Tarweed Awakening Corvallis Starts Thursday: A Plant, A Person, A Place

Unique in the entire country according to organizers, you are invited to participate in a free four-day celebration honoring the Tarweed plant. But the event is about more than a plant.

Tarweed Awakening Corvallis is also about a person; Sawala, a Kalapuya elder named for the plant. And it’s also about a place, Shawala Point, named for Sawala.

Organizers emphasize that participants are welcome to participate in one or all of the days and on Saturday to participate at one or all five of the main-day venues. Here’s the details.

Thursday, August 20: 4:00 to 7:00 pm – Tarweed Awakening Corvallis – Indigenous Craft Fair

Corvallis Museum @ 411 SW 2^nd Street – Includes 10 Indigenous Crafts booths.

Friday, August 21: 5:30 to 7:30 pm – Tarweed Awakening Corvallis – Tarweed Patch Hike

Bald Hill Farm – Join an evening walk in a restored prairie on the WEST side of Bald Hill. Learn about tarweed and other native plants, prairie ecology, and the importance of fire for valley ecosystems. Find more info and RSVP through Greenbelt Land Trust (link here).

Saturday, August 22: 1:00 to 4:00 pm – Tarweed Awakening Corvallis – Main Event

5 Locations from Shawala Point to the Van Buren Street Bridge –

1. 1:00 pm only at the Van Buren Street Bridge, David Harrelson, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, interprets art installations on the bridge representing First Foods of the Kalapuya.
2. 1:00 to 4:00 pm – Shawala Point Park Walking Loop with 4 interpretation stations featuring:
   1. The Indigenous Canoe Family Project (with Luhui Whitebear, OSU Indigenous Studies) will soon be coming to Corvallis. Envision its potential impact on Shawala Point.
   2. Changes at Shawala Point under “settler” management and future potentials. Includes a walk down to the Marys River (Pinefu in Kalapuya).
   3. Three species of Tarweed with seeds to be given away while they last.
   4. Photos of Sawala, the “Elder of Elders”, for whom Shawala Point is named.
3. 1:00 to 3:00 pm – Wild Yeast Bakery/OSU Marigold Studio (corner of 2^nd & B) – Have your face painted for free with Tarweed images. The first 100 event visitors receive a free Kalapuya Blueberry Tart. A cool room in the Marigold Studio provides respite from the August heat.
4. 1:00 to 4:00 pm – Tarweed Folk School at Wade Hardware hosts:

1. 1. Joe Scott, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, on the art of collecting Tarweed.
   2. Dr. Molly Carney, OSU Paleoethnobotanical Archaeologist on working with Tarweed.
   3. A microscope to view Tarweed’s secrets for creating abundance.

1. 1:00 to 4:00 pm – The Corvallis Museum – An exhibit about Shawala, the Elder of Elders.

Sunday, August 23: 9:00 to 11:00 am – Tarweed Awakening Corvallis – Tarweed Patch Hike

Bald Hill Natural Area – Hike the EAST side Bald Hill Natural Area to view a Tarweed patch. Register to receive logistics, contact Dave Eckert: deckert@willamettewatershed.com

A notable list of event co-sponsors

This event’s co-sponsors include: OSU Indigenous Studies Program, Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde Cultural Resources Department, Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, Tarweed Folk School, Wild Yeast Bakery, Corvallis Museum, Marys River Watershed Council, Institute for Applied Ecology, Greenbelt Land Trust, OSU Crafts Center, OSU Marigold Studio, and the Mid-Valley Prescribed Burn Association.