WALLOWA Historic displays, homemade pie, old-time music and kids activities will all be part of the grand opening of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center in Wallowa.

The event is scheduled from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 3, at the new home of the center at 211 E. 2nd St., in the former city hall, with activities also planned at the nearby Wallowa Senior Center.

The community of Wallowa has really stepped up to help, said director Gwen Trice about the move of the nonprofits headquarters from Enterprise to Wallowa. Theres been a great outpouring of support. Were expecting a lot of people at the grand opening.

Trice said that those who attend will be encouraged to walk back and forth from the interpretive centers new home, where historic exhibits will be set up, and the senior center where old-time music, a light lunch, games and other activities are planned.

Trice plans to speak briefly at 1:30 p.m. and a pie auction will be held about 2:15 p.m. as a benefit for the center. Volunteers will staff both locations to answer questions.

The mission of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center is  to collect, preserve, and interpret the rich history of the multicultural logging community of Maxville, Ore., and similar communities in the Pacific Northwest.

Home to both African-American and white loggers and their families in the 1920s, Maxville was mostly dismantled in the mid-1930s. The old town site is located on Forest Capital property about 15 miles northwest of Wallowa off Promise Road, and the home of the Maxville Gathering, which will celebrate its third year Aug. 20.

Eventually Trice hopes to see the center expand into the old U.S. Forest Service complex in Wallowa. It was part of a 2009 bill introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, which would give the federally-owned compound to the city of Wallowa for use as the Maxville Heritage Center. Wyden, along with Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, recently reintroduced the Wallowa bill.

For information: 541-886-3670, www.maxvilleheritage.org.