Happy 150th birthday, Oregon

ByABC News
February 12, 2009, 9:09 PM

— -- Oregon turns the big one-five-oh on Saturday, but the birthday festivities will last all year. To toast its sesquicentennial in style, the nation's 33rd state kicks things off this weekend with fetes and galas across the state.

Throughout May, visit a state park to help remove invasive weeds during the Oregon State Parks Take Care of Oregon Days. Gold Hill celebrates Gold Dust Day in June with a parade, craft booths, gold panning and horse-drawn wagon rides. July celebrates art with the Salem Art Association's 60th annual Art Fair Festival in the capital city. From the end of August through the middle of October, Oregon's quilting heritage is celebrated at the Benton County Historical Museum. In September, the Oregon Territorial Express Stagecoach Run gives people a chance to take a train through five counties in five days to the end of the Oregon Trail.

For more information, visit the Oregon Tourism Commission at oregon150.com.