By Living Room Realty, June 18, 2019
CERIMON HOUSE – 5131 NE 23rd Ave Portland Oregon
Where Community Convenes To Experience The Evolving Human Story
My first vocation (and forever avocation) was theatre as a professional theatrical stage manager in Ashland and Portland. I met an incredible array of amazing and creative souls, many lifelong friends, doing theatre over a thirteen year period. During my very first “foot in the door” job at Oregon Shakespeare, I worked on the stage operations crew for the outdoor Elizabethan stage production of Henry V. It was there, backstage where I met the truly incomparable soul Randall Stuart, an actor in the production. Flash forward many years and a lot of paths walked, we reconnected in Portland some 15 years ago. Randall, a talented actor and director, was now committed to a broader mission of community.
In 2009, Randall assembled a group of colleagues and friends, and proposed the idea of establishing a “sanctuary for the humanities” while working towards acquiring a building to house the various activities of this vibrant community of thinkers. Two key inspirations emerged: the model of the turn-of-the-last-century Circuit Chautauqua community & educational programming, as well as Manhattan’s 92nd Street Y. And so, the focus at Cerimon House would be on events that were peaceful, educational, entertaining, and transformational.
I was honored to be part of those earliest braintrust days and later, in 2012, to help the organization acquire a shuttered historic neighborhood masonic lodge in the heart of the NE Alberta Arts District of Portland. A year was taken restoring and renovating the 92 year old building to its former glory. Cerimon House re-opened in late 2015 with a West Coast premiere art exhibit featuring 52 original pen & inks of the great American illustrator & wit Charles Addams.
The building is now a-buzz with diverse and innovative programming, and is indeed a cultural center where people connect through the arts, education, exploration, and celebration – and all within an inclusive, culturally-plural, nonviolent convening space. COMMUNITY…gatherings that focus on the healthy civic life of the population. CREATIVITY…the cultural arts brought to a vivid life in performance, song, word, dance, and craft. CURIOSITY…educational classes, workshops, and conferences for students of all ages. CEREMONY…various & unique celebrations in a place of inclusivity and kindness.
Each month, the community is invited to participate in one of their most popular signature activities: the Creative Path Walk, featuring large scale indoor contemplative labyrinths. This Thursday June 20th 7:00-9:00 join them for “Solstice: Science & Ceremony, ” a very special guided walk to welcome the Summer Solstice, lead by Sandra Grace Warren of the Liminal Space Society.
Visit Cerimon House at 5131 NE 23rd Ave in Portland. I cannot think of a time when we needed such a place more–a community and space within which to explore ideas and uplift one another.
I’ll see you there-
Best, Joanne
(text taken largely from Cerimon House website — find them at www.cerimonhouse.org)
