Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education reopens with a street festival and new exhibits

The free event on Sunday, June 11, welcomes Portland to the renovated galleries and celebrates the organization’s cultural partners.

An elderly man wearing a red beret observes one of core exhibits a the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education.

Upgrades include better museum lighting on the first floor.

Photo by OJMCHE

The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE) has been closed for four months while it expanded its footprint and renovated the space’s galleries.

But this Sunday, June 11, it reopens to the public alongside a free street festival, 12-3 p.m., which will feature performances from Portland Lee’s Association Dragon & Lion Dance team, Portland Taiko, Klezmer music from Michelle Alany and the Mystics, and a taco truck.

At the center of OJMCHE’s reemergence is the new core exhibit, “Human Rights After the Holocaust,” a photographic exploration of “the work needed to achieve dignity and rights for all persons” and “the ways that hope is essential to our endeavors.” Master painters highlight two other special exhibitions: “But a Dream, Salvador Dali” and “The Jews of Amsterdam, Rembrandt and Pander.”

Lefty’s Cafe will also now be operated by Jacob & Son’s and serve Pacific Northwest-inspired deli dishes like challah grilled cheese tuna melts, potato knishes, and more.