West Linn and Oregon City will mark 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks with a joint remembrance ceremony at Bernert Landing in Willamette Park.

The event begins at 5 p.m. Sept. 11 at the landing, located at 1905 Volpp St. in West Linn, where the Tualatin River meets the Willamette.

Organizer Dean Suhr told Oregon City News Online the gathering aims to help a younger generation connect with the meaning of the day.

"This isn't a ceremony being held by a fire department or police department that the public is invited to watch," Suhr said.

"It is the other way around."

Suhr said the event is the community coming together to remember what happened on Sept. 11 and to honor the people who stand ready to serve.

The two cities first held a joint ceremony on the Arch Bridge in 2002, one year after the attacks, the Portland Tribune reported.

The tradition has continued for nearly a quarter century. Organizers describe this year's event as a larger community gathering focused on passing the story to children born after 2001.

West Linn Mayor Rory Bialostosky and Oregon City Mayor Denyse McGriff will board Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue (TVF&R) Station 59's fire rescue boat, known as Boat 59, to place a memorial wreath in the Willamette River.

Families will be invited to place their own flowers in the water afterward.

Three Rivers VFW Post 1324 of Oregon City will provide the Color Guard and military honors.

Firefighters, police officers, sheriff's deputies, military personnel, veterans, medical professionals, Public Works utility crews and aviation professionals are expected to attend alongside members of the public.

Separately, roughly 3,000 yellow ribbons will cover the A Street bridge over I-205 in West Linn through the A Street Yellow Ribbon Bridge Project, honoring those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

In September 2025, Bialostosky and McGriff met in the middle of the Arch Bridge to throw the first honorary flower wreath into the river, joined by representatives from West Linn Police, Oregon City Police, TVF&R and Clackamas Fire, according to the West Linn Tidings.

This year's move to Bernert Landing allows the ceremony to expand beyond the bridge setting.

The Sept. 11 ceremony is free and open to the public.

Upcoming community events

• Sept. 11, 5 p.m. — 9/11 25th anniversary remembrance, Bernert Landing, 1905 Volpp St., West Linn. Free and open to the public.