall will provide an overview of how elephants have interacted with and inspired humans across the globe and tell the story of the strong bond between the Portland community and the Oregon Zoo’s herd.”
After taking in the Elephant Museum’s historic and prehistoric sights, weekend visitors can also get a glimpse into the near future. Zoo volunteers will be at the museum Jan. 11-13 and Jan. 19-21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., to help explain the transformations to come with the Elephant Lands, which will quadruple the space and enhance daily experiences for the zoo’s elephants — including Lily, the newest addition to the herd. Visitors to the museum during these hours may pick up a complimentary pair of pink elephant ears (while supplies last) commemorating the Nov. 30 birth of Lily, and perhaps get a look at the 6-week-old romping in one of the outside sand yards of the nearby elephant habitat.
The zoo’s elephant care team reports Lily’s integration into the herd is progressing so well that there will no longer be set hours with Lily and Rose-Tu in the indoor viewing room. Lily and her mother may be outside with the rest of the herd or in the viewing room on any given day. Either way, indoor viewing will be open until 3 p.m.
The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission of inspiring the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Oregon silverspot and Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Oregon spotted frogs. Other projects include studies on Asian elephants, polar bears, orangutans and giant pandas. The zoo relies in part on community support through donations to the Oregon Zoo Foundation to undertake these and many other animal welfare, education and sustainability programs.
The zoo opens at 10 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Visitors who travel to the zoo via MAX receive $1.50 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.
General zoo admission is $10.50 (ages 12-64), $9 for seniors (65 and up), $7.50 for children (ages 3-11) and free for those 2 and younger; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo’s Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $4 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.
Portland, Jan. 6, 2013. The holiday season lived on at the 13th annual Epiphany Choir Fest, a benefit at Rose City Park United Methodist Church that raised $4,406 for the Human Solutions Homeless Families Program. Pacific Power matched the first $1,500 in donations. Human Solutions Executive Director Jean DeMaster joined Sheila Holden, Regional Community Manager at Pacific Power, and retired Pastor Charlie Ross, who served as emcee at the Epiphany Choir Fest. Holden presented a $1,500 gift from Pacific Power.Nine church choirs and one community choir participated in the event, singing traditional holiday carols and combining to perform “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah.
Nine church choirs and one community choir combine to sing the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah at the annual Epiphany Choir Fest, a benefit that raised $4,406 for Human Solutions’ Homeless Families Program. Pacific Power matched the first $1,500 in donations.
Churches that participated in the Epiphany Concert include those in the network of faith organizations that contribute time and resources to the Daybreak Shelter Network, a year-round, 15-bed facility for homeless families located in the daytime in the basement of Peace Church of the Brethren, and the Family Winter Shelter, a seasonal 82-bed facility that provides overnight shelter to homeless families at Parkrose Community United Church of Christ. In addition to these shelters, the Homeless Families Program at Human Solutions is currently serving an average of 200 more homeless families each night. In total, about 750 homeless adults and children are sheltered or housed at Human Solutions on any given night, according to Executive Director Jean DeMaster.
Funds from the Epiphany Fest help ensure that Human Solutions can provide emergency shelter 365 days and nights per year to homeless families, DeMaster said. “We are seeing record demand for emergency shelter and other services, and rely on the community to help sustain critical programs that help homeless families permanently overcome their homelessness and attain self-sufficiency,” she said. “We are so grateful to our local faith partners, who each year contribute their time and talent to the Epiphany Fest and make it so successful. We are especially thankful this year for the wonderful gift from Pacific Power.” The presentation of the gift from Pacific Power was made by Regional Community Manager Sheila Holden.
As in years past, local church choirs and community choirs sang traditional Christmas anthems and carols at the event, which culminated in the combined choirs singing “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah. Retired local Pastor Charlie Ross once again presided over the event, serving as emcee and song leader.
Choirs from the following churches and community groups participated this year: Ascension Catholic, Central Church of the Nazarene, Colonial Heights Presbyterian, Eastrose Unitarian, Gethsemane Lutheran, Parkrose United Methodist, Rose City Park United Methodist Praise Band, Sacred Heart Catholic, St. Timothy Lutheran, and Voices of Hope Community Choir.
Human Solutions builds pathways out of poverty by promoting self-sufficiency for homeless and low-income families and individuals in East Portland and East Multnomah County. The agency’s four
key program areas are homelessness prevention, affordable housing, employment and economic development, and safety net services such as rent and utility assistance. For more information, visit www.humansolutions.org.
Contact: Jean DeMaster, Executive Director, Human Solutions
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