Get your geek on with us this week at the February Mixer!

A TOAST TO ALL THINGS AWESOME
Thursday • February 25 • 6-9pm • Backspace

This month we get totally technological, and take our mixer into the heart of the teeming metropolis! “What does that even mean?” you ask. Well, in this case it means BACKSPACE, located right on the MAX Green Line at 115 NW 5th Street. Backspace is a hip, techno-savvy coffeehouse, bar and art gallery, and this month we’d like to transport you into the future… Our future! That’s right: Starting this month we will be including short multi-media talks from our team, partners, and other people we like, featuring innovative ideas, animations, and other projectible eye candy.

This month: RAY BOYLE, our programming coordinator, will give you the skinny on all of the latest programs and events that are being developed for the festival. 7:30pm. Also, we are going to be featuring some crazy, mashed-up interactive augmented reality digital photo projections from two of our favorite artists: GABE SHAUGHNESSY and AARON ROGOSIN. What the…?! Just trust us; It will be awesome! Ongoing throughout the night.

Don’t miss it! Because in addition to bar specials and the eye-popping edutainment, we are going to be sharing some HUGE NEWS with you this Thursday. You can, of course, read all about it in next month’s EDUCATION ISSUE of the newsletter. But if you can’t contain yourself, it’s as easy as a pint after work!

A NOTE: Thanks to all those who came out last month and helped us say goodbye to our groovy loft/office. You need not fear, however: We spent the weekend moving across the hall, and our new digs are, dare I say it, AWESOME! We’ll have you all over for tea soon.

events

Friday • January 22 • 6-9pm

NEW LOCATION:

PDX Bridge Festival Office

537 SE Ash St., #41

Fourth floor of the East Bank loft building, just two blocks south of Burnside between 6th and Grand.

The PDX Bridge Festival is delighted to announce the Hawthorne Bridge 99th Birthday Soireé, to be held December 18th at the World Forestry Center’s Miller Hall. This promises to be a very special evening with a historical “1910” theme—the year work on the Hawthorne Bridge was completed. The evening will feature a cocktail reception, silent auction, a seated dinner with performances and musical entertainment, as well as a variety of engaging presentations.

The Soireé, held in preparation for next year’s Hawthorne Bridge Centennial Celebrations, not only marks the 99th anniversary of the dedication of the Hawthorne Bridge. It is also the inaugural fundraiser for the PDX Bridge Festival, a newly incorporated nonprofit with a mission to raise public awareness and foster appreciation of the Willamette River Bridges through educational, historical, cultural and artistic programming.

As the planning organization for the 2010 Centennial and the annual PDX Bridge Festival, we are proud to present the December event—which features audio visual installations and custom lighting to enhance the theme—as a preview for many more creative endeavors to come. Next year’s festivities will reinvent the Willamette River Bridges as a staging ground for individual works of art and performance. Presenting a diverse program of gallery exhibitions, speakers, musical events and performance, our goal is to bring people together in a spirit of civic pride, aesthetic wonder, and community engagement.

Tickets are available to individuals as well as businesses, per plate or by table. The event will feature cuisine by Simpatica Catering, music by the Saloon Ensemble (featuring members of MarchFourth Marching Band), a period trapeze performance by Sy Parrish, and much more TBA. Seating is limited to 250, and guests are requested to RSVP no later than Dec. 5. For an invitation to the event, or to find out more about the PDX Bridge Festival, please send an email to info@pdxbridgefestival.org

Thank you to everyone who joined us September 10th at the Old Trolley Barn under the Hawthorne Bridge. We truly appreciate your help in launching PDX Bridge Festival and the Hawthorne Bridge 2010 Centennial Calendar.

We were delighted to have Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler and Mayor Sam Adams as our special guests, and their endorsements of the calendar and other bridge merchandise helped raise almost $2,000 toward the 2010 PDX Bridge Festival. We would also like to thank William Heinz of de Richter Productions who kicked off our fundraising with a $500 personal contribution.  Thanks again to all our presenters and artists for making it a special evening, and a special thanks to Tony Lester and Ian Cannon who allowed us to turn the Bridge Maintenance Headquarters into a venue for our event!

The PDX Bridge Festival, an all-city cultural arts celebration of the Willamette River Bridges is being planned for 2010 in observance of the 100th anniversary of the Hawthorne Bridge–the oldest vertical lift bridge in the U.S.

On September 10th, an event is being held to launch the festival. Mayor Sam Adams has recently come out in support of the festival, and will be on hand to discuss the merits of the PDX Bridge Festival, what this event means for Portland’s stature as a haven for creativity, and the movement underway to secure dedicated funding for the public’s access to the arts and arts education.

The launch event is scheduled for Thursday, September 10, 2009, 4-7pm in the historic trolley barn under the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge. The trolley barn, at 1403 S.E. Water Avenue, is now the County’s Bridge Maintenance headquarters. The launch, sponsored by the Friends of Willamette River Bridges, in cooperation with Multnomah County, is open to the public.

ABOUT THE PDX BRIDGE FESTIVAL

Radiating like spokes from downtown Portland, the ten bridges that span the Willamette River are central to the regional identity, tying the geography and cultures of Portland into a vibrant whole. Using the bridges as a staging ground for large-scale works of art, music, and performance, the PDX Bridge Festival will bring people together in a spirit of civic pride, aesthetic wonder, and community engagement.

The annual festival celebrates the bridges on a historical level, while at the same time drawing on wide creative talents to produce an awe-inspiring public arts celebration with the longevity and magnetism to exceed the historical reasons behind it. Beginning with the Hawthorne Bridge Centennial in 2010—followed closely by the Steel Bridge (2012), and the Broadway Bridge (2013)—the festival will draw large numbers of visitors and residents to the event. While showcasing the convergence of industrial design and artistic endeavor, this event will create a valuable cultural tourist destination in the heart of Portland. More info can be found at www.pdxbridgefestival.org.

THE LAUNCH EVENT

In addition to the festival announcement, the September 10th event will host the release of The Hawthorne Bridge 2010 Centennial Calendar (a 12-month, 26-page, full-color booklet produced by the Friends of the Willamette River Bridges), as well as an exhibition of the 49 original works of art used in the calendar. Created by Sharon Wood Wortman, the Calendar retails for $10. It is being sold at Powell’s, Made In Oregon, the Oregon Historical Society store and a number of other outlets around the city (as well as the www.pdxbridgefestival.org website). The 2010 calendar and the 2009 Portland-Vancouver Bridges and Rivers Calendar were conceived by Sharon Wood Wortman and Bill Dickey of Witham and Dickey Printing, with the blessings of Multnomah County. In addition to the calendar, the Friends of the Bridges will be unveiling the new Jaciva Hawthorne Bridge chocolate bars, Mt. Hood Roaster’s Hawthorne Bridge Vertical Lift Blend coffee (12-oz packages), T-shirts (featuring the calendar centerfold image), and Shedrain’s Hawthorne Bridge umbrella.  Proceeds from all merchandise will be used to raise money for a public celebration to recognize the iconic Hawthorne Bridge during its 100th birthday year in 2010.

The gallery exhibit of select works from the calendar is curated by PCC Art History Professor, JulieAnne Poncet. The show features the work of 34 artists, ranging from elementary students to adults, who have paid homage to one of Portland’s most treasured and traveled icons in a variety of mediums including traditional photography and digital art, oil and watercolor paintings, woodblock prints, textiles, metalwork, sculpture, and silk screen. This exhibition is a fitting tribute to our special group of artists, and their generous contributions to Friends of the Willamette River Bridges and the beautiful Hawthorne Bridge Centennial Calendar. The centerfold is by long-time Portland artist, Craig Conahan (see accompanying image). Additional exhibitions including these and other works are currently being planned to run during the PDX Bridge Festival celebration, July 24 through August 7, 2010.