OFN is partnering again with Four Rivers Cultural Center for the 3rd annual Tradition Keepers Folklife Festival in Ontario, Oregon as well as for a series of podcasts. This year, in keeping with rules for gatherings and social distancing, we are proud to co-host a series of virtual programs instead of a live event. Those virtual programs will start later this summer and feature a variety of traditional artists from Native American, Buckaroo and Ranching, Latino, Basque, and newcomer communities in eastern Oregon, western Idaho, and Nevada. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates!

Ekram Ahmed (formerly of Sudan) demonstrates the art of creating temporary tattoos with henna at the 2019 Tradition Keepers Festival.

Northern Paiute storyteller Wilson Wewa at the 2019 Tradition Keepers Folklife Festival.

We are also pleased to announce that the High Desert Museum will be hiring its first folklorist, OFN’s former director, Riki Saltzman, who will be conducting fieldwork and coordinating virtual programming in Bend as part of an Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. OFN has partnered with the HDM for a variety of programs featuring traditional artists from our Culture Keepers Roster.

Bootmaker DW Frommer at the High Desert Museum, 2018.

Sean McConville (right) serves grilled salmon to visitors while his wife Brigette looks on.

The High Desert Museum was one of our Culture Fest partners in 2018, hosted our Master Artists Gathering in May 2019, and created a virtual tour as part of our international cultural exchange with Romania this year.

We look forward to sustaining and expanding Oregon’s folklife network across the state with partners in eastern and central Oregon!