November 10, 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., Eugene Public Library, Eugene

November 12, 2026

Community-in-Action Series with Living Opportunities CEO Amber Myre

The Jacksonville Community Center is proud to partner with Living Opportunities  for a meaningful community gathering.

Living Opportunities is a non-profit organization that serves as one of the largest service providers for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities—such as autism, cerebral palsy, and seizure disorders—in Southern Oregon. They empower adults and children to live independently and actively participate in their local communities through 24-hour residential care, supported living assistance, tailored job coaching for local business employment, creative arts programs, and specialized behavioral consulting.

The current CEO, Amber Myre will highlight the experiences, perspectives, creativity, and advocacy of people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

This program is funded in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities.

4:00 p.m., Jacksonville Community Center, Jacksonville

November 13, 2026

Sixtieth Anniversary of Jacksonville National Historic District

In 1966, Jacksonville made history by becoming the first city in Oregon to be designated a National Historic Landmark District, recognized as a remarkably preserved late 1800s Gold Rush boom town. This milestone event reflects on six decades of community effort, preservation, and local pride that kept Jacksonville’s rich heritage alive for generations.

Tickets for this event are available at jacksonvillecommunitycenter.org.

Join Jacksonville Community Center to observe this anniversary with Larry Smith, a beloved local historian, author, and retired fifth-grade teacher who taught at Jacksonville Elementary School for thirty-three years before retiring in 2000. Known as the unofficial historian of Jacksonville, Larry is a founding member and executive director of the Jacksonville Woodlands Association, an avid photographer with an archive of over twenty thousand local historic photos, and a former interpretive park ranger at Crater Lake National Park. His lifelong dedication to education and preservation has played a key role in protecting both Jacksonville’s history and its natural trail network.

This event is supported by a Public Programs Grant from Oregon Humanities.

4:30 to 6:00 p.m., Jacksonville Community Center, Jacksonville

November 16, 2026

Consider This Watch Party: Trust and Political Institutions

Join Oregon Humanities for a live watch party of our Consider This conversation about trust, elections, and our political systems and culture. Our guests for this conversation are Paul Gronke, director of the Elections & Voting Information Center at Reed College, and Susheela Jayapal, a former Multnomah County Commissioner and current fellow with the North Star Civic Foundation.

7:00 p.m., HQ, La Grande

November 16, 2026

Consider This: Trust and Political Institutions

Join us in Portland on November 16—two weeks after election day—for a conversation about trust, elections, and our political systems and culture with Paul Gronke, director of the Elections & Voting Information Center at Reed College, and Susheela Jayapal, a former Multnomah County Commissioner and current fellow with the North Star Civic Foundation.

Polling of voters in the US shows that confidence in elections and political institutions has fallen over the past two years. In this onstage conversation, moderated by Adam Davis, we'll dig into the factors that affect the public's faith in our democracy and how that declining trust shapes how we vote and how we govern ourselves. 

Tickets are $15 and available from The Old Church. 

7:00 p.m., The Old Church, Portland

November 18, 2026

At a Loss for Words

Join Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston for a free and public event in the Lincoln City Cultural Center. The event will include a presentation and time for audience Q&A.

6:30 p.m., Lincoln City Cultural Center, Lincoln City

November 19, 2026

Conversation Project: Housing and Belonging

Housing and homelessness is a visible and divisive issue in local media, in politics, and across different communities within our state. Many of us were experiencing housing instability and economic uncertainty even during the “boom” times before the current crisis. This conversation will explore common assumptions and perspectives about the experience of houselessness/homelessness and seek to answer the question: How do we decide who “belongs” in our community?

Facilitator Julia Waters is a writer, musician, facilitator, and administrative assistant. She also works as a mutual aid organizer, cooking and delivering meals made from leftover farm produce to people living outside. Waters has worked in environmental education and social services, volunteered in mental health fields, and spent many years working in the service industry. When not working, you might find Julia jotting down a new lyric or engaged in a meaningful conversation with a friend.

1:00 p.m., Portland Community College Sylvania Campus, Portland

December 2, 2026

Cheers to Community

Join us for an evening filled with conversation and curated wines while supporting Oregon Humanities' winter fundraising campaign. We are delighted to partner with our friends Ora et Labora Wine Shop to gather neighbors and supporters at the Vinum Lounge to celebrate the many ways our community is coming together to support greater connection.

5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Ora et Labora Wine Shop and Vinum Lounge, Portland

December 3, 2026

Poetry Night: Ellen Waterston and Jeff Fearnside

Cozy up for a night of poetry as acclaimed writers Ellen Waterston and Jeff Fearnside share their latest collections. Completed while travelling the state during her first year as Oregon’s Poet Laureate, the poems in Waterston’s As Far as I Can Anthem enlist the people and places across Oregon to inform, challenge and inspire readers in vital and unexpected ways. Fearnside’s most recent book, Lake: Love Poems, is focused on the concept of place, specifically Central Asia, where he lived for four years, and Oregon, his home for the past 13 years. The poems are connected by the thread of his courtship with and marriage to the woman who has experienced these places with him, his life partner Valentina.​

Free tickets are available here.

5:30 p.m., PRAx, Corvallis

January 14, 2027

Film Screening and Discussion: "Your Attention Please"

Oregon Humanities and PAMCUT's Tomorrow Theater present a screening of Sara Robin's documentary Your Attention Please followed by a facilitated conversation. 

A new generation of parents, teens, and reformers are fighting back against Big Tech’s agenda to define the future of human connection. From Kristin, a mother pursuing legislative reform after losing her son, to Trisha, a young programmer building technology to stop cyberbullying, the film reveals how deeply the attention economy is shaping childhood, mental health, and human connection. Blending intimate human stories with insights from leading experts in tech reform and digital wellbeing, Your Attention Please asks some of the most urgent questions of our time: Can we reclaim our autonomy? Can technology be redesigned to serve humanity? And what does a healthier relationship with the digital world look like for us and our kids?

Tickets for this free event are available at tomorrowtheater.org.

7:00 p.m., Tomorrow Theater, Portland