Neighbors gather at Nadaka Community Festival June 18th to celebrate the Nelson addition to Nadaka Nature Park

Neighbors celebrate the Nelson addition to Nadaka Nature Park. Click to enlarge

Rain didn't dampen the spirits of community festival guests Celebrating the Nelson addition On June 18th, 2011, the Wilkes East Neighborhood held a community festival at Nadaka Nature Park to celebrate the Nelson property addition which was purchased with local grants.

The new addition which added 2 acres to this wonderful nature park has allowed the opening of the south gate -- improving accessibility to all of our neighbors and visitors as well as making room for the master plan that will include community gardens and more.

Rain is our sunshine
June 18th was a very wet cloudy day, typical of Oregon spring weather. Despite the rain, 58 volunteers with SOLV arrived at 9AM at Nadaka Nature Park for a park clean-up event. Participants removed invasive plant species as well as trash and debris. Volunteers came from HB LEE Middle school, SUN Community Schools as well as GGAPP Peer group and Catholic Charities.

The festival started at 12 noon and lasted until 3PM. Constant rain didn't dampen the spirits of the several hundred guests that attended the festival. Music was played by The Rewinders, covering many nostalgic artists. Many children (and young at heart adults) were sporting creative face paintings. Albertsons Grocery Stores provided hot dogs and food, Earth2o provided drinking water. Seth Knapp, Albertsons store manager, and his crew from the NE 181st store barbecued and served almost 300 free hot dogs to neighbors and friends.

A disc golf demonstration presented by the Rockwood Disc Golf Foundation had a lot of interest! Festival guests enjoyed taking turns trying their hand at this exciting new sport.

Several former Camp Fire Girls from years past attended the festival and sang tunes they'd once sung around the camp fire while staying at Camp Nadaka as young girls. They even identified the location of a former campfire circle once used for cooking and group gatherings.

Greg Hartung, WENA Board member and Nadaka Festival Committee member said, “I was honored to participate as a member of the Nadaka Community Festival Committee. Everyone had so much fun putting this exciting day together. Seeing all the people that day really made up for the cloudy weather and the persistent rain -- however not one spirit was dampened. We had hundreds of people walk through that day, some seeing the park for the first time, some re-visiting fond memories of its historical past. This is what we hoped for and so the festival was considered a complete success."

Greg went on to say, "The dedication of the all the volunteers absolutely demonstrates how our community can come together, place diversity aside, share ideas, have common goals and celebrate this truly magical place right in our own neighborhood, preserved for the enjoyment of generations to come."

Thanks everyone!
Wilkes East Neighborhood Association would like to express its gratitude to everyone involved in making this community festival a huge success. Especially to the festival committee volunteers (Lee Dayfield, Rebecca Wirkkala, Greg Hartung, Gloria Trunk, and Sue Aschim) for all their work; to our festival sponsors (Metro Nature in Neighborhood, City of Gresham, Friends of Nadaka, St Aidan's Episcopal Church, Eastrose Unitarian Universalist Church, Alberstons Grocery Stores, Earth2o, Lost Coast Designs and MBMC Consulting) for their generous support; and, to all our neighbors and friends who attended this special event. Thank you.

Festival photos below!

About the Nelson Property
The Nelson Property is a 2.0-acre parcel located adjacent to and south of the City-owned Nadaka Nature Park, fronting NE Glisan Street at NE 176th.

In 2009 the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association and Friends of Nadaka successfully obtained a Metro Nature in Neighborhoods Capital Grant, a grant from the East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District and a donation from the Nelson Family Trust to purchase the 2 arce site for use as a neighborhood park. The Trust For Public Lands negotiated the purchase.

The Master Plan includes approximately 1/3 of the property to be community gardens and orchard. There will also be picnic tables, a nature-based play area, and public restrooms. A walking loop will connect the Nelson Neighborhood Park with Nadaka Nature Park. You can view the master plan drawing here. The Nelson Property Summary Report and Community Forum Summary Reports are available on the City's website here.

About Nadaka
Nadaka Nature Park is a designated 10-acre open space "natural area" acquired by the City of Gresham from the Camp Fire organization in 1995 that includes a walking trail loop, tall trees, native plants, and a beautiful grassy meadow. Formerly the Camp Fire Girl organization's Nature Day Camp (Na-Da-Ka), Nadaka is located in the Wilkes East Neighborhood just north of 176th & NE Glisan St. There two public entrances to the nature park. The south entrance is at 176th & NE Glisan (park in St Aidans Church east lot) and the north entrance at 176h & NE Pacific Ave (park curbside). Get Map!

Related Content

• City Council approves Nelson Property Neighborhood Park Master Plan  Jun 2010
• Nadaka Nature Park Expansion  Nov 2009

Related Photos
Hover photo for details. Click photo to enlarge.

Nadaka loop trail inside the nature park	Nelson Property addition. Nadaka Nature Park south entrance	Filtered sunshine highlights the parks beauty.
Field games at the festival	The Rewinder provided entertainment	Kids enjoyed face painting
Disc golf demo was a BIG hit	Albertsons served hot dogs	Camp Fire Girls reunion
Gresham's CVIP Citizens Police	Albertson's awesome volunteers	Nadaka Festival committee