Music performances are at 11 a.m. and at 1 p.m., with craft activities in between. Meyers plays pioneer music on the banjo, guitar, autoharp, spoons, musical saw and more in this entertaining and audience engaging show.

Family Day is at the Museum from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Museum is located on the PCC-Rock Creek Campus, 17677 NW Springville Road. Open to the public. Free.

Sponsored by PGE Foundation, The William G. Gilmore Foundation, Beaverton Bakery,
Robert D. and Marcia H. Randall Charitable Trust, the Oregon Community Foundation and Print Arts Northwest.

His sculptures and jewelry are a mixed media process of mammoth and elephant ivory, amber, jasper, turquoise, obsidian, jade, serpentine, alabaster and variety of woods. Each piece is a unique form of art that frees the imagination to explore the history of the Aztec and Mayan times.

Meet him at the Crossroads, see some of his incredible work and learn about the mosaic creation and restoration processes. He cuts each piece of stone individually and makes his own adhesives with techniques perfected by pre-Columbian artists.

Parra grew up in Puebla, Mexico, where his father, an archaeologist, began teaching him at age 11 the rare, painstaking technique of restoring artifacts from the Aztec culture. Those insightful hours with his father sparked his interest in preservation and inspired him to become an artist.

Parra first displayed his work publicly in 2007 at One World Merchants in Vancouver, Wash. His work also has been shown at the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts and, most recently, at the Glenn and Viola Walters Cultural Center in Hillsboro.

Admission: $3; members free
When: Wednesday, Nov. 16
Time: 7 to 8 p.m.
Location: Washington County Museum

Peculiar topics are often embodied in the study of history — folk tales and songs, obituaries, archeology and superstitions. But one topic that serious historians can never get away from is the subject of ghosts.

Just this summer, the Sherwood Historical Society was involved in two formal ghost surveys by some very serious ghost hunters.

Believe what you will of this highly controversial topic, but there is no getting around the subject of ghosts in a historical building and museum such as the Morback House. Especially in October. History and ghosts offer many unexplained mysteries to be solved.

The Washington County Museum and the Sherwood Historical Society join forces in October to tackle a few of county’s local hauntings. June Reynolds of the Sherwood society presents stories about the strange sights and sounds people have reported at this allegedly haunted historical site.

Patrons should note the time change, 7 to 8 p.m., and the location change to the Sherwood Heritage Center, for this special Crossroads event.

The evening begins with a brief tour of the Morback House and a tour of another “haunted” site a few blocks away. Learn who lived — and perhaps died — decades ago in these local places people say are now laced with supernatural overtones.

So bring your questions, your own ghost stories and join us as we explore the unexplained. Come see for yourself – if you dare.

Admission: $3; free for Washington County Museum and Sherwood Historical Society members
When: Wednesday, Oct. 19
Time: 7 to 8 p.m.
Location: Sherwood Heritage Center
22552 SW Park St. (First and Main) Sherwood, Ore.
Directions: Head south on Pacific Highway (99W) to Sherwood.
Turn left onto SW Sherwood Blvd. (just past SW Roy Rogers Road)
SW Sherwood Blvd. becomes SW Pine St.
Turn right onto SW 2nd St.
Turn left onto SW Park St.

The Minidoka Swing Band performs Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Washington County Museum in celebration of National Museum Day, organized by Smithsonian magazine.

The Museum is a participating organization with free admission from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bring the family, lawn chairs and a sack or picnic lunch to the Museum and take in the toe-tapping music of the Minidoka Swing Band, view current exhibits, see a Japanese woodblock printing demonstration by Print Arts Northwest artist Barbara Mason, and enjoy the grounds — all for free. Beverages will be available for purchase.

The Museum is located on the PCC-Rock Creek Campus, 17677 NW Springville Road.

The locally-based swing band, established in September 2007, plays from noon to 2:30 p.m. The band’s Swing tunes serve as a tribute to Japanese Americans interned during World War II and highlights the music that was popular in 1940s America — and in the internment camps.

Led by Music Director and Conductor Larry Nobori, the band’s members range in age from 13 to 84 years old. Nobori also plays lead alto sax and clarinet. The Minidoka Swing Band, named after the Minidoka Internment Camp in Idaho, has been featured in a variety of media, including the Wall Street Journal and in an Emmy-nominated story produced by KING TV-Channel 5 in Seattle.

Two exhibits are on display in the Museum gallery.

The traveling version of Taken: FBI is organized by the Oregon Nikkei Endowment in Portland. It shares stories, artifacts, diaries and experiences of some of the Portland-area Japanese Americans who were interned during the War.

The Day We Left is a complementary exhibit of large-scale paintings by Cedar Mill artist Sharon Inahara, using words as art, to depict the emotions of WWII and the internment experience of Japanese Americans.

A third exhibit at the Museum is in the Print Arts Northwest gallery and features Little Things Add Up — selected prints by artist Gordon Sherman.

Exhibit: September 15 – October 15
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 15 from 5:30 8 p.m.

Print Arts Northwest artist Gordon Sherman presents a selection of print work for this upcoming solo show. Gordon’s imagery contains a strong sense of place that demands close attention. Manipulation of this “vocabulary” reveals his concern for the human relationship to the environment and the potential harmful vestiges of culture’s growth and decay.

Join us for the Sept. 15 opening of this exhibit in the PAN Gallery at the Washington County Museum. The reception, 5:30 to 8 p.m., is free and open to the public.

503-525-9259 or 503-645-5353, ext. 101
www.printartsnw.org
Email: pan@printartsnw.org

“I am not able to tell anyone what is going on here and have them understand the magnitude of the pain that is in this city. It is something that has to be seen, smelled and heard. The heartbreak is heavy in the air.”  – Chaplain Beth Wilson, Spokane Police Department (Washington); excerpted from Sent To Serve: The Chaplains of 9/11. 

Ten years after the tragedy of 9/11, Beaverton resident Wally Johnston shares his experience as a volunteer chaplain at Ground Zero. His newly published book, Sent to Serve: The Chaplains of 9/11, tells the story of the extensive volunteer effort that gave America hope.

Johnston, a retired law enforcement chaplain, counselor and educator, joined chaplains from throughout the nation to comfort, counsel and assist police officers, firefighters, medics, other first responders and their families at Ground Zero during one of the darkest and most difficult times in American history.

Chaplains met with personnel, worked in the morgue, provided incident relief, attended funerals, provided crisis counseling and helped families cope. Johnston’s book shares the story – and the volunteer spirit – of the men and women charged with the daunting task of finding a ray of light in a mountain of despair.

August 18 – September 10

Print Arts Northwest artist Patrick Simon creates vibrant linocuts that foster a personal connection with the ocean. In this series, he focuses on the dining experience as an intimate link to the sea. Blending still life with landscape, his compositions cast the viewer as the diner and invite a deeper contemplation of the relationship between good food and a healthy environment.

Join us for the opening of this exhibit in the PAN Gallery at the Washington County Museum. The reception is free and open to the public.

503-525-9259 or 503-645-5353, ext. 101
www.printartsnw.org
Email: pan@printartsnw.org

Date: Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Time: 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Place: Washington County Museum, PCC–Rock Creek Campus
Cost: Members free; $3 non-members

Opening Reception: Thursday, July 21, 5:30 – 8 p.m.

Print Arts Northwest is proud to present the work of our newest members.The show features recent work by Kristie A. Potwora, Randolph Kelts and Audrey Whitlatch.

Join us for the opening of this exhibit in the PAN Gallery at the Washington County Museum. The reception is free and open to the public.

503-525-9259 or 503-645-5353, ext. 101
www.printartsnw.org
Email: pan@printartsnw.org

After Pearl Harbor, dozens of prominent Japanese-Americans were detained in special internment facilities. Cedar Mill artist Sharon Inahara’s work captures the emotions of WWII on canvas, using words as art. Meet Sharon, see her stunning work, and hear some of the stories she tells about this dark episode in Oregon history. The July lecture is presented in conjunction with the exhibit, Taken: FBI.

Date: Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Time: 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Place: Washington County Museum PCC–Rock Creek Campus
Cost: Members free; $3 non-members

Read the feature story in the Beaverton Valley Times about Sharon.