On Saturday, September 16, from 4 to 7 p.m., Rise Church Tigard (formerly Calvin Presbyterian Church) invites the community to celebrate its community garden harvest and enjoy a day of family fun.
“Our mission is to lift our community,” says pastor Jim Wallace. “Our goal in support of that is to end hunger and food insecurity in our neighborhood. We realize that is certainly audacious, but we’re starting with several smaller efforts, such as our Fall Festival and the Tigard Food Project.”
Rise also has a community garden, a weekly crop table and strong relationships with local food banks. The Tigard Food Project is a new involvement, affiliated with the national Green Bag Project. Rise and community members bring their green bags with non-perishable food every other month to donate. This provides yet another stream of nutrition to the St. Anthony’s pantry.
“We also expect an appearance by Mr. Potato, our official community garden mascot,” commented Wallace. “Kids will be able to do ‘selfies’ with him.”
The fun will start when Mayor Heidi Lueb welcomes the St. Andrews Society Pipe Band to kick things off on a high note. The music will continue with the Glen Tadina Band (dancing is encouraged) and musical selections from the Northwest Senior Theatre.
More fun will arrive with a preview of the Mask & Mirror Community Theatre’s fall show, The Game’s Afoot, or Holmes for the Holidays.
There will also be a pickleball demonstration in the Rise gym for those interested in checking out this cultural phenomenon.
Tigard Police and Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue will be there, along with community groups staffing information tables.
Rise Church is located at 10445 S.W. Canterbury Lane, Tigard, Oregon. Ample parking is available.
The Rise website is risetigard.org. More information on The Tigard Food Project is at tigardfoodproject.org.
