7:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021
Alex L. Parks Performing Arts Center
Jesuit High School
9000 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy.,
Portland, OR 97225
September 11 is an historic day, and as that date approaches, we at The Immigrant Story invite you to join us at an historic event. To commemorate this important occasion, we will present powerful voices of survival and soothing musical accompaniment in a live storytelling event called “I Am My Story: Voices of Hope.”
With storytellers from Burundi, Rwanda, Cambodia and Syria, the program focuses on remarkable, first-person tales of courage and fortitude. These brave sagas and resilience in the face of unimaginable atrocities of war and genocide offer hope and inspiration at a time when those qualities are sometimes in short supply.
“I Am My Story Live” will also feature performances from world-class musicians.
The event, produced in collaboration with the City of Beaverton, will take place from 7-9 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, at the Alex L. Parks Performing Arts Center located at Jesuit High School, 9000 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy., Portland, OR 97225. This program will be a highlight of Welcoming Week, which is designed to bring together immigrants, refugees, and U.S.-born residents to raise awareness of the benefits of welcoming everyone to our communities.
“I Am My Story Live” kicks off at 7 p.m. with a performance by renowned viola player Dijana Ihas, a professor at Pacific University who is also a survivor of the war in Bosnia. Ihas was a member of the Sarajevo String Quartet, an ensemble that played more than 200 concerts during the longest assault on a capital city in the history of modern warfare, the Siege of Sarajevo. To simulate the Sarajevo String Quartet, Ihas will be joined by prominent Portland-area musicians Inés Voglar Belgique (violin, Oregon Symphony), Keiko Araki (violin, Oregon Symphony), and Heather Blackburn (cello, Portland Cello Project). From 8-9 p.m., five storytellers from across the globe will share the stories of the arduous journeys that brought them to the United States.
This free event is made possible by the generous contribution of the presenting sponsor Zidell Family Foundation and in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities (OH), the National Endowment for the Humanities, Oregon Cultural Trust and the Cultural Coalition of Washington County. Additional funding for this event was provided by the City of Beaverton as a part of the Beaverton Welcoming Week.
Please note the following restrictions. Because we want to ensure safety of our patrons and our performers, there will be no exceptions:
- Proof of Vaccination is required to enter the auditorium.
- While in the auditorium, the audience must wear masks.
- Audience will leave alternate seats vacant. This will restrict the total number of audience present to 250 at any time. Note that to simplify our procedures, even people who arrive together will be asked to leave alternate seats vacant.
- This event deals with stories of trauma. The stories are lived experiences of survivors of war and genocide that may not be suitable for all audiences.
- The content is not suitable for children under 12.
