SHIFT: A Green Salon, Sharing and Inspiring Sustainable Design
AIGA presents 10 five-minute presentations from designers, creatives, and innovators that are making communications more sustainable. Topics include creative print/web challenges, creating energy efficient sites, green office renovations, earth-friendly printing and more. Followed by short Q&A and networking.  Please RSVP, $5 non-members.
Thu, Nov 5, 7-9pm
Pop Art Community Room, 718 SW Alder St

Farm to Table 10th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate Zenger Farm's ten years of educating youth, farmers and families in sustainable agriculture.  Chef Joe McGarry of Bon Appetit will be serving five delicious, locally grown courses, paired with local beer and wine. Join the silent and live auction and go home with something great.
Fri, Nov 6, Silent Auction 6:30pm, Dinner at 7:30pm
OMSI, 1945 SE Water Ave
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Have you ever thought about what sort of food grows around your neighborhood? The bounty of edibles found right around the corner, from apples and nuts to rosemary and greens, is astounding. The urban landscape is filled with fresh, free food if you just know what to look for. Plants you might normally ignore, like dandelions or nettles, can be cooked into healthy, delicious meals.

Many people first experienced wild foods in their childhood—learning to mushroom hunt with their grandfather or picking apples from a neighbor’s tree. Looking for wild fruits, veggies, and nuts is a fun family activity that helps teach kids the value of local, fresh food. In addition to having kids help you forage for your own kitchen, you can volunteer to help harvest urban edibles for those in need (see resources below). More...

-Sally Bell, Advertising Manager

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s September Bike Commuter Challenge was an all-out success. Thousands of Oregonians made first-time commutes and some committed themselves to more consistent ridership, for the sake of healthy competition, the wonders of bike commuting and good old-fashioned fun. This year’s Brian Reynold’s distance award winner happens to also be my husband, Chris Bell. 

Chris is the most modest super commuter you’ll ever meet and he logged well over 1800 miles in the month of September, making the trek from our home in SE Portland to Salem, every day and back. More...

Incognito is a SCRAP fundraiser and dinner award party that celebrates creativity, sustainability and mystery. Evening includes drinks and dinner, auctions, awards, trashion show and musical entertainment. Costumes welcome, and masks are a must; if you arrive without one, you may purchase a mask creation from SCRAP volunteers. Order your tickets today!
Oct 29, 5:30pm Cocktails and Silent Auction
7pm Awards, Dinner and Live Auction
8:30pm Transcendental Brass Band, Junk to Funk Trashion Show
The Nines, 525 SW Morrison More...

Sisters of the Road Hoedown and 30th Anniversary
Pull out your fancy boots and parade chaps and come hear the fabulous Old Time tunes of Uncle Earl and Casey Neil and the Norway Rats. Evening includes sit-down dinner and dessert, free wine and beer, dancing, children's activities, silent auction and more. Tickets are $85, call 503-222-5694 ext. 19 to purchase.
Fri, Oct 23, 6-10pm
Portland Art Museum's Kridel Grand Ballroom, 1219 SW Park Ave
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There’s a fun new way to stay motivated about recycling, and spotlight your business’s recycling practices. Recycle at Work is a great site sponsored by Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. The City of Portland’s goal is to progress toward a 75% recycling goal, and businesses are being asked to complete a Progress Report to let the city know about recycling practices at work. The Recycle at Work program offers some great advice on how to reach your company’s recycling goals, with everything from how to cut back on waste to green catering. More...

Portland Fashion Week draws national attention for going green! PFW used a sustainably harvested bamboo stage, eco-friendly soy-based paint, low-voltage LED lights, and corn-based biodegradable drink ware.  Even the use of electric tape was prohibited because it can’t be recycled into to raw materials.

“This is the first and only sustainable production of a fashion week in the world -- not just the United States,” said Tito Chowdhury, the show’s executive producer.  Pretty impressive! More...

This year, Park(ing) Day 2009 was held on Friday, Sept 18th. Founded in 2005 by Rebar, a San Francisco art and design collective, Park(ing) Day has blossomed into an annual, global, one-day event where local residents transform ordinary parking spaces into temporary parks and green spaces. Friends of Outdoor School, The Freshwater Trust, Friends of the Columbia Slough and The Intertwine created this space along SW 2nd Ave and Couch. Volunteers at the lush green space invited onlookers to engage in educational activities, including the study of tree rings, plants and salmon.

To learn more about PARK(ing) Day, click here. More...

2nd Annual Green Professionals Conference
This is an event for students and professionals; providing learning, networking, and employment opportunities within the sustainability industry.  For detailed information on registration, exhibiting costs, venue and speaker information, visit the conference website.
Fri, Oct 9, 8am-5pm
Double Tree Hotel, 1000 NE Multnomah

Wordstock
Wordstock is an annual festival of books, writers, and storytelling in Portland. Wordstock features ten author stages, a book fair, a special children’s area and children’s literature stage, a series of workshops for writers and for K-12 teachers, a special broadcast of Live Wire!  Schedule and tickets available online.
Sat-Sun, Oct 10-11, 10am-6pm
Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd More...

The Northwest Earth Institute (NWEI) strives to inspire people to take more responsibility for the Earth. NWEI is hosting the EcoChallenge now through October 15th. Their goal is to raise awareness about the importance of taking action on behalf of the planet and to show the collective power of many people making one small change in their lifestyle. More...