Can you smell the lavender? The Willamette Valley Lavender Festival was celebrated this weekend all across the Willamette Valley with fields upon fields of blooming lavender. One of the main events was held at the Chehalem Valley Cultural Center so we made sure to stop by on Saturday morning to check it out.
May 1st was exciting!!!
We celebrated the Opening Ceremony of the Chehalem Cultural Center 2015 Focus Culture in downtown Newberg. The focus culture this year is The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, which is near and dear to my heart because The Renaissance Man is a tribal member.
The ceremony started with a drum song given by tribal members and was followed with a welcome speech given by Rob Dailey, the Director of the Chehalem Cultural Center. It’s so neat that the Chehalem Cultural Center decided to reach out to The Tribe and feature them as a focus culture. The story of the Willamette Valley and Newberg is also a story about tribal members. Bob Andrews, The Mayor of Newberg, was also part of the ceremony and he gifted The Tribe a “Key to The City.” The Renaissance Man then gave a short speech about the importance of this collaboration and the healing it helps to facilitate within the community.
Tuesday nights in downtown Newberg are rocking! I’ve been seeing signs and twitter posts about Tunes on Tuesday, and last Tuesday night we decided join the fun.
Let me say that one more time, and let it really sink in…we had SO MUCH FUN!
Every Tuesday night during the months of July and August, the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce puts together a summer concert lineup.
The Chehalem Cultural Center is a really fantastic community space in Newberg! The historic building was constructed in 1935 and was actually the old Newberg school house. It was constructed during the Depression era as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. The outdoor community space hosts all sorts of events including the First Friday Art Walk, Tunes on Tuesday, and the Newberg Farmers Market, and it’s located just one block off of Highway 99W as it runs through downtown Newberg.
I’ve been looking forward to the Newberg First Friday ARTwalk since the last one back in May. I love that each event is a little different, and that featured artists are always rotating. The weather was perfect for an evening spent walking between shops, listening to music, and enjoying the company of fellow art enthusiast.
I must admit, that I am a market kid. My love of a good Farmer’s Market stems from my childhood when we would pack up the truck every Sunday morning and head to the market. I’d help set up our booth, and then I’d get to wander the market all day and decide what I wanted to buy with the $10 I was given for helping out. Everyone at the market knows one another, and so I’d stop and say hello and give a good scratch to every market dog I met along the way.
When I learned that Newberg hosts its own Farmer’s Market, I decided I had to be there for opening day!
