MAY 18-JUNE 1, 2024
“The annual festival is a highlight of Portland’s cultural calendar, blending history, culture, arts and activism into a living and highly creative memorial.”
~Oregon Arts Watch/ Bob Hicks
Join us for two weeks of memory activism to explore the many silenced histories that surround us, and
REMEMBER, REPAIR, RECLAIM, and RE-IMAGINE our collective story.
The events will take place in various venues in Portland and are free/sliding scale.
Festival headquarters: The Historic Alberta House | 5131 NE 23rd Ave, Portland OR
Contact: info@vanportmosaic.org
FESTIVAL PROGRAM
Check back often! This schedule is frequently updated with new events and information on tickets & times!
Saturday May 18 | private event
Annual Reunion For Vanport Residents
by invitation only
Sunday May 19th, 10:30am | Tour
MALCOM X Day: Black Panther Party Legacy Tour of Albina
Location: Starts at Matt Dishman Community Center parking lot: 77 Northeast Knott Street, Portland, OR
Tickets: $15
A walking tour with Kent Ford, co-founder of Portland's chapter of the Black Panther Party, exploring memories of revolutionary activism in NE Portland
Sunday May 19th, 2:00 PM - 3:30
PM |
screening
Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting On Two Fronts
Location: Open Signal, 2766 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97212
TICKETS: $5/$15 SLIDING SCALE; LIMITED SEATS, RSVP RECOMMENDED
A screening of a new documentary film by Dru Holley exploring the often-contradictory role played by Black soldiers in American History.
Thursday May 23th, 10-12 | gathering
The Spirit of Vanport
Location: PSU Vanport Building, 1810 Southwest 5th AvenuePortland, OR, 97201
FREE and Open to The Public
Join PSU OFFICE OF DIVERSITY AND GLOBAL INCLUSION and Vanport Mosaic as we come together to honor and remember the lives affected by the flood that destroyed Vanport in one single day, on Memorial Day 1948.
Friday May 24th, 6 PM | talk
The Music of Vanport, The Miracle City
Location: Historic Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
TICKETS: $5/$15 SLIDING SCALE; LIMITED SEATS, RSVP RECOMMENDED
Public historian and ethnomusicologist Kelly Bosworth shares her findings from years of archival exploration of the music of Vanport.
Saturday May 25th, 7:30 PM | theater
Precipice: re-membering, forgetting and claiming home
Location: Historic Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
TICKETS: SLIDING SCALE; LIMITED SEATS, RSVP RECOMMENDED
A new solo play conceived and performed by Damaris Webb; directed by Olivia Mathews; written by Chris Gonzales.
Sunday May 26th, 2:00 PM | theater
Precipice: re-membering, forgetting and claiming home
Location: Historic Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
TICKETS: SLIDING SCALE; LIMITED SEATS, RSVP RECOMMENDED
A new solo play conceived and performed by Damaris Webb; directed by Olivia Mathews; written by Chris Gonzales.
Wednesday May 29th, 11:00am - 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 us at City Hall to commemorate the anniversary of the 1948 Memorial Day flood that destroyed Vanport.
Thursday May 30, 6:00-8:00pm | screening and performance
Lost City, Living Memories: Vanport Through The Voices of Its Residents
Location: Historic Alberta House, 5131 NE 23rd, Portland, OR 97211
TICKETS: $5/$15 SLIDING SCALE; LIMITED SEATS, RSVP RECOMMENDED
Screening of selected short oral history documentaries from the Vanport Mosaic collection. With special guests from the Vanport Community and music performance by the NW Freedom Singers
Saturday June 1, 12:00-4:00pm | placekeeping
An Afternoon of Rooting and Re-Storying
LOCATION: Delta Park / The Expo Center, Portland, OR
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Memory activism, tours, performances, pop-up exhibits, and screenings on the Indigenous land where Vanport once stood and where nearly 4,000 Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated.
As part of this festival culminating event, join us for THE PORTLAND ASSEMBLY CENTER PROJECT by CHISAO HATA - reading starts at 1pm, followed by community reflections.
STORY HARVEST
Did you live in Vanport? Do you have photos, letters, or artifacts to share? Get in touch! info@vanportmosaic.org
Throughout the Festival Vanport Mosaic and XRAYs volunteers will Digitize your scrapbooks, photos, and artifacts about Vanport + record your memories for the Vanport Mosaic Archive.
(Photo by Julie Keefe: Ms. Betty Jones at the annual Vanport Reunion.)
