WEDNESDAY
Digital Life: Tech Help Lab. Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave., Corvallis. 3:00 p.m. Free. Get free, basic, one-on-one tech help from a library staff member. Bring your computer or device or use one of ours. Library staff can help with basic computer tasks, using social media, managing photos, downloading eBooks and audiobooks, using email, filling out online job applications, and much more. Drop-in anytime during the hour. Visit https://corvallisbenton.librarycalendar.com/event/digital-life-tech-help-lab-6 for more info
The Making of American Whiteness: The History of Race in America. Memorial Union, Horizon Room, 2501 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis. 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Free. The Cabildos Speaker Series presents Carmen Thompson, a historian and author who analyzes the origin of white supremacy and its role in defining America’s racial history. Thompson wrote the book, “The Making of American Whiteness: The Formation of Race in Seventeenth- Century Virginia.” Thompson is a highly sought expert on race and whiteness in America. She has held visiting scholar appointments at the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University and in the Black Studies Department at Portland State University and has taught courses on the Black experience and whiteness at Portland State University and Portland Community College. The lecture will take place from 5 to 7 p.m., Feb. 16 in the Memorial Union Horizon Room. Visit https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/oregon-state-celebrates-black-history-month-series-events for more info.
Rich Swanger. Common Fields, 545 SW 3rd St., Corvallis. 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Free. Join Common Fields on Wednesday and Thursday evenings for dinner and enjoy live music while you eat! Concerts are 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Seating is limited and first-come, first-serve. All of the concerts are family friendly. Visit https://www.commonfieldscorvallis.com/live-music.html for more info.
Corvallis Library Book Club. Main Meeting Room, 645 NW Monroe Ave., Corvallis, OR. 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library Book Club is open to everyone! We meet to discuss fiction and nonfiction every third Wednesday of the month. See https://cbcpubliclibrary.net/book-club for a list of the books we are reading. Visit https://corvallisbenton.librarycalendar.com/event/corvallis-library-book-club-8 for more info.
Willamette Innovators Network. Old World Deli. 7 pm. Free.
PubTalks are an opportunity for the region’s innovators to come together and celebrate the creativity and innovation of the Willamette Valley. Get a chance to network with other innovators, researchers, potential collaborators, investors, academics, and economic development leaders.
THURSDAY
Preschool Storytime. Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave., Corvallis. 10:30 a.m. Free. Storytime is offered year-round as a drop-in program: first come, first served. Space is limited due to the room capacity and to provide a positive, safe environment for all. Children must be accompanied by a grown-up. Many lasting friendships start at storytime! Visit https://corvallisbenton.librarycalendar.com/event/preschool-storytime-20 for more info.
C3 Book Club. C3 (Corvallis Community Center), 2601 NW Tyler Ave., Corvallis. 11 a.m. Meeting once per month to discuss fiction and non-fiction books that registered members have chosen. Meetings are facilitated by a Corvallis Benton County Public Library staff member and are held the 3rd Thursday of the month at C3 Community Center. Visit https://corvallisbenton.librarycalendar.com/event/c3-book-club-13 for more info.
Corvallis Arts Walk. Downtown Corvallis, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. Free. Visit downtown Corvallis to tour the working studios of our local artists, see them at work, and view their art! The Corvallis Arts Walk (CAW) is a grass-roots organized art walk that takes place on the 3rd Thursday of each month in downtown Corvallis from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Galleries, studios, arts and crafts stores and the occasional pop-up keep their doors open late to host an art-related event or demonstration. Visit http://www.corvallisartswalk.com for more info.
Bessie Coleman School Renaming Celebration, at Bessie Coleman Elementary, 4 to 5 pm, free
The Corvallis School District is hosting a renaming celebration at Bessie Coleman Elementary. Coleman’s great-niece will be on hand for the festivities.
Fast forward to present times, and Gigi Coleman has designed a nonprofit aviation program to expose disadvantaged youth to career opportunities in aviation. Gigi travels across the country to tell the story of her inspirational aunt and inspire youth to explore careers in aviation and follow their dreams. The program is called the Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars.
Other special guests include members of the Linn Benton NAACP, Corvallis School District Equity Leadership Team Advisory (DELTA), Corvallis Public Schools Foundation, Evergreen Aviation Museum, and the Washington Museum of Flight.
“We are excited to welcome Gigi Coleman and to celebrate the renaming of our school as well as the amazing new building our community has supported,” said Tracey Fischer, Bessie Coleman principal. “This will be a special day for our students, staff, and community.”
According to the National Air and Space Museum, Bessie Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas, to a large African American and Native American family. In 1920, she became determined to become a pilot when her brother, a World War I veteran, talked about French women flying airplanes. She learned French, traveled to France to study at the Caudron Brothers School of Aviation, and became the first African American and Native American woman to earn her pilot’s license. Her determination and strong will continue to inspire today.
Dennis Monroe’s Funked Up Blues Jam, live at the Old World Center, 7 pm. Free.
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com