McMenamins History Pubs: Uncover Oregon’s People and Places

Photo by Merve Şahin

McMenamins History Pub invites you to explore Oregon and Pacific Northwest history.

Enjoy an evening with local experts, scholars, first-person experiencers and historians who dive into topics from Lewis and Clark to shipwrecks, hop growing to women pioneers and beyond.

McMenamins History Pub is like attending a college lecture with a stiff drink and full menu of tasty food.

Here are the upcoming events.

Upcoming McMenamins History Pub Events

History of McMenamins Gardens

McMenamins Assistant Historian Elysia Scholl and staff gardeners share the history of McMenamins gardens with a focus on Grand Lodge.

This event is 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 24, at Grand Lodge, 3505 Pacific Ave. in Forest Grove.

Tickets are $10 in advance. All ages are welcome. 

Forest Pub: Stewarding Forest Park

Forest Park is a living, breathing biodiversity sanctuary that has relied on community care for generations. Join the Forest Park Conservancy and local experts for a conversation about the park’s origins, preserving public access and continuing a legacy of stewardship. 

The event is Monday, June 9, at Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St. in Portland.

Tickets are $10-$20 sliding scale. All ages are welcome. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event starts at 7 p.m.

Reconstructing Traditional Indigenous Cultures and Lifeways in the Willamette Valley

Learn about the Willamette Valley’s 200-year structural changes. Using ethnographic records, researchers have reconstructed the lifeways of the Kalapuyans and other tribes from the valley.

In this talk, Dr. David G. Lewis, author of Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley, presents new discoveries on the importance of cultural fire and water in the environment. He also shares ways of understanding how the tribes lived and thrived in the valley.

This event is Wednesday, June 11, at Grand Lodge, 3505 Pacific Ave. in Forest Grove.

Tickets are $5 in advance. All ages are welcome. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event starts at 7 p.m.

Outliers and Outlaws: A Story of Lesbian World Builders in Oregon

Outliers and Outlaws uncovers the vibrant history of lesbian world-builders who forged an alternative community in Eugene, Oregon. It ultimately transformed mainstream culture, regional politics and LGBTQ+ history.

With intimate, candid portraits, the film shares stories of resilience, creativity, and social change through lesbian lives, both past and present, with hope and humor.

Documentary film screening is followed by Q&A and panel discussion with Director Courtney Hermann and film participants.

This event is Monday, June 30, at Kennedy School in 5736 NE 33rd Ave.

Tickets are $5 in advance. All ages are welcome. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event starts at 7 p.m.

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