LOFA 26: Lecture Series
June 26 - June 28
The 2026 Festival’s theme is celebration of art, earth, and the flavors that sustain us. The “Flourish & Nourish” lecture series offers a diverse lineup of free interactive talks, sharing environmental art and global stewardship, cooking demonstrations, and an award winning documentary designed to inspire culinary curiosity.
All talks are free to the public and located in the lower level of the Lakewood Center for the Arts. This venue has open seating and all seats are first come, first served.
The lecture series is sponsored by:
Also downstairs during the Festival, find a popup bookstore from:
| Day & Theme | Time | Event Description |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, June 26th: Art, Nature, and the Local Landscape |
10 am | Join the Arts Council of Lake Oswego and Artspace to explore the decades-long history of the city’s renowned public art program. |
| Noon | OSU Master Gardener Leah Puhlman shares how to transform outdoor spaces into vibrant habitats for bees and beneficial insects. Restoring native pollinator habitats can be straightforward, and anyone can take steps to make a difference in their own outdoor spaces. By understanding and addressing the fundamental needs of pollinators—food, shelter, and safe places to raise young—you can help these important creatures thrive. | |
| 2 pm | Matt Patterson will discuss his career, experiences as a wildlife illustrator and his conservation work. Matt has been fascinated with nature and art since he was young, and has traveled all over the world to research his subjects. There’s almost no distance he won’t go, almost nothing he won’t do, to learn all he can about his subjects to make his paintings of wild animals as accurate and lifelike as possible. | |
| 4 pm | Join lifelong gardener and longtime Portland radio host and Festival Spotlight Award Winner Mike Darcy for an engaging look at achieving vibrant, reliable summer landscapes. With a degree in horticulture and decades of hands-on experience in his own Portland garden, Mike understands the local climate and what truly thrives here. In this session, Mike will share his personal favorites for continuous color from summer into autumn. | |
| Saturday, June 27th: Ancestral Knowledge and Modern Culinary Excellence |
Noon | Wild foods are ancestral foods we’ve lost touch with since the advent of agricultural domestication. In this entertaining, illuminating, and beautiful slide presentation, join wild food expert Dr. John Kallas as he takes you on a tour of plants that have sustained our ancestors for hundreds of thousands of years. |
| 2 pm | Celebrated six-time James Beard Award-nominated chef Cathy Whims of Nostrana demonstrates recipes from her new cookbook, The Italian Summer Kitchen. Cathy will be cooking her world-famous Nostrana potato gnocchi with Marcella Hazan’s classic tomato-butter sauce. | |
| 4 pm | Join WildSpice’s Mia Liu for a live cooking demo inspired by Oregon’s forests, featuring lion’s mane mushrooms and heirloom carrots transformed into a deeply satisfying dish. Learn how to build bold, layered flavor using simple techniques. | |
| Sunday, June 28th: Artistic Education and the Legacy of an American Icon |
10 am | A hands-on opportunity for children to paint with illustrator Matt Patterson using watercolors and his original turtle drawings. |
| 2 pm | Long before “farm-to-table” was a buzzword, Portland’s own James Beard was revolutionizing the way we think about food. Known as the “Dean of American Cookery,” Beard hosted the first-ever television cooking show and authored dozens of cookbooks. Join us for a screening of the American Masters documentary, James Beard: America’s First Foodie. Following the screening, director Beth Federici will join us for a discussion about Beard’s enduring legacy and the making of the film. |