Events & Classes

Soul Conversation is a panel discussion featuring Albina's music legends, organized by Albina Music Trust. Musicians played a vital role in Albina's historic Black community and their abundance is an important marker of the community's enduring presence. This unique gathering of elders sheds light on Albina's cultural heritage, with a nod to the future of Black Portland.

The African and African American experience comes alive for children from birth to age 6 (with their favorite adult/family members). Have fun with books and stories, songs, and movement activities in a positive and affirming environment. Black Storytime builds language and literacy skills your child needs to be ready for kindergarten. Attendance is limited and free tickets are available 15 minutes before storytime. 

The Black, African, and African American experience comes alive for children from birth to age 6 (with their favorite adult/family members). Have fun with books and stories, songs, and movement activities in a positive and affirming online environment. Black Storytime builds language and literacy skills your child needs to be ready for kindergarten.

Stones, Bones and Blacked-Eyed Peas presents: The historical and cultural significance of black eyed peas. Join chef and owner of Finer Things Events & Catering, Michelle Guinn, along with her daughter, Sable Askew and take a trip back into history. Enjoy a cooking demonstration using traditional foods and recipes cooked by African Americans from the time of slavery, and explore their many modern interpretations.

This special Black History Month edition of Rainbow Storytime features Poison Waters, sharing Black and queer joy with drag and overall fabulousness!

Children from birth to age 6 (with a favorite adult) enjoy books highlighting LGBTQ+ families, along with songs, rhymes and movement activities building language, literacy, and community in an identity-supporting environment.

Join this Black History Month art series celebrating the beauty and resilience of Black hair! Design and paint a canvas inspired by natural hair with The Lamb Art Studio. Decorate your canvas with beads as symbols of cultural pride and self-love. Each session will have a different design, and participants may join as many as they wish! This class is trauma-informed and wellness-based.

This special Black History Month edition of Rainbow Storytime features Lady Berri and friends, sharing Black and queer joy with drag and overall fabulousness!

Children from birth to age 6 (with a favorite adult) enjoy books highlighting LGBTQ+ families, along with songs, rhymes and movement activities building language, literacy, and community in an identity-supporting environment.

Get active, get healthy, get fit — all while line dancing, exercising and having fun! Line dance: Move to the beat, feel the energy, and get your steps in without even realizing it! Sistahs4Life brings soulful line dancing all over the Portland metro area. 

Kids Junk Orchestra players make rhythms and music on whatever surface they can think of — drums, bongos, buckets, body percussion, and even pots and pans!

Rock out to a high-energy instrumental concert, inspired by the legacy of Black rock and metal. Hear stories about Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Tom Morello and others who shaped the sound of modern rock and metal.

Join Brian Parham of Rock Dojo as he inspires the next generation of guitar heroes.

Join Habiba, a native of Ghana, in learning the richness of West African culture through song and dance. Habiba offers an interactive, multicultural lesson with authentic West African costume, spiced with singing and movement. The whole audience gets involved in simple dance steps, call and response, greetings and phrases, and rhythm drumming.  

This event is first come, first served.

The Black, African, and African American experience comes alive for children from birth to age 6 (with their favorite adult/family members). Have fun with books and stories, songs, and movement activities in a positive and affirming online environment. Black Storytime builds language and literacy skills your child needs to be ready for kindergarten.

Join Oregon Black Pioneers to learn more about Portland's first Black ancestor. In 1805, an enslaved man named York reached what is today Portland as part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. York’s contributions helped ensure the Expedition’s success, but he received no compensation for his services and his efforts were rarely acknowledged in the two centuries that followed.

Stones, Bones and Blacked-Eyed Peas presents: Family recipes, a seat at our family table, and the importance of Sunday dinner in the African American community. Join chef and owner of Finer Things Events and Catering, Michelle Guinn, along with her daughter, Sable Askew and take a trip back into history.

Join Urban Forestry for a BIPOC-centered, story-time-like program with tree-themed story reading, songs, education, and tree-themed botanical art! Kids and adults are welcome to this tree-literacy winter experience!

Hosted by Portland Parks and Recreation’s Urban Forestry Division.

Join Oregon Black Pioneers (OBP) for a lecture focused on the African American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s and the major changes brought to Oregon. Black communities in Portland, Eugene, and beyond participated in the fight for social and political progress. It addresses the racism, exclusion, and displacement that targeted Black Oregonians, and the Black community's efforts to pursue justice.

This special Black History Month edition of Rainbow Storytime features Lady Berri and friends, sharing Black and queer joy with drag and overall fabulousness!

Children from birth to age 6 (with a favorite adult) enjoy books highlighting LGBTQ+ families, along with songs, rhymes and movement activities building language, literacy, and community in an identity-supporting environment.

Join us for a special Black Family Storytime celebrating African American heritage, art and culture! Children from birth to age 6 (with a favorite adult and other family members), will have fun with books and stories, songs, a craft, and movement activities in a positive and affirming environment. 

The African and African American experience comes alive for children from birth to age 6 (with their favorite adult/family members). Have fun with books and stories, songs, and movement activities in a positive and affirming environment. Black Storytime builds language and literacy skills your child needs to be ready for kindergarten. Attendance is limited and free tickets are available 15 minutes before storytime. 

Celebrating African and African American heritage and culture this winter season! Children from birth to age 6 (with their favorite adult/family members) will have fun with books, songs, and movement activities in a positive and affirming environment. Black Storytime builds language and literacy skills your child needs to be ready for kindergarten. Attendance is limited and available on a first come, first served basis.