June 25, 2026

What Does It Mean to Be American?

This conversation will explore when and how we define ourselves as an “American.” Does knowing the Constitution make us American? Does living on land controlled by the United States of America make us American? Through conversation and nonverbal exploration, we will share what “American” means to us individually and within the communities we belong to or came from, and what perspectives shaped our understanding of American identity and who is included in “We the People.”

6:00 p.m., Parkdale Library, Parkdale

June 25, 2026

Tertulias...¡de película! en Español: "Malamadre"

Tertulias… ¡de Película! Es un encuentro trimestral en español donde exploramos cortometrajes, documentales y películas, y conversamos abierta y sinceramente sobre las ideas y emociones que nos despierta el cine. Es un espacio para conectar, aprender y compartir, pensado para personas hispanohablantes que desean vivir historias a través del cine.

Nuestra Tertulia de Junio será con la temática del día de la madre que se celebra el 10 de Mayo. "Malamadre" narra la historia no contada de la maternidad, desde el punto de vista de la mujer. Todo el mundo tiene una madre pero la maternidad sigue siendo un estado lleno de silencios. Entre el mandato de la sociedad de ser una 'buena madre' siempre paciente, cariñosa, feliz y la realidad de lo que implica ser madre. Este documental rompe este silencio a través de entrevistas sinceras con madres de todos los orígenes y generaciones en América Latina.

5:30 a 7:30 p.m., Redmond Public Library, Redmond

June 25, 2026

Tertulias...¡de película! en Español: "Malamadre"

Tertulias… ¡de Película! Es un encuentro trimestral en español donde exploramos cortometrajes, documentales y películas, y conversamos abierta y sinceramente sobre las ideas y emociones que nos despierta el cine. Es un espacio para conectar, aprender y compartir, pensado para personas hispanohablantes que desean vivir historias a través del cine. Nuestra Tertulia de Junio será con la temática del día de la madre que se celebra el 10 de Mayo. "Malamadre" narra la historia no contada de la maternidad, desde el punto de vista de la mujer. Todo el mundo tiene una madre pero la maternidad sigue siendo un estado lleno de silencios. Entre el mandato de la sociedad de ser una 'buena madre' siempre paciente, cariñosa, feliz y la realidad de lo que implica ser madre. Este documental rompe este silencio a través de entrevistas sinceras con madres de todos los orígenes y generaciones en América Latina.

5:30 a 7:30 p.m., Redmond Public Library, Redmond

June 26, 2026

Talking About Values Across Political Divides

“How can I be me without making it difficult for you to be you?” This question gets at the fundamental challenge of being in society together. We live in a contentious political world, and it’s difficult to talk about our deepest values and beliefs in safe, civil, and respectful ways. In 2021, the Pew Research Center found that nearly six in ten Americans felt that political conversations with those you disagree with are generally stressful and frustrating, as opposed to being interesting and informative. If we avoid such conversations, we lose opportunities to form a community with others that reflects our best selves. How can we learn to share our values in ways that bring us together rather than push us further apart?

5:30 p.m., Cook Memorial Library, La Grande

June 27, 2026

What Does It Mean to Be American?

This conversation will explore when and how we define ourselves as an “American.” Does knowing the Constitution make us American? Does living on land controlled by the United States of America make us American? Through conversation and nonverbal exploration, we will share what “American” means to us individually and within the communities we belong to or came from, and what perspectives shaped our understanding of American identity and who is included in “We the People.”

2:00 p.m., Jacksonville Branch Library, Jacksonville

July 8, 2026

Preservación de nuestra Cultura y Tradiciones

Reflexionemos sobre la Importancia de la identidad cultural latina, el uso de la lengua nativa y la preservación de las tradiciones y costumbres. Esta conversación es para personas que han emigrado de países hispanohablantes, o descendientes de inmigrantes (hasta la 3ra generación) que están interesados en reconectarse con su cultura. Aquí compartiremos historias y vivencias sobre el nivel de conexión que aún tenemos con nuestras raíces, y finalmente reflexionaremos sobre qué podemos hacer para reconectarnos en caso de que exista tal añoranza.

6:00 p.m., Central Library at Stevens Ranch, Bend

July 18, 2026

Democracy in Motion

The constitution grants congress the power to establish post roads and regulate interstate commerce. For 250 years, political decisions rooted in these powers have shaped how we travel from place to place and even who can travel from place to place. For some, transportation is a mundane issue: the vehicles and routes that are needed to get where they need to go are available and convenient, even if they might not work perfectly sometimes. For others, getting around can be difficult and exhausting, or even impossible. Some find joy in getting around and others face barriers. How does transportation reflect our democratic values? Does how we get around foster democracy? If not, could it be made so?

11:30 a.m., Grants Pass Library, Grants Pass

July 18, 2026

To What Do We Pledge?

While the opening of the Declaration of Independence gets the fanfare and the fireworks—“When in the course of human events” and all that—the closing clause contains a quiet promise: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” When we talk about the founding, we often think of it as a severing from a distant power and a proclamation of individual rights. And yet, buried in that big individualistic origin story, there is a pledge of support, solidarity, and mutual aid. Today, as we witness political violence, hostility, and polarization, this conversation invites us to explore what it means for us to be bound to one another and to ask ourselves: Is there any idea, any value, any dream for the future that we care about enough to tie ourselves to one another to protect or pursue it? What would it mean to “mutually pledge” ourselves to one another today? What would it look like? Feel like? Is it even possible?

Facilitator Wendy Willis is the founding director of Oregon's Kitchen Table, a statewide community engagement program housed at Portland State University. She is also a poet, an essayist, a stitcher, and a self-proclaimed democracy geek. Wendy was raised in Springfield, but now lives with her family in Portland.

3:00 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library, Mt. Angel

July 29, 2026

Pleading the Fifth: A Conversation About Self and Liberty

The Fifth Amendment has long been hailed as the ultimate safeguard of individual civil liberty against the authoritarian power of the state. It gives us the right to “due process of law” when charged with a crime. It protects us from “double jeopardy" or being prosecuted twice for the same crime. And it says we cannot be forced to incriminate ourselves, giving us the right not to answer questions that would suggest we have committed a crime. Do we still value the guarantees of the Fifth Amendment today? It is supposed to protect us from being forced to bear witness against ourselves. Can a person be truly safe from themselves in this place and time?

Register for this free event.

6:00 p.m., Bethany Library Annex, Portland

July 29, 2026

To What Do We Pledge?

While the opening of the Declaration of Independence gets the fanfare and the fireworks—“When in the course of human events” and all that—the closing clause contains a quiet promise: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” When we talk about the founding, we often think of it as a severing from a distant power and a proclamation of individual rights. And yet, buried in that big individualistic origin story, there is a pledge of support, solidarity, and mutual aid. Today, as we witness political violence, hostility, and polarization, this conversation invites us to explore what it means for us to be bound to one another and to ask ourselves: Is there any idea, any value, any dream for the future that we care about enough to tie ourselves to one another to protect or pursue it? What would it mean to “mutually pledge” ourselves to one another today? What would it look like? Feel like? Is it even possible?

Facilitator Wendy Willis is the founding director of Oregon's Kitchen Table, a statewide community engagement program housed at Portland State University. She is also a poet, an essayist, a stitcher, and a self-proclaimed democracy geek. Wendy was raised in Springfield, but now lives with her family in Portland.

6:00 p.m., Central Library at Stevens Ranch, Bend