"Volunteers,'' Josh Todd, Neal Rock, Karol Collymore and supporters at "A Night in Serve-landia"
COLLEGE TRY: Interim Director Josh Todd gathered a large group of great folks together for "A Night in Serve-Landia" to benefit Oregon Campus Compact.
Oregon Campus Compact is a state affiliate chapter of Campus Compact, a national coalition of over 1,100 college and university presidents dedicated to promoting service-learning, civic engagement, and community service in higher education.
And "Serve-landia" was all about honoring the big-hearted campuses, communities, and individuals who are working to make this corner of the country a better place—those communities that share a passion for volunteering—especially on college campuses. The event was held Wednesday night at Picnic House (the former lobby of The Heathman Hotel and once the home of the downtown Macheesmo Mouse) and included both a silent and live auction, which included auctioning some pretty nifty-looking "volunteers" dressed in nothing but tanks, short shorts and a tool belt. Yes, I have to say that is definitely one way to connect, and get me to volunteer. Oh, yeah.
TADA'ers with Sam Adams, Angela Mattox, Victoria Frey, Patrick Fleming, Allison Blythe, Randy Gragg, Sam Adams, A Very Hot Guy in A Pino bowtie, Juan Martinez, Kate Merrill, Patrick Fleming, post-auction dancing
ARTY PARTY: Dining. Drinking. Dancing. Bidding. Hanging out with Drag Divas (including the always amazzzing Gula Delgatto).
Saturday night was our chance to support the good works and groundbreaking artistic programs of the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art and connect with a community of visionary artists and audiences at PICA's mesmerizing annual benefit party: TADA!
A tasty dinner, featuring large passed platters of meats and salads from Simpatica, was complimented by sommelier service and winery tastings with Mitchell Wines and fabulous live auction items including vacations to a rustic manor in Provence, a trip to Tuscany and a wonderful opportunity to take in all that is Bali.
Gabe Rosen and Sam Adams at Association at Union/Pine
DINNER WITH FRIENDS: Juan Martinez and I were very lucky to join a few of our friends for a new dinner series, Association, on Sunday, April 21st. Hosted and held the third Sunday of the month at Union/Pine, this lively dinner pairs a restaurant with a speaker, and invites a group of 60 friendly creatives for food, drinks and conversation.
For April's edition, Gabe Rosen of Biwa presented the traditional Japanese soup Nabe—a one pot meal where everything ends up in at some time during the dinner—that gave guests the opportunity to work with friends and new acquaintances to cook their meal together. In following this theme, Former Portland Mayor Sam Adams inspired the 60 guests with stories of neighbors, community and collaboration.
The very cool cats at Merit Badge paired cocktails throughout the evening, including beer by Base Camp Brewing, and custom-made ice cream from the clever minds of Salt and Straw was the ultimate night cap.
JOLLY STEPHEN: The Jolly Roger at John's Landing closed the bar down early Thursday night for a private party in honor of PHAME Academy and the fact that it was Stephen Cassell's birthday. In lieu of gifts this year Cassell asked his amazing friends to make a donation of any size to my PHAME Academy Musical Mini Golf Mash Up team. In addition the Jolly Roger agreed to make a donation to Stephen's mini-golf team for every GET PHAMOUS cocktail sold.
Salty's General Manager Linda Addy and Trevor at Panoramic Pinot Gris
PINOT WITH A VIEW: We sipped and savored Pinot Gris while soaking in the sights of the mighty Columbia River at the annual Panoramic Pinot Gris wine tasting event at Salty's on the Columbia. Beverage Manager Megann Williams and Executive Chef Josh Gibler joined more than a dozen amazing Pinot Gris producers, fresh seafood, local backyard ingredients and panoramic views of the mighty Columbia River. Salty’s Executive Sous Chef Sean Kearney and Lunch Chef Damian Mann created a buffet menu of sensational and delicious appetizers including such items as Dungeness crab, smoked duck, trout, cheese and more, all of which paired perfectly with Beverage Manager Megann Williams’ Oregon Pinot Gris selections. Guests had a chance to sip a variety of Oregon -produced Pinot Gris while chatting with the winery’s winemaker or representative about the passion, process and perfection that goes into creating each collection.
