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.)