Thursday, July 10 | 6:00 – 7:30pm

Featuring Traditional Irish Gaelic Singing with Brian Ó hAirt (MNCH Lawn)

Ó hAirt is a master musician, singer, and dancer from the Irish tradition. He is deeply involved in the preservation of Irish cultural practices and especially the Irish Gaelic language. Since 2006 he has facilitated workshops throughout North America at various cultural gatherings, festivals, summer schools, and weekend Irish Gaelic language intensives. 

Thursday, July 17 | 6:00 – 7:30pm

Featuring Nattuvangam in Classical South Indian Dance with Sweta Ravisankar and apprentice Arshia Rajeshnarayanan (MNCH Lawn) 

Ravisankar is a Bharatanatyam (South Indian Classical Dance) performing artist, teacher, and choreographer. She has been dancing for three decades and is the artistic director of Sarada Kala Nilayam (SKN), where she teaches Bharathanatyam and Nattuvangam (rhythmic structures of Bharatanatyam). 

Rajeshnarayanan is an Indian-American born and raised in Portland by hardworking immigrant parents. 

Both Ravisankar and Rajeshnarayanan are part of Oregon Folklife Networks’ 2025 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. 

Thursday, July 24 | 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

Featuring Carnatic (Indian Classical) Singing with Smitha Chakravarthy and apprentice Aditi Atreya (MNCH Lawn) 

Chakravarthy keeps Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam alive through performances in cultural festivals, recitals, and special events that celebrate Indian heritage. Through her teaching practice, which includes training over 80 vocalists and percussionists, she fosters a routine of regular practice, which is central to mastering these art forms.

Atreya has been practicing Carnatic music for several years from a young age, even before she began formal lessons with Chakravarthy. 

Thursday, July 31 | 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

Featuring Palestinian Embroidery with Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim and apprentice Jenan Bisharat (Galleria) 

Abbasi-Ghnaim is a traditional Palestinian embroiderer and three-time Oregon Folklife Network Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program Master Artist. A National Heritage Fellow (2018), Abbasi-Ghnaim learned the technique of Palestinian embroidery and the stories behind the traditional patterns from her mother and grandmother.

Bisharat is a first generation Palestinian-American whose Palestinian family is originally from the village of Ma’Alool in northern Galilee, Palestine, which was destroyed in 1948. 

Both Abbasi-Ghnaim and Bisharat are part of Oregon Folklife Networks’ 2025 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. 

Thursday, August 10 | 6:00 p.m.

Sreevidhya is a tenth-generation descendant of the illustrious Karaikudi Vina Tradition of South India. A Karaikudi Vina is a fretted, stringed instrument indigenous to South India, Sreevidhya is both a performer and maker of the instrument. 

Thursday, August 17 | 6:00 p.m.

Traditional Charrería with José Antonio Huerta

Antonio performs traditional Charrería, which is a skill and traditional art form that involves horsemanship, cattle work, and sophisticated and skillful use of rope techniques.  

Thursday, August 24 | 6:00 p.m.

Hula Dance with Kumu Hula Andrea Luchese

Andrea is the Kumu Hula (Master Teacher) for Halua Hula Ka Pi’o O Ke Annuenue “The Arch of the Rainbow”, a Hawaiian cultural dance school where the primary focus is Hula Kahiko (ancient style), hula ‘auana (modern style), oli (chant), and na mea hula (art, crafts, implements).

Thursday, August 4 | 6:00 p.m.

Irish Music with Brian Ó hAirt

Irish singer, musician, and Gaelic instructor Brian Ó hAirt has been featured on radio programs and festivals across the United States, Canada, and Ireland. His artistry draws from his many experiences growing up among the Irish diaspora of the upper Midwest and his coming of age in the vibrant Gaelic communities of Ireland’s west coast. He is an all-Ireland champion singer since 2002 and Apprenticeship master recognized in Oregon and Ohio.

Thursday, August 11 | 6:00 p.m.

The Poetry of Hip-hop with Mic Crenshaw

Mic Crenshaw is a world-class emcee and former member of the Portland-based group Hungry Mob; a 2001 Portland Poetry slam champion and national finalist; and one of the most respected hip-hop artists in the northwest. His albums top the College Radio Hip Hop Charts, and he has performed with internationally-acclaimed acts such as the Fugees, Outkast, and Wu-Tang Clan.

Thursday, August 18 | 6:00 p.m.

Rajasthani and Hindusthani Music with Nisha Joshi

Nisha Joshi is a master artist in Rajasthani folk and Hindustani classical musical traditions. In India, she regularly performed both styles on Delhi radio and television. Her first apprenticeship award in Oregon was in 1997, but she also runs the Portland-based Swaranjali Academy of Indian Music, and teaches vocal, harmonium, sitar, and tabla lessons from her home.

Thursday, August 25 | 6:00 p.m.

Persian Calligraphy with Marjan Anvari

Marjan Anvari is a master artist and art conservator of tazhib, a traditional Persian form of gold illumination dating back to the 3rd Century. Mathematically precise and aesthetically ornate, tazhib, along with calligraphy and miniature, is foundational to Iranian architecture, handcrafts, rugs, silverwares, and manuscripts.​ Since founding Negahreh Art+ Design in 2014, Anvari was a 2016 Apprenticeship awardee, and 2022 Traditional Arts Recovery Program awardee.