Potlatch is Tilikum’s special event for long-time supporters and friends.

The Potlatch for 2025 occured on Wednesday October 1, from 6:30PM – 8:00PM, and Thursday, October 2, from 4:30PM to 6:00PM. Similar days for the event will occur in 2026.

Do you have a friend or family member who would be a likely supporter of Tilikum’s ministry? If so, ask them to join you at the upcoming event.

Sign up for Potlatch

Or you can make your reservation by calling  (503) 538-8081.

Interested in sponsoring the Potlatch event?

Sponsor gifts go a long way toward offsetting the cost of the Potlatch event itself so that all funds raised go directly to financing Tilikum’s mission. As a sponsor, your corporate identity would be prominently displayed at Potlatch, in the slide presentation, and on the Tilikum website. If you would like to sponsor the next Potlatch Celebration, email Dennis Littlefield/Executive Director, or call Dennis at (503) 538-2763, ext. 103.

In 2025, Northwest Fresh Seafood generously contributed with a full complement of salmon for Potlatch attendees. For Northwest Fresh Seafood, “‘success’ is being radically fresh, radically fun and radically generous. These values shape who we are and what we do everyday.” Visit Northwest Fresh Seafood at 611 N. Main St, Newberg, OR 97132, or call (503) 538-4555.

At Tilikum we believe every student should have an opportunity to experience God’s creation at summer camp. Tilikum has provided a three tier pricing structure because we recognize families have different abilities to pay. If the subsidized rate is still not affordable for your family, additional financial assistance is available to those who qualify. Scholarship applications must be submitted at least three weeks prior to the week of camp. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Registrar for more information.

Building for Tomorrow

By offering overnight summer camps, weekend retreat groups, family camps and outdoor schools, Lakeside Village will create the opportunity for 2,000 more campers to experience Tilikum each year, expanding the mission and ministry of Tilikum, and dramatically increasing Tilikum’s outreach opportunities. Constructing eight new cabins will meet the current need and ensure Tilikum is prepared to best serve the next generation of campers.

Tilikum has about $150,000 left (about 12%) of the total $1,167,000 project to raise. Tilikum has been blessed with many significant individual gifts and two large grants. One from the Energy Trust of Oregon for solar and another from the Murdock Trust. The excavation for the site is finished and we are finalizing permits to begin building in September of 2025.

For more information about Lakeside Village or to schedule a tour of the site, email Dennis Littlefield/Executive Director or call Dennis at (503) 538-2763, ext. 103.

Russell Baker was raised on a dairy farm in the Chehalem Valley. Eventually, Russell bought this farm, and the acquisition of it caused him to seek out his personal values and God’s purpose for his farming life.

On October 12, 1962, the Columbus Day storm blew through western Oregon with hurricane force winds. The Baker farm was hit especially hard. Russell thought he was financially finished. He wrote, “In meditating on what to do. I felt led to make a vow or covenant with the Lord…if He would bring me out of this mess, I would not only give a large part, but all.”

In the next few years, Russell did recover from the storm damage, and according to his promise, he began to look for ways to use his farm for God’s work. In 1968, Russell sold some of his property and purchased a tractor to use in developing the lake. In 1970, the Bakers donated the newly formed 15-acre lake, their new home, a barn, and the remaining 77 acres of the original Baker farm to the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends.

In 1975, Tilikum came under the ministry of George Fox University. In 2012, ownership of Tilikum transferred back to the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends. Just like the Baker family, as friends of Tilikum you can truly help the long-term success of our ministry with gifts through your estate plans. Often our cash resources are limited. What if you could make a lasting permanent gift that was bigger than you’ve ever dreamed possible?

If estate planning is something you are thinking about for the first time, or if you need to update an older estate plan, we have resource material and advisors available to help you. To get you started, Tilikum has a “Will and Trust Planning Guide” and “Estate Inventory form” free for the asking. In addition, we have a representative who is well-versed in the technical aspects of business transition, retirement and estate planning. While Tilikum cannot serve as your legal counsel, our representative is trained to help in areas such as:

• how to honor your favorite charities while reducing or eliminating estate taxes
• how to sell your business while minimizing capital gains tax
• how to protect the way in which loved ones receive their inheritance
• how to minimize taxation on retirement plans

To learn more about these services, email Dennis Littlefield/Executive Director, or call Dennis at (503) 538-2763, ext. 103.

Thank you for considering membership in The Baker Association.