Celebrate Pride, Juneteenth and Father’s Day in Salem this weekend
This weekend, community events include dance parties and drag performances, Juneteenth education and a costume run fundraiser.
Here’s a roundup of what’s happening in town this weekend, Friday, June 16 through Monday, June 19.
Pride
Salem’s downtown Pride event is this weekend, starting with a Pride kick-off party at Southside Speakeasy, 3529 Fairview Industrial Dr. S.E. on Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with no cover charge.
On Saturday, June 17, Salem Downtown Pride will have a march leading into a party with yoga, live performances, dance parties and over 40 vendors. The weekend will commemorate the 45th anniversary of the first Pride march in Salem.
The march starts at the Capitol, 900 Court St. N.E., at 10 a.m., and will walk a few blocks to the party on State Street, between Northeast Liberty Street and Northeast Commercial Street. There will be a full day of events afterward, and afterparties through the evening in the vicinity.
There will be yoga, drag shows throughout the day, live music, DJ’d dance parties, and afterparties at 6:30 p.m. at both Taproot Lounge & Cafe and Archive Coffee & Bar. The official event schedule ends with a dance party at Fork Forty Food Hall at 9 p.m.
The full event schedule is available on the Capital Pride Facebook page.
CASA costume run
Dress up as a superhero or supervillain, and walk or run to raise money for CASA of Marion County, which provides children in foster care with volunteer advocacy.
The Superhero Run starts Saturday, at 9 a.m. in Riverfront Park at 200 Water Street N.E. and goes until 11 a.m.
Registration for the 10k and 5k runs are $25, and there is a free one-mile run for kids or anyone looking to participate. Registration is available online. Same-day, in-person registration will open at 8:30 a.m. before the run.
Local celebrity Caesar the No-Drama Llama will be there, and author Kelly Williams Brown will judge the costume contest. Any runner is eligible for the costume contest, said organizer Vanessa Nordyke, including those who enter the 1 mile fun run.
“We can basically just turn it into a superhero and supervillain catwalk,” she said.
For more information, see the run’s Facebook event page.
Concerts
On Friday, June 16 Barracuda, a Heart and Led Zeppelin Tribute band, will take to the Elsinore Theatre stage downtown, 170 High St. S.E.
The band, from Vancouver B.C., also goes by the nickname ‘Little Zep,’ boasts a powerhouse vocalist joined by versatile instrumentalists.
Tickets range from $25 to $35, and are available online. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. show.
On Saturday, June 17, the Salem Art Association will also host a free concert by Evelyn McCoy-Harris & Enoch McCoy at the Bush museum, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
The pair makes uplifting music celebrating hope, diversity and liberty, according to the event description.
Space is limited to 25 people, and RSVP is available online.
Father’s Day, June 18
Stomp By Croft Vineyards is hosting a day with live music, food and brews to celebrate father’s day on Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. at 5475 River Road S.
The band Midnight Pass will bring live rhythm and blues music from 3 – 6 p.m. There will be a bounce house for kids on-site too.
Entry is free, with a suggested donation to the Portland Fruit Tree Project.
There will be a free “Daddy & Me” watercolor class at the Hazel Patton Riverfront Carousel, 101 Front St., from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Young artists are invited to paint cute bears together, with parents joining in. The class is for ages 6 and older, and admission is $25, and available online.
Northern Lights Theatre Pub, 3893 Commercial St. S.E., will serve food from Miller’s BBQ and wines from One Hope Winery with a showing of The Flash.
Tickets are $35, and include a full BBQ dinner of either brisket, tri-tip or pulled pork, drinks and a movie. For more information, see the Facebook event page.
Juneteenth
On Monday, local, state and federal government offices will close for the Juneteenth holiday. Cherriots will run at a Sunday service level on local routes. There are several events in town to learn and celebrate.
The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas with the news that enslaved people in the state had been freed. Enslavers had withheld the information from them in the two years since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Juneteenth became an Oregon and federal holiday in 2021.
The Salem-Keizer NAACP will have a booth at the Salem Saturday Market on June 17th from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. to talk about their work, how to get involved and community Juneteenth events.
On Monday, there will be a history walk, a block party, art shows and a concert from various community groups commemorating the holiday.
The Willamette Heritage Center and Oregon Black Pioneers are hosting a Juneteenth Community History Walk, where participants will learn about Albert and Mary Ann Bayless who made significant contributions to the Salem community and its notable landmarks.
The free walking tour is Monday, June 19, and starts at the Willamette Heritage Center, 1313 Mill St. S.E., at 10 a.m. The tour will make a 3-mile loop around downtown before returning to the center at noon.
A block party organized by the local non-profit Equity Splash will fill the Salem Capitol Mall with games for kids, a bounce house, food and music. There will also be talks about diversity and the history of Juneteenth.
The celebration will be Monday, June 19, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Salem Capitol Mall, 900 Court St N.E.
Monday evening, the Salem Art Association is hosting the grand opening of the America Waldo Bogle Gallery, named for an enslaved Black woman brought to Salem in the 1840s.
Bogle married a Black man from Jamaica, Richard Bogle, on January 1, 1863, when the Emancipation Proclamation took effect. Their wedding, which had Black and white guests, drew national attention, according to the Salem Art Association, particularly from Asahel Bush, who was influential in developing the state’s racist Black exclusion laws.
The event includes the unveiling of two portraits by Portland-based artist Jeremy Okai Davis, one of Bogle and another of Sybil Harber, a Black woman born into slavery in Missouri who made her way to Oregon as a midwife.
“I’ve considered the weight of this painting,” Davis said in the press release. “It’s a welcome weight on my shoulders.”
The portraits are part of a 10 portrait series of early Oregon Black Pioneers by Davis commissioned by the Salem Art Association.
The grand opening of the gallery is free and open to the public, and will take place from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Bush House Museum, 600 Mission St. S.E. RSVP is required, and available online.
Art
We have a roundup of all the art you can see at local galleries this month, below.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
