Members of the Yasui family were among the millions of immigrants who came to the United States seeking new opportunities during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Like many Issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants), they experienced racism and oppression; state and federal laws prevented Japanese immigrants from owning land, and anti-Japanese organizations sought to strip Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) of their birthright citizenship. Yet Nikkei (Japanese immigrants and their descendants) like the Yasui family persisted in establishing roots in Oregon, starting families and businesses, and shaping the social and economic fabric of the communities where they lived.
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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
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.
Oregon Contemporary Artists’ Biennial is a survey of works by visual and performing artists who are defining and advancing Oregon’s contemporary art landscape. The exhibition is supplemented by a series of interdisciplinary programming and events. The Price of the Ticket will explore the interconnected themes of place, power, and promise, especially as they relate to […]
Athanasios (Tom) Efthimiou Stefopoulos was a factory worker, railroad man, commercial artist, and a champion penman. Art was his first love, but pursuing this was difficult for a young immigrant in an adopted country where he did not even speak the language. In 1945, he was employed by the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad to […]
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 SICC Forest Festival, hosted by Trajectory in Sandy, Oregon, June 5–7, celebrates Oregon’s forest heritage through hands-on education, industry partnership, and community connection. As part of America 250 Oregon, the festival honors working lands by advancing career pathways, supporting innovation in mass timber, promoting environmental stewardship, strengthening rural economies, celebrating arts and culture through […]
Join us for the 5th annual Archaeology Roadshow in Central Oregon on June 6. The 2026 theme is “Fire & Water,” and the event will feature exhibits and activities hosted by archaeologists and heritage specialists , representing universities, tribes, federal and state agencies, companies, and nonprofit organizations. Learn about ongoing heritage projects and ways you can […]
Music in the Pines is La Pine’s community concert series, offering live music, local food, vendors, and relaxed summer evenings in the beautiful outdoor setting of La Pine Parks and Recreation. Featuring local bands and community-centered activities, the series gives residents and visitors a true taste of La Pine’s culture, creativity, and natural beautity — […]
Music in the Pines is La Pine’s community concert series, offering live music, local food, vendors, and relaxed summer evenings in the beautiful outdoor setting of La Pine Parks and Recreation. Featuring local bands and community-centered activities, the series gives residents and visitors a true taste of La Pine’s culture, creativity, and natural beautity — […]
The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center (NHOTIC) welcomes Doug Hansen and members of his team from Hansen Wagon and Wheel for an onsite assessment of the covered wagons in the Interpretive Center collection. Hansen Wagon and Wheel, from Letcher, South Dakota, will travel to Baker City and will be onsite to assess the ten […]
Gresham History Week is a summer festival for all ages! Explore events, games, tours, and activities all over the Gresham area while learning about the history all around us. History Week commemorates the 250th anniversary of American independence by celebrating what makes Gresham unique — its people! Programs will include a city-wide scavenger hunt, live […]
A classical ballet performance featuring a celebration of America’s history through the last 250 years. Paired with the romantic era ballet Chopiniana. June 13 2:00pm and 7:00pm June 14 5:00pm Pacific Northwest Ballet is committed to quality classical ballet training and is dedicated to helping students cultivate a love of what is good and beautiful, […]
Celebrate Flag Day on June 14 at the Columbia River Maritime Museum with a fun, all-ages scavenger hunt! Pick up a scavenger hunt sheet and pencil from the Ford Room, then explore the exhibitions to find four historically significant flags representing the years 1776, 1859, 1890, and 1949. Find them all and claim your prize. […]
Join Fort Dalles Museum on June 14 for a special Flag Day celebration that is rooted in local history. In 1907, Civil War veterans living in The Dalles presented the museum with a new American flag. More than a century later, Fort Dalles is bringing that spirit back to life. This family-friendly event features patriotic […]
Join the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum (WAAAM) on June 14 for a respectful Flag Retirement Ceremony in honor of Flag Day. This meaningful event provides the community with a dignified way to properly retire worn or unserviceable American flags. The ceremony will be conducted in accordance with traditional protocols and reflects the values […]
The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center (NHOTIC), with thanks to the James and Marion Miller Foundation, will host an “Oregon Folklife Residency,” a 7-month partnership with the Oregon Folklife Network. Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, the friend’s organization for NHOTIC, reached out to the Oregon Folklife Network to develop a plan to bring Oregon Cultural […]
Join Oregon Humanities for a conversation with the extraordinary poet and novelist Naomi Shihab Nye about nations and communities. What makes this nation, the United States, what it is? How do nations change over time, and what moves those changes? How do communities become what we hope them to be? How should we strive to […]
A Beat Happening celebrates its 9th anniversary with the Summer Frequencies Showcase on Sunday, June 21, 2026, from 3–7pm at L’Atelier Yaffe, a Black-owned gallery and café on Portland’s inner Eastside. This free, all-ages event brings together leading local Portland music collectives — including A Beat Happening, Let Her Cook, The Thesis, Global Based, Hungry […]
The Crooked River Roundup rodeo was conceived in the early 1940s when a group of ranchers decided to pool their resources and create an event that would embody all that Crook County had to offer. They wanted to draw on the past and keep their storied cowboy traditions alive. After collecting $100 from dozens of […]
Music in the Pines is La Pine’s community concert series, offering live music, local food, vendors, and relaxed summer evenings in the beautiful outdoor setting of La Pine Parks and Recreation. Featuring local bands and community-centered activities, the series gives residents and visitors a true taste of La Pine’s culture, creativity, and natural beautity — […]
Umatilla County Historical Society (UCHS) will be collecting stories from March 1 through July 4, 2026. Museum staff will attend multiple events around the county to deliver archival paper to communities who wish to participate. On June 27, Heritage Station will host “share your story,” a day set aside for those wishing to contribute their […]
2026 marks the nation’s 250th anniversary as well as the 50th anniversary of the termination of Executive Order 9066. As we reflect on these two milestones, what does democracy mean when it is denied, challenged, and ultimately restored? For the Japanese Americans featured in this exhibition, the answer was to fight injustice with action. Learn […]
Join us for the 7th annual Archaeology & Culture Keepers Roadshow in Harney County on Saturday, June 27. The 2026 theme is “Fire & Water,” fundamental to the human story for all times and places. The Harney County Cultural Coalition has assembled artisans and craftspeople who will be demonstrating traditional skills such as saddle making and silver […]
Join us on Saturday, June 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as we celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary (the semiquincentennial)! Grab your souvenir passport to Oregon and America’s history (while supplies last.) Have your passport stamped at locations within the building and outside in the park and return for a 250th semiquincentennial gift. Passport stops […]
Since Oregon's founding in 1859, Jews have participated in public life—building towns and holding office in the nineteenth century, advocating for civil rights, immigrant communities, and social justice in the decades that followed. Drawing from the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education’s collections, How We Show Up shares the stories of early Jewish […]
One Nation Exhibition brings together contemporary artists who explore the ideals and contradictions embedded in the American promise. Drawing on the national motto E Pluribus Unum, “Out of Many, One,” the exhibition reflects on how a diverse society strives toward unity while confronting social, political, and cultural divisions. Through painting, photography, sculpture, textile, and mixed […]
The Oregon Bach Festival presents Beyond Borders, a powerful concert exploring how music tells the story of America. Across generations, composers displaced by war, persecution, or political upheaval found refuge in the United States, bringing new voices and traditions with them. This stirring program highlights the power of art to survive and flourish through tumult, […]
Experience five days of action-packed rodeo performances June 30 to July 4 at the St. Paul Rodeo, featuring professional rodeo athletes competing for more than half a million dollars in prize money, carnival rides, food vendors, shopping, live entertainment, and refreshments in our Tack Room Saloon and Outpost Bar. Don’t miss the July 4th parade […]
Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate is a dedicated American Indian classical composer and pianist who expresses his native culture in symphonic music, ballet, and opera. His compositions have been commissioned by major North American orchestras and ensembles, and his works are performed throughout the world. Oregon Bach Festival 2026 presents the world premiere of his Friendship Songs […]
America is a land of many traditions, cultures, and voices that come together to create something entirely new. In this special collaboration, the Oregon Bach Festival and Chamber Music Northwest honor our country’s incredibly diverse musical heritage and rich tapestry of traditions by weaving Dvořák’s American Quintet with groundbreaking works by the innovative Henry Cowell […]
Gather your friends and put your knowledge of America's semiquincentennial to the test! Teams of up to six people are invited to join us for a trivia night in at 1188 Brewery in John Day. Questions will be curated from our local historians, archaeologists and museum staff. They will exemplify all that is great about […]
Journey across America with two powerful musical visions. Antonín Dvořák’s beloved ‘New World’ Symphony captures the excitement and yearning of a land of promise. Inspired by American landscapes and folk tunes, it blends soaring melodies and lush orchestration to paint a majestic musical portrait of discovery and enduring spirit. The profound and nostalgic work is […]
Join the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes baseball team for a two-day patriotic! The event will honor military personnel and veterans and is presented in coordination with Major General Julie Bentz, Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark, the National Guard, and countless other military personnel. Salem-Keizer Volcanoes have been hosting Patriotic Tributes for 20 years and won Minor League Baseball’s […]
Join the Columbia River Maritime Museum on July 3, 2026, as educator Julia Triezenberg discusses the history of Columbia River canneries, their impact on coastal communities, and the legacy they leave behind. The first cannery on the Columbia River was established by brothers William and George Hume and their partner, Andrew Hapgood, in 1866. Less than […]
Jon Lee is fourth-generation Chinese American musician and storyteller whose songs explore the people, places, and histories of the Pacific Northwest. He loves to share his music with any listening audience. Memorable gigs have taken him to the Liberty Theatre in Astoria, the Wallowa County Courthouse, the French Glenn Hotel, the Matlock Grange Hall, and […]
History Bricks Its LEGO™ meets history this July 4th as we celebrate America’s 250th by exploring historic landmarks of Deschutes County. We are inviting community members to explore, learn about, and recreate the distinctive architectural landscape of historic Deschutes County. Participants will learn about the origins of our historic landmarks, the people and places behind […]
A full day of July 4th events in Wallowa! Beginning with a breakfast at Wallowa's American Legion Hall, following by a parade, street fair, and a decorated cake contest in […]
The Greater Yamhill County U.S. Semiquincentennial Celebration honors 250 years of American independence, civic responsibility, and service. The event highlights the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the hard-fought Revolutionary War that secured our freedom, connecting those historic acts of courage to the continuing service and sacrifices of veterans who have defended that freedom […]
For more than 60 years, Wallowa's Old Time 4th of July Parade has brought together community members and visitors from across Oregon and beyond to celebrate Independence Day. This year's celebration is especially meaningful as we honor America's 250 birthday with hopes of welcoming more parade entries than ever before. The event features a hometown […]
Join your neighbors for a nationwide communal meal on Sunday, July 5, 2026, as part of America250 Utah’s “America’s Potluck.” This initiative invites communities to slow down, share food, and connect across differences — fostering belonging, conversation, and unity. Inspired by the tradition of Sunday dinner, participants are encouraged to host or co-host a potluck […]
