PORTLAND, Oregon — Time is always of the essence at the Oregon Historical Society (OHS). It’s woven into each item, exhibit and feature on display. Whether it crawls or flies, time never stops.
“I think each holiday season comes up faster than the one before,” smiled OHS executive director Kerry Tymchuck. On Sunday, Dec. 3 from 12-4 p.m., OHS kicks off the holiday season with the annual Holiday Cheer event. Over 60 Pacific Northwest authors will be selling and signing copies of their books.
“You name it: kid’s books, fiction books, history books, mystery books, all kinds of books, some great holiday shopping,” Tymchuk said.
The Dickens Carolers will also roam the building singing Christmas favorites. Long-time Portlanders will recognize the Santaland exhibit paying homage to the scenes created at the old Meier & Frank department store downtown.
“For over half a century, that downtown Meier & Frank in Portland Santaland opened during the holidays, where kids could go see Santa, see Rudolph and ride in the iconic monorail that went around on the 10th floor,” said Tymchuk.
Meier & Frank became Macy’s, which eventually closed, but not before donated pieces of Santaland to the Oregon Historical Society. Some of which is on display here for the month of December.
“Parents who were kids and whose parents took them to Santaland 30, 40 years ago now bring their kids back to Santaland to see it here at OHS,” Tymchuk said.
Animatronic elves, Rudolph and a scaled down model of the monorail are included. Each year, a new Easter egg is added.
“This year, it's the carrots,” said Tymchuk. “Rudolph's getting fed this year. He was looking a little thin to us, so we're feeding them some carrots, and we also added last year another great Oregon tradition at Christmas was Cinnamon Bear,” he added. “I think Cinnamon Bear lives on elsewhere. I know that river cruises occasionally with Cinnamon Bear was a great tradition years and years ago, and I think they're trying to bring Cinnamon Bear back.”
On December 7 — the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor — the Minidoka Swing Band will perform for the second straight year.
“Minidoka was, of course, one of the essentially the prison camps where Japanese American Citizens were sent during World War II,” Tymchuk said. “The Minidoka Swing Band performs songs from the 1940s and includes children of people who were actually interred at Minidoka.”
Admission is free for everyone on Dec. 3 and always free for Multnomah County residents. Visitors should be on the lookout for a special guest on Dec. 10.
“I can confirm that Santa Claus himself will be here on Sunday, Dec. 10 from 12:30-4 p.m., and the kids are welcome to come and give their wish list to Santa,” said Tymchuk.