The Village Building Convergence (VBC) is a 10-day event as a part of Portland’s City Repair Project.  It helps to educate people on the benefits of coming together to create community spaces in their neighborhood.  The event holds classes and other sessions instructing those in attendance on how to create public art, community spaces, and ecological structures.  I have several friends who are involved in the event, and I have participated by volunteering my time and equipment photographing some parts of this event.

One of these events was the opening night kick-off party held at the Bossanova Ballroom in Portland.  I can’t really complain about being involved in this party.  It was an incredibly hyped up concert featuring performances by JuJuBa and Path of the Ninja (a collaboration between the members of Signal Path and Surrounded by Ninjas).  Surrounding the show within the ballroom were many different features pertaining to the VBC.  There were displays of people’s participation in the event in previous years, a bookstore featuring topics explored by the VBC, and other booths providing miscellaneous products and information.

I jumped around the place throughout the whole show, alternating between shooting the performances, shooting the features of the event, and dancing like crazy at the incredible music.  I was proud to be a part of it, even though secretly I would have been there anyway, grooving to the great show.

A friend of mine organized a great event to benefit the Portland Village Building Convergence project at Learning Gardens Lab (LGL). It included a plant sale, tile making, great music and fabulous food. The organizer, my friend Sarah, asked if I would take some photos for it. While I took shots around this great event, my daughter met some new friends and picked as many dandelions as her little hands cold hold. The benefit seemed successful and was a lot of fun. Although we were sprinkled with some rain for the outdoor event, it didn’t seem to damper anyone’s spirits.

My friend Demune gave me a shout the other day, inviting me to come out to his show at The Tonic Lounge in Northeast Portland to take some photos of his performance. Since he wasn’t able to perform at the Basic Shapes show I shot at Greek Cusina, I had been looking for an opportunity to make it up by getting some new shots.

The first set of pictures in the gallery are of Cadalack Ron with DJ Memory. Even though not many people were out to see hip-hop in Portland on a Wednesday night, he still put in a strong performance. DJ Memory was highly impressive, laying down some very smooth and intricate beats for Cadalack Ron. The general message of his lyrics was quite different from what I’m used to hearing up here in the Pacific Northwest, but he certainly is true to himself coming from Los Angeles.

Demune got a chance to walk the stage next, giving his usual high energy efforts despite a small crowd. Throughout his performance, you can easily feel his dynamic presence, keeping all engaged to his rhymes. The mood was light, and that came through in the music. Always upbeat and never a let-down, Demune can fill a room with his amazing quality and energy.