2014 Siamak's Car Company and Salem, Oregon Police Toy Drive

                                                                                                             12/5/2014




Just heard about this toy drive and company blood drive in Salem, Oregon and figured I would post the information. Siamak's Car Company is also holding a one day blood drive "at the store located at 2908 Market st NE December 23, 2014 from 11:00 am- 4:00 pm. For the blood drive, you can sign up at www.redcrossblood.org and use the sponsor code: siamakscar or just show up." I am providing Siamak's Car Company's phone number below to call for more information.



For the toy drive:
Bring any new unwrapped toys to 2908 Market St NE Salem OR 97301 Monday - Saturday 8:00am - 8:00 pm and Sundays 9:00am- 6:00pm



If you need more information, here is Siamak's Car Company information:

 

Phone number: (503) 991-5400

Hours: 9:00am - 8:00pm

2014 Christmas Toy Drives and Holiday Volunteering

                                                                                                                 12/2/2014



I promised to do a post on donating this Christmas and I wanted to get the information out as I found it. This is the start of my list and I am looking for more to add to the list. I will post more if I find them. Good luck donating and helping out this Holiday Season.




Fox 12 Toy Drive for more information about locations for drop-offs visit this link:

http://www.kptv.com/story/19896327/2014-fox-12-toy-drive



KGW Great Toy Drive for more information on drop-off locations visit this link:

http://special.kgw.com/2014greattoydrive/


Hands On Greater Portland has volunteering opportunities and toy drop-off locations with more information available at this link:

http://www.handsonportland.org/Holiday_Volunteering

Rock For A Reason Holiday Toy Drive

December, 14th, 2014

Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm

More information at this link:

http://www.dougfirlounge.com/event/719731-rock-for-reason-holiday-toy-portland/ 



2014 Sheriff's Office Toys for Kids in Yamhill donations can be made at the County Courthouse or the Sheriff's Office from now until December 12, 2014 more information on the flyer at this link:

http://www.co.yamhill.or.us/content/2014-toy-drive-flyer



2014 Beaverton Toy & Gift Card Drive going on now until December 15, 2014 with more information on drop-offs at this link:

http://www.beavertonoregon.gov/index.aspx?nid=1219

Oregon Community Credit Union Toy Drive for Sacred Heart Medical Center is accepting toys until December 22, 2014 with more information at this link:

https://www.oregoncommunitycu.org/news-events/events/toy-drive-sacred-heart-medical-center

Toys for Tots covers all states and searching for a location close to you can be done at this link:

http://www.toysfortots.org/donate/toys.aspx



 The Salem Dream Center has several opportunities to volunteer or help out with donations and more information about events can be found at this link:

http://salemdreamcenter.org/events/holiday-events/



Marion-Polk Food Share has donation locations and even a contest for $2000 of Hunger Relief more information can be found at these links:

Marion-Polk Food Share Events and Donation Locations 


Hunger Relief Contest Information 


 Sherwood and Oregon food Bank are holding the Fill the Sled Food Drive from now until December 24, 2014 with more information at this link:


Fill the Sled Food Drive Event
 

Other Oregon Food Bank Events can be found at this link:

 

Oregon Food Bank Events 

2014 Caring Santa Pictures for Children with Special Needs and Information About Events for Oregon and Other States

                                                                                                                      11/27/14




For pictures with Caring Santa a reservation is required, so make sure to contact people at the links provided below. Caring Santa is a more controlled environment for children with Autism and other special needs. The Caring Santa program works to provide what they consider a "sensory-friendly environment" just for children with special needs including the elimination of long lines, music and bright lights. Currently I have found two events in Oregon with one being in Woodburn, Oregon at the Woodburn Outlets on December 7, 2014 from 8:30 - 10 am. The second event is in Southern Oregon and it is at the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, Oregon on December 7, 2014 from  8am - 9:30am and it is listed as an event called Caring Claus. I am posting both links to Oregon Events down below. Also, for those of you who are from other states, I am providing the place where to make reservations and find more information on the Caring Santa program. For all of you with children that have special needs, my best wishes for a truly happy Holiday Season.



Woodburn, Oregon Caring Santa Event:

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/sales.asp?id=110




Medford, Oregon Caring Claus Event:

http://www.roguevalleymall.com/events/caring-claus





Find a Caring Santa Event location for your state:




http://www.simon.com/caring-santa


 Caring Santa website:

http://www.autismspeaks.org/caring-santa

2014 Salem, Oregon and Other Southern Oregon Cities Photos with Santa(children & pets) and Holiday Events

                                                                                                                 11/25/14




This is a continuation of my last post helping to locate places to see Santa and gets photos. Some events allow pets and some are "Caring Santa" which allow special needs children. I will be posting one more covering photos with Santa and it will be aimed at Caring Santa events for those with special needs children. This post covers a few of the events from Woodburn, Oregon on down to Medford, Oregon. My goal is to help give people some ideas of family fun activities to do this Holiday Season. Happy Holidays to all who see this post, be safe and have fun.

Eugene, Oregon

Valley River Center with more information at this link:

http://www.valleyrivercenter.com/Events



Oakway Center Tree Lighting on November 30, 2014 from 5:00 – 5:30 pm – Hot Beverages and Live Music at The Tree with more information at this link:

http://oakwaycenter.com/treelighting/



The 62nd Annual Springfield Christmas Parade(Santa Visits) on December 6, 2014 with a start time of 1pm and more information can be found at this link:

http://www.springfieldchristmasparade.org/



Gateway Mall Santa arrives on November 29, 2014 and more information is at this link:

https://www.facebook.com/ShopGatewayMall/events?ref=page_internal




Grants Pass, Oregon

Grants Pass puts out some different stuff downtown for those that visit with more information found at this link:

http://www.visitgrantspass.org/Index.aspx?page=811

Tree lighting and Santa's arrival on December 5, 2014 and more information can be found at this link:

http://www.visitgrantspass.org/Index.aspx?page=1068


Grants Pass Shopping Center features Santa and prizes with more information available at this link:

http://www.grantspassshoppingcenter.com/promotions.html




Keizer, Oregon


Festival of Lights Holiday Parade on December 13, 2014 at 7pm with more information at this link:

http://www.folholidayparade.org/




Medford, Oregon

Rogue Valley Mall features events with Santa, pets with Santa and Caring Santa for special needs children and more information can be found at this link:

http://www.roguevalleymall.com/events


Medford Outlet Center has several events coming up that feature Santa and live Reindeer and more information can be found at this link:

http://www.medfordoutletcenter.com/Events





Roseburg, Oregon


Kmart located at 2757 NW Stewart Pkwy, Roseburg, OR 97471, phone number (541) 957-0157
Nov 26, 2014 from 10am-4pm is the "Fill the Sleigh" at Kmart(Santa and Mrs. Clause visit for pictures) event and more information on other shopping events at this link below. Note: you will need search down the link page to find the event tweets, but I have provided enough for this event on my post right here:

https://twitter.com/KmartRoseburg




Salem, Oregon


Santa has already arrived in Salem and more information can be found at this link:

http://www.lancastermall.com/


Salem Riverfront Carousel features several events with Santa and Mrs. Clause and more information can be found at this link:

http://salemcarousel.wix.com/salemcarousel




Woodburn, Oregon


Woodburn Outlets have a few Holiday events including Santa and even one event that is called "Caring Santa" and is meant for children with special needs. More information can be found at this link here:

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/sales.asp?id=110

Portland, Oregon Photos with Santa 2014(Children and Pets) and Holiday Events

                                                                                                                                     11/21/2014



For the Holidays, I have decided to mention as many Holiday events as possible to help parents find fun activities for the whole family. I will be using a few posts to cover photos with Santa in the different cities. Then, I will use a couple posts to acknowledge toy drives to help out this Holiday Season.

This post will cover photos with Santa in and around the Portland, Oregon Area. Many of the events have special days for Santa photos with pets allowed, but I have provided, at the very bottom, the specific link for pet photos with Santa. After the Santa photo events, I am also putting the link to information about The Polar Express in Mt. Hood because I think it fits with the Holiday Season and Santa is at the event. I wish everyone well during this 2014 Holiday Season.


Macy's Parade and Santaland with the parade on November 28, 2014
Located at

Macy's Downtown Portland
621 South West 5th Avenue
Portland,OR 97204

For more information on the Macy's events this Holiday Season here is the link:

http://www1.macys.com/shop/store/eventsearch?zipCode=97202&city=&state= 

Today Santa arrived at Bridgeport, but there are other Holiday events including a train ride and more information can be found at this link:

http://bridgeport-village.com/center_events.html



Santa has already made it to the Lloyd Center and more information can be found at this link:

http://www.lloydcenter.com/event/santa-is-coming-to-town/



Pioneer Place Santa is already there and more information can be found at this link:

http://www.pioneerplace.com/events/santa-photos



Washington Square Santa has already landed and he has a headquarters, this location also has a sharing tree, for more information I am providing both events links for the site.

Washington Square Santa event link:

http://www.shopwashingtonsquare.com/Events/Details/219966?startDate=11%2F8%2F2014

Washington Square Holiday events link:

http://www.shopwashingtonsquare.com/Events



Clackamas Town Center has a few different events for Santa including Rudolph Wednesdays and more information can be found amongst their other events at this link:

http://www.clackamastowncenter.com/events



Santa at Cedar Hills Crossing in Beaverton arrives on November 28, 2014 and more information can be found at this link:


http://www.portlandsanta.com/






Train Ride

The Polar Express:

https://www.mthoodrr.com/mt-hood-polar-express.html






FOR PETS


Santa for the pets information can be found at the Oregon Humane Society's link:

http://www.oregonhumane.org/news/stories/Santa_Paws.asp#.VG_PLMk48dU

Oregon Child Car Seat Laws and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA)

                                                                                                                         11/20/14



At my other blog link provided below, I have given some information on Child Seat Belt Laws in Oregon:

http://oregondadsconnection.blogspot.com/2014/11/child-car-seat-laws-oregon-and-national.html

Portland, Oregon Christmas Events 2014

I wanted to continue to help families find some activities and events to do during the Christmas Season 2014, so I am posting this link to a few in the Portland Area.

 Links to Christmas Events:

http://www.events12.com/portland/december/

December 2, 2014 Oregon State Capitol Tree Lighting

                                                                                                                           11/12/14





In Salem, Oregon on December 2, 2014 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. there will be the ceremonial tree lighting. The event will  include cookies and punch, a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Also the Oregon State Capitol Store  is going to be open and offering 10% off all purchases that night.

Pumpkin Patches and More Website for Oregon or any other State

                                                                                                                  10-5-2014


I was looking for a pumpkin patch to take my son and I found this really helpful website.

www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org

Bauman's Farm Halloween Activities 2014

                                                                                                                     10-3-2014



There is a place called Bauman's Farm that does Halloween activities. The farm is located in Gervais, OR and their website is at the link provided:

http://www.baumanfarms.com/

Salem, Oregon is Hosting Fish Fest 2014

                                                                                                        July 29, 2014



The Fish radio station 104.1 is hosting Fish Fest in Salem, Oregon downtown at the Riverfront Park. The date is August 16, 2014 and doors open at 1:00 p.m. Headlining acts are Jeremy Camp and MercyMe with extra artists Britt Nicole, RED, Trip Lee and there contest winner for around seven hours of music.

Camping with Let's Go Camping

                                                                                                                July 22, 2014


If you are new to camping or don't have the gear, there is a solution that is called "Let's Go Camping" and it can possibly help out. They only have a few more dates left, but I figured I would post it for those that didn't know. Godd luck and have fun if you do go.

More information can be found here at this link: http://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=thingstodo.dsp_letsGo

44th Annual Oregon Steam-Up

                                                                                                      July 19, 2014


The 44th Annual Oregon Steam-Up is going to be held in Brooks at the Antique Powerland Museum on July 26-27 and August 2-3 with the hours being from 7am to 6pm. Admission is $12 per adult and for more information here is the link:

http://www.antiquepowerland.com/

Dash for Dads in Bend Oregon

Bend Urology Dash for Dads

June 15th, 2014 in Bend, Oregon. It appears to be at 9am at Bend Pine Nursery. 


For more information visit this link:

http://benddash.com/

Oregon Dads Connections Social Site Links

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ORDadsConnect


Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oregon-Dads-Connection/796857966991307


Blogspot:

http://oregondadsconnection.blogspot.com/

                                                                                                                May 31, 2014


Oregon Dads Connection Events Blog is for posting Oregon Events for parents with a heavy focus on Dad/Father events or children focused activities. The majority of events/activities will be kid friendly, so you can do them with your child or take you child to go see it

If you have any questions or an event you would like me to post, contact me at: oregondadsconnection@gmail.com