Salem, OR, September 18, 2012 – The first week of October will see hundreds of cultural events occurring throughout the state, thanks to the Oregon Cultural Trust’s “Days of Culture” celebration.

From a historic film on the timber industry (October 1), to the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (October 1-6), the Portland-area events are tremendously diverse. Many events, including an exhibit on the history of Chinese-American aviators at the Multnomah County Public Library (October 1-8) and an Oregon Symphony kids’ concert (October 7) are free, while others, including Portland Art Museum special exhibitions, tea ceremonies and classes at Lan Su Chinese Garden (October 1 and 5), and theater, dance, and other performances across the Metro area are ticketed.

Day-trippers and road-trippers can also find events throughout the state. On October 6, the coastal town of Charleston, for example, will host the Seventh Annual Octoberfish Festival and Paddle Regata. Condon will host events every day of that week, including an inter-generational ice cream social, gallery showings, historic downtown tours, farmers’ markets and harvest gatherings. And theater, science and archaeology exhibits will abound in Eugene.

Days of Culture began in 2008 as a Day of Culture, celebrating the birthday of the Oregon Cultural Trust – October 8. The collection of events has since grown to encompass a whole week of cultural happenings – community festivals; heritage and visual arts exhibits; concerts; artistic and historic films; performances; readings and more.

A unique public-private partnership, the Cultural Trust uses private donations and a generous cultural tax credit to build a permanent fund for culture, now at $16 million, and to distribute over $1 million in grants every year to cultural non-profits. This year is the Trust’s 10th anniversary, as the organization’s cultural tax credit went into effect October 8, 2002.

Events can be found at www.culturaltrust.org or www.oregondaysofculture.org #