Keeping the Swarm reading
Northwest author George Venn will read from his new memoir, Keeping the Swarm, at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at the Gresham Library Community Room, 285 N.W. Miller Ave.
Venns memoir includes 11 personal essays from his 50 years of writing about the Northwest.
Sponsored by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commissions Discovering Oregon Originals, the event is free and open to the public. For more information visit wordcraftoforegon.com.
Birthday on the bridge
The first bridge built for the Historic Columbia River Highway is turning 100.
Celebrate the centennial birthday of the Sandy River Bridge at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 20, at Troutdales Glenn Otto Community Park. The event will feature a toast and history of the bridge followed by a reservation-only brunch and program.
Guests are invited to dress in period costume and travel in old vehicles. Sharon Nesbit will personify gorge heroine Gertrude Glutsch Jensen, and Chet Orloff will portray Sam Lancaster, a highway builder.
To make a reservation by Friday, April 5, call the Troutdale Historical Society at 503-661-2164 or email info@troutdalehistroy.org. Tickets are $50 per person, with proceeds going toward an exhibit of the historic highway.
Plant a row, help hunger
Planning to grow a garden? Consider planting a few extra plants or even an extra row to help fight hunger.
Launched in 1995 by the Garden Writers Association, Plant a Row for the Hungry encourages gardeners to grow a little extra and donate the produce to local hunger-relief agencies.
No quantity is too small, said Eric Sopkin, metro services coordinator of Oregon Food Bank.
Oregon Food Banks partner agencies especially appreciate produce that transports and stores well, such as tomatoes, green beans, garlic, onions, hot peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, collard greens and Swiss chard, beets, winter squash (acorn and butternut) and summer squash.
During the 2012 harvest season, gardeners donated more than 80,000 pounds, or two semi-truckloads, of produce to food pantries, soup kitchens and other agencies in the Portland area.
For gardening resources and to help find a partner agency near you that can use your produce, visit oregonfoodbank.org/Give-Food/Plant-a-Row-Program.