page_title: Burns, Oregon
section_title: Arts and culture
hierarchical_section_title: Burns, Oregon / Arts and culture
caption_attribution_description: Original Collection: Gerald W. Williams Collection Item Number: WilliamsG_SEO_Burns hotel Image Description: The Hotel was built in 1929 and burned on July 15, 1937. Restrictions: Please contact the OSU Archives for permissions forms or information on how to cite our collections. Click here to view our digital collections. You can find this image by searching for the item number. Click here to view Oregon State University's other digital collections. We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons; however, certain restrictions on high quality reproductions of the original physical version may apply. To read more about what “no known restrictions” means, please visit the OSU Archives website.
context_page_description: Burns is a city in and the county seat of Harney County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. According to the 2010 census, the population was 2,806. Burns and the nearby city of Hines are home to about 60 percent of the people in the sparsely populated county, by area the largest in Oregon and the ninth largest in the United States.
  The Burns–Hines region has a high-desert climate but was much wetter in the recent geologic past. The Harney Basin was the largest of many depressions in which lakes formed in southeastern Oregon during the late Pleistocene. Remnants of an ancient lake that reached as far north as Burns are at the center of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, south of the city.
  Northern Paiutes or their ancestors, who were hunter-gatherers, have lived in the region for thousands of years. Since the arrival of Euro-Americans in the 19th century, cattle ranching and other forms of agriculture have dominated land use in the area. In 1930, logging in the mountains north of Burns led to the creation of Hines, a lumber company town, and the timber industry remained important to the local economy until the 1990s.
context_section_description: The Harney County Arts in Education Foundation (HCAEF) exists to support music education and the performing, visual, and theater arts in Burns and the region. The HCAEF is raising funds in hopes of creating a performing arts and education center with a 600-seat auditorium, art gallery, film studio, and other facilities for students and the community. The Portland Youth Philharmonic, which originated in Burns as the Sagebrush Symphony Orchestra, has performed in Burns in support of the HCAEF.
  Each April, Burns hosts the John Scharff Migratory Bird Festival and Art Show during the annual spring migration of waterfowl and other birds through the area. Pelicans, ducks, and raptors are among the birds frequenting the Harney Basin wetlands, a stopping place on the Pacific Flyway. Named for a former manager of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the festival includes tours of the wetlands and nearby ranches as well as classes in topics such as birdhouse building, Harney County archeology, and bird sketching.
   In June, the High Desert Fiddlers host the Country Music Jamboree at the Harney County Fairgrounds on the edge of Burns. Players of all skill levels take part in the jamboree, with stages in three fairground buildings. Admission is free; donations are accepted. Concessions, dinners by reservation, camping in tents or recreational vehicles, and dancing are part of the entertainment. At other times of the year, the High Desert Fiddlers gather on Fridays at various locations around the city to hold public jam sessions including folk, country, bluegrass, and other music played on instruments such as the guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and hammered dulcimer.
  The Harney County Fair is held annually in September at the Harney County Fairgrounds. The fair, which lasts about a week, includes a rodeo, carnival, talent show, horse races, parade, and other events, including those sponsored by 4-H and Future Farmers of America.
  The Harney County Historical Museum in Burns offers displays of relics, documents, and photographs from the region's past. Established in 1960 at the site of a former brewery, laundry, and wrecking yard, the museum is open five days a week (Tuesday through Saturday) from April through September and at other times by appointment.
caption: The Welcome Hotel in Burns, 1930. It burned down in 1939.
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