Portland News and Events for July 14-20, 2016

Japanese Food Festival

This year’s Japanese Food Festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 30 at Uwajimaya Plaza, 10500 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy., Beaverton. There will be food, live entertainment, games and an all non-profit effort to assist tsunami orphans from Japan for eight-day home-stays here in Oregon and to assist the rebuilding efforts after the Kumamoto Earthquake. The event is sponsored by Yoshida Foods, Office of the Consul General of Japan, Portland Bentham Lions Club and Friends of Japan in Oregon.

OzoKidz Headlines Fourth Annual Rox in Sox Festival at Portland’s King Park July 30

For the fourth year in a row, Rox in Sox will host a free festival of children’s music and reading, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 30. Headlining this year’s festival will be OzoKidz, the percussive, world-beat family band of Ozomatli, with other performances, author readings (presented by Green Bean Books) and kid-friendly activities running all day long. The lineup of festivities is growing now at www.roxinsox.org.

For the second year, the festival takes place at King School Park at 4906 NE 6th Street (just south of Alberta and east of MLK) in Portland. Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz will greet the crowd as the festival opens at 10 am. Portland retailer Green Bean Books will curate and present children’s book authors and illustrators reading and talking with kids about their works. Kicking off the morning in the author tent will be Shannon Joy and Rojo the Llama, followed Brian Parker (Believe in Wonder) and Cathy Camper (Lowriders to the Center of the Earth), reading from their new books.

Admission to Rox in Sox is free with a donation of new shoes, socks or books for kids in need. Various community partners, including the Multnomah County Library and PDX Parent will offer free hands-on crafts and activities for kids.

Rox in Sox regularly attracts thousands of kids and their grownups to enjoy a summer day filled with music and reading fun. Over the past three years, festival volunteers in Portland and Las Vegas have collected 3,205 pairs of socks, 1,519 books and 220 pairs of shoes for children who need them in Portland, Kenya & Jamaica. Recipients include clients of Salem Hospital NICU, The Oregon Children's Book Bank, Cura Rotary Home & School in Kenya, Haile Selassie High School in Jamaica and the Boys & Girls Club of Las Vegas.

Supported by the Oregon Community Foundation and the Mayor’s Office of Youth Violence Prevention, and presented by 1World Chorus, Rox in Sox will offer kids and parents a day of family-friendly entertainment, activities from various vendors and summery refreshments. PDX Parent is the parenting media sponsor of this year’s festival. Other sponsors include: the Portland Police Bureau, Portland Parks & Recreation, Rotary International, Keen Footwear, Embassy Suites, and 97.1 Charlie FM radio.

There are still a few spaces for Rox in Sox vendors and sponsors. The complete Portland event lineup and more information about the festival is available at www.roxinsox.org.

Workforce Council Seeking Proposals for Operator of WorkSource Centers

Workforce Southwest Washington (WSW) (formerly the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council) is seeking creative, committed organizations to act as the Operator of the WorkSource centers in Vancouver and Kelso and affiliate and connection sites in Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties.

WSW is seeking proposals that will focus on operating the WorkSource centers in an inclusive and efficient manner that supports effective service delivery through integration of services with Adult and Dislocated Workers (Title I), Adult Basic Education (Title II), Wagner Peyser (Title III), Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (Title IV), Department of Social and Health Services, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families as well as other agencies and community partners.

Proposals will be accepted from any private for-profit agency, state or local unit of government, nonprofit organization or educational agency.

The RFP and information about the bidder conference are available at www.swwdc.org.

Proposals must be submitted by 4 p.m. Pacific Time on August 4. Any proposals received after that time will not be accepted.

Workforce Southwest Washington (WSW) (formerly the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council), a nonprofit organization founded in 2002, contributes to regional economic growth by providing investments and resources to improve the skills and education of the workforce in Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties. WSW helps businesses find and hire the employees they need and provides people the skills, education and training to find work or advance in their careers. WSW partners with employers, community colleges and universities, labor groups, government and economic development agencies, high schools and community organizations. Learn more at www.swwdc.org.

Musicians Sought for VSO’s Young Artists Competition

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is happy to announce the beginning of its 2017 Young Artists Competition with a Call for Entries.

One of The VSO’s most highly-anticipated events, the Young Artists Competition ranks among the area’s best, and is the annual gathering for many of the outstanding local young musicians who often use it as a launching pad for a life-long career in music.

The Young Artists Competition resonates with VSO conductor Salvador Brotons.

Students of 18 years of age or under as of January 1, 2017 who reside in Oregon and Washington and are currently studying with a private music instructor are eligible to compete in the categories of piano, strings and brass/woodwinds/percussion.

Following the initial judging of application CD’s by select area musicians, the three top candidates in each category will compete January 8, 2017 in front of an audience at Trinity Lutheran Church in Vancouver for the scholarship prizes of $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place. First place finishers then perform their winning selections with Maestro Brotons and The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at our April 22 & 23, 2017 concerts at Skyview Concert Hall. New this year: selected Young Artist Competition winners may be invited to perform solo as part of VSO Chamber Music Series.

Trinity Lutheran Church is located at 309 W 39th St, Vancouver.

Complete information and an application are available at vancouversymphony.org. Deadline for all submissions is Dec. 4, 2017.

RACC Opportunity: Night Lights

Night Lights is seeking artists to apply for the 2016-2017 season to present new or recently developed works. The call is open to individual artists, collectives or curators in Oregon to submit works to be shown in October, November,or February. Submissions of recently developed works will receive an honorarium of $1,000. The program is also providing one additional opportunity to create new work through an Artist Residency with Portland Community Media (PCM) for the March 2017 installation of Night Lights. This artist will receive an honorarium of $5,000 to complete a new work to be shown during that month.

Night Lights is a monthly time-based public art event that promotes digital media, urban intervention, and technological innovation. On the First Thursdays of October through April, select artists are able to showcase their work on the North Wall of the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) Offices (411 NW Park Ave, Portland, OR) and claim public space for their artistic practice. Past projects have included large scale digital media projections, live performance of dance and sound, and collective showings by students and professional artists alike. This is a collaboration between Regional Arts & Culture Council and Portland Community Media.

Deadline for submissions is August 8, 2016. Proposals can be submitted HERE. For more information about the submission process, please attend our Information Session on Thursday July 14th, 6:30-8:00pm at RACC offices (411 NW Park Ave, Portland, OR). Contact Salvador Mayoral IV [email protected] to RSVP.
Questions about submissions? Please email Sarah Turner, Portland Community Media Public Programs Manager [email protected].

For more information go to racc.org/public-art/public-art-email-list

For more Portland and Seattle area events, see the Community Calendar.