May 30 marks the 77th anniversary of the flood that destroyed Vanport—once Oregon’s second largest city and the largest WWII federal housing project in the United States.
What became known as “Oregon’s Katrina” took the lives of at least 15 people (more, according to community memory) and displaced over 18,000 residents. The disaster—and the government’s failure to adequately respond—exposed deep racial and economic inequities that still echo today.
As part of the Festival's closing weekend, we invite you to join us tomorrow for our annual Day of Remembrance at the Portland Expo Center—a site layered with histories of displacement, resilience, and resistance.
Vanport Day of Remembrance
“We dedicate this day to this sacred place. The land. The water. The people. All of what makes this place, this place. This sacred place. This living place. Rooted in the memories of all that has happened. Reaching for the potency of all that is to unfurl.”
— ridhi d’cruz
✨ Highlights of the Day
- City Proclamation of Vanport Day of Remembrance (approx. 2:30 PM)
- Pop-up exhibits, community tabling, and altar — Throughout the day
🎭 Featured Performance
The Portland Assembly Center Project
A multidisciplinary performance reclaiming the Expo Center as a place of resistance and reflection. Learn more about this powerful offering by visiting the dedicated event page.
Pop-up Exhibits & Installations
- History is Now: A “museum without walls” created by Vanport Mosaic and Design as Protest, with contributions from Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Oregon Black Pioneers, Five Oaks Museum, Portland Chinatown Museum, and more.
- Murals by Alex Chiu: Painted live during Vanport Mosaic story circles with Vanport and Albina community members.
- Remember Us by Chisao Hata: A temporary memorial honoring Japanese Americans held at the Portland Assembly Center in 1942.
- Japanese American Museum of Oregon: Displaying history boards, signage, photographs, and memorabilia of the Assembly Center.
- The Architecture of Internment by Graham Street Productions: A traveling exhibit exploring Oregon’s role in Japanese American incarceration during WWII.
Site Installation: First, we remember. And after?
This powerful installation honors the layered histories of Vanport: land theft, flooding, displacement, and incarceration that have affected Indigenous, Black, Japanese, Japanese American, and Vanport communities.
As Metro begins a process to reimagine the Expo Center and surrounding land, this installation asks: Once you become aware, what happens next? How do we ensure that this land’s legacy—including the injustices it holds—is not forgotten, but honored and reckoned with?
We invite you to add your voice—to imagine, demand, and help shape a future that centers justice and healing.
This work is among several offerings from the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Colloqate, and artists Sia Hanna, Tonya Abernathy, and daniela del mar.
In Hope and Solidarity,
Vanport Mosaic
