The notion of “Eden” remains central to the rain belt west of the Cascades. Settled by “webfoot” pioneers, the Valley’s inhabitants diversify more each year. Spend a week here to challenge the notion of folklore as “quaint,” rural or apolitical. Explore skateboard culture, Chinese opera, Palestinian textiles, Jewish Sabbath, Hmong funeral rituals, and the revitalization of Native American cultures. Stay for a year and witness the adaptability and resourcefulness that mark all of our cultural expressions.
Introduction:
The folk traditions that many settlers carried with them from the eastern seaboard reflect the northern European roots of early U.S. settlement. What the settlers found on their arrival in the Willamette Valley were indigenous cultures that predated their own arrival by thousands of years.
Touring the Rose City:
Folklife in Portland is a rich brew of distinct flavors and seems to be available wherever you look.
A Weekend in Portland:
Weekends in the Rose City are filled with folk groups creating culture.
Welcoming the New Year:
Each season fosters celebrations particular to its traditions, its pastimes, and its cultural expectations.
The Springtime Return to Life:
A number of events in the valley celebrate the coming of spring and its hoped for abundance.
Summer's Abundance:
Summer festivals in the valley often celebrate matrimony, music, and the long growing season.
Autumnal Celebrations:
Autumn festivals in the valley celebrate the end of the harvest and the day of the dead.
Winter Festivals of Light:
Winter festivals in the valley celebrate the first-fruits of harvest, the raising of lights and the birth of the Christ.
Imagining Difference:
We are all hybrids, immigrants from somewhere, temporary dwellers in this so-called Eden, reaching for what is shared, honoring what is different in our experience.
