Cascade Blues Association

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Cascade Blues Association

PO Box 14493
Portland, OR 97293-0493
503-223-1850

The Cascade Blues Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of blues and roots music in the Great Northwest.

As we now are into our 21st year of existence as a meaningful and contributing part of the Blues scene in Portland, the State of Oregon and Southwest Washington, I am once again reminded of how incredible a Blues haven this is! It doesn't take a lot to notice that. A quick glance at the calendar page in the BluesNotes simply states the quantity of its existence. A night or two at a chosen Blues venue around town yields the quality of its presence!

Listening to the local bands that performed at last year's Waterfront Blues Festival showed positive proof of what we get to see and hear almost any night of the week here. It's truly remarkable! You would be hard pressed to find any town the size of Portland (and the surrounding areas) that serve up as much outstanding Blues and Blues related music. In fact, it challenges, in my view, most major metropolitan cities in North America! We should really enjoy the opportunity we have living in this bounty of Blues. We are living in one of the finest Blues hideaways in the world.

The Cascade Blues Association has continued to grow along with the lively Blues scene here in Portland. It's been a journey marked with trials, mistakes and misadventures which the organization has built upon, making course corrections, adjustments, alterations and refinements. Taking negative situations and turning them into positive learning experiences. But the journey has also been filled with steady growth and success, gratification and the satisfaction of knowing the Blues continues to be alive and well here. It takes perseverance over time; it takes a commitment to goals and objectives; it takes sweat! In 2003, the CBA received the highest recognition attainable for its efforts, as the Memphis-based Blues Foundation awarded the organization with the Keeping the Blues Alive Award as the Blues Organization of the Year worldwide!

The CBA is the positive example of this process and we will have completed 17 years to date of supporting the Blues. The CBA has grown from a small organization of 20 - 30 concerned Blues enthusiasts (in December 1986), into one of the most viable Blues organizations in the country. We receive most of the newsletters put out by other Blues associations and societies and it's not hard to tell where we stand! Again this year, at the Waterfront Blues Festival, a continually prevalent remark by national performers is what a strong, solid Blues organization the Cascade Blues Association is! In their travels across the country, the national Blues artists come into contact with all the organizations. It's a great tribute when they take time to single out the CBA. You have to be proud of that!

We have recruited many new members over the last year and we continue to grow. With that in mind, it's time to "toot our own horn" again. It's time to take a look at who we are and why we're here. This update answers a lot of questions and concerns about a number of facets of the organization.