Check back often! This schedule is frequently updated with new events and information on tickets & times!
Thursday May 18, 2:30
PM - 4PM celebration
The Spirit of Vanport
Location: PSU Vanport Building, 1810 SW 5th Ave, Portland, OR 97201
FREE & open to the public
Festival Kick-Off presented by PSU President Stephen Percy, PSU Office of Diversity and Global Inclusion, honoring Vanport’s former residents, survivors, and descendants. This is also an opportunity to see the permanent Vanport Mosaic installation.
Friday, May 19th | exhibit + TALK
Black History 101 Mobile Museum + Dr. Khalil el-Hakim’s talk
Location: Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
FREE & open to the public/GALLERY HOURS: 12-8 pm - presentation at 6 pm
Founded by Dr. Khalid el-Hakim, the Black History 101 Mobile Museum is an award-winning collection of over 10,000 original artifacts of Black memorabilia dating from the trans-Atlantic slave trade era to hip-hop culture. Dr. el-Hakim has been called the "Schomburg of the Hip-Hop generation" because of his passionate commitment to carrying on the rich tradition of the Black Museum Movement.
Friday, May 19 to Sunday, May 28th | exhibit
Artwork by Henk Pander: “The Climate Refugees of Vanport” and the “The Artist as Eyewitness to History”
Location: Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
FREE & open to the public/GALLERY HOURS: 4-6 pm Fri 19th - Sun 21st; Closed Mon 22nd - Wed 24th; 4-6 pm Thurs 25th - Fri 26th; Closed Sat 27th; 1-8 pm Sun 28th
Originally from the Netherlands, Henk Pander was a child during WWII. Since immigrating to the PNW in 1965, he became one of the region’s most renowned artists. This “art giant” passed away on April 7th, 2023, but his legacy continues through his artwork.
Friday, May 19 to Sunday, May 28th | exhibit
Wall to Wall Soul
Location: Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
FREE & open to the public/GALLERY HOURS: 4-6pm Fri 19th - Sun 21st; Closed Mon 22nd - Wed 24th; 4-6pm Thurs 25th - Fri 26th; Closed Sat 27th; 1-8pm Sun 28thIn 1960s Portland, the Cotton Club was a pillar in Albina’s Black community. The venue welcomed a multigenerational and multiracial clientele, presenting live music and much more. A destination for touring acts and a common ground for locals, owner Paul Knauls, Sr. has famously described it as “The only place on the West Coast with Wall To Wall Soul.” Now, over half a century later, Albina Music Trust presents photography, newsprint, and poster art depicting this legendary epoch in Portland music history.
Vanport: The Surge of Social Change
Location: Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
FREE & open to the public/Gallery HOURS: 4-6pm Fri 19th - Sun 21st; Closed Mon 22nd - Wed 24th; 4-6pm Thurs 25th - Fri 26th; Closed Sat 27th; 1-8pm Sun 28th
SATURDAY MAY 20| CELEBRATION
Vanport Survivors and Former Residents
Annual Reunion
Private event, by invitation only.
Questions? info@vanportmosaic.org
Saturday MAY 20, 6PM - 8PM| Presentation
The Music of Miracle City
Location: Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
tickets: sliding scale; limited seats, RSVP recommended
Public historian and ethnomusicologist Kelly Bosworth shares her findings from years of archival exploration on the music of Vanport and the nearby Kaiser shipyards. From late-night boogie-woogie swing shift dances to armed barbershop quartets, from jukebox bans to junior high marching bands, from ceremonial ship launches to untuned recreation center pianos – come to listen to the unique musical soundscape of Vanport and consider its echoes in our world today.
Sunday May 21st, 12PM - 2:20PM| Tour
The Past, Present and Future of Flood Safety
Location: Delta Park MAX Station
FREE & open to the public
Join Flood Safe Columbia River on a walking tour that highlights Vanport’s history, the conditions that led to the catastrophic Vanport flood, and what local partners are doing to prevent catastrophic flooding in the future.
Sunday May 21st, 2PM - 4PM| Panel
SOUL Conversation
Location: Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
tickets: $5-$15; limited seats, RSVP recommended
Albina Music Trust brings together Albina’s elder musicians to activate memory through storytelling. The event features Mel Brown, Norman Sylvester, Ron Steen, Bruce Smith, and Calvin Walker.
Tuesday May 23, 6PM-8PM | PResentation
Guild’s Lake: An Impermanent Housing Project
Location: Lloyd Center Mall Second Floor West Wing, 1405 Lloyd Center, Portland OR 97232
tickets: $5-$10; limited seats, RSVP recommended
Gallery Opens at 5:30 pm; Lecture 6 pm-7 pm, followed by informal Q&A
Join local historian Dr. Tanya March. for a talk about the history of Guild's Lake Courts
Wednesday May 24, 10:30am - 11:30am | ceremony
City of Portland’s Proclamation for A Vanport Day of Remembrance
Location: Portland City Hall, 1221 Southwest 4th Avenue, Portland, OR
FREE & open to the public
Join Vanport survivors, descendants, and Vanport Mosaic memory activists as we commemorate the anniversary of the Memorial Day flood that destroyed Vanport in 1948, and Mayor Ted Wheeler declares May 30 Vanport Day of Remembrance.
Thursday May 25th, 6PM - 8PM| screening
Lost City, Living Memories: Vanport Through The Voices of Its Residents
Location: Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
Free; limited seats, RSVP recommended
Screening of short oral history documentaries from the Vanport Mosaic collection - in collaboration with Columbia Slough Watershed Council.
Friday, May 26 to June 11 | exhibit
Vanport: A Story Lived. A Story Told
Location: Rose Festival CityFair, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 98 SW Naito PKWY, Portland, OR 97204
FREE & open to the public
May 26 - 5 pm-10pm; May 27-29 - 12 pm-9pm; May 30-June 1 - CLOSED; June 2-4 - 12 pm-9pm; June 5-8 - CLOSED; June 9-11 - 12 pm-9 pm
Saturday May 27 & Monday May 29th| tour
Presence and Preservation: Force Lake Birdwatching and Historical Walking Tour
Location: Delta Park/Historic Vanport, Portland, OR
TICKETS: Sliding scale $5-$10; LIMITED SPOTS; RSVP RECOMMENDED
May 27 Open to the Public - May 29 For WOMIN & Queer-centered Community walk
Join Marti Clemmons (Portland State University archivist/historian) and Han Lyons (BIRDHERS) as they contextualize a space where history and nature meet.
Saturday May 27th, 12:00PM - 4:00PM
Day of Remembrance
Location: Delta Park / The Expo Center, Portland, OR
Free & open to the public
Memory activism, tours, stories, pop-up exhibits, and screenings on the Indigenous land where Vanport once stood and where nearly 4,000 Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated.
Saturday May 27, 12:30pm | WALK
Soft Earth Hard Ground
Location: Start at Vanport MAX Station Parking area
TICKETS: Sliding scale $5-$15; LIMITED SPOTS; RSVP RECOMMENDED
Walk with artist Linda Wysong. Slow down and examine history through ecology, art, and justice. We will stroll along a slough and happen upon artists, storytellers, and the dancer Takahiro Yamamoto.
Saturday May 28th, 11am - 2:00pm | WALK
Guild’s Lake Walking Tour
Location: Starts at Lovett Deconstruction & Salvage Shop. 4315 NW St Helens Rd
TICKETS: Sliding scale $5-$15; LIMITED SPOTS; RSVP RECOMMENDED
Join Sarah Taylor the founder of the Braided River Campaign and a longtime environmentalist and historian Dr. Tanya March as they take you to multiple sites associated with the former riparian marsh lands of NW Portland Industrial Area.
Sunday May 28th, 1 PM - 8:30PM
A Community Altar for Collective Grief, Gratitude, and Grace
Location: Historic Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd Ave
Free & open to the public