According to participants, nights at Outdoor School are magical: the glow of the campfire, songs and skits with friends old and new, the quiet walk back to the cabin, wrapped up in an individual goodnight from the student leaders.

Captain Conservation lectures Outdoor School students how to reduce waste.

The cost for a 6th grader to spend the night at Outdoor School is around $60. Donate $60 to provide one night for one student; get friends and family together to sponsor a night for a cabin of kids for $600; $1800 will pay for one night at Outdoor School for one class of 6th graders.

Thanks to the Parkrose High choir, pink flamingos are showing up in yards all around Parkrose. This whimsical fundraiser will continue throughout most of the school year as the choir works to raise funds for a trip to New York this spring.

Here’s how it works: Pay a fee of either $10 or $15 and under cover of darkness, a Parkrose choir parent will sneak into your friend’s yard with a flock of 10 or 15 plastic pink flamingos where they will stay for about 24 hours.

Parkview Christian Retirement Community holds its annual Craft Fair, Friday Oct. 28 and Saturday Oct. 29, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Parkview Christian Retirement Community, 1825 N.E. 108th Ave. in Gateway.

Parkview Christian Retirement Community holds its annual craft fair Friday and Saturday.

Many of the items are handcrafted. Residents will be showing everything from books to toys, harvest decorations to Christmas gifts, and lots of baby items.

The PCRC Garden Club will be selling plants at great prices. While browsing the vendor offerings, people attending can treat themselves to the homemade goodies that will be for sale as well.

The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, celebrating 35 years of promoting the integration of refugees, immigrants and the community at large into a self-sufficient, healthy and inclusive, multi-ethnic society, has planned an anniversary party and fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at The Nines, 525 S.W. Morrison St., in downtown Portland.

East Portland's Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization is the doorway to American assimilation for many immigrants and refugees.

The party theme – We All Share the Same Sky – is supported by world music, food, performances and celebration as well as an auction. Sophie Soong, of Fox News 12 is the Mistress of Ceremonies.

The September issue of the Mid-county Memo posted online. A re-cap of its content follows …

Proposed changes at Glendoveer Golf Course and Fitness Trail is this month’s main front page feature story. Glendoveer lovers and government haters showed up en masse for the heated open house last month.

Lee Perlman pens a piece about east Portland tours conducted by Oregon State Rep. Jefferson Smith (D) for candidates for City office is the subject of the second story on this month’s front page. Smith took candidates on a tour of east Portland low-lights, highlighting the decades of City neglect for Mid-county.

Rossi Farms, 3839 N.E. 122nd Ave., is hosting a USA Boxing amateur boxing fight card Sat., Sept. 24 beginning at 3 p.m.

Eleven bouts in different weight classes and youth divisions are slated for the inaugural Rossi Farms Rumble said Ray Monge, Youth Boxing Program Coach at Curt’s Ultimate in Gateway.

Some of Curt's Ultimate Youth Boxing Program fighters will be on the Sat., Sept. 24 fight card. They are, from left, L.A. Monge, Coach Ray Monge, Lorenzo Caldera, Carlos DeJesus, Eric Nichols, Coach Imad Abouzaki, Jesse Cetz, Manny Altamirano and Marco Canlu.

We strive to be accurate and correct at the Mid-county Memo. However, in last month’s article “Montavilla Kiwanis celebrate 50th Pancake Breakfast with Bluegrass,” we published the wrong date for the event.

The correct date for the Montavilla Kiwanis 50th Annual Pancake Breakfast is Saturday, May 14 at Columbia Christian School’s Johnson Center, 413 N.E. 91st Ave., off 92nd Avenue between Glisan and East Burnside Streets.

Whole families can fill up on pancakes, eggs, ham and the usual breakfast refreshments while enjoying the tunes of a live bluegrass band, all for $12.00 per family.

We sincerely regret the error and apologize to the breakfast organizers.

March 2011 Mid-county Memo online edition re-cap

The March issue of the Mid-county Memo was posted online last week. This month’s issue has stories about Portland City Council’s Citywide Tree Project hearing; an interview with Don Grotting, new David Douglas School District Superintendent; Fir Ridge Campus’ African American Family Night; CherryWood Village’s ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating Oregon’s largest senior retirement community solar array; Mid-county Memo founder Tom Pry’s obituary and photos of last month’s one-day snow event Thursday, Feb. 24.

And, as always, the informative departments: Memo Calendar, Memo Pad, Business Memos, Memorable Menus, Letters to the Editor and Loaves & Fishes’ monthly menu.

Oh, and for your (additional) information, the online Memo Calendar has listings unpublished in the regular newspaper edition.

Due to the risk of snow tonight, the David Douglas Dad’s Club is postponing its Father/Daughter Banquet. The banquet is rescheduled for Wednesday, March 2.

Tickets continue to be available at the Athletic/Activities office at David Douglas High School  for $12.50 each.

A limited number will be available at the door to the high school south cafeteria the evening of March 2. For more information about the banquet or about the club, call Dan Deardorff  at503-572-6757

The February issue of the Mid-county Memo was posted online last week.  This month’s issue contains stories about east Portland’s Lost Arts Kitchen, the University of Western States and the Portland Housing Bureau’s proposal last month to “adjust” the territory of one of its programs: the Single Family New Construction Limited Home Tax Exemption or LTE.

In this month’s issue you’ll also find a story about the fund raising event held at the Refectory restaurant last month for the Parkrose Senior All-Night Party, a story about how the American Legion’s Portland Post #1 fixed the flag at Glendoveer Golf Course and an obituary for a Parkrose artist, Mark Phillips and an update on the planning for Gateway Park.

And, as always, the Memo Departments: Calendar, Memo Pad, Business Memos, Memorable Menus, Letters to the Editor and the Loaves & Fishes monthly menu.