Curious about arts, heritage and humanities activities around the state?
Interested in exploring Oregon’s special places?
On December 11, the new Oregon Culture: A Field Guide unveiled its comprehensive activity list, developed through an open nomination process earlier this fall.
Now site visitors can search more than seventy listings by activity type (arts, heritage, humanities, multi-disciplinary), county, or organization. Each activity has its own page and description, where users are encouraged to add comments.
Heritage-related entries include everything from a visit to Boston Mills, the oldest water mill in Oregon (Linn County), to a hike in the historic Columbia River Gorge (Multnomah County), to Kam Wah Chung, a Chinese herbal medicine store (Grant County) that is preserved as it was left in the 1950s. “We see the Field Guide activity index as a tool to help people share and discover the treasures all around our state,” says Chris D’Arcy, executive director of the Cultural Trust.
When “Oregon Culture: A Field Guide” was first introduced in October, users were asked to nominate their favorite cultural activities. The site also allowed supporters to “like” nominated events. In reviewing those nominations, the Trust sought to create a diverse selection of the best and most beloved arts, heritage, and humanities activities in Oregon, appropriate for kids as well as adults, indoors and out, in all regions of the state. More activities and interactive tools will be added in 2013.
In addition to the activity list, a new four-minute promotional video has also been launched on the Field Guide. The video showcases several cultural non-profits across the state, including Josephine Community Libraries in Grants Pass, Mt. Hood Museum & Cultural Center in Government Camp, and Tamastlikt Cultural Institute in Umatilla County. Like the Field Guide, the video educates about and promotes giving to Oregon cultural non-profits and the Cultural Trust.A donation to every organization in the video and on the Field Guide’s activity list, matched with a gift to the Trust, qualifies the donor for the cultural tax credit, so please take a look at the new and improved activities section, donate to any of the organizations listed, and match with a gift to the Trust by December 31!