May 2 – 5
Cinco De Mayo Fiesta
Friday and Saturday 11am to 11:30 pm
Sunday and Monday 11am to 10pm
Children 3 and under FREE
Ages 4 - 11 $ 2.00
Ages 12 and up $ 8.00
Free Admission before 4 pm on Friday, and from 11am to 2 pm on Monday.
Portland's largest multicultural event. Featuring music, dance, art, and Latin music. The Fiesta also features "The Plaza de Artesanos" where artisans demonstrate and sell handcrafted artwork. Some crafts are exported directly from Mexico and handcrafted on sight.
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Portland, OR
Info: 503.232.7550

May 3
Gardening with Natives at Tualatin Hills Nature Park
Saturday
10am to 12pm
$11
Wheelchair accessible
Learn which plants attract more wildlife to your yard, which plants butterflies prefer, and which native plants are best suited for a deeply shaded or sunny yard in this class all about native plants.
Tualatin Hills Nature Park
15655 SW Millikan Boulevard
Beaverton, OR
Registration: 503.629.6350

May 3
Native Plant Center Volunteer Ventures
Saturday
9am to 1pm
Free
Help out at Metro's Native Plant Center by potting seedlings, sustaining the potted plants, planting annual native seeds and monitoring the grow-out beds for beneficial insects. Prior gardening experience is not required. Gloves, tools, water and a snack will be provided.
Metro's Native Plant Center
2661 SW Borland Road
Tualatin, OR 97062
Advance registration required: 503.701.7554

May 10
Natural Gardening Seminar: Why Waste the Rain?
Saturday
10am to 12pm
Free
Transform rainwater from a stormwater pollution hazard into a boon for your beautiful landscape. Learn the basics of bioswales, downspout disconnections, rain barrels, rain gardens and permeable paving.
Zenger Farm
11741 SE Foster Road
Portland, OR 97266
Advance registration required: 503.234.3000

May 10
SPIN-Gardening Workshop
Saturday
9am to 4pm
$40 (includes instructional materials and lunch)
SPIN stands for S-mall P-lot IN-tensive and is a production driven, organic-based system that will help you achieve levels of productivity that go far beyond current home gardening practices. Backyards, front lawns and neighborhood lots can be transformed into a steady and dependable supply of vegetables.
1900 Building, Room 2500A
1900 SW Fourth Avenue
Portland, OR 97201
Info: Contact Lindsey Maser at 503.823.7553
Be sure to include your email address as registration confirmation and class materials will be emailed to you upon receipt.
Registration deadline: May 8, 2008
Send a check, made out to City of Portland, to:
SPIN-Gardening Workshop
Office of Sustainable Development
721 NW 9th Avenue, Suite 350
Portland, OR 97209

May 9- 10
Northwest VegFest
Friday,and Saturday
Friday evening- Keynote Lecture (details to come)
$5 - $10 on a sliding scale
Saturday– Fair
10am to 6pm
$5 entry fee
NW Veg is dedicated to bringing awareness to the power of a vegetarian lifestyle and helping support people in their transition toward making healthier, more sustainable & compassionate food choices. This festival highlights organic, vegetarian, and sustainable practices featuring:
Healthy Food – Keynote Speakers - Chef Demonstrations - Silent Auction - Family activities - Workshops, and more
Benson High School
546 NE 12th Avenue
Portland, OR 97232
Contact Jill at NWVeg for info: 503.297.8435


May 10
The World's Largest Yard Sale
Saturday
Washington County Fair Complex
873 NE 34th Avenue
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Info: 503.648.1416
get directions

May 10
World Fair Trade Day
Fair Trade Day is an opportunity to educate yourself about Fair Trade products, and the Fair Trade movement’s goal to create a equitable, just and sustainable model for all international trade.

May 14
Northwest Resistance Against Genetic Engineering
Wednesday
7pm to 8:30pm
Join NWRage on the Second Wednesday of every month for their public meeting and a Screening of Videos relating to Genetic Engineering and discussion on how you can help to promote a safe and sustainable food supply.
3347 SE Belmont Street, Office #5
Portland, OR 97214
503.239.6841

May 15
Renewing Your Soils Health
Thursday
7pm to 8:30pm
Free, but reservations are required
An incredible diversity of life in the soil makes healthy, productive plants possible. Dr. Ingham and her company helped pioneer and continue to inspire a movement of using aerated compost tea and the full food web in the soil to produce dramatically positive results. Learn how and where to test your soil and compost for biological activity and where to find biologically active compost and compost tea. Presented by Elaine Ingham, Soil Food Web, Inc. owner/researcher.
Metro Regional Center
600 NE Grand Avenue
Portland, OR 97232
Info and registration: 503.234.3000

May 16
Endangered Species Day
This day is designed to bring about awareness of those species that are struggling to survive the results of civilization, and to remind us that each species is an intricate part of, and important to, the workings of the world.


May 16 – 17
McMenamins 9th Annual UFO Festival
(this was just too fun to not tell you about)
Friday and Saturday
McMenamins Hotel Oregon's 8th Annual UFO Festival in 2007, the second largest in the U.S. and growing! Guests enjoyed a speaker's forum featuring alien abduction expert Dr. David M. Jacobs who discussed his research with people who believe they have had abduction experiences. Our second guest, noted UFO expert and best-selling author Peter Robbins, detailed the story of James Forrestal, the nation's first Secretary of Defense who, some say, knew too much about the UFO threat and met an untimely end.
310 NE Evans Street
McMinnville, OR 97128
503.472.8427
http://www.mcmenamins.com/ufofest07/index.html

May 17
Wild Gourmet Garden Edibles
Saturday
8am to 12pm
$25
Tired of pulling garden weeds? Get revenge by eating them. Visit an organic farm in Portland and make a delectable wild gourmet salad from the weeds that farmers would be pulling. Learn how to identify common, plentiful, nutritious and flavorful wild vegetables.
Bring a salad bowl and a fork.
Advance registration required: 503.775.3828
Call for meeting location and directions.

May 17
Why Waste the Rain?
Saturday
9am to 1pm
Free
Transform perfectly good rainwater from a stormwater pollution hazard into a boon for your beautiful landscape. Learn the basics of bioswales, downspout disconnections, rain barrels, rain gardens and permeable paving.
Blue Lake Regional Park
Northeast 223rd Avenue
Fairview, OR
Advance registration required (parking fee waived for participants)
503.234.3000

May 17
Converting Lawn to Raised Beds
Saturday
1pm to 2pm
Free
Reduce your lawn mowing chores and grow chemical-free vegetables instead! Learn how to convert your lawn – or weed patch – into raised garden beds.
Drake’s 7 Dees Nursery
16519 SE Stark Street
Portland, OR
Advance registration requested: 503.256.2223

May 17 - 18
Greener Homes & Gardens Expo
Saturday 10am to 6pm
Sunday 11am to 5pm
$3.00 suggested donation that will benefit a local non-profit organization
Over 100 Exhibitors and Organizations, a robust line of informative and cutting-edge workshops, and a broad array of green, sustainable and organic products and services are planned for Greener Homes & Gardens.
Expo Center
2060 North Marine Drive, Hall D1
Portland, Oregon 97217
Info: 503.736.5200
http://www.greenerhomesandgardens.com/about.htm

May 19
SOLV's Down by the Riverside
Saturday
9am to 1pm
Join SOLV for a state-wide day of volunteer activites to help improve watersheds. You can join a volunteer crew with clean-up and removal of weeds and debris and improving plantings of native plants.
Registration: via SOLV's website

May 19 - 23
Oregon Hunger Awareness Week 2008
Watch for a variety of events presented by Governor Kulongoski that will raise awareness of hunger issues through throughout the week.

May 22
Back in the Saddle Bike Clinic
Thursday
6:30pm to 8pm
A review of gear, laws, riding skills, routes, basic bike upkeep, and flat tire repair.
Community Cycling Center
1700 NE Alberta Street
Portland, OR 97211

May 23 – June 1
8th Annual Village Building Convergence
VBC8 is a ten-day event in which 20 community projects around Portland activate to build shared public places that they have envisioned, designed, funded and will maintain for themselves. There will be a community meal each night as well as speakers and music. Please come and join in this celebration of community by helping out at projects sites throughout the day and dancing the night away at the evening events!
Evening events from 5pm until late at:
Bossanova
722 E Burniside
Portland, OR 97214
Info: 503.287.3075 or 503.253.8946

May 24
Let’s Get Rollin’ Bike Clinic
Saturday
10am to 1pm
A 3-hour clinic with conversations on how to choose the right bike, gear for you and your bike, recreational riding and commuting, riding techniques, use of the TriMet rack, and route planning.
Multnomah Arts Center
7688 SW Capitol Highway
Portland, OR 97219

May 27
Secretary of State Bill Bradbury Presents "An Inconvenient Truth"
Tuesday
12pm to 1pm
The Oregon Environmental Council has teamed up with Secretary of State Bill Bradbury to bring the “An Inconvenient Truth” slide show to communities around Oregon. Secretary Bradbury was one of the first 50 people to be trained by Al Gore to give his "An Inconvenient Truth" slide show. Bill has adapted the slide show to heavily focus on the effects of global warming on the Pacific Northwest.
Clackmas Community College
19600 Mollala
Oregon City, OR 97045

May 29
Ingredients of a Healthy Life
Thursday
7pm to 8:30pm
Comprehensive healthy living is about more than just food, exercise and natural products. Organizing a healthy life also requires attention to work, community and family. Learn how to identify the key ingredients to your healthy life and how to begin cooking it up!
Presenter: Angel True, Life Alignment Enhancement Coach
Cedar Hills Crossing
3495 Cedar Hills Boulevard
Beaverton, OR 97005
503.641.4181