Black Portland History Scavenger Hunt
Do you like Black history, exploring Portland with friends, playing games, and winning prizes?
World Stage Theatre and Oregon Black Pioneers presents the Black Portland History Scavenger Hunt! Sunday, February 1, 2026, from 12:30-3:30, starting at the Albina Library. This game is part of Black History Fest NW, celebrating and shining a light on 100+ artists, leaders, businesses and change makers of the African diaspora.
No purchase necessary to play! Visa gift card prizes! 1st Place – $500; 2nd Place – $300; 3rd Place – $100.
Pre-register your team here or register at the event!
The Details
The objective of the Black Portland History Scavenger Hunt is to correctly identify and photograph 10 locations based on clues we provide. All locations are sites with African American historical significance located within the city of Portland.
Cash prizes in the form of a Visa gift card will be offered to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams that successfully complete the hunt:
1st Place – $500
2nd Place – $300
3rd Place – $100
No purchase is necessary to participate. There are no limits on team size, and all ages are invited to play (every team must include at least one player 18 years or older). Refreshments and Oregon Black Pioneers giveaways will be available for all participating teams at the starting/ending point.
How to Play
The Scavenger Hunt starting point and ending point is Multnomah County Library – Albina Branch, Community Room 2A (205 NE Russell Street).
Sign Up The Scavenger Hunt begins promptly at 12:30 PM, though teams can visit the starting point to sign up their team and begin playing at anytime between 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM.
Receive Clue #1 After checking in and registering a team phone number, teams will text the Oregon Black Pioneers number to receive their first clue.
Find the Location Teams will try to find the location referenced in the clue. The clue itself will contain hints and keywords which can be searched online.
Visit the Location/Send Photo After finding the correct location, players must go to that site and take a selfie and text it to Oregon Black Pioneers. Oregon Black Pioneers will review the photo and verify that this location is correct. Oregon Black Pioneers will then text back the clue for the next location.
This process will continue until all 10 locations have been visited, photographed, and verified by Oregon Black Pioneers.
Return to the Library Once a team has located and texted selfies from all 10 locations, and had each of their answers verified as correct, the team must return to the starting point to complete the game.
Prizes
If a participating team is the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd team to successfully complete the hunt, they will win a prize! All prizes are given in the form of a Visa gift card in the following amounts: 1st Place – $500; 2nd Place – $300; 3rd Place – $100. No purchase is necessary to participate. The decisions of the event host are final.
The game will end promptly at 3:30 PM. Any teams still playing after this time will receive the rest of the clues via text, but will not be eligible for a prize. Everyone who plays will gain some knowledge about Portland’s Black history!
