A year-round nonprofit
We are a Cottage Grove-based heritage and community organization working throughout the year to keep local stories, knowledge, and traditions alive.
A Year-Round Heritage and Community Nonprofit
We keep local history alive by helping people experience it.
Spirit of Bohemia Mining Days brings Cottage Grove’s heritage into community life through public celebrations, hands-on education, original storytelling, and meaningful partnerships.
Featured Now Driving For Gold →
501(c)(3)
Nonprofit Organization
Nonprofit Organization
Oregon Heritage Tradition
Official Designation
Official Designation
Year-Round
Heritage & Community Work
Heritage & Community Work
Cottage Grove
Oregon
Oregon
Who We Are
More than a festival.
Spirit of Bohemia Mining Days is the nonprofit
organization behind the annual Bohemia Mining Days
festival and a growing network of year-round heritage
programs serving students, families, seniors,
educators, and community organizations throughout
Cottage Grove and the surrounding region.
Heritage people can experience
We combine celebrations, hands-on education, original storytelling, preservation, community programming, and collaboration.
History strengthens community
We preserve stories before they are lost, connect generations, strengthen belonging, and help people understand their role in the future of the place they call home.
Our Work
The Four Pillars of SBMD
How we celebrate our heritage, educate our community, create meaningful stories, and collaborate for greater impact.
Celebrate
We bring people together through Bohemia Mining Days and other accessible community events that transform local heritage into a shared, living experience.
Educate
We provide hands-on learning for students, families, seniors, and community groups through school programs, presentations, workshops, tours, and demonstrations.
Create
We preserve and share the stories of our region through videos, podcasts, exhibits, archives, research, and original public programming.
Collaborate
We help community partners bring meaningful ideas to life while sharing knowledge, people, spaces, resources, visibility, and support.
Select the graphic to view it full size.
Community Impact
What this work looks like in the community.
Our flagship festival gives SBMD a major public platform, while year-round programs extend the mission into classrooms, senior communities, partnerships, archives, media, and public history.
30,000+
Estimated attendance at the 2026
Bohemia Mining Days festival
97
Vendors participating in the
2026 festival
2.67M
Facebook views during
2026 outreach
54
Entries in the
2026 Grand Miners Parade
97%
of responding vendors said they would return to Bohemia Mining Days in 2027.
93%
of responding vendors said SBMD staff and volunteers were helpful.
Common positive feedback highlighted the community atmosphere, live music, parade, historic dress, family activities, helpful staff and security, and the return of a full festival atmosphere.
SBMD's heritage work extends beyond festival weekend through youth education, Senior Connections, community partnerships, historic preservation, original media, and public history programs.
2026 festival feedback reflects the final post-festival vendor survey of 30 respondents.
68th Annual Bohemia Mining Days
Third Weekend in July 2027
Coiner Park · Cottage Grove, Oregon
Our Flagship Celebration
Bohemia Mining Days
Each summer, our year-round mission comes together in Cottage Grove for Bohemia Mining Days: a free public celebration where local history becomes something people can hear, see, learn, share, and participate in.
The festival brings together residents, visitors, performers, vendors, historians, nonprofits, businesses, artists, volunteers, and families in one shared community tradition.
Free public access
Cottage Grove tradition
Heritage demonstrations
Music, vendors & family activities
Beyond Festival Weekend
The mission continues all year.
SBMD uses the relationships, knowledge, public reach, and resources built around the festival to create programs that serve the community throughout the year.
Bohemia Academy
School visits, presentations, youth activities, family learning, workshops, guided experiences, and hands-on history.
Explore Bohemia AcademySenior Connections
History, storytelling, conversation, music, and community programming for local senior living residents.
Original Storytelling
Videos, podcasts, short documentaries, interviews, research, and creative public history made for modern audiences.
Watch & ListenThe Mining Vault
Historical documents, photographs, research, records, and stories preserved so they remain accessible to future generations.
Explore the Mining VaultBohemia Mountain Rangers
Heritage-based outdoor learning that connects young people to local history, the land, and practical outdoor skills.
Community Partnerships
Shared projects with schools, nonprofits, businesses, historians, civic partners, educators, volunteers, and community groups.
Explore PartnershipsShared Investment
Strong community work is built together.
SBMD brings organizational structure, public reach, storytelling, coordination, and program platforms. Our partners bring knowledge, people, traditions, ideas, spaces, resources, and financial support. Together, we create greater community impact.
Work With Us
Bring an idea to the table.
Some of our strongest work begins with a conversation about something the community needs, a story worth preserving, or an opportunity we can build together.
We work with schools, nonprofits, businesses, historians, civic organizations, educators, volunteers, and community groups on projects that align with our mission.
If you have an idea, expertise, a location, historical knowledge, resources, or an opportunity to collaborate, we want to hear from you.
Invest in the Mission
Help make year-round work possible.
The festival may be our most visible program, but the organization operates throughout the year.
Donations, sponsorships, grants, and community support give SBMD the stability to plan ahead, develop programs, preserve local history, build partnerships, and keep meaningful experiences accessible to the public.
Support can fund a specific project or strengthen the year-round capacity that allows the entire mission to grow.
2026 Support
53%
Raised
$93,236
Goal
$175,000
Remaining
$81,764
Current & Upcoming
What’s happening across SBMD.
Featured events, upcoming programs, and timely ways to experience, support, and participate in the work of SBMD.
September 19, 2026 · Teams Full
Inaugural Fundraiser
Driving For Gold
Our inaugural Driving For Gold Golf Tournament & Fundraiser takes place at Hidden Valley Golf Course with an 8:00 AM shotgun start.
We have reached our maximum number of teams. Team registration is closed, but sponsorship and donation opportunities remain available. To join the team wait list, call or text Linda Oxley at 541.554.3276.
Tournament Starts In
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Next Festival · 2027
68th Annual Bohemia Mining Days
Cottage Grove’s heritage celebration returns the third weekend of July 2027 with history, music, vendors, family activities, and community traditions.
Plan Your Festival Visit
Year-Round
Bohemia Academy
Kids’ activities, youth learning, school visits, family programs, Senior Connections, presentations, workshops, and history experiences.
Explore Programs
Ongoing
Media & Storytelling
Through videos, podcasts, research, interviews, and in-person storytelling, we preserve the stories of Cottage Grove, the Bohemia Mining District, and Oregon.
Watch & Listen
Heritage Learning
Bohemia Mountain Rangers
A 2.5-day outdoor school-style kids program focused on heritage learning, local history, connection to the land, and practical outdoor skills.
Ask About the Rangers
Family Heritage
Kids Heritage Fair
A free family event hosted with Family Relief Nursery that gives children and families a welcoming day of activities, community connection, and heritage-themed fun.
Learn More
Explore the Mission
History & Archives
Explore the stories, photographs, documents, research, and historical work behind the programs and events we share with the public.
Explore Local HistoryAccountability & Organization
Learn how the organization is led, built, and growing.
Funders, partners, and community members can look beyond event promotion and learn about the organization, leadership, results, public work, and long-term mission.
01
About SBMD
Mission, history, programs, organizational development, and the purpose behind our work.
About the Organization → 02Leadership
Meet the people responsible for governance, organizational leadership, and carrying the mission forward.
Meet Our Leadership → 032026 Impact
Review participation, community reach, partnerships, festival outcomes, sponsors, highlights, and results.
View the 2026 Recap → 04Press & Public Record
Community coverage, interviews, public reporting, and media about SBMD and its work.
View Press Coverage →
Help keep Cottage Grove’s stories alive.
Attend an event. Bring a program to your organization. Volunteer your skills. Share your knowledge. Become a partner. Fund the work. Every form of participation helps carry this community’s heritage forward.