Sharon Wood Wortman's Bridge Walks return

I had a feeling that Sharon Wood Wortman would not be able to stay away from bridges for long. Check it out:

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=131966233756253800

Bridge Walks Raise Funds for

The Big & Awesome Bridges of Portland & Vancouver--A Book for Young Readers

                                              

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Saturday, November 19, 2011

1-4 p.m.

Meet at Floyd’s Coffee, NW First and Couch

Bicycle racks available at ODOT, 123 NW Flanders

City Center parking garage at 90 NW Davis

Served by TriMet lines 4, 8, 35, 44, and 77 and two nearby MAX stops

Cost $55, includes a Portland-Vancouver Bridges poster

One Hundred percent of proceeds to Big & Awesome

Sharon Wood Wortman, author of three editions of The Portland Bridge Book, comes out of bridge walking retirement to lead two bridges walks to raise funds for creating and printing the first children’s book about the local bridges, The Big & Awesome Bridges of Portland & Vancouver—A Book for Young Readers.

Ride by bike, then lock up at the Oregon Department of Transportation as we visit the Region 1 bridge museum and Traffic Management Operations Center. See several bridges along the downtown waterfront, then visit the Burnside Bridge and meet the bridge operator. Bridge mechanics and weather permitting, watch a test lift while standing mid-span or inside the bridge tower. Once the traffic is stopped and gates are down, participants are free to walk mid-span to lie down and be “road kill” and live to tell about it. In another group exercise, participants build triangles with their bodies to feel tension and compression. Appropriate dress is recommended. Participants are also invited to bring a favorite bridge poem.

A project of PDX Bridge Festival, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, Big & Awesome is the first bona fide book about the local bridges written for young readers. The goal is to donate free copies to PPS third grade classrooms and Vancouver School District fourth grade classrooms. To register, email sharon@bridgestories.com. Those who cannot walk but wish to make a donation may visit www.bridgefestival.org. All donations are tax deductible. Other questions? Call Sharon at 503.330.0900.

Partners as of October 21, 2011: Geotechnical Group of the American Society of Civil Engineers Oregon Section, THA Architecture, KPFF Engineering, TY Lin International, Portland Ironworkers Local 29, Society of American Military Engineers, Parsons Brinckerhoff Engineering, Nutter Family Foundation (Vancouver), Missionary Chocolates, and several individuals--every person, organization, and foundation to be acknowledged in Big & Awesome.

To buy a Portland-Vancouver Bridges poster with the art of elementary students featured in Big & Awesome, visit A Children’s Place Bookstore, Powell’s on Burnside, or Broadway Books in Portland and Cover to Cover Books in Vancouver.