About the Festival
“The annual festival is a highlight of Portland’s cultural calendar, blending history, culture, arts and activism into a living and highly creative memorial.”
-Bob Hicks, Oregon Arts Watch
2022 marks the 80th anniversary of the building of Vanport, once Oregon’s second largest city, and the largest WWII federal housing project in the United States.
At a time when exclusion and racial segregation were the norm, Vanport was a place of belonging.
Eighty years later, at a time when today's many crises have highlighted our community's continuing inequities, what can the history and living spirit of Vanport tell us today? Join us for arts performances, screenings, exhibits, tours, dialogues, gatherings and celebrations.
For questions, sponsorship, partnerships and volunteering opportunities,
get in touch with the festival organizer Laura Lo Forti at laura@vanportmosaic.org.
AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS
Vanport Mosaic’ work in collaboration with the Vanport Community and partners has been funded by a grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Telling the Full History Preservation Fund, with support from National Endowment for the Humanities. We are honored to be one of 80 organizations nationwide recognized for helping to preserve historic places to tell stories of underrepresented groups.
Our memory activism has been awarded the Oregon Heritage Excellence Award, the Spirit of Portland Award by City Commissioner Nick Fish, and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council’s Achievement Award.
FESTIVAL 2022 TEAM:
Advisor: Mr. Ed Washington, Vanport survivor and VM Board Member
Festival Director: Story Midwife Laura Lo Forti
Festival Co-creators/co-conspirators: Yolanda Baines, Ridhi D’Cruz, Andrew DeVigal, Dianna Fontes, Laveta Gilmore Jones, Chisao Hata, Matthew Kerrigan, Kim Moreland, Allan Lazo, Joemil Santos, Vin Shamby, Shalanda Sims, Michael Stevenson Jr., Illia Yakovenko.
Marketing: Ariana Donaville and Syann Cromwell/Rebellious PR & Consulting; Vanport Mosaic intern Noah Douge
Design: Cynthia Tuan, Megan Hattie Stahl (shout out to Yvonne Perez/The Study for creating our logo and festival original branding!)
Special thanks:
- Special thanks to Vanport Mosaic general manager Judith Yeckel for the many years of magic behind the scene.
- Shout out to Vanport Mosaic co-director Damaris Webb; her mentees Leah Hartzell and Riley Lozano; Mr. Kent Ford; and Cleo Davis, who are working on an incredibly special project that will open right after the festival! Stay tuned for the premiere of Walking Through Portland with a Panther: The Life of Mr Kent Ford. All Power! - a new solo play by Don Wilson Glenn, directed by Damaris Webb and featuring La’Tevin Alexander.
- Past, present, and future board members + dreamers/believers + collaborators + mentors + volunteers + forever VM family: Katy Barber, Susan Barthel, Velynn Brown, Brian Burk, Raymond Burrell, James Burke, Alex Chiu, Helen Daltoso, Sunshine Dixon, Eliza Canty-Jones, Janice Dilg, Karen Carillo, Todd and Angie Fadel, Rujuta Gaonkar, Darrel Grant, Laura John, James Harrison, Karim Hassanein, Regina Ingabire, Tim Hecox, Julie Keefe, Lisa Loving, Jen Lundstrom, Heather McCafee, Renee Mitchell, Dmae Roberts, Joel Schoening, Samson Syharath, Greta Smith, George Thorne…
Our deep gratitude to the former Vanport residents and flood survivors for keeping this history alive, and for sharing the gift of their stories.
