I've been very curious to check out this café because I recently learned about the wonderful work…read morethey do in the community. The cafe sits on a busy corner on NE Glisan and is a newer structure with lots of windows. The person waiting on me benefited from their barista training program. They were friendly and served as a great ambassador for their overall mission. The prices were competitive and their baked goods were tasty. I didn't realize until I was leaving, but they also have breakfast items. That will be for next time! They have a clean and accessible restroom and parking was not a problem. It's also conveniently located on a bus line. I will definitely return and support their mission.

I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for Stone Soup to open and I can't believe the time…read morehas finally arrived! Their official grand opening is in early June, but the innovative space has opened its doors to local businesses for a soft launch in the North Montavilla neighborhood. I love the concept behind Stone Soup and I strongly believe in their mission of "building economic stability for people experiencing barriers to employment." They've been operating for several years in another location, and already have a strong track record of changing lives. This Montavilla location allows their trainees experience with public-facing food service in a cafe setting, serving a wide variety of breakfast and lunch options - in addition to coffee and tea. There was a limited menu available during the soft launch today, but I thoroughly enjoyed my slice of banana cake with cream cheese frosting, as well as a steaming cup of fresh coffee. The interior space offers bar and table seating, and visitors will find even more seating outside. The cafe is a cornerstone business on the first floor of the new Glisan Landing residential complex, and it marks the beginning of a new age of development in this part of Portland. Three cheers for making a positive impact in the community, thank you!

Amazing group of people!…read more They provide a great service for the community. My nephew is involved in some of their after school activities and he seems very happy when he goes there. We are happy to support them when they have fundraisers.

I love this place. Rock Solid has been fabulous for my family. I believe teens need a supervised…read moreplace to hang out after school. Rock solid provides that and much more. My daughter never gets bored, she gets her homework done and she comes home happy. What a great place. We love the staff too

We had really wanted to stop by and pay a visit to Jubilee Hall, but because of the distance from…read moreour home, did not get a chance until just recently, to go. The shop is very well laid-out, clean and bright. There are plenty of seating options, from at the bar to individual tables. Lots of outlets as well to plug in your computer/phone, and it definitely is quiet enough to get work done. We ordered an Oat Milk Latte and a Pourover. The Oat Milk Latte was very well poured, with the latte art seahorse quite artfully done! The Pourover was also super delicious. They have a variety of options, so make sure to ask what beans they have available. The staff is extremely friendly and is knowledgeable about their coffee, and definitely have a heart for service! Next time I am in this part of town, I will be sure to visit again!

We are so happy to have Jubilee! I love their cold brew and the breakfast is really reasonably…read morepriced. Service is always quick and friendly and our dog is welcome in while we wait on our to go orders! We recently moved to the neighborhood and are happy to have it so close and now to have it open on Saturdays! The decor inside is cute she they have lots of great books!

Stopped by a couple times, really cool gardens! Everyone is super friendly and very helpful with…read morequestions. The crows loved the pond they recently put in, they were super fun to watch! You can tell that they do lots of good for the community :)

As if there weren't tens of reasons to love Brentwood Park already. In taking a lovely spring walk…read morearound the park, I peeked across the street and found the Learning Gardens Laboratory! This area consists of twelve acres of gardening, orchard and teaching space that partners with Portland Parks, PSU, OSU and Portland Public Schools. They grow and harvest organic produce that goes to the Portland community, and they teach language arts, science, and social studies to sixth graders from the neighboring Lane Middle School with a gardening focus. It appears very well organized and they have volunteering opportunities, for anyone looking to do a little gardening and learn a bit in the process. I walked out with a bag of chard just for stopping in at the right time. Can't think of what I'll do with it, but I'm thrilled to take a piece of this wonderland home with me, along with a cool new volunteering opportunity to add to my list!

Years ago, I was able to attend Literary Arts' summer festival programming, where I saw Tom Hanks…read moreand Abbi Jacobson on stage. It was so fun to see these actors-turned-authors speak about what drew them to the written word. Fast forward to today, Literary Arts has a new location on SE Grand. After finding free street parking and walking through some stinky streets, their store was a welcome destination. The space is warm and thoughtfully designed. While it's not the biggest bookstore in town, it's well stocked and is a more welcoming space to hang out in to read, work, or have a sip of coffee from their in-house cafe. These days, a lot of my reading is done via the library. But I love that they host events here for folks to meet authors or discuss topics of interest. I hope bookstores continue to stick around and act as multi-faceted community spaces more than one-note commercial operations. I'll try to do my part in supporting their mission and I'll always keep on reading!

Literary Arts is a very cool community-oriented two story indie bookstore. Their books are neatly…read moreorganized with a wide variety of genres as well. There is even a coffee shop inside too!

We had been taking creative ballet classes on Saturday morning since October and our daughter has…read moreloved them up until the last month. She still is interested in ballet but suddenly started to become hesitant to stay inside the room during class. She is a very independent child so we were surprised, she loves preschool and attends every day. Her ballet teacher here has always been quite business like and not overly warm. At times the teacher has been understanding since our daughter has a tendency (as many 3 years old do) to want to be her own person and not necessarily follow routine but at other times we can sense frustration from the teacher. This last weekend when we took our daughter to class and faced resistance from our three year on staying for class the teacher suggested that we not only take a break from class but that we should also look for a new teacher. We're in agreement that a break is needed for our daughter but we were very taken aback by the coldness of her teacher. I was quite shocked that she openly admitted to not wanting to teach our daughter. For this we're avoiding this school in the future.

I am not reviewing the quality of the classes, but my registration and customer service experience…read more I registered online my two toddlers (3 and 4 years old, respectively) for the Creative Ballet course. My 4 year old subsequently refused to go to soccer for a few weeks in a row, so I decided that both my 3 and 4 year old were probably too immature to start ballet where parents are not present. Since this was 6 weeks before the beginning of the class, I thought it would be no problem to request a refund. I called a few times within a week of registering to request a refund. They then emailed me declining to refund but suggesting (reasonably, I think) that my children try the first class. I believe they also offered to give me a credit for a future class. Everything in their tone was respectful and courteous, however, I am absolutely appalled that more than 6 weeks before a class begins they will not refund for children as young as 3 or 4 years old. This policy seems reasonable for older children or adults or when a class has already started (or is within a week or so of starting). Frankly, I am not going to use the credits they have offered me. I have many expenses with my young children and to lose money needlessly like this is mortifying to me. I feel very disregarded and disrespected over this experience. I even requested a refund through my credit card and they declined to accommodate me. A very frustrating experience for me. My cheeks still burn writing this.

Woodstock community center is a small but comfortable place to gather. I do regular exercise…read moreclasses here. Although the room only fits 9 or 10 people, it never feels crowded. Will come back all the time.

We have sent our children here over the last 6+ years. We love the food/garden program, quality…read moreteachers, and social/emotional skills and values our kids have been taught here. Our kids are exposed to a lot of creative opportunities and deeply caring, professional child educators. They really have made a positive impact on our kids' development. (We are grateful for the great hours as well). I would echo a previous reviewer- definitely tour here and learn about their philosophy before joining - we LOVE it, but it may not be a match for everyone (as would be the case with any childcare). We have appreciated the effort WL puts in to trying to be affordable, and have benefited from their sliding scale tuition and Preschool for All participation. There were some bumps in the road during covid a few years ago, but the current leadership is strong, things are smooth, and wonderful things keep developing!

We initially sought out placement at Wild Lilac three years ago, as we knew many people who had…read moregreat experiences there. Once we were accepted into the program, we quickly had several misgivings. Most of our concerns revolved around supervision levels and an abundance of unsafe behaviors that were either overlooked, tolerated or unnoticed altogether. Some of these behaviors included bullying, biting, hitting, multiple unsupervised children in the bathrooms, staff on their cell phones, and children unattended to both in the classroom and outside. Many of these behaviors persisted despite attempts to discuss them with teachers and admin. And while the teachers in general were enthusiastic and nice one-on-one, they seemed overwhelmed by the number of students and lacking structure, which often led to a feeling of chaos. Some of the substitute and support staff also seemed less engaged and/or attentive. We stuck it out for two years, but ultimately chose a different preschool due to continued concerns about the general emotional and physical wellbeing of ours and other students. We know many kids/parents who enjoy(ed) the program, but we also know many who share(d) similar concerns. Additionally, when issues were pointed out, rarely did they seem to be addressed. And when they were, it felt inadequate. As it appears in previous reviews, there seems to be a disconnect between parents' real experiences at Wild Lilac and the insistence of administrators that these safety concerns are "inaccurate." When you are doing research on preschools, you can always look up complaints filed through DHS. If you check out the following link, simply type Wild Lilac or any other name into the search field: https://childcaresafetyportal.ode.state.or.us/