The 10th Vanport Mosaic Festival
May 17 – June 1, 2025
“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
Program (in progress): bit.ly/VanportFestival10
The 10th Vanport Mosaic Festival is made possible by:
Autzen Foundation, Oregon Historical Society, Metro, and Travel Portland.
With additional support by Marie Lamfrom Foundation, RW Naito Foundation, and the City of Portland Office of Arts & Culture.
Special thanks to the Portland Expo Center.
We are still seeking financial support to bring this festival to life.
Contact us for sponsorships, volunteering, or partnerships:
info@vanportmosaic.org | (510) 717-2441 | Donate | Volunteer
PROGRAM (in progress)
Registration links will go live on April 21. Check back often as we continue to add events and activations!
SATURDAY, MAY 17 | 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Annual Reunion for Vanport Residents, Flood Survivors & Descendants
Private event by invitation only
SUNDAY, MAY 18 | 11:00 AM
Malcom X Day - Power to the People: Black Panthers Walking Tour
Join Mr. Kent Ford, co-founder of Portland's chapter of the '60s-era Black empowerment organization, for a walking tour in NE Portland. Listen to personal memories of revolutionary activism and community service, and be inspired for today’s fight for change.
Start location: Matt Dishman Center parking lot
SUNDAY, MAY 18 | 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Celebrating 10 Years of Memory Activism – Open House & Fundraising
Location: Alberta House
Screening of Vanport Oral History documentaries with special guests from the Vanport community, and artistic offerings.
TUESDAY, MAY 20 | 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Fasten Your Seat Belts... It's Been a Bumpy Ride
During this four-hour bus tour operated by the Fair Housing Council of Oregon, we’ll visit sites throughout Portland and hear personal stories from guests with firsthand experiences of economic segregation, housing discrimination, and the ongoing fight for equitable access to safe, secure housing.
Start/End location: Alberta House
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
The Spirit of Vanport
Join Portland State University’s Office of Diversity and Global Inclusion and Vanport Mosaic to honor the lives affected by the 1948 Vanport flood. This event also features the permanent Vanport Mosaic installation housed at PSU.
Location: PSU Vanport Building
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21 | 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Oregon Racial History
Dr. Raymond Douglas Chong presents an in-depth lecture on the history of racial discrimination in Oregon, spanning from its territorial days to the 21st century. His research highlights the systemic targeting of Indigenous, Black, Jewish, Chinese, Sikh, Japanese, and Mexican communities through scapegoating, exclusion, and dehumanization.
Location: Alberta House
THURSDAY, MAY 22 | 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Global Water Dance Workshop
Led by Dr. Mindy J. Chappell, professor of Secondary Education at Portland State University, this workshop introduces participants to Global Water Dances (GWD) and teaches choreography for Portland’s local section. This embodied representation of memory activism celebrates Vanport’s resilience and highlights the power of remembrance.
Location: PSU Vanport Building, Room 262
Registration limited to 20 participants — Registration link coming soon.
SATURDAY, MAY 24 & SUNDAY, MAY 25 | 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Young Archivists: Living Archive at Jefferson High School
Students from Jefferson High School’s after-school Young Archivists program invite the community to help build the Living Archive. Come get scanned, share your story, and explore student-led documentation honoring Jefferson’s rich multigenerational legacy. Alumni, faculty, students, and community members welcome!
Location: Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)
SATURDAY, MAY 24 | 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Lost City, Living Memories: Vanport Through the Voices of Its Residents
Screening of short oral history documentaries from the Vanport Mosaic collection. Special guests from the Vanport community will be in attendance to reflect on the stories shared. Featuring live music by the Northwest Freedom Singers.
Location: Alberta House
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28 | 11:00 AM
City of Portland’s Proclamation for a Vanport Day of Remembrance
Join Vanport survivors and descendants and Vanport Mosaic memory activists as we commemorate the anniversary of the Memorial Day flood that destroyed Vanport in 1948. Mayor Keith Wilson will officially declare May 30 as Vanport Day of Remembrance.
Location: Portland City Hall
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28 | 6:00 – 8:00 PM
“Not a Fad or Frill”: A Love Letter to Vanport’s Music Teachers
Public historian and ethnomusicologist Mrs. Kelly Bosworth shares her findings from years of archival exploration on the music of Vanport, focusing on the incredible contributions of two musical educators in the Vanport schools: Mrs. Ada Wood and Mrs. Martha Jordan.
Location: Alberta House
SATURDAY, MAY 31 | 12:00 – 4:00 PM
Vanport Day of Remembrance
Ceremonies, tours, performances, pop-up exhibits, story circles, screenings, singing, and land art on the Indigenous land where Vanport once stood and where nearly 4,000 Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated.
Location: Delta Park, Expo Center/Assembly Center
SUNDAY, JUNE 1 | 3:00 – 6:00 PM
The Portland Assembly Center / We Are Still Here
Vanport Mosaic in collaboration with Resonance Ensemble, artist Chisao Hata, and descendants of incarceration survivors presents a powerful afternoon of music, dance, theater, and reclamation. This communal reflection honors the legacy of Japanese American incarceration at the Expo Center through creative activation and collective memory.
Location: Delta Park, Expo Center/Assembly Center
STORY HARVEST
Did you or a family member live in Vanport?
Your memories matter. We invite you to contribute to the Vanport Mosaic Living Archive. For over a decade, we’ve been collaborating with the Vanport former residents and descendants to preserve and amplify this essential chapter of Oregon’s history. Together, we’ve built the largest existing archive of Vanport oral histories, with over 100 stories already recorded.
Throughout the Festival the Vanport Mosaic team will digitize your scrapbooks, photos, and artifacts about Vanport, and conduct interviews.
Contact our Program manager Greta Smith at greta@vanportmosaic.org
(Photo by Julie Keefe: Ms. Betty Jones at the annual Vanport Reunion.)
