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2023 “Lights In Lents”

Lights in Lents 2023 Display, viewed from outside and the corner of 92nd and Foster. Purple light fills the window with a foam mural a colorful solar-punk miniature of the building.

Join us during Portland Winter Light Fest in Lents! Every night between Feb 3 – Feb 11th at 9101 SE Foster Road, Suite 1B, Portland, OR 97266 between 5:30 – 7:30 PM to walk through our community art exhibit, enjoy music, neighbors and refreshments!

The Lights in Lents UV/Glow-in-the-Dark Portrait & Mural Exhibit for Portland Winter Light Festival is a free and inclusive collaborative art experience, organized by East Portland Collective for the whole community and designed to bring people together to talk about their futures, aspirations, and dreams.

Sponsored by SE Uplift and the Office of Community & Civic Light. In partnership with Four Forces Inc, and East Portland Resilience Coalition. Generous donations by many community members as well as local businesses Bella’s Italian Bakery and Paper & Twine PDX!

DateLive Entertainment
Fri, Feb 3DJ Chaach (Latin-American Beats)
Sat, Feb 4The Modern Folk (Acoustic Set)
Fri, Feb 10DJ CLRRRTY (Hip-hop, Funk, New Jack, House Beats)
Entertainment Schedule (Music) for Lights in Lents

The Community Art Creation Process

You participated in both in-person and virtual brainstorms to come up with ideas for the content & display, answering questions about the overall theme, the light of stars, as well as our East Portland special spin: What do you see for yourself and the neighborhood in the future? From there, you showed up to help figure out how to set-up and design the exhibit, then came for two full weeks to trace, paint, share your lights, and set up the exhibit. With everyone’s support and hard work, the exhibit is finally up, lit, and ready for our community to enjoy!

By the numbers

  • 720 sq ft of mural painted! (That’s 30 sides of 4’x6’ panels and SO MUCH PAINT!)
  • 92 unique participants joined in the exhibit creation process!
    • You showed up 182 times to help out throughout January
  • Volunteers came from 10 different East Portland Zip Codes
    • 74% of volunteers are neighbors from 97266 and 97206!
  • 500 Hours Volunteered since Jan 1, 2023… and counting!
    • 350 Community Volunteer Hours to date
    • 150 East Portland Collective Project Coordinator Hours to date 
  • 9+ community members collected and lend lights of all varieties
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Robert Delgado Memorial One Year Later: From Graves to Gardens

Photo of Robert Delgado in black and white with the pink and green letters that spell out LOVE In the backgroundCommunity Painting Days

April 16, 2022 will mark one year since Robert Delgado was shot and killed by Portland Police at Lents Park. Robert was houseless at the time, living in the Lents area, and experiencing a mental health crisis.

Please join us at Lents Park (east side) for community healing through art and gathering days, as well as a memorial and vigil, in Robert’s honor:

🎨Painting days:
Fridays, April 1, 8, 15, 5-7 p.m.

🕯 Memorial and vigil:
Saturday, April 16, 5 p.m.

Over the course of the next three Fridays, starting tomorrow, we will work together to create art in Robert’s honor, and we well unveil the finished art at the one-year memorial in Robert’s honor.

Paint supplies and refreshments will be provided. These gatherings will be for all people, housed or unhoused, of all ages and abilities. Please share to help us spread the word!

Living in this community, we have seen first hand that Robert’s death brought on a grief that felt almost unbearable to many vulnerable Lents community members, and we want to work together to transform our collective grief into healing, hope, resilience, and solidarity.

Organized by East PDX Collective, PDX Saints Love, and Don’t Shoot PDX, and supported by the City of Portland Arts Program and Robert’s family. ❤️‍🩹

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82nd & Woodstock Holiday Night Market

Square green flyer with pine tree branches and snow that reads Join East Portland Collective at the 82nd & Woodstock Holiday Market! Friday & Saturday, 12/10 & 12/11, 4-10pm

East Portland Collective will be at the “82nd & Woodstock Holiday Night Market”, Friday & Saturday, 12/10 & 12/11, 4-10pm, in the old pawn shop!

We’ll be busting out the art supplies for community members to work on a new community painting!

Stop by our booth to leave your mark on our community painting, enjoy a complimentary sweet treat, and learn about upcoming opportunities to get involved in our community! While you’re there, check out the amazing work of all the local artists and vendors who will be there for your shopping pleasure with lots of goodies, including jewelry, clothing, oddities, accessories, food, drinks and even a first come, first serve pop up tattoo booth!

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Celebrating the Birthday of Robert Delgado

Square flyer with pink flowers that reads Please join us on Monday, Dec.13, at 12pm, at the site of the memorial on the upper east side of Lents Park, to celebrate the birthday of Robert Delgado. Robert would have been 47 years old on this December 13.

✨Save the date✨Please join us on Monday, Dec.13, at 12pm, at the site of the memorial on the upper east side of Lents Park, to celebrate the birthday of Robert Delgado.

Robert would have been 47 years old on this December 13.

Earlier this year, on April 16, police shot and killed Robert, who was houseless at the time, living in the Lents area, and experiencing a mental health crisis.

Since then, the site where Robert tragically lost his life has turned into a memorial that the community has kept alive with flowers, candles, words, art, and more. Community members gather here regularly to grieve, mourn, process, pray, or meditate.

In addition to being a celebration of Robert’s life, this event is a first step at bringing our community together, housed and unhoused folks alike, to process and heal together, as well as to envision together what a more permanent memorial at this site would look like if we were to turn it into a place of healing.

Robert’s family would like to share a few words with the community at the start of the event, and Teressa Raiford with Don’t Shoot PDX  and Kristle Delihanty with PDX Saints Love will help guide our community conversation and healing work. 🤍

We would love to hear from you. Please give us your thoughts on what you think are important elements for this community art project to aid in our grieving, mourning and healing as a community here in Lents: https://forms.gle/kuoV6kbxVp4FHQaX8

More details coming soon! For now, please save the date and honor us with your presence on Monday (a week from today) at 12pm, at Lents Park. 🤍

This event is partially funded by the City of Portland

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Let’s Make Mini-Wreaths 2021

Photos of wreath making with text for the community hordiculture

Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Lents neighborhood (you’ll receive the address in your email if your application is accepted)

Please join us on Sunday, December 12, 2021 for our third annual community-based therapeutic horticulture winter activity in partnership with Larkspur Portland: making foraged mini-evergreen wreaths!

This activity will be a fun and accessible way to engage your senses in wintertime nature and connect with your neighbors.

All materials and tools will be provided, and you are welcome to also bring your own foraged materials if you’d like to include them in the project. If you have wire-cutters and/or a pair of pruners, please bring them for your personal use. We will be working with a variety of evergreen boughs, branches, winter-hardy herbs, dried plants, feathers, mosses, lichens, etc..

If you are physically able to, you are encouraged to also take a nature walk and forage for materials to include in your project, as an additional way to connect with nature and engage your senses.

This activity will be appropriate for all ages. Children younger than 9 will need assistance to complete the project.

If you are interested, please fill out this registration form and we will follow up with you as soon as we can. Space is limited to 12 people. We encourage everyone interested to apply. Our organization is especially devoted to increasing accessibility to BIPOC & LGBTQ+ folks.

This class will be led by Kasia Terra (Larkspur Portland), a horticultural therapist living in East Portland.

Start by filling out the application HERE.

Questions? Feel free to contact us HERE!

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Land Back Meal: Generosity Teachings with Local Native American Community

graphic of cooked turkey and two pies with citris garneshes in organge and brown tones and Fall leaves surrounding them

On Thursday 11/25, at 12PM, all who are hungry or who simply wish to connect with their community, are invited to join us in the east parking lot at Lents Park for hot food and community conversations, “Land Back Meal: Generosity Teachings with Local Native American Community!”*

This is an event by the community, for the community, and we could use more support to make it happen! We are still coordinating food/cooking/warm beverages, as well as working to get the word out to folks who might not be on social media or who live outside, so if you’d like to help with either food, volunteering, or promotion, please contact us so we can coordinate!

We’ll also have available free pet food, personal hygiene supplies, warmth/safety supplies, and more. If you’d like to donate anything like socks, blankets, tents, sleeping bags, or other supplies, please DM/contact us so we can coordinate — or just show up!

Still needed::
Beverages
-tea bags
-hot cocoa packets
-apple cider packets
-bottled water / seltzer water

Food
-Side dishes — if you wish to contribute a side dish, please DM us on Instagram @eastpdxcollective or contact us HERE, ASAP
-Non-perishable items (like energy bars, nuts, cereal, crackers)
-citrus fruit

Supplies
-warm socks
-gloves
-blankets
-sleeping bags
-tents
-hand warmers
-bags (plastic or paper)

Pet Supplies
-Cat and dog food is always appreciated
-Dog coats/sweaters
-Leashes, collars, harnesses

Come connect, share, learn, reflect, eat with your community, and help us reach more folks who could use some community support right now.❤️‍🩹

Please note: this event is part of the weekly Lents Community Care Fair that takes place every Thursday at Lents Park, with support from Portland Street Response. However, our regular partners won’t be there this week. This means that services/goods like Covid shots/boosters, haircuts, groceries, OHP/SNAP application assistance, books, etc. will resume on Dec. 02!

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Lents Community Outreach Fair

Flyer depicting supplies for communtiy care, hot soup, vaccines pet supplies, all free

 Every Thursday from October 21, 2021 until December 2, 2021 from 10am to 2pm, please join us for a weekly wellness & friendship fair right here in our Lents community, connecting unhoused and housed neighbors to needed supplies, nourishment, and services — and to each other!

If you’ve been needing help signing up for OHP or SNAP, need a rapid Covid test, or want to get a Covid or flu vaccine — come see us Thursdays at Lents Park!

We’ll also have hot meals, pet food/supplies, wound care, hygiene and safety supplies, and more — all FREE for everyone, rain or shine!

Who will be there:

Portland Street Response, @pdxsaintslove, @eastpdxcollective, @careoregon, @drbnwbridge, Providence, University of Portland School of Nursing, and others!

DONATIONS NEEDED: @eastpdxcollective is running a pet supply booth and we need more dog and cat food, as well as accessories like leashes, harnesses, treats, brushes, coats, and more. If you have anything to donate, please bring them tomorrow at the event and we’ll gladly take them off your hands and distribute them to those in need!

Come say hi, make friends, get what you need, and/or find ways that you can plug into your community!

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Community Showers & Foot Care

A teal green flyer depicting graphics of a person under a shower and sitting in a chair while another person washes their feet. Text reads "Community Showers & Foot Care. Free access to hygeine services in a safe and welcoming enviornment.

Starting TODAY until Nov. 28: Community Showers and Foot Care will be EVERY MONDAY, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Lents, brought to the community by a partnership between Portland Street Response, University of Portland School of Nursing, @cultivateinitiatives, @eastpdxcollective, @pdxsaintslove and @drbnwbridge.

Every Monday, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.,
at Lents Park, east side, next to the mural on the Pickles Stadium Building.

Can you help us reach the folks who need this the most by spreading the word in the community and sharing this flyer with your channels? 🙏🏽

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Lents Heatwave Preparation: Supplies Needed

Lents Heatwave Preparation: Supplies Needed

Call to action 💦🌡 — we’re planning on doing another round of Cooling Station + distribution events this week in the Lents Area — and we could use the following supplies, if anyone wants to drop off anything (DM for address) anytime between now and tomorrow at noon:

-electrolyte drinks (even just a six-pack or whatever you can afford) or powders

-water bottles

-FOOD (anything that’s individually wrapped, like sandwiches, or portioned in ways in which it’s easy to hand out. So far, we have 36 peanut butter&jelly sandwiches; folks who are houseless seem to really appreciate meal-type of things, beyond snacks. Some folks will be hungry and stuck at their camps because it will be too hot to venture out and/or some can’t afford the risk of leaving their belongings behind without someone supervising)

-SNACKS. We could use granola bars, energy bars, nuts… things that are rich in protein, salty, and not too high in sugar.

-FRUIT: people tend to ask for bananas and citrus fruit

-Cooler(s). Collectively, we have about 3-4 coolers but we could use more! Styrofoam coolers are great too because we can drop them off with folks with ice and supplies in them.

-ICE

We could also use sharp containers to leave with folks (Google what can make a good sharp container to see if you have anything around your house that we could repurpose)

If you have ideas for anything else that would bring people comfort in this heat, please ask. We are willing to distribute almost anything that people give us. The schedule for distribution is as follows:

-tomorrow (Wednesday): distribution starting at noon: we’ll be making runs to nearby camps and checking in with folks about their needs, dropping off supplies, and letting them know about the Cooling Station
-Thursday &Friday: Cooling Station at Lents Park, 12-5pm; distribution throughout the day.

Thank you so much, everyone! Hope everyone has a way to stay cool this week, and if you have the bandwidth, please check on your neighbors to ensure they’re safe also!