PROGRAM

SUNDAY, MAY 18 · 11:00 AM

Malcolm X Day – Power to the People: Black Panthers Walking Tour

Location: Starts in the parking lot of Matt Dishman Community Center

Tickets: Reserve Here

Join Kent Ford, co-founder of Portland’s Black Panther Party, for a powerful walking tour through NE Portland. Listen as he shares personal memories of revolutionary activism and community organizing that continue to inspire today's movements for justice.

SUNDAY, MAY 18 · 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Celebrating 10 Years of Memory Activism – Open House

Location: Alberta House

Join us for an afternoon of storytelling, celebration, and community celebrating a decade of memory activism.

RSVP/INFO coming soon

TUESDAY, MAY 20 · 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Fasten Your Seat Belts... It's Been a Bumpy Ride

Location: Starts/Ends at Alberta House

Learn about Portland housing discrimination history on this popular bus tour by the Fair Housing Council of Oregon.

Tickets: Reserve Here

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21 · 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

The Spirit of Vanport

Location: Vanport Building, 1810 SW 5th Ave.

Join the PSU Office of Diversity and Global Inclusion and the Vanport Mosaic for a celebration of Portland State’s origins as Vanport College and its place in the rich history of Vanport, honoring Vanport’s former residents, survivors, and descendants. This is also an opportunity to see the permanent Vanport Mosaic installation in the lobby of the building.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21 · 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Oregon Racial History

Location: Alberta House

Dr. Raymond Douglas Chong discusses the racial history of Oregon, spanning from its territorial days to statehood and into the early twenty-first century.

Tickets: Reserve Here

THURSDAY, MAY 22 · 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Global Water Dance Workshop

Location: PSU Vanport Building, Room 262

Registration: Sign Up Here

Facilitator: Dr. Mindy J. Chappell, Portland State University

This participatory workshop introduces the Global Water Dances initiative and teaches choreography for the local performance. The dance honors Vanport’s legacy of resilience and uses movement as a form of memory activism.

SATURDAY–SUNDAY, MAY 24–25 · 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Youth Archivist Program

Location: Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)

Led by: Michael Stevenson

The Youth Archivists, a Vanport Mosaic after-school program led by Michael J. Stevenson, invite students, faculty, alumni, and community members to stop by, share memories, and be scanned for the growing Jefferson archive—all while viewing the project’s progress.

Drop-in participation encouraged!

SATURDAY, MAY 24 · 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Black History Walking Tour

Location: Dawson Park

Tickets: Reserve Here

Join Oregon Black Pioneers for a guided walking tour through Portland's historically-Black Albina neighborhood!

SATURDAY, MAY 24 · 6:00 – 9:00 PM

Lost City, Living Memories: Vanport Through the Voices of Its Residents

Location: Alberta House

Tickets: Reserve Here

Screening of short oral history documentaries from the Vanport Mosaic collection, featuring special guests from the Vanport community. With a live musical performance by the Northwest Freedom Singers.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 28 · 6:00 – 8:00 PM

“Not a Fad or Frill”: A Love Letter to Vanport’s Music Teachers

Location: Alberta House

Tickets: Reserve Here

Public historian and ethnomusicologist Kelly Bosworth shares findings from years of archival research on the music of Vanport, focusing on the groundbreaking contributions of music educators Mrs. Ada Wood and Mrs. Martha Jordan.

THURSDAY, MAY 29 · 6:00 PM

Taking Memories

Location: Alberta House

A new staged reading created by Dr. Raina Croff culled from over 400 walking oral history narratives on Black life and aging in Portland, collected through the Sharing History through Active Reminiscence and Photo-imagery study (SHARP).

More info and RSVP coming soon.

SATURDAY, MAY 31 · 12:00 – 4:00 PM

Vanport Day of Remembrance

Location: Delta Park, Expo Center/Assembly Center

RSVP/INFO: Coming Soon

The afternoon features walking tours, performances, and pop-up exhibits on the Indigenous land where Vanport once stood and where nearly 4,000 Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated.

SUNDAY, JUNE 1 · 3:00 – 6:00 PM

The Portland Assembly Center / We Are Still Here

Location: Expo Center / Assembly Center

RSVP/INFO: Coming Soon

Resonance Ensemble and Vanport Mosaic present an immersive site-specific performance of music, theatre, and movement, featuring the award-winning voices of Resonance Ensemble, choral music curated and conducted by Shohei Kobayashi, the world premiere of a new work by acclaimed composer Kenji Bunch, and the Portland Assembly Center Project by Chisao Hata, co-directed by Heath Hyun Houghton.

Exhibits · Alberta House

Gallery Open Throughout Festival

Vanport: A Surge of Social Change – A curated collection exploring Vanport’s lasting legacy.

The Climate Refugees of Vanport – Paintings by Henk Pander.

Beyond Vanport: Remembering Native North Portland – Artwork by Peggy Ball-Morrill.

Buckman 3rd Grade Posters – Student reflections on Vanport’s history.

📍 Alberta House · Open Gallery Hours