Oregon 250

Free Admission to the Oregon Historical Society for Veterans Day
2025-11-09 10:00 - 17:00, 2025-11-10 12:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Oregon Historical Society, 1200 SW Park Avenue, Portland, OR, 97205, United States
In honor of Veterans Day, all veterans and family members accompanying them will receive free admission to the Oregon Historical Society Saturday, November 8 through Monday, November 10. OHS will be closed on Tuesday, November 11 in observance of the holiday.
Studying history deepens our understanding of the past, provides context for the present, and can give us the courage to persevere through difficulty. We remember Oregon’s veterans, those still with us and those who live in memory, and we express our gratitude for the hope they carried for a better tomorrow.
We honor the service of all veterans by remembering the stories of Oregonians whose valiant efforts highlight their collective grit, courage, and hope for the future. Our current exhibition, She Flies With Her Own Wings: Oregon’s Golden Age of Aviation, highlights pilot Hazel Ying Lee, who was born in Oregon in 1912 and was the first Chinese American woman to fly for the U.S. military, serving as a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) in World War II. Another pilot, and later a legislator from Hood River, Ken Jernstedt, was known as the “First Ace Ever” for his service in the Flying Tiger Squadron during World War II. Jernstedt received the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1996 and said of his career in public service, “My success in politics has really just been a natural instinct to do my part as a citizen.”
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue

Hood River Veterans Day Ceremony
2025-11-11 11:00 - 12:00 | River of Life Assembly Church, 979 Tucker Road, Hood River, 97031, United States
Highway 35 from Hood River to Government Camp was dedicated as the Oregon Nisei Veterans WWII Memorial Highway by Governor Brown on March 7, 2022. The highway commemorates the second-generation Japanese American soldiers who served America, even as many of their families were incarcerated in camps on American soil.
On Veterans Day 2025, a state-sponsored historical marker will be dedicated in Hood River that explains the significance of the Nisei contribution to our shared history. The event will take place on Tuesday, November 11 at 11am. in conjunction with the American Legion’s annual Veterans Day event.
The one-hour program will include a ringing of the peace bell, posting the colors, the national anthem, greetings from American Legion Post 22, history of Nisei service in WWII, fourth and fifth generation Japanese American descendants, comments by former Governor Ted Kulongoski, and recognition of all veterans. Refreshments and unveiling of the historical marker will follow the program.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking

2025 Oregon Statewide Veterans Day Ceremony
2025-11-11 11:00 - 12:00 | Oregon State Capitol State Park, 901 Court Street NE, Salem, 97301, United States
The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ODVA) will honor all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces during its Statewide Veterans Day Ceremony at 11am Tuesday, November 11, in view of the Oregon State Capitol building.
This event will feature remarks by dignitaries and special guests along with ceremonial elements including a color guard, singing of the national anthem, a wreath laying, and the playing of “Taps.”
The celebration will be hosted at the Oregon State Capitol State Park, located on Court Street Northeast in Salem — directly across the street of the front entrance of the Oregon State Capitol building.
The event is open to the public, and uncovered seating will be provided for attendees. Accessible pathways and seating areas for those needing accommodations will also be available. Attendees are reminded to plan accordingly for Oregon weather.
For those unable to attend in person, the ceremony will also be livestreamed on ODVA’s Facebook page.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue

My Father’s War Stories: Tales and Tunes from the Greatest Generation
2025-11-11 18:30 - 21:00 | Lakewood Theatre Company, 368 S State Street, Lake Oswego, 97034, United States
Lakewood Theatre Company presents My Father’s War Stories: Tales and Tunes from the Greatest Generation on Veterans Day, Tuesday, November 11 at 7:30pm. Award-winning actress and singer Joan Freed shares her father’s World War II experiences through stories, letters, and classic 1940s songs. The performance honors the humor, hardship, and heroism of the era. Veterans will be recognized at the start of the evening, and there will be a complimentary wine and dessert reception at 6:30pm.
Event Accessibility:

Accessible parking
Wheelchair-accessible venue

Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Gravesite of American Revolutionary War Patriot William Cannon
2025-11-14 10:00 - 23:30 | Old Saint Paul Roman Catholic Mission Cemetery, 20350 Main St NE, St. Paul, 97137, United States
Join the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) for a wreath-laying ceremony with SAR Color Guard dressed in period military clothing, carrying flags and American Revolutionary War muskets, and presenting a musket volley.
This ceremony will honor William Cannon who is the only known American Revolutionary War Patriot buried in Oregon, was an early Oregon pioneer, and was one of the 52 men who voted in favor of a provisional government at the famous meeting at Champoeg, Oregon, on May 2, 1843.
Attending will be local government and church dignitaries along with Sons of the American Revolution leaders including National SAR President General Michael Elston, and some will make comments.
Event Accessibility:

Accessible parking
Wheelchair-accessible venue
Service animals welcome

The Look Back Lecture Series: Oregon City’s Chinese Expulsion
2025-12-11 19:00 - 20:00 | Museum of the Oregon Territory, 211 Tumwater Drive, Oregon City, 97045, United States
During the late 1800s, anti-Chinese discrimination was on the rise in Oregon. This was fueled by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned Chinese immigration to the United States. On February 22, 1886, 40 men forced Chinese workers out of Oregon City and onto a steamboat to Portland. The group blamed Chinese laborers for taking jobs from White workers during hard economic times. Join author Jim Nicita for a compelling lecture exploring these injustices and the enduring history and legacy of Oregon City’s Chinese community. Discover the stories that have too often been overlooked and gain new insight into the city’s past.
Admission to the lecture is $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers. 2025 admission to the Look Back Lecture Series is free for Clackamas County residents thanks to the Union Pacific Railroad Communities Ties Giving Program while funds remain available.
Event Accessibility:

Accessible parking
Wheelchair-accessible venue
Service animals welcome

Exhibit: “Swedish Cabins: The Legacy of Henry Steiner & Fogelbo”
2026-01-06 08:00 - 2026-02-05 17:00 | Oregon State Capitol, 900 Court Street NE, Salem, OR, 97301
For most Americans, the log cabin represents the American frontier. The log cabin also tells the story of Swedish immigration and innovation in the United States. In the Pacific Northwest, the story of the Swedish log cabin lives on through the legacy of craftsman Henry Steiner. In the 1920s through the 1950s, Steiner and his family built approximately one hundred cabins and other structures. Nordic Northwest has one of these very cabins on its campus: Fogelbo. A National Historic Site, Fogelbo is a perfect example of the craftsmanship and style of Henry Steiner.
This exhibit is one view January 6, 2026, through February 5, 2026, and was awarded an exhibit sponsorship by the Oregon State Capitol Foundation as part of the Capitol History Gateway Program.
Event Accessibility:

Accessible parking
Wheelchair-accessible venue
Service animals welcome

Crossroads Carnegie Art Center America 250 Poster & Literary Contest
2026-02-01 10:00 - 2026-05-01 17:00 | Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, 2020 Auburn Avenue, Baker City, OR, 97814, United States
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center is excited to host a Poster & Literary Contest to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This contest is open to everyone in and around Baker County. The goal of the contest is for participants to analyze their own thoughts and feelings about America, what it means to them, and what they want it to be, using the prompt: “What America Means to Me.”
All work is due to Crossroads by May 1. Both the poster and literary sections include four age groups, and the winner of each age group will receive a $250 cash prize. Winners will be announced on First Friday, June 5.
For more information, please contact Crossroads’ Education Coordinator, Melody Chaves, at 541-523-5369 or email at melody@crossroads-arts.org. Learn more on the Crossroads website here.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking
Service animals welcome

Consider This: The Stories We Tell About Our Nations with Colum McCann
2026-02-03 19:00 - 20:30 | Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta Street, Portland, OR, 97211
Join Oregon Humanities on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at 7pm, for a conversation with author Colum McCann about the stories nations tell and the ways they shape our lives. Onstage with Adam Davis, McCann will explore where national myths originate and the power they carry, how a country’s self-narrative diverges from the stories told about it, and what it means to consider storytelling itself a democratic act.
Colum McCann is the author of eight novels, three collections of stories, and two works of nonfiction. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, he has received many international honors, including the U.S National Book Award, the International Dublin Literary Prize, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government, election to the Irish arts academy, several European awards, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China, and an Oscar nomination. He is the president and cofounder of Narrative 4, a nonprofit organization that uses personal storytelling to build empathy between young people. He lives in New York with his wife, Allison, and their family.
This conversation is part of our 2025–2026 Consider This series, Beyond 250, exploring the meaning and impacts of the nation’s semiquincentennial.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased through the Alberta Rose website.
To ensure that everyone who wants to attend is able to, a limited number of tickets are available for free. Use this form to request a free ticket.
Can’t make it in person? The conversation will be streamed live, for free, on the Oregon Humanities YouTube channel, and will remain available for viewing after the program.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking

Exhibition: The Oregon Blue Book
2026-02-10 08:00 - 2026-03-12 17:00 | Oregon State Capitol, 900 Court Street NE, Salem, OR, 97301
The Oregon Blue Book is our state’s official almanac and fact book. Produced by the Oregon State Secretary of State’s Office, it has been in continuous publication since 1911. Come and see various Blue Books since its debut on display in the Capitol Galleria.
The Oregon Blue Book contains listings and​ descriptions of government agencies and educational institutions. It also features an almanac, maps, facts about Oregon history and elections, as well as information on the arts, media, and other cultural institutions in Oregon. The print version of the Oregon Blue Book is published during odd-numbered years as required by Oregon statute.
Special Event February 14
On Saturday, February 14, State Archives staff will be on hand 10am to 2pm to discuss the Oregon Blue Book and its history. Secretary of State Tobias Read will also be there from 10am to 12pm to discuss the book and sign copies.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking
Service animals welcome

Oregon Connections: Immigration and Deportation
2026-02-12 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual event via Zoom
OHS presents “Oregon Connections: A Conversation Series on the Right to be Free,” an all-virtual program series featuring conversations among experts and with audience members. Although many of the decisions that affect people’s access to rights such as freedom of speech, citizenship, and due process are made at the federal level, it is often on the local level that those freedoms are both exercised and oppressed — amid debates, actions, and inspirations on a global scale.
During the months leading up to the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence, the Oregon Connections series invites audiences to listen, learn, ask questions, and consider some of the ways Oregonians have struggled for justice and freedom.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first policy to restrict immigration to the United States based on nation of origin and ethnicity, making Chinese people the nation’s first “illegal aliens.” The act’s restrictions on travel and business-ownership by Chinese-ancestry Oregonians prompted creative responses to keep families and communities together.
In Oregon, laborers and entrepreneurs with Latine heritage have been affected by, and organized in response to, successive federal policies of mass deportation since the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war between Mexico and the United States. As scholars Jerry Garcia and Chelsea Rose explain, white supremacist ideology — along with ideas about rights related to family, community, culture, property, and wealth — have long been central to understanding the histories of immigration and deportation in Oregon.
This event is free but registration is required: https://orhs.ejoinme.org/OregonConnections

Exhibition: Echoes of ‘76
2026-02-13 10:00 - 2026-08-01 16:00 | Willamette Heritage Center, 1313 Mill St. SE, Salem, 97301, United States
In 2026, the United States marks its 250th birthday with the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence. What did the events of 1776 mean to the people living in the Mid-Willamette Valley? In this multi-part, multi-disciplinary exhibit, we will explore how echoes from the year 1776 continue to be heard in our community.

Explore how we can understand more about who was living in the Mid-Willamette Valley in 1776 through the languages spoken in this area at the time and the place names we continue to use today.
Although the revolutionary events of 1776 didn’t happen here, explore the way they have been observed in this community the past 200 years.
Make your voice heard and participate in the Wish Wall – sharing your hopes for how words written in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 might ring forward into the future.

Event Accessibility:

Accessible parking
Wheelchair-accessible venue
Service animals welcome

Oregon’s Anniversary of Statehood Event
2026-02-14 10:00 - 14:00 | Oregon State Capitol, 900 Court Street NE, Salem, OR, 97301
​Come and join us in celebration of Oregon’s statehood. Oregon became a state on February 14, 1859, but we honor the history of the land since time immemorial with the inclusion of our sovereign tribes. This event is free and open to the public. Capitol doors will open at 10am. Please be aware there is security screening to enter the building.
Schedule of Events

10am to 11am: Oregon Old Time Fiddlers, Rotunda
10am to 12pm: Secretary of State Tobias Read discusses the Oregon Blue Book and Oregon Constitution, Galleria
11am: Birthday Cupcakes, Galleria (while supplies last)
12pm to 1pm: Oregon Old Time Fiddlers, Rotunda
1pm to 1:45pm: Wagon Wheelers Square Dancers, Rotunda

All Day Events (10am to 2pm)

View Oregon’s original constitution on display in the Galleria
Experience living history and meet historical costumed interpreters in the Galleria
Activity stations will be available for families from our multiple cultural and heritage partners

Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking
Service animals welcome

Photographer Talk: The Power of Place
2026-02-17 18:30 - 19:30 | Roseburg Public Library, 1409 NE Diamond Lake Blvd, Roseburg, OR, 97470, United States
The Power of Place photography exhibition is on display at the Roseburg Public Library through February 19, 2026. The exhibition showcases stunning images of Oregon’s landscapes by photographer Peter Marbach that capture the state’s diverse and inspiring places. This free exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the landscapes that shape Oregon’s identity and heritage.
Join Peter Marbach on Tuesday, February 17 at 6:30pm at the Roseburg Public Library as he shares his photographs, personal stories behind his work, and insights into what makes these places powerful and meaningful. The exhibition and talk offers a unique opportunity to connect with Oregon’s land, culture, and shared history.

Exhibition: Minidoka on Our Minds
2026-02-21 10:00 - 2026-06-14 16:00 | Japanese American Museum of Oregon, 411 NW Flanders Street, Portland, OR, 97209, United States
The Minidoka National Historic Site was officially established in 2001 as part of the National Park Service after years of Japanese American advocacy. This exhibition celebrates 25 years of preservation at this site where many Nikkei from Oregon and Washington were incarcerated during World War II. Artwork by survivors, descendants, and Japanese American youth explore the park’s history and its importance as a site of memory.
Minidoka on Our Minds was created in partnership with the National Park Service and is generously supported by the JA Community Foundation, Ronald W Naito MD Foundation, Betty Lou Roberts Fund of Oregon Community Foundation, and Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Service animals welcome

America the Beautiful: 50 States in 50 Weeks
2026-02-27 07:00 - 09:00 | Live Broadcast
“Good Morning America” is visiting a new state each week following the order in which they joined the United States as part of “America the Beautiful: 50 States in 50 Weeks.” Along the way, “GMA” will spotlight the beauty of the people who make up America, inviting viewers to share the people in their neighborhood and state who make it the best place to live.
Tune in on February 27 when “GMA” stops in Oregon, and follow along here as “GMA” showcases the best of the best in all 50 states.

Exhibition: Roots of Democracy: Bernard Goldsmith and the Role of Washington Park in Civic Life
2026-02-27 10:00 - 2026-07-12 17:00 | Oregon Historical Society, 1200 SW Park Avenue, Portland, OR, 97205, United States
Cities are built upon layered histories.
The Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other peoples lived on, traveled through, and cared for this land long before Portland existed. Their stewardship sustained communities for thousands of years, guided by deep ecological knowledge and cultural relationships with the environment.
White settlement in the 19th century disrupted these systems of care and replaced Indigenous stewardship with extractive development and urban growth. As Portland expanded, planners and civic leaders reinterpreted the landscape through a Euro-American view of ownership and “improvement.” When Portland established its first park in 1871, City Park (now known as Washington Park) reflected a new civic ideal — one of pride, recreation, and relief from crowded streets — that starkly contrasted with Indigenous perspectives of the land as a living, interconnected resource rather than a space to be designed, managed, or escaped to.
This year marks 155 years since Portland acquired the land that became Washington Park. This exhibition invites us to honor these layered histories — from the first stewards of this place to those who later sought belonging here — and to reflect on how today’s choices will shape the Portland we hand down to future generations.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Sensory-friendly accommodations
Service animals welcome

Exhibition: Waves of Tradition
2026-02-28 10:00 - 2026-12-31 17:00 | Coos History Museum, 1210 North Front Street, Coos Bay, 97420, United States
Waves of Tradition celebrates the diverse maritime traditions and scenic beauty that shaped Oregon’s South Coast in conjunction with the United States’ 250th anniversary. Highlights include local cultural connections to the shipbuilding and fishing industries as well as traditional festivals, legends, and superstitions.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking
Sensory-friendly accommodations
Service animals welcome

Exhibition: Enduring Impressions: Contemporary Woodblock Prints
2026-03-07 10:00 - 2026-06-15 15:30 | Portland Japanese Garden, 611 SW Kingston Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97205, United States
Step into a world where nature-themed prints meet Portland Japanese Garden’s springtime vibrance in Enduring Impressions: Contemporary Woodblock Prints. Featuring the art of mokuhanga (木版画), Japanese-style woodblock printmaking, this exhibition reveals how a centuries-old tradition is experiencing a contemporary revival as artists around the world use the quiet power and unique characteristics of woodblock printmaking to create captivating works of art.

Exhibition: The Pursuit of Happiness
2026-03-07 11:00 - 2026-04-30 16:00 | The History Museum of Hood River County, 300 E Port Marina DR, Hood River, OR, 97031, United States
The History Museum of Hood River County opens for the season on March 7, 2026, with The Pursuit of Happiness, a photo exhibition by Oregon photographer Peter Marbach. In celebration of Oregon’s diverse beauty and spirit, the America 250 Oregon Commission contracted with Marbach to showcase the essence of Oregon and its vibrant communities. The Pursuit of Happiness captures the heart of festivals, events, and celebrations that bring communities together across the state. From iconic gatherings to intimate local traditions, these images share the joy, creativity, and connection that make Oregon’s cultural life so unique. Join us in celebrating the moments that unite and inspire us all.
The History Museum of Hood River County is complementing the exhibition with items from the collection that reflect life in Hood River County. Museum hours beginning March 7, 2026, are Monday–Saturday, 11am–4pm. Admission is $8/adults, $6/over 65, and free for 10 and under.
Event Accessibility:

Accessible parking
Wheelchair-accessible venue
Service animals welcome

Historical Wall Art Dedication and Open House
2026-03-07 12:00 - 16:00 | Coburg Community Grange, 32663 E Mill Street, Coburg, OR, 97408, United States
Join the City of Coburg for an open house and dedication of a new metal art display on the walls of the Coburg Community Grange featuring pieces of Coburg history.
The timber industry was the first industry in Coburg with the Sash Mill founded by Jacob Spores. By 1890, there were three mills in Coburg. By 1898, Booth Kelly Mill in Springfield leased and later bought the largest mill in Coburg. In 1911, the McKenzie River was dammed for hydroelectric power, which ended the river logging that had kept the mills open. In that same year, the Booth Kelly Mill in Springfield burned down and Booth Kelly dismantled the Coburg Mill and moved it to Springfield.
The bronco became the symbol of Coburg when the blacksmith was asked to shod a beautiful stallion from Coburg, Germany. After he put new shoes on the horse, he hung the old shoes up on his wall and declared that the town was now known as Coburg (it was Willamette Forks prior to that).
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking
Large print or Braille materials

250 in the West: Back East with Flannery Burke
2026-03-12 18:30 - 20:00 | High Desert Museum, 59800 S Hwy 97, Bend, OR, 97702, United States
250 in the West: Back East with Flannery Burke
How have Western writers and scholars imagined and shaped the American East? In her book Back East, historian Flannery Burke flips the script on American regional narratives by centering the west in the cultural landscape. Join the High Desert Museum for a discussion of how Westerners have influenced the development of the United States.
Doors open at 6pm, program begins at 6:30pm.
About 250 in the West
2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What does this document and the formation of the United States mean for us who live and work in the American West? 250 in the West, a new programmatic series at the High Desert Museum, explores the legacies of the 250th in the American West, from public lands to citizenship and sovereignty.

Temporary Detention: A Guide to the Forced Assembly Centers
2026-03-14 14:00 - 15:30 | Epworth United Methodist Church, 1333 SE 28th Avenue, Portland, OR, 97214, United States
Learn about a recently completed multimedia project, Temporary Detention: A Guide to the Forced “Assembly Centers”. This interactive website explores the history and legacy of the 16 temporary detention centers operated by the Western Civil Control Administration during World War II. These euphemistically called “Assembly Centers” were hastily-built detention centers that imprisoned approximately 92,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry while the ten concentration camps were being built.
Learn more about these often unknown centers with the website’s creators Sharon Yamato, New York photographer Stan Honda, and Densho Content Director Brian Niiya.
Register for this free event here.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking
Service animals welcome

Oregon Connections: Tribal Sovereignty and Civil Rights
2026-03-19 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual event via Zoom
OHS presents “Oregon Connections: A Conversation Series on the Right to be Free,” an all-virtual program series featuring conversations among experts and with audience members. Although many of the decisions that affect people’s access to rights such as freedom of speech, citizenship, and due process are made at the federal level, it is often on the local level that those freedoms are both exercised and oppressed — amid debates, actions, and inspirations on a global scale.
During the months leading up to the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence, the Oregon Connections series invites audiences to listen, learn, ask questions, and consider some of the ways Oregonians have struggled for justice and freedom.

For thousands of years, Native peoples in what is now the United States have exercised their sovereignty. Citizenship within the colonizing nation of the United States is a complex proposition for many Indigenous people. The United States Constitution recognizes treaties made by the nation, including those made with sovereign Native nations within the country, as the “supreme law of the land.” In Oregon, tribal nations and people have asserted their rights while fighting to maintain their sovereignty within the new nation of the United States. Tribal scholars Bobbie Conner and Robert Kentta will discuss the historical intersections of U.S. citizenship and Native sovereignty in Oregon.

Cherry Blossom Day at the Capitol
2026-03-21 10:00 - 14:00 | Oregon State Capitol, 900 Court Street NE, Salem, OR, 97301
The third Saturday of March, by state statute, is Cherry Blossom Day at the capitol. Celebrate spring, the blossoming cherry trees in the Capitol Mall, and the impact of Japanese culture on our state. We will be celebrating with education, activities, and performances from 10am to 2pm. Free and open to the public. Parking is free on Saturday.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking
Service animals welcome

Spoken Word Celebration: Oregon Poets Read from “Just Imagine: Oregon Horizons”
2026-03-21 13:00 - 16:00 | Lane Community College, 4000 E 30th Avenue, Building 19, Room 226, Eugene, OR, 97405, United States
At various sites throughout Oregon, several eminent Oregon poets will recite their poems from the anthology “Just Imagine: Oregon Horizons.” The volume examines how the historical idea of our frontier place and the experience of those who have settled here have influenced our particular character as we look out at our horizons to recall those in whose footsteps we walk and to envision our own effect on Oregon lands for a thriving future. As our horizons affect who we are and become, so do places carry the imprint of those who have dwelt there.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking
Service animals welcome

“From Sea to Shining Sea” Documentary Screening
2026-03-30 19:00 - 20:30 | McMenamins Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd Avenue, Portland, OR, 97211, United States
“America the Beautiful” may be America’s most beloved song. But few know about the fascinating life of the writer behind it. From Sea to Shining Sea: Katharine Lee Bates and the Story of “America the Beautiful” explores the rich life of poet, professor, and social reformer Katharine Lee Bates, author of “America the Beautiful.” As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Bates’s story reminds us of the beauty and ideals of our nation as well as its shortcomings and honors the unbroken chain of Americans striving to live up to those ideals. After the film, stay for the Q&A discussion with filmmakers Laurence Cotton and John de Graaf, moderated by OHS Boyle Family Executive Director Kerry Tymchuk.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue

Consider This: The Changing Roles of Religious Spaces in Oregon
2026-03-31 19:00 - 20:30 | HQ, 112 Depot Street, La Grande, OR, 97850, United States
Join Oregon Humanities on Tuesday, March 31 at 7pm for a conversation about the changing role of religious spaces in Oregon. Guests Frank So, director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon; Rev. Amy Jayne of Cove Ascension School and Conference Center; and Brandon Rhodes, D.Min. of Coburg Commons will join Adam Davis onstage in La Grande to explore how faith communities across the state are adapting church-owned land and buildings to meet emerging community needs. As third spaces fade from civic life and church membership drops, many communities in Oregon are exploring how church-owned land and buildings can adapt.
This conversation is part of the 2025–26 Consider This series, Beyond 250. 2026 will be the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and we’re looking at what this milestone means: How do we think about and experience equality, freedom, independence, tyranny, justice, union, and other ideas central to the Declaration and to our nation’s understanding of itself? How has the Declaration shaped the country we live in today, and how might we shape its future?
Tickets can be purchased through the venue’s website. The event will also be streamed live, for free, on the Oregon Humanities YouTube channel.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue

Exhibition: April Open Theme Show, “This Land is Your Land”
2026-04-03 10:00 - 2026-04-25 17:00 | Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, 2020 Auburn Avenue, Baker City, OR, 97814, United States
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center is proud to dedicate its April Open Theme Show to “This Land is Your Land” in collaboration with Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Union, Oregon, who will be offering two purchase awards for $500 each: “Pastoral and Range Landscape” and “The Ranch Lifestyle” awards.
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center is celebrating America 250, the 125th year of the research center (the oldest agricultural experiment station in Oregon), and the United Nations’ International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists all in one fabulous art exhibit open to all mediums and interpretations of the theme. The show will open First Friday, April, 2026, and run through April 25. All are welcome to submit up to three pieces prior to March 31. We will also offer a people’s choice cash prize and a $100 “Americana” award. Celebrating art, artists, our country, and the beauty of the state of Oregon, Crossroads invites you to submit your artwork and to attend the exhibition, which is free and open to the public.
Event Accessibility:

Wheelchair-accessible venue
Accessible parking
Sensory-friendly accommodations
Service animals welcome
