In partnership with The Root Experience Festival and CLTRE Gallery, join us as we celebrate Native American Heritage Month and Kinrō Kansha no Hi (勤労感謝の日, Japanese Labor Thanksgiving Day) with a free art workshop for youth and families! 

🍱 Local artist Lisa Soranaka will be teaching us how to make air-dry clay bento boxes to honor the stewards of our lands and give thanks to the labor and care of the people who make our food! All materials will be provided.

🗓️ Saturday, November 14, 2026 @ 10:00am-12:00pm (doors at 10:00am for arrival + snacks, workshop starts at 10:30am)

📍 CLTRE Gallery (425 W. 2nd Ave, Spokane WA)

🎟️ FREE and RSVP Required! Limited spots. This workshop is recommended for K-8 youth + families but open to all. Please reserve your spot as a youth, family member, volunteer or AYCL Fellow.

🧋Free boba drink from Tea’s Company

🔗 For more info: aclspokane.org/bobabuddies

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About the Artist

Lisa Soranaka is a ceramic artist, muralist, and educator living in the Inland Northwest. She received her BFA in ceramics from Central Washington University and her MFA in ceramics at Washington State University. Lisa has shown her work across the country, most notably at the Box Heart Gallery in Pittsburg PA, the Gloria Kennedy Gallery in Brooklyn NY, and the Kolva-Sullivan Gallery in Spokane WA. Lisa serves as the Board President at Spokane Art School, and teaches at Gonzaga University, North Idaho College, Eastern Washington University, and the Community Colleges of Spokane. Additionally, she has worked on public art projects locally such as the Railway Underpass Mural in downtown area with Eric-Alain Parker, and a large public mosaic sculpture in Emerson-Garfield neighborhood in collaboration with Mallory Battista,. More recently, she worked on a mural on the exterior walls behind Madeleine’s Cafe and Patisserie, honoring the Chinese and Japanese histories of the old “Trent Alley” neighborhood—or what was known as the international district in downtown Spokane prior to Expo ‘74. Check out Lisa’s work at lisasoranaka.com

About The Root Experience Festival

The Root Experience is a free, 3-day festival featuring BIPOC talent from various cultures and disciplines. The festival celebrates International filmmakers, artists, culture bearers, musicians, healers, and the stories they weave through their art. The goal is to place Spokane creatives on the same stages as the rest of the world. In doing so, not only are we creating access points to professional creative industries, but we are also uplifting their narratives of culture, family, beauty, and resilience to create a network that empowers living stories while healing elements of the past, present, and future. Learn more about this year’s festival at therootexperience.org/root-experience-festival-2026