We are continuing to add to this site, so please check back frequently for updated site descriptions.

Location: 1016 SE 12th Avenue

Description:

Celebrating the Sacred at Awakenings Wellness Center Founded in 1998, Awakenings Wellness Center (http://www.awakeningswellnesscenter.com) is celebrating its tenth year as a peaceful place to explore and benefit from a variety of healing arts – acupuncture, massage, yoga, counseling, spiritual and life coaching, Reiki, Shamanic Healing and more. Awakenings hosts weekly meditation and movement classes, including dance, singing circles, Qigong, healing sound journeys and a variety of workshops. Awakenings is also home to several schools of healing, including the Northwest Kundalini Yoga community and the Te School of Qigong During VBC6, Awakenings completed several projects to beautify our surroundings. We added lime plaster and mosaics to our retaining walls, created a cob bench and painted a 20’ by 60’ mural. These projects were envisioned to engage the help of our larger community to beautify our grounds and bring the sense of the sacred that exists within the wellness center into the surrounding community. This year, the Awakenings community invites your help with several maintenance projects. We will be cleaning and patching the mosaic and plaster wall, finishing a beautiful sidewalk pebble mosaic, and painting our studio. Awakenings also plans to host several workshops. Come visit us during VBC. Enjoy our grounds. Sit on our Dragon Bench. Attend an event in our Studio. Find peace, community and renewal with us!

Contact: Jim Davis, jim@AwakeningsWellnessCenter.com

WORK SCHEDULE

Saturday May 24th 10am-2pm Paint Studio

Sunday May 25th 10am-2pm Finish Studio / Paint Front Porch

Monday May 26th 10am-2pm Finish Mosaic Walk / Finish Front Porch

Tuesday May 27th 10am-2pm Finish Walk / Patch Wall

Thursday May 28th 10am-2pm Finish Walk / Patch Wall

VBC Workshops AND Entertainment

Saturday May 24th 3pm-5pm SE Neighborhood Medicinal Plant Walk

Sunday May 25 3-5pm Community Solar Workshop

Tuesday May 27 3-5pm Maintaining Imaginal Hygiene in Consumerist Culture

Friday May 30 3-5pm Yanking Corporate Culture Out of Our Heads

Friday May 30 7-9pm Kirtan (Devotional Chanting

Location: 5151 NW Cornell Road , 1.5 miles West of intersection of NW 23rd and Lovejoy, next to Upper Macleay park on the southern edge of Forest Park

Description:

The Audubon Society of Portland’s 150 acre Wildlife Sanctuary does not have a nearby cross street, nonetheless is a vibrant intersection where people and wildlife meet, where the urban grid melts into winding roads among the maples, firs, and alders of the forest. Tucked onto the slopes of Balch Canyon on NW Cornell Road, our sanctuary offers 4 miles of walking trails open to the public dawn to dusk. Come take a stroll; our sanctuary is home to over 100 species of birds and other wildlife. Rough-skinned newts, cut-throat trout, and pileated woodpeckers are among the many animals commonly seen. Our wildlife hospital, visitor’s center, and offices are all located at the sanctuary.

This year we are working to make Portland Audubon’s facilities more sustainable so that we can continue to offer a wide variety of programs and services while minimizing our impact on our sanctuary, our watershed, and our community. For VBC 8 we will be addressing stormwater issues that are a constant challenge to our facility. We will install some rain barrels to harvest and store water to use for our native plant nursery. We will also be directing runoff from a few of our downspouts away from the foundations of the building into the landscaped area in front of our breezeway. Water-loving flowering shrubs will be planted to enhance habitat for pollinators, migratory birds, and other wildlife. River rock will be added to prevent erosion, create micro-habitat for insects, and add a little manicured beauty to the landscape. Benches under the breezeway, many built from salvaged tree-fall, provide a nice gathering space where our two legged, four legged, and winged visitors can all come together.

We will be working the weekend on May 24th &25th from 10-2 each day. Come by and help us make this rainy-day garden a reality. We’ll also get some supplies on hand so we can make stencils and decorate our new rain barrels with nature-scaped scenes. We’ll have some yummy treats to help keep our energy up, and there will be time to explore our trails and visit our wildlife hospital and educational birds and displays in the afternoon after we work.

Contact: Tom Costello, tcostello@audubonportland.org,

Schedule:

May 24th, Rainwater Gardens & Rainbarrels

Come by and help us make this rainy garden a reality! We will be addressing stormwater issues that are a constant challenge to Portland Audubon Society’s 150 acre Wildlife Sanctuary. Learn about rainwater catchment as we install rain barrels to harvest and store water to use in our native plant nursery. We will direct runoff from a few of our downspouts away from the foundations of the building into the landscaped area in front of our breezeway. Water-loving flowering shrubs will be planted to enhance habitat for pollinators, migratory birds, and other wildlife. River rock will be added to prevent erosion, create micro-habitat for insects, and add a little manicured beauty to the landscape. Benches under the breezeway, many built from salvaged tree-fall, provide a nice gathering space where our two legged, four legged, and winged visitors can all come together.

We’ll also have supplies on hand to make stencils and decorate our new rain barrels with nature-scaped scenes. We’ll have some yummy treats to help keep our energy up, and there will be time to explore our trails and visit our wildlife hospital and educational birds and displays in the afternoon after we work.

Led by: Tom Costello, Santuary Director

Location: Audubon Society of Portland

Time: 10am-2pm

May 25th 10-2 Install plants and barrels, water, and walk through sanctuary.

Location: Powell Park, SE 26th and Powell

Description:

Christopher King was killed last year on June 18th, 2007. He was 17 years old. This accident has affected many people in the community. This project has been designed to help the kids at the school move forward and to work through the grieving process. We are encouraging as much community support as possible. The Brooklyn Neighborhood Association has been very helpful with the project. Some of his friends had come up with the idea of creating a memorial at the park across from the high school. That is how we came upon the Village Building Convergence and the City Repair Project. We will be designing and constructing a clay cob bench at Powell Park. This will give the kids a long term project to visit later. It will be in a Crown shape. Currently there is no seating available at the park. They have upgraded the play structures this year so this will be an ideal time to upgrade some seating. The bench will face the playground. It will have a roof to keep it dry. This will be a nice clean dry place for families to use and play on. You can keep an eye on the kids and relax from the sun. We look forward to everyone using it when it is done.

Contact: Elizabeth DeLater, chriskingsmom@yahoo.com

Schedule:

May 10th, Foundation pouring and preparation

May 24th-25th, Cob Bench work

May 31st-June 1st, 8am to 4pm, Breaks at 11am & 2pm, Cob Bench work

Location: 3969 NE Rodney

Description:

Join us as we transform an ordinary two-car garage into a community education space and art studio! We will be using light straw clay to insulate the walls, adding more natural light and developing a rainwater/greywater handwashing station as well as establishing a permaculture food forest.

This community space will serve as a resource for many, providing tools and workshops for a variety of artistic mediums including pottery, silversmithing, fabric arts and more! Through incorporation of natural building techniques, permaculture concepts and sustainable low-cost solutions to plumbing we hope that this space will serve as a model for sustainability and community involvement. Contributors will be invited to participate in the ongoing development of the space by teaching or attending skill-share workshops and creating art during open studio hours.

Both Saturdays during the VBC we will be hosting all-day parties with live music provided through our partnership with the Music Art Resource Collective (MARC)! We are encouraging participants to dress up to add to the festive feeling of the days and we will be providing a variety of hands-on creative workshops. Check out up-to-date information on workshop topics and times at the Portland Free School calendar (http://portland.freeskool.org/).

Schedule:

10am – 4pm daily

For calendar updates and workshop schedule check http://portland.freeskool.org/

Friday, May 23 – Wednesday, May 28, Light straw clay insulation

Saturday, May 24

Kick off party with live music!!

Wear or make trash fashions!

Hands-on creative workshops

Light straw clay insulation

Wednesday, May 28

2 to 4pm, Rainwater catchment/greywater design charrette

Thursday, May 29

10 to 12:30pm Joshua Klyber, Introduction to natural plaster

Implementation of rainwater/greywater system

Bioswales, guild & food forest planting

Friday, May 30

10 to 12:30pm Joshua Klyber, Advanced natural plaster, color gradient and stencils

2 to 4pm Ruby Bloom, Humanure workshop

Continue permaculture plantings, rainwater systems, and bioswales

Saturday, May 31,

Wrap-up party with live music!! (Wear matchy/clashy outfits or funny hats!)

Seedball and guerilla planting workshop and more.

Continue plaster and permaculture activities

Sunday, June 1st, Visit other sites

Contact: Emily Weisbard, ewisteria@yahoo.com

Location: 3727 NE 11th

Description: Community Sauna

Contact: Vanessa Renwick, qualitypie@gmail.com

We will be working with Lydia Doleman for 9 days who will be instructing us on how to build cob. Experienced and inexperienced builders are all welcome.

Come for 1 day or all 10!

No dogs are allowed, as there are free-range chickens about and already 3 dogs here. Thanks for understanding!

This house turns 100 years old this year, and I thought it would be nice to spend some time really focusing on giving some love back to it and its grounds. I’ve been so very fortunate to be living in this house for about 17 years now with my children and various friends and lovers. The first night I slept in it I awoke to a strange noise. It was a crow perched on a banister outside the window, tilting its head and cawing at me. My last name, “Renwick”, means, “From where the ravens roost”. It seemed fitting to make this cob sauna in the image of a bird. We took inspiration from the NW Totem Poles and Long Houses in Cascadia for the design.

This place is the headquarters for the Oregon Department of Kick Ass http://www.odoka.org. Hence, a community of artists, musicians and tramps has spent much time here over the years, creating, socializing, entertaining and resting their weary bones. We thought a sauna would be a welcome addition in our frequently damp climate. This sauna will be open for intermittent use by the community listed above as well as for occasional events. We’re doing our part to keep the riffraff clean!

This land is fortunate to also have “The Love House” on it, built by Mark Lakeman and a lot of kids, originally sited at Whitaker Ponds.

There will be special guests presenting musical hootenannies throughout the VBC at this site!

Schedule

April 27, 10am-4pm, foundation building

May 10, 9am-2pm, foundation building

May 13, 10am-2pm, foundation finish and roof support building

May 24, 9am-4pm, cob, cob and more cob!

May 25, 9am-4pm, cob, cob and more cob!

May 25, 9am-4pm, cob, cob and more cob!

May 26, 9am-4pm, cob, cob and more cob!

May 27, 9am-4pm, cob, cob and more cob!

May 28, 9am-4pm, cob, cob and more cob!

May 29, 9am-4pm, cob, cob and more cob!

May 30, 9am-4pm, cob, cob and more cob!

May 30, 2 pm-3:30pm, Chickens 101 presented by Tonya Meyer. Interested in chicken ownership? Thinking of adding a feathered flock to your life? Already have chickens, but feel like you might be missing something? Come one, come all to Chickens 101! Our speaker will be covering the basics of chicken care, including Chicken Myths, Basic Terminology, Taming Birds, and Basic Care of your flock. Contact Tonya Meyer cutegirltoo@comcast.net

May 31st, 9am-4pm, cob, cob and more cob!

May 31st, 2pm-5pm, Bird Habitat Restoration. In permaculture design, Zone 4 is where the cultivated meets the wild and we introduce native forage plants that create homes and food for our forest friends. Urbanization is the greatest threat to native birds- bringing more habitat into the city is an important way we can reduce our impact. Thanks to Vanessa, who has been caring for this land and feeding the birds for 15 years, bird communities continuously gather to feed at the future home of the Raven Sauna. Come join restoration specialists from the Audubon to experience the joy of contributing to environmental enhancement project. Learn how to feed native birds without depending on heavily mono-cropped, pesticide dependent birdseed. We will learn how to select, place and plant native plants to cultivate bird habitat that provides food for our feathered friends and us. Educational Birds from the Audubon Society will be joining us for the celebration! Contact Kirsten, 503.544.5922. ancient.forest.faerie@gmail.com Or Tom Costello tcostello@audubonportland.org

June 1, cob, cob and more cob!

Location: 9401 NE Sunderland

Description:

(May 18th UPDATE: the bus shelter construction will not happen during VBC. Instead villagers will focus on the intersection repair painting on Saturday, May 24th).

During this year’s VBC, the city-wide community building event, the residents of Dignity Village will create a place-making project in the “village center”, similar to the sunflower graphic at SE 33rd & Yamhill. They would like to install a large, decorative, circular graphic design in the main intersection of the village.

Contact: Tim McCarthy, 503-281-1604 & Mark Lakeman, 503-381-5885

Location: 14750 SE Clinton

Description:

This year, the Fransiscan Montessori Earth School is excited to be participating in the Village Building Convergence. The school is the only green space (grass) within miles for the many families that live in the area. Recently the school partnered with the Portland Water Bureau to maintain the facility as a public park. The school is also involved in local neighborhood associations, even collaborating on a neighborhood watch program. By working together to enhance the outdoor environment on campus, the Earth School is taking another step in building relationships within the community and enhancing the learning environment for the students. This year volunteers at the Earth School will create a gathering space with covered cob benches, creating a place to rest and talk and enjoy the beauty of the campus. Yet this project is about more than just creating a beautiful bench. It’s about stewardship. It’s about building community. It’s about celebrating life. Specifically, the life of Mary Barrett who dedicated so much to the school.

The project will happen in three phases. First, a substantial amount of asphalt will be removed at the site in early May. Next, the foundations will be built by volunteers led by natural builder Scott Howard. Then the fun begins on May 23rd with the kick-off of the VBC as the cob benches are crafted by hands of all ages! Volunteers are welcome to join us. Lunches will be provided on site.

Contact: Susan Andree, susanandree@comcast.net

Location: 5045 NE 13th Avenue

Description: Covered Free Box and Community Kiosk

Contact: Hindi Iserhott, hiserhott@gmail.com

Next door to the Kings Corner intersection repair, the tea house will be building a community free box kiosk with bulletin board ferrocement green roof and mini-greenhouse. The free box kiosk will facilitate exchanges of useful items, postings of community events, permaculture and gardening information and designs. This site is a major bike route and just 2 blocks away from the exciting new bike farm non profit. The entire front and back yard of this site has been converted into a working permaculture garden - complete with rainwater catchment, greywater filtration pond, beneficial edible mushroom cultivation, chickens, edible plant guilds, and a couple of rocket stoves.

schedule: Monday May 26th 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.- ferrocement green roof construction, beginning building the kiosk

Tuesday May 27th 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. - build kiosk, removable boxes, mini greenhouse

Wednesday May 28th 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. - finish up the kiosk, attach green roof add plants and soil

Thursday May 29th 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. - finish anything that needs to be done, and plant edible landscapes around the kiosk

Thursday May 29th 12:00 outdoor rocket stove workshop

We will make an outdoor rocket stove that will be used for cooking and to process vegetable oil for use in converted diesel vehicles. we will also make travel sized camp rocket stoves, so bring 1 large tin can with removed lid (like a large tomato sauce can) and 3 soup can size tin cans.

Location: 6801 SE 60th

Description:

LGL~LEARN:EXPLORE:CREATE:PLAY~LGL

The Learning Gardens Laboratory (LGL) is a garden education center located on a 12 acre site that includes permaculture guilds, an orchard, native medicinals and other culturally themed gardens, as well as two large greenhouses used for plant propagation and classroom space. LGL involves students from local neighborhood schools, PSU graduate student staff, volunteers and community members in multi-sensory learning that is multicultural and intergenerational.

As returning site this year, LGL will branch out from last years orchard tree planting project and focus on a diversity of garden-themed workshops and community art projects. In addition, we will also build portable benches and shade structures out of salvaged wood in lew of the originally proposed cob outdoor classroom/gathering space (Next year??). We are looking for skilled hands to help construct benches on the first Friday & Saturday of VBC, although all are welcome to come out, help and learn.

Ongoing art projects will include a colorful tile mosaic entrance sign, cob sculpture and flag making. These ideas will promise to enliven any garden space so come contribute to the creative energy building at LGL and pick up some ideas for your personal or community space.

Through various workshop offerings, knowledge will be spread by LGL allies to the greater community. Confirmed workshops so far include; permaculture garden planning, planting and management, herbal medicine making, sheet composting, native plant guilds, companion planting, trellising, raised bed construction, signmaking and more TBA.

Hope to see you there!

Contact: Yveline Wilnau, yvelinemarie@gmail.com

Please contact Alex chryseisgelasis@gmail.com or Leah meijer87@yahoo.com for an updated schedule or with questions.

Workshop Schedule

Saturday May 24th

10am-12pm, Tour the Learning Gardens Laboratory, Companion Planting Techniques, and Trellis Building

1pm-4pm, Path-laying, Building Raised Beds, and Sign-making

Monday May 26th

10am -noon, Sheet Mulching and Compost Maintenance

1pm-4pm, Native Plant Guilds

Wednesday May 28th

10am-12pm, Herbal Medicine Making

1pm-4pm, Permaculture bed planting (herbs, medicinals)

Location: 7155 S.E. Harrison St.

Come be a part of our transformation. We welcome you to join us in the day by day evolution of our grassy parking strip into a pedestrian food forest corridor this week. Our home is located on the southeast of Portland’s beautiful Mt. Tabor. This is out second year here and we are ready and excited to become yet another example of what we as people of the earth need-responsible care of our resources, increased food security, and strong communities.

This week we will be lead by Marisha Auerbach in the creation of a permaculture food forest. Workshops include and intial design charette, water saving strategies(diverting street runoff and swale building), sheet mulching, overstory and understory plant relationships, mycology(mushrooms), and garden mulching. Come get your hands and your heads in the earth. Learn how to do it here and take it with you!

Contact: Marisha Auerbach queenbee@herbniwisdom.com

Location: 6148 SE Holgate Avenue

Description: Covered bike rack and cob bench

Contact: Daniel Hysko, dhysko@gmail.com

Mt. Scott High School is a Community Based Organization in Southeast Portland. We are in the process of building a bike shelter with one cob wall and an attached cob bench. We are creating the shelter to encourage bicycle riding and sustainable living in our community. The shelter will have a green roof and a mosaic on the cob wall.

We welcome volunteers. Please call Daniel, the volunteer coordinator, to inquire about the building schedule.

Location: 1181 SE 85th

Description:

Workshop Schedule:

NATURAL BUILDING SAT. 24, SUN. 25, MON. 26

WONDERFUL WACKY WORLD OF WORMS & SEED BALLS WED. 28

PLANT GUILDS/ COMPANION PLANTING THURS. 29 & FRI. 30

NATURAL BUILDING PLASTER SAT. 31, SUN. JUNE 1

CULMINATION PARTY SUN., JUNE 1 3:30PM for more info & directions

Contact: Susan Poznyansky, calendulasusan@peacemail.org, 971 285 5949

Location: NE 56th and Stanton

Description:

This year for VBC 8 the neighbors at NE 56th and Stanton will be refurbishing the existing Intersection Repair installation that was created during VBC 7. Last year was an exciting experience for involved neighbors. The cooperative spirit that evolved and grew during the VBC 7 planning, design process, layout, and ultimate construction of the design continues strongly today. This year for various reasons, medical needs, career building, pursuit of advanced degrees, implementing fellowships, the neighbors decided that an expansion of the existing construct was beyond our abilities for VBC 8. Everyone agreed that we did want to refurbish our colorful and cherished icon.

The vibrant street painting, featuring a depiction of a deceased iconic neighborhood tree, has been well received by the neighborhood. Many people passing through the neighborhood over the past year have commented that they love the feature and the life that it gives to the area. Neighbors have noticed a definite calming effect on traffic that passes through the intersection.

Because it is spring time in Oregon, the repainting schedule will be determined by the weather. It will occur at the first opportunity that weather allows over the two weekends of VBC 8. We have a permit to close the streets for both the beginning and end weekends. Tentative start time for beginning the actual painting is at 10 AM on the lucky day.

Our immediate neighborhood is blessed with a burgeoning generation of school age neighbors who were totally captivated by the project last year and were instrumental in the layout and construction. They are eagerly awaiting this year’s refurbishing effort.

Our need for volunteers is negligible, however those interested in participating are welcome to show up and participate.

Contact: Ed Gorman, gorman97213@gmail.com

Location: N. Borthwick and Dekum

Description: Intersection Repainting

This will be the third annual repainting of the Piedmont Penguins. As with every “Intersection Repair” project in Portland so far, this one tells a unique story that is special to this particular place and it’s people. This one has brought the culture and values of long-time and newly rooted people together at their local crossroads. The genrative story of this intersection recalls the year 1957, when for six months the Peninsula Park Community Center’s swimming pool housed a flock of Humbolt Penguins while proper facilities were being built at the Portland Zoo. A local artist’s design combines the memory of peguins with current artistic and community themes such as abstracted spirals, food, and family.

Contact: Celine Fitzmaurice, celinefitzmaurice@yahoo.com

Dates: Saturday, May 24th, 10am to 4pm

Location: 605 S.E. 37th Ave.

Description:

The Runaway Circus puppet company will continue to develop our neighborhood theatre, Old Boggins’ Garage, as part of the eighth annual Village Building Convergence. Last year, the interior of the theatre—a remodeled garage—was finished as a VBC7 project. A “light straw clay” process, similar to cobb construction, was used to create a unique performing space with a timeless feeling. The Old Boggins’ Garage has already been the scene of numerous puppet shows and poetry and storytelling sessions. The goal is to create not a commercial venue, but a neighborhood theatre where the Runaway Circus—and friends—will create and rehearse works which will eventually be toured, but will begin life as shows offered to the people of the surrounding community. Our inspiration for this project is the neighborhood puppet theatres of Sicily, which are small storefronts or the front of the puppeteer’s home, and serve the residents in the immediate area. On performance days, the puppeteer will put out a banner, and people in the street will stop by. In a similar way, Old Boggin’s Garage will bring performing arts very casually to the neighborhood, while also serving as an incubator of work taken elsewhere in the larger community.

We have two or possibly three goals for VBC8. We will build a bike rack and shelter in the parking strip alongside our house, for use by those visiting the theatre but also available to anyone who passes. We will also create permaculture landscaping, both for the parking strip surrounding the bike rack, and elsewhere on the lot creating an ambience for the theatre. We also hope to develop a kiosk adjacent to the theatre, where shows at the Garage and other community activities can be announced. It isn’t certain at this point whether this project will be completed this year—if not, it will be proposed for VBC9.

The Runaway Circus at the Old Boggins’ Garage is a continuing effort to foster a new/old form of place-based creativity.

Schedule:

All days except last are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The times of the block party may be changed so as not to conflict with activities at Share-It Square.

Friday May 23rd, build bike rack

Saturday May 24th, build bike rack

Sunday May 25th, tile work on bike rack

Monday May 26th, permaculture project

Tuesday May 27th, permaculture project

Tuesday May 27th, Cultivating Native Food Forest in Urban Cascadia, 3-5pm

Wednesday May 28th, permaculture project

Wednesday May 28th, Medicinal Plants, 2pm-4pm: We will prepare tinctures from various wildcrafted herbs, then plant a few varieties of medicinals in the Puppet Theater’s food forest.

Thursday May 29th, permaculture project

Friday May 30th, permaculture project

Saturday May 31st, permaculture project

Sunday June 1st, block party, 2-7 p.m., music, potluck, puppet shows

Contact: Jane Clugston, belfrymasks@yahoo.com and Phillip Johnson, orshores@teleport.com

Location: SE 9th and Sherrett

Description:

Since the beginnings of City Repair, Share-It Square has modelled the return of the Village and the Repair of the City. Share-It Square was established in the fall of 1996, after the Moon-Day T-Hows project had demonstrated to area residents the benefits of having a local gathering place (see www.cityrepair.org). Over the years – twelve years! – and with the energy that has co-created the Village Building Convergence, neighbors have continued to build the Village in their neighborhood. This year for VBC8, we will be re-painting, re-newing, and re-inspiring. We will also be focusing on welcoming some of our newer neighbors to the Square always keeping in mind that it’s not the number of creative public amen¬ties but the qualities of the inter¬actions between the people who created them that truly counts.

Schedule:

Saturday & Sunday 9am to 5pm, May 24 & 25, Renovation of the existing kids’ club house, aka the beloved “Bombay Cafe”, the 24-Hour “Market Station”, installation of hanging baskets and many other decorations. Also, we will be removing a fence between Annette, Keely and Elisa’s and Carmen, Wren, Lonnie, and Mark’s house. Take down the fences!

Monday 9am to 5pm, May 26th to Thursday, May 29th, Finishing the plastering at Pedro, Adriana and Santiago’s community cob sauna, as well as plastering the totemic columns on the front porch of “Portland’s First Permitted Strawbale House”.

Friday Evening 6pm, May 30th, clean and prep the surface of the square for painting the next day...

Saturday 9am to 5pm, May 31st, Re-Painting the square! And Re-Opening of the Bombay Café. The fabled Bombay Café opens at 9AM, and will be serving a wide array of local sustainably harvested goods, fresh Turkish coffee, Tea and other magical morsels. A potluck will follow at 5PM with music, dancing, and special surprises!

Sunday 10am, June 1st- The Annual VBC Site Tour, Beginning with a brunch, the VBC8 participating communities have traditionally gathered at Share-It Square to share food before embarking on the annual tour of all of the sites, by bike, car-share, biodiesel bus...and other ways...?

Contact: Pedro Ferbel-Azcarate, Bombay Cafe, pedro@pdx.edu and Mark Lakeman, Street Painting, moontrout@yahoo.com

Location: SE 33rd and Yamhill

Description: Intersection Repainting

Contact: Lisa Weasel,

Location: 11460 SW Boones Rd

Description:

Tryon Life Community Farm is a growing urban eco-village, a non-profit environmental education center and a sustainability demonstration site tucked into the over 600 acres of Tryon Creek State Park forest located in SW Portland. A rare urban landscape, TLC Farm occupies seven acres of meadow, orchard, food forest and gardens, and is home to a residential intentional community of 16 adults and 5 (soon to be 6!) children. An inspiring project born from the push to save this magical land from development we have for years now invited the public to join with us to create a living example of integrated ecological, social and agricultural sustainability. We invite you to join with us during the VBC and beyond as we create the other world we all know is possible. TLC Farm is excited to be a host site for the VBC for our 5th year. Our main focus this year will be phase one of our outdoor kitchen remodel, though we will also possibly do some upkeep work on the food forest we planted during last year’s VBC.

The outdoor kitchen is the serving site for most of our outdoor gatherings, we are looking to install several cooking range options to increase our capacity to cook food on location, as well as finishing some construction work and plastering of our dragon bench, a rocket-stove heated cob bench. We will be building a counter and frame for our six conventional-style burner stove as well as installing a double burner rocket stove during a workshop led by Aprovecho Research Center. (Rocket stoves are an alternative model stove that use low fuel input and maximize heat output). Aprovecho will also be showing folk how to build and use their own haybox (a must-have for any sustainable kitchen – a heavily insulated container that utilizes retained-heat cooking principles to greatly reduce the amount of fuel necessary to cook a meal). To learn more go to http://www.lostvalley.org/haybox1.html.

Home cooked vegetarian lunches will be available each work day. A shuttle will be run to and from People’s Co-Op at SE 21st and Tibbets. Pick up at 9am and returning at 5pm. Please carpool or bike otherwise as parking is limited.

Contact: Lena, lena@tryonfarm.org

Schedule:

May 23&24, Work Parties

May 29-31, Work Parties

Workshops:

Friday May 30th, 3-5pm Art Ludwig, waste-water discussion

Saturday May 31st, Aprovecho Research Center, rocket-stove and haybox construction

Location: Division and Morton (12th) in Oregon City

Description: Covered cob bench

Contact: Gabrielle Chavez, gabrielle@cthgathering.org

Gordon Westfall, sustainabletoday@yahoo.com

Nestled at the intersection of Division and 12th street in Oregon City, Or. A new convergence will work it’s way to these crossroads.

Trails Crossing will be the first project of it’s kind to be received by the city of Oregon City and Clackamas County. Trails Crossing truly represents the place where not just the city of Oregon City but the entire Clackamas County will be crossing the paths of livability, sustainability, and development.

Trails Crossing will be a example how community can be created, and the people can take ownership of their neighborhood. We want to empower the neighborhood to make those social connections that are so vital to a healthy community.

Volunteers will receive a raw vegan meal fresh water and many blessings. We want to offer a sanctuary to come and enjoy permaculture, rain catchment, and bio-Come and enjoy bio-dynamic agriculture, and of course VBC.

Our daily work schedule for village building week will start at 8AM to 11AM, and 1PM to 5PM. It all starts on May 23rd and goes to June 1st. Be there for this community building event.

Location:

Description:

The schedule for the mural painting is 10am-5pm every day of the VBC 5/23-6/1. People are welcome to come by and view the project in progress anytime Anna is there. The artist, Anna Garibay, will provide her own helpers, but other artists that want to volunteer are welcome to call me and I will contact Anna. We have planned a kids area on the opposite wall of the mural so people can feel involved. The plan is to offer paper and paints for kids to be creative while the artists work on the other side of the pavilion. We will have a few volunteers to supervise the kids during this activity. The times for sure will be 5/24 & 25th, noon-3pm. Also the next weekend 5/31 and 6/1, noon-3pm. This activity will be available other times too. The supplies will be in the closet of the pavilion and Anna will have the key. So if an adult is willing to supervise the kids anytime Anna is there, she will help get that going.

Also, we will be finishing up the swale started last year on the second weekend. It will be on the 31st and the 1st at noon-3pm. This will coincide with a party on Saturday, 5/31 from 10-5pm. There will be food and music, painting for the kids and watching the mural come together. We are also planning a workshop to take place on one of the days the swale will be worked on. My guess is that it will fit nicely on Saturday the 31st, since there might be a lot of people that day, but I am working on this with Kirsten. If you have to schedule this I would add it into the noon to 3pm slot on Saturday the 31st. It will be a workshop on Bioswales with native plantings. We need to find a presenter first. So...in the works.

Contact: Stefanie Kantor, 503-287-3075, stefkantor@yahoo.com

Location: 21607 n.e. Glisan. Fairview, OR (take Fairview Parkway exit off hwy.26 east)

Description:

Convergence comes to the suburbs! (Who needs it more??) Woodland Elementary in Fairview is built next to the Fairview Village planned community and is adjacent to the Salish Pond Wetland area in the Reynolds School District. The site is used by the Reynolds School District, the families of the students, for work parties and classes. The neighbors tend the area lovingly in the summer. Organized soccer games are held in the field next to the garden. It is a valued green space in the vicinity.

The students have worked hard to provide past outdoor projects such as an outdoor classroom, playground map, picnic tables and a children’s garden with courtyard and cob benches. Future projects will include a walking labyrinth. The staff enjoy teaching many activities outside. Some teachers volunteer their time each week leading an after school class of Wildlife Stewards. But now the school needs your help. The two 9 ft. benches have fallen into disrepair and the children need your help to replaster them. They also need structures built to cover and preserve them.

Contact: Heather Lilley 503-819 5308 and Woodland Elem. 503-674-8188

Schedule:

Tuesday May 27th, Plastering with students in AM and Finish plastering in PM

Wednesday May 28th, Building and installing two roofs, adding birdhouses too

Yummy lunch provided! Join teachers, parents, students and VBC devotees to help children learn about their natural world in this idyllic outdoor space. PLEASE check in at the office upon arrival.

Location:

11741 SE Foster Rd, To get to Zenger Farm, head east on Powell Blvd. until 50th. At this point veer right onto Foster Blvd and then take Foster all the way to 117th and we’re on the left at the top of a hill, just past a large warehouse.

Description:

Incorporated in 1999, Friends of Zenger Farm is a non-profit farm and wetland in outer southeast Portland dedicated to promoting sustainable food systems, environmental stewardship and local economic development through a working urban farm. Friends of Zenger Farm utilize the combination of a 10-acre wetland adjacent to the 6-acre organic farming operation to provide unique experiential learning opportunities for youth, farmers and families in subjects such as sustainable agriculture, wetland ecology, food security, healthy eating and local economic development.

For nearly 10 years now, Zenger Farm has been dedicated to promoting urban farming and agricultural education in the Portland area. By employing passive and active solar technologies and rainwater catchment in their office/community building, Zenger has further exhibited their commitment to running a low-impact, eco friendly venture.

The arrival of the VBC to Zenger will bring a new eco-feature to the already regenerative landscape in the form of a cob bike shelter. Many of Zenger’s employees and volunteers pedal to the farm regularly. With the addition of the shelter we hope to encourage even more bike commuters by providing people’s treasured transports respite from Portland’s unpredictable weather. We also hope that this project will lay the groundwork for future earthen building endeavors such as a gazebo for bird watching by the marsh and a cob oven by the garden.

Contact: Bobby Wilcox (building Qs), 50.yr.storm@gmail.com and Jackie Fuller (Zenger Qs), jackie@zengerfarm.org

Schedule:

Our daily work schedule will be from from May 23-26, during which time we will finish cobbing the walls and roof and hopefully we can all collaborate on ideas for artistic embellishments and plasters.

May 23, 1-5pm

May 24, 9am-3pm

May 25, 10am-4pm

May 26, 10am-4pm