Events & Opportunities
March 19, 2025
Meet Oregon’s Poet Laureate, Ellen Waterston
Oregon’s Poet Laureate is coming to town. Ellen Waterston is a long time friend of Fishtrap, an accomplished award-winning writer, educator, and supporter of creative writing and writers in Oregon. Fishtrap will open its doors on Wednesday, March 19 for a casual hour to meet and visit with Ellen. Enjoy light snacks and maybe hear a poem or two.
5:00 to 6:00 p.m., Fishtrap, Enterprise
March 21, 2025
Elderspeak: A Lunchtime Discussion
A talk with Ellen Waterston, Oregon’s Poet Laureate. A celebrated author, poet, and literary arts advocate, Waterston is known for her evocative storytelling and deep connection to the Western landscape. She will share insights into her writing journey, read selections from her work, and discuss the power of poetry to shape our understanding of place.
Noon to 1 p.m., Josephy Center for Arts and Culture, Joseph
March 22, 2025
Bridging Time: An Exploration to and from Ourselves with Jacque Hammond and Marquishia Winters
Each day we go about our lives in search of something better. Some reminisce about the past while others dream about the future, where “better,” seems to always be just beyond our reach. But what if the present moment allowed for ingress to “better” on either side? This brings forth the question, “Whose imagination are you living in?” In this workshop, Jacque Hammond and Marquishia Winters will share their work, engage in conversations, and guide participants into the collective imagination work of world building.
Optional community-building and snacks: 12:00–12:30 p.m. & 3:30-4:00 p.m. | Workshop: 12:30-3:30 p.m., Leaven Community Center, Portland
March 25, 2025
Conversation Project: Parenting in a Noisy Time
How do we parent and why? Who and what do we allow to affect our parenting? Parents are under many pressures, from social media, peer judgement, and the changing world around us. We can learn to see the distinct individuality in each of our kids and make better choices for them when we are mindful navigating these pressures with our own internal compass. Participants in this conversation will gain new lenses for parental reflection.
RSVP for this free, online event.
2:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. PDT, Virtual Event, statewide
April 3, 2025
Author! Author! with Ellen Waterston
Oregon's eleventh Poet Laureate, Ellen Waterston, offers a writing workshop as part of Deschutes Public Library Foundation's annual event series.
7:00 p.m., Caldera High School, Bend
April 5, 2025
The Circle is Expanding, Still: The Gift of Climate Grief
Climate grief is a psychological response to ecological loss driven by our unfolding climate crisis. This workshop will help you understand what climate grief is, why it’s important, and how it might become a creative, transformative force in your life that can bring joy, community, creativity, and greater self-awareness.
Optional community-building and snacks: 12:00–12:30 p.m. & 3:30-4:00 p.m. | Workshop: 12:30-3:30 p.m., Leaven Community Center, Portland
April 9, 2025
Consider This: The Lands We Live On with Chuck Sams
Join us at 7:00 p.m. on April 9 at Pendleton Center for the Arts for a conversation about the relationship between people and public lands with Chuck Sams, who was until very recently the director of the National Parks Service. Charles F. "Chuck" Sams III is Cayuse and Walla Walla and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Northeast Oregon, where he grew up. He also has blood ties to the Cocopah Tribe and Yankton Sioux of Fort Peck.
Tickets are available for $15 (General Admission) and $30 (Conversation Starter). To purchase tickets, please use this form.
7:00 p.m., Pendleton Center for the Arts, Pendleton
April 10, 2025
Otherness and Empathy
Otherness is the state of being different from the members of a group. Whether we are talking about us mammals, us Oregonians, or us bird-watchers, anyone who is not part of us is part of the other. How does otherness shape our sense of identity and our perception of others? In this conversation, we will reflect on our personal experiences of belonging to uncover the universality of otherness and examine how we can use empathy to bridge the divides in isolated communities and foster the acceptance of diverse voices. This exploration of otherness aims to cultivate empathy for both ourselves and others, leading to a more inclusive understanding of our identities and those around us as well as exploring otherness as a form of strength and our own uniqueness.
Register for this free online conversation.
3:00 to 4:45 p.m. Pacific, Virtual Event, statewide
April 15, 2025
Consider This with Nikole Hannah-Jones
Oregon Humanities and the Oregon State University Center for the Humanities present a Consider This conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine.
Tickets for this event are $5 for OSU students and $15 for the general public. Ticket sales will open February 13. Purchase tickets here.
7:00 p.m., PRAx, Corvallis
April 15, 2025
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.
10:00 to 11:45 a.m. Pacific, Virtual Event, statewide