Culture
Festivals
The most visible display of Russophone culture in Oregon is the Slavic Festival, held annually since 2009. The last three festivals took place in SE Portland parks, Oaks Amusement Park (2012) and Lents Park (2013, 2014). The Festival features performances from local and traveling musicians and dance groups, food from Portland’s Russian, Ukrainian and Serbian vendors, and activities for children. Many Slavic churches and local civic organizations, such as East Portland Action Plan and Russian Oregon Services, also participate in this yearly event. The chief organizer of several last festivals was Galina Nekrasova, president of the Oregon chapter of the Association of Slavic immigrants.
Performing Arts
The Jazz Bridge Project is a project organized by the Portland Khabarovsk Sister City Association in 2010 to promote cultural exchange. The Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Institute commissioned a suite from seven Portland-area composers inspired by Khabarovsk’s Amur River. Students, performers and educators from each city visited Portland or Khabarovsk, respectively, and undertook a number of educational projects.
The Veselka Ukrainian Dance Society of Oregon is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and perpetuating the Ukrainian culture, primarily through the Veselka Ukrainian Dancers. The Society performs in the Eugene/Springfield area, where it is sponsored by the Nativity of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church.
Cappella Romana is a professional chamber choral group based in Portland, OR, which draws its repertoire from the Orthodox Christian tradition, including influences both Byzantine and Slavic. They perform an annual concert series in Portland and Seattle and tour both domestically and abroad. Their performances often include Russian sacred music and they have made several recordings.
Leonid Nosov immigrated to Portland from Ukraine in 1994. He is a folk dancer, choreographer, bayan player, and educator. He has performed under the Folk Life program of the Oregon Historical Society and has received grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council. Nosov also performs actively for private engagementts.
The Corvallis Russian Troupe has its origins in the staging in 1996 of a 1920s Russian satirical comedy, where the roles were performed by native Russian speakers, most of them the teenage children of Russians who had come to work at OSU. There continues to be a coming and going of participants in the shows, including occasionally American students, but there has always been a central core of performers. Although the plays are performed in Russian by native speakers, there have always been audience members who know no Russian but who, aided by the English synopsis provided at the door, have enjoyed the shows.
Chervona is a multi-ethnic, Russian and Eastern European-inspired band from Portland, Oregon, that formed in 2006. They have become known for their old world-inspired music and their highly energetic live shows. Much of the band’s repertoire consists of revamped classics of Russian folk songs as well as klezmer songs from the Black Sea region of Odessa. The band also incorporates many original compositions into its live performance.
Media
Russian Radio 105.5 FM is a Russian-language talk radio service broadcasting from Portland at AM frequency 1010 and online. Russian Radio 7 includes faith-based programming, including “Shabbat Shalom!” and “Sabor,” as well as secular news and human-interest segments.
Portland Christian Radio is a Russian-Language talk radio broadcasting at 1130 AM and online. It is a collaboration between 10 Slavic Evangelical Churches in Portland, OR, and Vancouver, WA, and it’s programming is faith-oriented talk and music.
Slavic Family TV is an online, Russian-language news channel. It is the media arm of the Slavic Family Community Center of Northwest.
Kanon is a Russian-language magazine based in Portland that serves the entire Northwest, circulating 16,000 issues monthly. It covers Russian business news in the area, as well as family and religiously oriented articles.
