Ultimate Open House

Thanks to our friends at K103 for a full listing of 4th of July Celebrations in Portland and at the coast. Click here…. 

Did you know: Robert G. Heft is a designer of the 50-star flag for the United States of America. He spent his childhood in Lancaster, Ohio, where he created the flag as a school project.

He designed the current U.S. flag in 1958 while living with his grandparents. He was 17 years old at the time and did the flag design as a class project. He unstitched the blue field from a family 48-star flag, sewed in a new field, and used iron-on white fabric to add 100 hand-cut stars, 50 on each side of the blue canton.

He originally received a “B-” for the project. After discussing the grade with his high school teacher, Stanley Pratt, it was agreed that if the flag was accepted by Congress, the grade would be reconsidered. Heft’s flag design was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation after Alaska and before Hawaii was admitted into the union in 1959. According to Heft, his teacher did keep to their agreement and changed his grade to an “A” for the project.

The Portland Meto area has a variety of options for those looking for fireworks this 4th of July.  The three biggest are….

Fort Vancouver Fireworks: You can spend the entire day at the Fort enjoying a touch of history and if you are early enough you can set up your spot and have a picnic in the early evening. At dusk the fireworks are started over the River. You must be there early as this is one of the busiest places to view fireworks in both Oregon and Washington.

Oaks Park: Nice if you have children and they love the carnival type rides. Bring along a picnic lunch and enjoy the park, ride the roller coaster and even spend the afternoon roller skating. Once dusk arrives you can watch a pleasant fireworks display.

Downtown Portland/Waterfront Blues Festival: The largest attraction takes place at Tom McCall Waterfront if outside picnicking isn’t your forte then by all means plan ahead and enjoy some outdoor dining while viewing the world famous fireworks. McCormick & Schmick’s Harbor side at the Marina located at 0309 SW Montgomery St. will serve you a wonderful meal while you view the Tom McCall Waterfront Park fireworks, visible from every outdoor table. Or visit the Veritable Quandary at 1220 SW First Ave to view these magnificent fireworks while you partake of the charm and ambiance of Portland as it was meant to be enjoyed.

Exclusive reservations for the Street of Dreams Hospitality Deck are now available! Reserve this unique location for a fun and sophisticated lunch or dinner event. This is the perfect locale for a rejuvenating team lunch or client thank you dinner. Several menu options are available from Celebrate Catering, complete with white linens, centerpieces and a bartender if you like.

Each Hospitality reservation includes show tickets, complimentary souvenir show guides, VIP wrist bands and a view that is out of this world.

This money saving blog posts free Portland events from book readings to craft parites, from street fairs to clothing swaps.  Aroundthesunblog.com

Make merry with locally grown berries at Portland Farmers Market’s two berry festivals, set for Thursday, June 19, at Eastbank Farmers Market and Thursday, June 26, at the Ecotrust Market in the Pearl. Fress baked berry shortcakes topped with organic whipping creamwill be served to shoppers who make a $5 minimum purchase from any market vendor.

Cooking demonstrations and musical entertainment will top off the sweet celebrations at both markets. At the Eastbank Market on June 19, watch chef and farmer Mark Doxtader of Tastebud Farm share his rustic techniques for making strawberry-port pie. Musical duo Robb & Crockett are promising folk-rock-country-grass fried good times!If you haven’t had your fill of shortcake, you can celebrate Berry Days again the following week at the Ecotrust Market, on Thursday, June 26. Shop the market and then enjoy shortcake #2 while tapping your toes to tunes by Square Dance Paul. Arrive by 6 p.m. and watch Chef Alfred Popp of Popp Catering whip up a berry meringue.

With gas prices passing the $4 mark save yourself time and money by starting your home search online.  Check out the cool home shopping sites below:

RMLS - Portland’s Regional Multiple Listing Service is the first check source for house hunting, but it is far from high tech.

Zillow - Includes a home value database and for sale home listings but it only has a limited reach of listings because it does not use RMLS.

Roost  - This website partners with RMLS, brokers, builders and other date sources to provide a comprehensive database.

Trulia - Doesn’t use RMLS but does include social networking features for buyers and sellers.

Craigslist - A good stop for “for sale by owner” properties that don’t make it into RMLS.

The last time the Portland Habitat chapter organized professional builders was two years ago, when four companies oversaw the construction of four houses.

This year, five builders — Buena Vista Custom Homes, Fish Construction NW, Intex Custom Homes, LHL Homes and Schumacher Custom Homes — are practically racing to build five houses on Ogden Street near Southeast 82nd Avenue.

The builders mobilized 170 area contractors and suppliers to donate labor and materials. It’s a huge bonus for Habitat because it comes in addition to the group’s other houses under construction or on the drawing board.

The blitz, which is part of a national push, will contribute to a total of 263 new homes. The five Portland families will receive keys to theirs Friday.  read more…

The Portland Rose Festival was named the Best Festival in the World last year by the International Festival & Events Association.  Don’t miss this years celebration starting May 29th.  Check out thier website for more information www.rosefestival.org.

Over the past year, 3 percent of all new homes sold in the Portland metro area carried a sustainable or “green” certification. These homes earned more in the market than non-certified homes, selling for an average price of $223 per square foot, versus $185 per square foot for non-certified, traditionally built homes, according to the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). 

Realtors who have completed the Earth Advantage S.T.A.R. (Sustainability Training for Accredited Real Estate Professionals) program know how to help home shoppers find homes with sustainable qualities.

More than 375 agents have received this certification. S.T.A.R.-certified agents have completed a two-day training program about sustainable living, green building and how to communicate those concepts to buyers and sellers.

Find S.T.A.R. certified agents at the Earth Advantage website.

See pictures from the event at our MySpace page UOH myspace page.