Your input is requested about having a farmers’ market near the Woodlawn triangle. Your answers will help create a market that best serves our community. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey.

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The neighborhood favorite Classic Foods will open for retail again this Friday between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. That means we can stop by to get those fabulous raviolis, pastas and pestos, as well as olive oil and cheese.

Shoppers can drop by every first Friday of the month. The pastas would make a delicious and simple meal for those holiday get togethers.

For more information, check out the Classic Foods Facebook page.

Woodlawn Swap N Play is hosting a Halloween Harvest Festival this Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Village Ballroom, 700 N.E. Dekum St.

Kiddie movies, treats and games are provided for youngsters five and under (though all are welcome). And here’s the best part: It’s free.

Beer and wine will be for sale for $4 with proceeds going towards the opening of the Oregon Public House.

So put on the kid’s costumes, bring a blanket and a pillow, and join your neighbors for an afternoon of fun.

Calling all Woodlawn Neighborhood Association board members: WNA is holding a special meeting this Saturday to review grant applications.

The grants are for the following things:

1) To help boost membership by providing food, childcare and outreach for the association.

2.) To help with the Easter egg hunt, a neighborhood yard sale and National Night Out.

3.) To fund cooking classes in the community garden.

The meeting is at Good Neighbor Pizza, 800 N.E. Dekum St., at 4 p.m.

We need as many board members as possible to attend. The meeting should only take a half hour and could go along ways towards making our association and neighborhood stronger.

The invisible (and visible) poets of Woodlawn are being summoned to appear at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8 at Good Neighbor Pizzaria to pronounce their words, ask their eternal question and rant their rants–so long as reasonable decorum is maintained. An open microphone will be provided for a portion of the program, but poets who wish to be assured a place on the program should contact The Imponderable Fool at Martian //at// Teleport.com or 503.309.9556.

Information about this project will be presented at next week’s general meeting.

Environmental Services, the Bureau of Transportation, and the Regional Arts and Cultural Council are planning a green street facility on the southwest side of NE Durham at the corner of Dekum. The project will incorporate a landscaped area, bicycle parking on a concrete pad, and an art installation mounted on the bike parking structure. They are just about ready to get started on this project.

The soil and plants in green street facilities filter pollutants from stormwater runoff and reduce stormwater volume in the city sewer system. Portland is building green street facilities throughout the city to manage stormwater.

Normal work hours are 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The project will take three to six weeks to complete.

Read all the details in the PDF file. >>

We’re lucky to (finally) have two great places to get coffee (and pastries!) in Woodlawn.

FLORIO is located at 435 NE Rosa Parks Way. The bakery has been there for two years and when the other side of their duplex became available, the owner/baker, Carrie Birrer, jumped at the opportunity to open a cafe. She has previous experience running a popular cafe along Ankney years ago. Florio has long distributed their tasty pastries to New Season’s Market, Food Front Cooperative Grocery, Whole Foods Markets and Market of Choice. They serve Trailhead Coffee, a local coffee roaster who delivers by bike. The cafe is a quiet space with bright light and a nicely diverse rotation of people coming through the door.

WOODLAWN COFFEE AND PASTRY, slated to originally open May 2009, finally opened at Dekum and 8th, next to Good Neighbor Pizza. The cafe features Stumptown Coffee and fresh baked-in-house pastries. The building is from around 1906 and had only a dirt floor for many years until the cafe moved in. Baker Gretchen Glatte also bakes for the Firehouse, across the street. Building owner Justin Rideout fashioned the furniture, including the cafe tables from gorgeous redwood.

Next up: Who is going to start a basic breakfast joint? Any takers?

Believe Movement studio says “Did you know that several of your neighbors are instructors at Believe Movement Studio?”.  No, I did not!  Check out their class offerings, more are being added all the time,  and sign up for email updates to get information about new classes and specials. Laura says “rates are the lowest in town.  Many discounts available for seniors, students, volunteers and non-profit employees.   We look forward to seeing you soon!”

New business alert: you’ve probably seen the progress that has been made at the soon-to-open Breakside Brewery.  Word is they will open their doors May 1.  Read more about the beer and the food.

Classic Foods recently had a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the opening of their new facility in Woodlawn.  Look forward to the smells of pasta being made in our neighborhood, and keep an eye out for them at local farmer’s markets!

Auntie Kelly’s Hawaiian Plate Lunch food cart will debut at the Woodlawn Sunday Parkways (coming up May 16!) and has invited Woodlawn neighbors to a tasting party, May 2 from 2-4 at 1724 NE Dekum Street. Enjoy teriyaki chicken, world famous “Maui style” kal bi ribs, mac salad, peanut ginger noodles, sticky rice, and organic greens.

There’s not a grocery store in Woodlawn (yet!) but if you are looking for a way to get your weekly fresh vegetables from a local farm, the Dancing Roots Farm CSA (community supported agriculture) is still taking members for this year.  They will have a pick-up site in Piedmont on Thursday evenings, very close to Woodlawn.  Contact Shari at 503.695.3445 or shari//@//dancingrootsfarm.com for more information.

Want more play by play of local businesses and Woodlawn happening?  If you are on facebook, many of our local businesses have a “fan page” and Sarah Bott at the Dekum Street Guest House is running a lively page called “It’s happening on Dekum Street” with up-to-the-minute news and happenings in the Woodlawn area.

Saturday, March 20th from 1:00PM – 5PM

Believe Movement Studio invites you to join them, along with neighbors Buffalo Gardens, The Purple Garden and Good Neighbor Pizza to a celebration of the Vernal Equinox. You can take advantage of a spring sale on class cards, session packages and retail items. These businesses also have contests for April. There will be food, live music, and festivities for the entire family. Rae Minten will offer a free session of sun salutations to honor the return of the sun at 1:30PM and 3:30PM.

Laura at Believe Movement Studio wants the neighborhood to know about all the FREE stuff going on this month!

FREE Body Composition Analysis; Saturday, December 5th  from 12PM – 4PM

An incredibly informative session that will determine lean muscle mass. Great baseline information to start your new year goals off right. No appointment necessary. Should take around 20 minutes.

FREE Teacher Training Yoga Class;  Saturdays, December 5th, 12th, and 19th from 5PM – 6:30PM

This is an ALL-LEVELS class that is taught by the current Prananda Yoga Teacher Trainees. It is supervised by Joy Wolfe (director). Tell your friends. This is part of the training so you are helping the trainees too! First come, first serve basis.

FREE Yoga Classes for Seniors; Mondays at 1 PM (ongoing)
On a personal note, I’ve been going to yoga classes at Believe Movement Studio for the past few weeks and I highly recommend them!  The space is lovely and welcoming and you get personal attention and instruction from the teachers.  Make sure you check out their calendar, rates and events at www.believemovementstudio.com.