Events (archive)
Seriously Pissed Off Grannies
IFCC/Various Artists7:00-9:00pm
Free
503.823.4322
As part of The Gentle Revolution Gallery Exhibit and in honor of Womens History Month, IFCC is proud to welcome Portland’s most renowned group of war protesters. The Seriously Pissed Off Grannies have deep roots in Positive Civic Engagement. This evening they share their war stories, pictures of the past and plans for the future. Cookies and tea will be served along with a strong dose of encouragement.
The Magic 25 - 1980, Firehouse Re-Construction
25th Anniversary Committee
The 1910 Victorian firehouse located on Interstate became a major re-construction project in the early 80’s under the direction of then Commissioner Charles Jordan. The re-construction of this historic landmark marked the beginning of a home for a new tradition of celebrating diversity through the arts in the city of Portland. The community-based facility was to house the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (IFCC), replete with a 100 seat theatre, dressing rooms, art gallery, dance studio, ...
IFCC Do North Awards Gala
IFCC/Various ArtistsSunday at 6pm
Free with reservation
503.823.4322
The Do North Gala is a Neighborhood Arts Celebration that honors artists residing or working in N/NE Portland along with Creative Leaders who helped build our historical community foundation. The inspiration for Do North is “Racing Forward into our Future”. Artists are invited to explore the enormous challenges and opportunities that this community has faced and is still facing as we go forward into the future. Art work will be evaluated by the IFCC Programming…
The Magic 25 - 1982, IFCC ribbon cutting ceremony
25th Anniversary Committee
There was a lot of excitement and anticipation around the ribbon cutting. This was a huge and unlikely project- UPAR ( Urban Parks and Recreation) was in the tradition of giving to playground and recreation centers. This Federal Program had never funded an arts facility before. It was through Commissioner Charles Jordan's leadership and vision that the grant was received. He advocated for us on a National level to make it all happen. ...
The Magic 25 - 1998, IFCC artist fellowship program
25th Anniversary Committee
I came to the IFCC in 1985. At that time there was not a designated gallery, but its early exhibits were truly community based, sponsored by the women’s organization, Links Inc. and coordinated by the late Katherine Bogle of Progressive Fine Arts, Inc. The first exhibit was a collective of African American artists, known as the Members Gallery. Many of those artists would return over the years to exhibit in solo and group shows. In…
The Magic 25 -1983, I Never Saw Another Butterfly
25th Anniversary Committee
I first walked into the doors of IFCC when I was 7 years old, which was 28 years ago. IFCC had just been renovated and the community was so very excited. My Mother was directing the first play there ever. It was a play called “I Never Saw Another Butterfly”. The subject matter was that of children during the Holocaust in a Concentration Camp. The children had such a will to learn they held secret…
The Magic 25:1994 - 1998, Charlotte Lewis & Kwanzaa celebration
25th Anniversary Committee
Asante Charlotte Lewis was the center of a family rooted in arts, strength, and knowledge. I don’t think anyone knew how gifted they all were until Charlotte came around. A woman with vision, a trendsetter, and struggling activist through art, who knew what an important contribution she’d make, for her time, and into the future. Her work graces many Portland homes and businesses including The Kennedy School, Portland Police NE Precinct, Senator Avel Gordleys office…
The Magic 25 - 1985 & 1993, Children of a Lesser God
25th Anniversary Committee
In January 1985, the first locally produced performances of Mark Medoff’s award winning play, Children of a Lesser God was presented at IFCC and directed by Rollie Wulff, in consultation with Henry Stack of NW Theatre of the Deaf and Mark Azure of Deaf Arts Council of Oregon. This deeply moving, beautifully written comedy/drama deals with the romance, conflicts and marriage of a sensitive but spirited deaf woman and the devoted (hearing) teacher she meets…
The Magic 25: Mid 1970s-Early 1980s, Young Actors Program
25th Anniversary Committee
The Overlook Acting Company was a summer program created through the Portland Parks Bureau in the mid-1970s originally facilitated by Elizabeth Hamler and Jeff Ditzler out of the basement of the Overlook House in North Portland. The Overlook House was a wonderful setting for an acting company to practice and learn with its large, lush garden. However the pied piper-like efforts of Director Jeff Ditzler quickly out grew the small space and he was invited…
The Magic 25: 2003-2005, Mardi Gras Masks and Music
25th Anniversary Committee
The first time I was properly introduced to the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center was the summer I first moved into the neighborhood. I can’t remember who the featured artist was, but the food at the artist reception (Chicken Mole) was the fastest way to my heart. In no time at all, I was privileged to be volunteering at the little gem across the park from my house. Mardi Gras, Masks and Music was one of…
The Magic 25: 1998, Jonathan Green Came to Oregon
25th Anniversary Committee
Little did I know what lay ahead when I walked into the Gibbes Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, one winter day in 1996. We were there with our daughter, Christina, and her husband. She teaches middle school children near Augusta, Georgia and had recently taught a course on three contemporary southern Black artists, including Jonathan Green. A banner outside the museum announced the opening of an exhibit of Jonathan’s paintings. As we entered the lobby…
The Magic 25:1982-1997, The Magnificent Sue Busby
25th Anniversary Committee
Sue Busby was hired in September, 1982 to manage the final leg of construction and the opening of IFCC in November, 1982. She continued through the 15th anniversary in August, 1997 when she was invited to Harvard and was recognized by it’s Graduate School of Education because they were starting a new Master’s program “Arts in Education.” The IFCC had been recognized by the NEA and had received funding from them for years because its…
The magic 25 - 1982, PassinArt: A Theatre Company
25th Anniversary Committee
In 1982, PassinArt: A Theatre Company was founded by Michael J. Grant, Clarice Bailey and Connie Carley. They chose the name PassinArt which is based on the African tradition of passing art, cultural and oral history from one generation to the next. With that in mind, the three co-founders wanted PassinArt to have a presence in the North/Northeast community and the Portland Metropolitan area. Whether the original founders of the company were still living in…
The Magic 25 - 2008, Where are they now?
25th Anniversary Committee
From 1982 to 1990, the IFCC was a home-away-from-home to over a hundred talented young artists. The Student Production Company at the IFCC was a theatre company staffed and operated by children and adolescents from ages nine to eighteen. Under the guidance of an adult director, company members tried out the many roles involved in creating theatre. A student might star in one production, and build the set for the next. He or she could…
The Magic 25: A Reflection on Roberta Wong
25th Anniversary Committee
Roberta Wong 1985–1988 Administrative Assistant & Gallery Coordinator, IFCC 1991–1992 Project Director, IFCC 10th Anniversary Exhibit & Auction 1995–2004 Gallery Director, Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (IFCC) “I am a Wasco Native basket weaver, starting my career in 1993. In 1995, the first exhibit that I and my sister, BK Courtney, were invited to, was at IFCC. Roberta Wong was instrumental in curating the exhibit, and encouraging us to continue our work. She did good publicity, ...
Culinary Artist of the Year: Palette Catering
Palette CateringLast Thursdays
Free
Palette Catering is owned and operated by Andrea White. It is a company with a commitment to local growers with the goal of using as many local product as possible. Palette believes that good food and good company make for good ideas!
The Magic 25: 1995, Origins Lecture Series
25th Anniversary CommitteeOrigins: Cultures Exchanging Ideas through the Creative Process of Art
ORIGINS was an annual lecture series presented by the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. The series featured artists from diverse ethnic backgrounds, who create personal art forms through written, visual and performance mediums. The artists were invited to present their views on the creative process as well as the ethnic and cultural elements that influence their work. Conceived as both an artistic and educational forum, ORIGINS was intended to encourage and increase cultural awareness, and to…
The Magic 25: 2003, Tri-Met's Interstate Max Public Art on the Line
25th Anniversary Committee
Tri-Met’s Public Art Program offers a sneak preview of the public art to be installed along the Interstate MAX light rail. Public Art on the Line features preliminary drawings and designs by Design Team Artists: Brian Borello, Valerie Otani and Linda Wysong, along with station artists: Wayne Chabre, Adriene Cruz, Fernanda D’Agostino, Linda Haworth, Tina Hoggatt, Ken MacKintosh, Lillian Pitt, Rick Bartow, Gail Tremblay Liz Woody and Houserworks. Each artist, both singularly and collaboratively, evoked…
The Magic 25: 1999, Creative Differences
25th Anniversary Committee
CREATIVE DIFFERENCES A Collaboration between IFCC and Portland General Electric 1999–2001 When the Corporate Communications and Community Affairs Department of Portland General Electric wanted to develop a creative way to look at diversity and cultural inclusivity, Carole Morse turned to the IFCC for guidance. Judith Yeckel, managing director of IFCC in 1999, accepted the challenge and together the nonprofit and the big company worked to create an interactive creative workshop that would expose businesspeople to…
The Magic 25: 1995 & 2007 - Fiberworks at IFCC
25th Anniversary Committee
1995, Surface Design Association “New Tools: No Limits” Ethic Seeds/Cultural Blooms: Fiberworks by Multicultural Artists featured twelve artists who have exhibited at the IFCC : Marg Johansen, Adriene Cruz, Harumi Hooker, Vidya Hivale, Carmenita Coleman, Cleveland Smith, Rebecca Newell, Pat Gold, BK Courtney, Margarita Leon, Tina Martini and Charlotte Lewis. The exhibit was organized in support of the National Surface Design Conference being held at Portland State University. The Surface Design Association is an association…
The Magic 25: 1992, The Colored Museum
25th Anniversary CommitteeThe Colored Museum
The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe was a satirical revue of the Black American cultural experience. In structure it presented eleven “exhibits” of that cultural history over a musical backbeat of considerable power. Wolfe’s object was not merely to amuse or entertain, but to redefine the arena in which the images of Black American life were discussed and presented in American art and media. He attacked two conventional schools of racial imagining with equal…
The Magic 25: 1985, Members Gallery
25th Anniversary Committee
In the 1960s a group of high school students started an organization called the Albina Art Center which operated a facility that provided music, dance and visual arts classes. When it closed in the mid-seventies some of the African American visual artists saw a need to continue an alliance, and Members’ Gallery was formed. Most of us had been creating our works in isolation, without feedback or encouragement from other artists, and few of us…
Silver Anniversary Improvements Project
IFCC
Join us in supporting a rare and unique collaboration between sculpture, technology, design and commerce. The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation has challenged our supporters to raise $10,000 toward our Silver Anniversary Improvements Project. And they will match it dollar for dollar.
You helped us raised $10,000 for the Miller Match. Congratulations!
Thank you for the generosity of the Jackson Foundation and individuals like you.
IFCC’s Silver Anniversary Improvements Project Supporters
$20,000+
Portland Development Commission
$10,000+
The Miller Foundation
$1,000+
The Jackson Foundation
McGraw Family Foundation
Portland Parks and Recreation
Anonymous Gift
$200+
Jesse Beason
Michael Hawkins
Daniel Ledezma
Nichole June Maher
Deborah Miller
NAMCO
Anonymous Gift
Anonymous Gift
$100+
Jill Cagle & Kevin O’Dea
Joanne Marie Engels
William Hart
Ruth Stewart
$25+
Jon Betlinski
Faye Burch
Heidi Carlsen
Jodi Cheever
Marta Ingalotte Drechsel
Chantell Y. Fitz-Amado
William Fritz & Nita Brueggeman
Michelle Harper
Mary Higgs
Rebecca Martinez
Shawn McBride
Virginia Nguyen
Shannon and Stephen Planchon
CDT Consulting, LLC
Hannah Treuhaft
We’ve raised $97,350 total toward our $105,200 goal for the entire project.
A picture is worth a thousand words. And if that isn’t enough drive by IFCC today and see what’s going on. Inside and Out. h2. During 
h2. After 
h2. and Phase Two has begun h2. Before 
h2. During: Can you tell what’s missing? 
h2. Preview of What is to Come 
h2. Become a part of history Contribute to IFCC’s New Marquee and the soundproofing of the theatre * a…
The Magic 25: 2006, Dreamgirls
25th Anniversary Committee
Photos by Paul Fardig
DREAMGIRLS is one of the great successes of both Broadway and Hollywood, a winner of 6 Tony awards and an Academy Award winning film. It is a show about a time in American musical history when what is called rhythm and blues blended with other styles of popular music creating a new American sound. This 1981 musical by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen is loosely based on the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes. ...
The Magic 25: Reaching Out
25th Anniversary CommitteeFree
For almost two and a half decades, IFCC has provided wonderful experiences to many youth in dance, theater and other performing art workshops. Community arts programs for young people play a crucial role in their education and social development. IFCC have long recognized that the means by which a youth production reaches show time is often more important than the show itself. As early as 1982, one of IFCC first outreach programs was Jeff Ditzler’s…
The Magic 25: Say Hey, NW
25th Anniversary CommitteeFree
Say Hey, NW is a reception held quarterly by Partners in Diversity to welcome new professionals of color. The event is hosted by a group of employers in Oregon/SW Washington working together to make sure their workplaces and the communities they serve are able to attract, hire and retain a diverse workforce. The event brings together professionals who are new to the area with a more established (as opposed to “old”) “welcoming brigade”. Attendees include…
The Magic 25: Gary O'Brien & the "color-blind" tradition
25th Anniversary Committee
“When the IFCC was established in 1982, the vision was revolutionary. It was truly pioneering work to create an arts center that actually practiced cultural inclusion. As the original Artistic Director, Gary O’Brien was a driving force behind this vision. During his first stint at the IFCC, Gary crafted theatrical seasons that introduced Portland audiences to cutting edge scripts challenging prevailing assumptions about race, culture, gender and disability – The Colored Museum, Children of a…
The Magic 25: Michelle Harper, Our Constant Champion
25th Anniversary Committee
”Michelle Harper, Citywide Collaborative Services Manager for Portland’s Bureau of Parks and Recreation, brings a beautiful spirit, a sense of humor, and all the energy she can muster to everything she does. If she’s a little short, on energy, she knows how to cajole it out of others. Luckily, IFCC is among the many organizations benefitting from Michelle’s energetic and lifelong commitment to making Portland a great place to live. Michelle’s career of public service…
The Magic 25: Commissioner Charles Jordan, IFCC Founder
25th Anniversary Committee
“As a college student, I was truly honored to join City Commissioner Charles Jordan’s staff on July 1, 1975. I had no idea this experience was going to be the most life changing opportunity anyone could ever dream. I believe that in a lifetime we may have few chances to witness great leadership and its impact on the community. Mr. Jordan is the type of leader who inspires others to challenge themselves and discover their…
Come Get Delirious: An IFCC Homecoming
25th Anniversary CommitteeSaturday 6:00pm
Advanced Tickets $15
$18 at the door
Get your tickets, today!
Online
By Phone, 503–205-0715
In Person, PDX Box Office, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd
Daily 1pm-9pm
Join hosts Mayor-Elect Sam Adams, Commissioner Charles Jordan, Michelle Harper and Susan Fartheree-Goodson, (Sue Busby) Live music: The Crazy 8’s Portland’s hottest band from the 80’s reunites to headline IFCC’s Homecoming Dance along with Sneakin’ Out, Melao De Cuba and dancers from Hurricane Tumbao. Entertainment: Comedy by 80’s theatre alumni, special appearance by “Bruce” aka Jennifer Lanier along with a Homecoming Court, Back to the Future Photo Booth, 80’s costume prizes, and a drawing for, ...
Charles Tatum Memorial Jam
IFCC/Friends of Charles Tatum7:00pm
Free
no reservation neccesary
The 1970’s in Portland vibrated with amazing creativity in the African American community. Master painters, sculptors and musicians were hidden gems in our City. It is time to give these artists the honor they are due. Dear friends of sculptor Charles Tatum have established “The Falcon Poets Award” to make sure the legacy of these great artists continues to inspire Portlanders young and old alike. Charles Tatum was a significant force in the development of…
Cooking with Bryant Terry
Slow Food Portland/IFCC7:00 pm
$8 Slow Food members/non-members
Seating is limited to 120 people; reservations are required.
There are some tickets available at reduced rates.
Contact rsvp@slowfoodportland.com for tickets/information or
call 503–236-4087 Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm only.
Slow Food Portland Presents Cooking with Bryant Terry In 2002, while studying the history of the Black Panthers’ free-breakfast programs, Bryant Terry became interested in how social injustices are reflected in urban food access, and he began thinking about how to use cooking to affect change. After founding the youth food initiative, b-healthy! (Build Healthy Eating and Lifestyles to Help Youth), Terry co-authored Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen with Anna Lappé. As a…
The Right Brain Initiative Seeks Experienced Teaching Artists and Arts Education Organizations
Right Brain Initative/IFCC5:30 to 6:30 pm
free
The Right Brain Initiative, a partnership of public schools, local government, foundations, businesses and the cultural community, is seeking experienced teaching artists and arts education organizations to support the goal to make arts education accessible to every K-8 student in the Portland tri-county region. Application materials for the 2009–10 school year will be available beginning March 16th at www.therightbraininitiative.org . Applications are due April 20, 2009. Teaching artists and organizations of all disciplines including dance, ...
Natural Living and New Families
Late Bloomer ProductionsMAY 17, 2009 11 am – 4 pm
$3.00 per entry ($5 family pass)
all ages welcome
Late Bloomer Productions presents NATURAL LIVING AND NEW FAMILIES screening and benefit proceeds provide birth services to mothers-in-need and less fortunate families. proceeds also fund two upcoming documentary projects from late bloomer 12:30 pm – *PREGNANT IN AMERICA motivational and inspirational documentary by filmmaker Steve Buonagurio ENJOY AND MINGLE massage by the minute, homemade goodies, organic drinks/snacks, raffle prizes, vendors and services, special information, parent-to-parent networking, and giveaways!!
Rita's 65th Birthday
Dena Dooney2 pm to 5 pm
Invitation Only
Dear Friends and Family, Rita Elaine Adams-Daggett will be turning 65 in June. Some of her favorite things are movies, cats, and her many dear friends. In honor of my Mom and her favorite things join me at the Interstate Firehouse Theater for a Sunday afternoon of wine, appetizers and memories with Rita.
Please let Dena, her daughter, know if you will be attending, denad@lacoinsurance.com.
h5. If you have questions or want to…
Kwanzaa 101 Workshop
Sistah Midwife International1:30 PM - 4 PM
Pre- Registration Fee $15
A Holiday Course Kwanzaa 101 Workshop History Intro to celebrating Kwanzaa Positive impact on the African American Family Head wrapping workshop and Fashion show ALL ARE WELCOME
IFCC Celebrates Kwanzaa
IFCC5:30-7:30
Free
Reserve tickets:
Online by Clicking Here
By Phone, 503–205-0715 until 3:00pm
In Person, PDX Box Office, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd
Daily 1pm-9pm
Join the IFCC in an inclusive, welcoming gathering. Candle Ceremony to be led by Joyce Harris and refreshments are provided by DEEP- Diverse and Empowered Employees of Portland (DEEP)
Drag Show
Bridges to Independence6:30 - 9:30 PM
$10— $20 Sliding Scale
No One turned away
*Celebrate! A Benefit for Bridges to Independence and LGBTQ+DD Group” Drag Show featuring Performers with Developmental Disabilities & Allies MC by Portland Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Special Guest from Japan: Masaki and his Mom
