Calendar

Welcome to AVA’s monthly calendar of events. Take a peek and plan your stay-cation or your next visit to our region. The city’s most notable annual events include historic home tours, outdoor summer concerts and movies under the stars, and the Northwest Art and Air Festival.

*Note for event organizers: If you’d like to have your event listed on the AVA calendar, head over to our contact page and submit your event to us.

Feb
22
Thu
Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts @ Philomath High School
Feb 22 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts @ Philomath High School | Philomath | Oregon | United States

Documentary viewing at Philomath High School.

Admission is free, but a canned food donation for the Philomath Food Bank is encouraged and appreciated.

 

IN 1866, SIX ALL-BLACK CAVALRY AND INFANTRY REGIMENTS WERE CREATED AFTER CONGRESS PASSED THE ARMY ORGANIZATION ACT. THEY CAME TO BE KNOWN AS BUFFALO SOLDIERS.

Established by Congress in 1867, Many African American men enlisted in exchange for full citizenship as promised by the 14th Amendment, but were denied this right by the Jim Crow laws established in the Reconstructionist South. In spite of that, these patriotic men helped lead the United States expansion westward; they built and guarded the Pacific Railroad and served as park rangers in places like Yosemite before the U.S. government established the National Park Service.

These African American soldiers fought bravely in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine-American War, the Mexican Punitive Expedition, World War I & World War II, but the Buffalo Soldiers also participated in the subjugation of Native peoples as the United States appropriated tribal land, the persecution of striking silver miners in Idaho, and against Filipinos fighting for independence during the Spanish-American War, resulting in a complicated legacy.

It is particularly relevant today as our country is roiling with the agony of racial strife. By combining a multitude of diverse perspectives, the film examines the profound and often-contradictory roles played in American history by The Buffalo Soldiers, and how they fought on two very different sets of front lines: military conflicts abroad and civil rights struggles at home.

Apr
21
Sun
Downtown Albany Restaurant Week @ Downtown Albany
Apr 21 – Apr 27 all-day
Downtown Albany Restaurant Week @ Downtown Albany | Albany | Oregon | United States

Downtown Albany Restaurant Week returns with more restaurants than ever! From Sunday, April 21, through Saturday, April 27, visit our 30 destinations offering a variety of specials all week!

From breakfast to dinner, dozens of tasty options are sure to please.

Each restaurant will have delicious Restaurant Week specials so it’s easy to spend your week sampling your way through Downtown!

New this year is a passport and prize drawing. You will receive one chance at the drawing for each restaurant you patronize. You can pick up a passport at the Albany Downtown Association or download one online. Passports are also available at many Downtown restaurants. Once you have your passport, look for the Restaurant Week poster in each participating restaurant’s window for the code to add to your passport To download your passport, CLICK HERE!

Times vary with each restaurant, usually their normal hours. Reservations are highly recommended.

Participating Restaurants and Menu Items can be found here.

May
12
Sun
Mother’s Day at the Carousel @ Historic Carousel & Museum
May 12 @ 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Mother's Day at the Carousel @ Historic Carousel & Museum | Albany | Oregon | United States

Cheers, and a big thank you to the most important woman in everyone’s life!  Come down and enjoy free carousel rides all day.  There’s also a free carnation for the first 100 moms to walk through the door!

Photo: “Carousel Fun with GG” by Lori Norton