KidsOutAndAbout Weekly Newsletter |
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Wed, Jan 28: Join Us for Story Time & Craft Fun! at Venvino Art
Studios
Fri, Jan 30: 2026 Portland's Folk Festival at Crystal Ballroom
Fri, Jan 30: Jewelry Swap! at Kindred Vancouver
Sat, Jan 31: NWCT presents Pete the Cat at Northwest Children's Theater and School
Sat, Jan 31: Oregon 2026 Lunar New Year Celebration at Portland'5 Centers for the Arts
Tue, Feb 3: Movers & Shakers | Pequiños Activos at Cornelius Public Library
Sat, Feb 7: Free Dental Screenings at Hands On Children's Museum
Sat, Feb 7: Puddletown Chess - Winter Wonderland III Tournament
Sat, Feb 7: Brooklyn Cooperative Preschool Open House 2026
Sat, Feb 7: Lunar New Year Celebration at Milwaukie Community Center
Fri, Feb 13: School's Out Camp: Old West! - Kids Club Fun & Fitness
Wed, Feb 18: Lantern Viewing Dragon + Light Show Nights - Lan Su Chinese
Garden Sat, Apr 11: Red Yarn at Walters Cultural Art Center |
Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers:
If it weren’t for a Polish pastry, I might not exist. When my great-grandmother Karolina Stelmach was a teenager in a small village in Poland, she was told she’d be entering an arranged marriage. But her heart belonged to Sylvester Nowakowski. So she left... on her own, by boat... and made her way to America. She found work in a restaurant, where she made
her family’s signature dessert: chrusciki. One day, a “distinguished gentleman” insisted on meeting the pastry chef, and he offered her a better-paying job in his own kitchen. She took it, saved enough to bring Sylvester over, and they married. Which means if chrusciki didn’t exist, neither would I. Stories like this do more than entertain. According to psychologist Robyn Fivush, interviewed on a recent episode of the Hidden Brain podcast, they help kids develop identity,
resilience, and self-worth. The more children know about their family’s past—not just the “big” stories like crossing oceans, but even the day-to-day moments and struggles—the more connected and grounded they become. Fivush and her colleagues at Emory University found that kids who know more family stories have higher self-esteem, greater emotional understanding, and a stronger sense of meaning and purpose. But it’s not just the information that matters...it’s the telling. When we sit down and
share what came before, we help kids feel like they’re part of something bigger, and that they belong. No AI can replicate that. A chatbot can write a story, sure. But it can’t tell your kids how Grandma’s meatloaf could’ve doubled as a construction material, or how two little girls in the 1950s turned a couple of ice cream cones into a front-porch endurance contest. So this year, make a point of telling your kids about your family's shared history: about
mistakes, about perseverance, about love, about dessert. Connection doesn’t have to be complicated: Just pull up a chair, pass the cookies, and pass down the stories.
—Debra Ross, publisher
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KidsOutAndAbout.com: Discover more. Do more. Connect more. If you like my publisher's column, you can easily scroll through past columns in the "Notes from Deb" section of our site. |
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Start the New Year with the gift of knowledge! Hi! We're PDX MiniMakers, a hands-on after-school enrichment program where kids explore engineering, design, and problem-solving through 3D printing. Our program is especially designed for 4th-8th graders and held after-school Monday through Thursday at middle schools in the Portland school district. Check out 3D Printing Workshops near you! Psst… and don’t forget to follow us on social for early bird discount alerts!
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This year, the Yamhill County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration will center around Dr. King’s “The Other America” speech, given at Stanford University in 1967. A presentation will be followed by small group discussion about themes, their relevance in 1967, and their relevance today.
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MLK Weekend of Service is now MLK Days of Service as we expand opportunities beyond the holiday weekend! Each year, the City of Tigard coordinates a series of volunteer activities open to all community members to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 2026, we have six events, plus one flexible volunteer opportunity that can be done on your schedule where you live. Please visit our volunteer platform to learn about and register for each event or click into the calendar event tiles.
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Commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and teachings with a family-friendly celebration that features Katharine Phelps as emcee, a greeting from Mayor Joe Buck, a poetry reading by Emmett Wheatfall and musical performances by The Brown Sisters and Jaden Yazhari. Following the program, visit local non-profit booths to learn about community service opportunities, participate in a community art project with Lakewood Center for the Arts, and enjoy live music by LHS Jazz Ensemble. This event will take place at the Lakeridge Middle School, located at 4700 Jean Road in Lake Oswego. Admission is free, and ASL interpretation will be provided. A livestream of this event will be available at: www.youtube.com/@lakeoswegopubliclibrary
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We are excited to be hosting another adoption event with our friends at Dogs of Del Norte! We would love to see you Sunday, January 18th from 1-3 pm in Portland at Mt Carmel Lutheran Church! Come meet some awesome dogs! This is a family friendly event & we’d love to see you all. Adoptions will be $75 and dog, cat, and kid testing information is available for the dogs attending! We are planning to have 10+ dogs of various sizes & ages to meet! Please note we are at a new venue for this event which is going to have more protection from the weather!
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- Dog Man Party | Fiesta estilo Hombre Perro - Cornelius Public Library, Cornelius, OR, Friday, January 16, 5:30PM – 7:30PM
- All Ages Storytime | Oak Lodge Library - Oak Lodge Library, Oak Grove, OR, Friday, January 16, 10:30 am & 11:30 am
- Bard Storytime with the Bard! | Wonderwood
Springs - Portland, OR, Saturday, January 17, 11 am - 12 pm
- All Ages
Storytime | Gladstone Public Library - Gladstone Public Library, Gladstone, OR, Saturday, January 17, 10:30 am - 11 am
- On the Move | Happy Valley Library - Happy Valley Library, Happy Valley, OR, Saturday, January 17, See website
- Guide Dogs for the Blind Graduation on Campus - Guide Dogs For the Blind, Boring, OR, Saturday, January 17, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
- Lake Oswego Library hosts a Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration (HYBRID) - Lake Oswego Public Library, Lake Oswego, OR, Sunday, January 18, 2 pm
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EXPERIENCES create memories much more than stuff does. As you're considering gifts for family and friends, consider giving the gift of a family membership to one of our local attractions in and around Portland. Here are local organizations that offer
memberships.
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Winter is here and fun options for families just keep getting better! Whether you stick with what you love or decide to try something new, KidsOutAndAbout has plenty of ideas. From Ice skating, kid-friendly museums, indoor play centers, and outdoor
activities to thinking ahead to next year's school options - we've got you covered.
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There are lots of places to have a birthday party in the Portland area! Start thinking outside the box! KidsOutAndAbout has dozens (and dozens) of ideas! Also includes the areas of Lake Oswego, West Linn, Beaverton, Clackamas, Tigard, Tualatin, Milwaukie,
Oregon City, and Hillsboro.
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2025's best places to take kids in the Portland area: In early summer each year, thousands of parents vote in KidsOutAndAbout's survey of the Top 20 Places to Take Kids. Our Top 20 results page is an annotated list of the winners, both of the top 20 slots
and of the three category winners.
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Have a great weekend!
Debra Ross
Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Mom of Madison and Ella |
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