Historic Downtown Oregon City

Oregon City’s First City Celebration Countdown Continues

Posted by Lloyd Purdy on 23 July

Saturday July 31st –  join us downtown as we celebrate the unique heritage and identity of Oregon City with Arts, Wine and Entertainment all Day.

Festival Open to the Public from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

July 31st 11 am to 8 pm

Oregon City’s First City Celebration is produced by the non-profit Main Street Oregon City, the Three Rivers Arts Guild and the the Rotary Club of Oregon City. Funds raised through the event will support a public art project at the foot of historic Singer Falls.  Oregon City’s First City Celebration is supported by an OCCIT Grant and print Media Sponsor the Oregonian.

What is the First City Celebration?

The non-profit Main Street Oregon City was created to build partnerships around downtown Oregon City to make our community a more vibrant and healthy place to live, work and visit. We are pleased to partner with the Three Rivers Artist Guild and the Rotary Club of Oregon City to produce a signature event for our community.

Over the past 12 months we explored a range of festival ideas that we could call a “signature event” for our community.  We realized one of our community’s greatest claims to fame is the fact that Oregon City is a City of Firsts. Here are some examples.

First book of fiction written in Oregon, 1842. First provisional legislature met in Oregon City, 1843. Oregon City declared capitol, 1844. First almanac published on Pacific Coast by the Oregon Printing Assn, 1847. First Territorial Legislature of Oregon Territory, 1849. First US troops in Oregon, a mounted rifle regiment in Oregon City, 1848.  First official plat for San Francisco filed in Oregon City, 1850.

For more than 160 years Oregon City’s downtown has been at the center of these firsts.  As Oregon’s “First Downtown in Oregon’s First City” we are proud to introduce another first to Oregon – The First City Celebration.

This Year’s First City Celebration Activities Include:

  • An art venue that celebrates the creative spirit of Oregon City.
  • A children-oriented craft component using locally made paper products.
  • A wine tasting venue that recognizes our connection to regional viniculture.

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