Pickathon Creative Neighborhoods

01/13/2026

New year, new projects. 3–2–1, let’s go!

For this year’s Pickathon, students from Sabin-Schellenberg Professional Technical Center will design elements of the Wildhorse backstage area. Sabin-Schellenberg provides trade education to all North Clackamas County public schools in the Portland metro area. The school is truly a gem in the crown of Oregon education.

Last month, our executive director stopped by for early design reviews to see what the students are dreaming up for lighting concepts. The future looks bright indeed.

These are the types of programs your contributions help make possible. To learn more, get involved, or just have fun, join us at the 2026 Pickathon Lineup Announcement Party on January 25 at The People’s Courts. Ticket sales, the raffle, and the silent auction all benefit Creative Neighborhoods.

https://www.creativeneighborhoods.com/updates-1/pickathon-2026-lineup-reveal-and-creative-neighborhoods-fundraiser

11/04/2025

We had the chance to tour the new Schnitzer School of Art, Art History, and Design last week with Thomas Robinson of Lever Architecture — and wow. I would’ve loved to attend art school in this building. It’s filled with natural light, spacious classrooms, and some of the coolest graduate studios imaginable.

Lever partnered with us at this year’s Pickathon, and we’re hoping to have them back next year to help shape our design/build, downstream-sustainable extravaganza!

10/23/2025

Designing for the future.

This year’s Pickathon was more than just a festival of music and community—it was a proving ground for the power of collaborative design. Creative Neighborhoods partnered with AfroVillage PDX to bring sustainability and social impact to life in the Windmill neighborhood in partnership with Kalei...

10/12/2025

Sustainable Building Week was amazing!

I’m feeling inspired and energized here at Creative Neighborhoods after attending last week’s events for Sustainable Building Week ! From the WISE (Women in Sustainable Endeavors) gathering to the Afro Village PDX talk, I walked away with a head full of ideas and new ways Creative Nei

09/25/2025

I can’t count how many times I ran around Pendarvis Farm during this year’s Pickathon looking for a tool or a handful of screws to give to a student or volunteer. There was always something that needed to get done in the construction trade programs we launched this year, but too often progress was slowed by the lack of tools and materials. That’s a problem.

The Creative Neighborhoods Tool Library is the solution.

I’m excited to announce the launch of our fundraising campaign for the Creative Neighborhoods Tool Library—a shared resource that will provide students, nonprofit partners, and volunteers of all ages with free access to essential tools and safety gear. These tools will power hands-on trade education projects at Pickathon and support our growing year-round programs, giving participants the chance to learn, build, and create together.

Our goal is $20,000 to stock and maintain this community resource. With your support, we can remove barriers to education, expand opportunities in the building trades, and strengthen communities through art and design/build projects. I hope you’ll join us in equipping the next generation—and today’s volunteers—with the tools they need to build a brighter future.

Thank you
Matt Wagner
Executive director

**You can find more information under projects at www.creativeneighborhoods.com or the link in our bio. Also, if you have friends at a home improvement store or tool manufacturer, send them our way.

09/18/2025

The Gove Neighborhood mentor partnerships with Building To Scale

This year at Pickathon, the Grove Stage became more than just a gathering place for music and connection—it became a living example of what’s possible when education, sustainability, and community-building come together. Creative Neighborhoods was proud to partner with The Home Builders Foundati...

09/17/2025

Finally getting around to posting all the programs we instituted at Pickathon this year.

Over the last year, Creative Neighborhoods has been developing partnerships with nonprofits and educational organizations—and this year at Pickathon, we got to see those partnerships shine in real time. One of the highlights came from our collaboration with Sabin-Schellenberg Professional Technica

05/18/2025

This is what it's all about folks .
Meet Cam. She is part of ACE Mentor here in Portland. Cam wants to attend the School of Architecture at the University of Oregon when she graduates high school. We invited her to the Paddock stage design review at the ZGF fabrication shop as part of the Creative Neighborhoods mentor program. ZGF with partner Hoffman Construction are the team behind the Paddock neighborhood at this year's Pickathon. She got a peek behind the curtain at the design process of a summer festival stage. We look forward to having her on the team this year to get real-world experience building a dream stage at the 25-year-old music festival.

We want to offer this to more young people in Portland and its surrounding neighbors, but we can't do it without support from the community.
Our fundraiser is still moving along. If you can give, please do so through the link in our bio or at creativeneighborhoods.com.

03/15/2025

Check out the new blog post at Creativeneighborhoods.com and sign up for our newsletter.

https://www.creativeneighborhoods.com/blog-1/welcome-to-the-neighborhood