DANCING IN THE STREETS
Main event for Willamette’s 100th birthday is a big hit
Vern Uyetake / West Linn Tidings
West Linn resident Tim Murphy swings to the music with his daughter, Kelsey, 3, at Saturday’s Willamette Centennial Celebration Street Dance.
The music from the Boomer Band echoed into the summer evening as the sun set on another beautiful summer day. But the party had just started.
The Willamette Centennial Celebration Street Dance held on Saturday was full of energy and gave the community a heart again, West Linn resident David Caraher said. Caraher’s wife, Joyce, enjoyed the music the most because she is a musician as well.
Fellow West Linn residents felt the same way about the event celebrating the Historic Willamette district’s 100th anniversary of its incorporation.
Poodle skirts worn by the West Linn High School dance team added to the festive summertime fun. Hay bails, with little kids on top, surrounded the stage for a night of music and dancing.
“There’s a great turnout, a great response,” entertainment coordinator for the celebration Pauline Beatty said.
The idea for having a street dance to commemorate the historical birthday came from the community members themselves. The committee members wanted to hold an event to bring back childhood memories to comemorate the last 100 years of the town’s life.
“We interviewed the older families and everyone talked about their street dances when they were little,” Beatty said.
Bob and Judy Isley reminisced about how in the 50s and 60s a street fair was held a week before the Old Time Fair.
“Everybody knew everybody then,” Bob Isley said.
Isley has been a volunteer fireman for the past 30 years and has attended every fair except for one. His wife, Judy, enjoyed the entire day’s activities especially when community members who have lived in the district for up to 90 years were honored she said.
“I like what they’ve done,” Isley said. “I like the fact they want to keep it a community.”
David Caraher believes events such as the Street Dance and Farmers Market and Artists, held on Wednesday afternoons throughout the summer give the community a place to call their own.
“It gives the community its own identity, we don’t have to rely on Lake Oswego or Portland,” Caraher said.
Planning an event like this can be hard work, but Beatty credits the city of West Linn for its cooperation and support throughout the process. Beatty, a Willamette community member herself, has lived in the district for the past 12 years and enjoys the neighborhood camaraderie.
“It has a neighborly feeling,” Beatty said.
Delicious food, drinks and many farmers market vendors were at the event.
“There’s lots of people that seem to be having fun,” Jackie Nelson, from Not So Naughty Crepes said.
They offered a no sugar, fresh fruits and vegetables option for the community.
Monte and Sherry Wagner, who enjoyed some of the barbecue offered at the Street Dance, are newer to the community. They have lived in the Willamette District for a year and a half, and enjoy living closer to their church, Monte Wagner said.
With the street blocked off to all traffic except pedestrians, families, couples and dogs alike enjoyed their time outside for a once in a 100 years event.