Event highlights from April 24-30: Earth Day and nature events, Ag Fest, Willamette theater
Each week on Wednesday, Salem Reporter highlights a few upcoming local events.
For a more complete list, browse our events calendar here. You can submit an upcoming event here.
Here’s a roundup for the week from Thursday, April 24, to Wednesday, April 30.
*Starred events are free to attend, although they may include ticketed components or a suggested donation.
Oregon Ag Fest
Saturday, April 26-Sunday, April 27: The Oregon Agriculture Fest will have its yearly set of events for families at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. Activities include a trade, garden and craft show, multiple exhibits, a llama show, a petting zoo, pony rides and more.
Admission is free for kids 15 and below. The entry fee is $15 for those ages 16 and over. Tickets can be purchased online, at any Wilco location for a discount, or at the event, which is located at 2330 17th St. N.E.
Earth Day and Arbor Day celebrations
*Saturday, April 26: Marion County Environmental Services is hosting a free party at Spong’s Landing County Park from 1-4 p.m. to celebrate Earth Day, which was Tuesday. Activities include an educational scavenger hunt, face painting, arts and crafts, an inflatable obstacle course, an activity to build a bird feeder, baby goats, nature walks and more.
Although the event is free, organizers encourage people to RSVP online. The park is located at 6525 22nd Ave N.
*April 25-26: Mission Street Parks Conservancy will have an outdoor plant sale and all proceeds will go to environmental projects in Bush’s Pasture Park. Multiple nurseries from the area will be selling native plants, vegetables, succulents, herbs, shrubs, vines and more. Organizers say parking at the event is easy and vendors accept Visa and Mastercard.
The sale goes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, April 25, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 26. It will happen at Bush’s Pasture Park Soapbox Derby Track, at 890 Mission St. S.E.
*Saturday, April 26: Salem parks staff invite people to join them to celebrate Arbor Day planting native trees at Minto-Brown Island Park between 9 a.m. and noon as part of the city infrastructure bond passed in 2022. Those interested can sign up online or at the picnic shelter next to the playground by parking lot #3. The park is located at 2200 Minto Island Rd. S.E.
Texas comedy
Thursday, April 24: Infinity Room will host “Yee Ha! Ha!” a Texas-themed comedy night with James Woods and Nate Hernandez, Texan comedians who relocated to the Pacific Northwest. The event is open to all ages but the material will not be clean. Tickets are sold online for $13.83 and $15 at the door.
Infinity room is at 210 Liberty St. S.E. #150. Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8.
CASA Springtime Soirée
Saturday, April 26: CASA of Marion County will hold a springtime event in Keizer with music, dining and a live auction. The organization serves foster youth and neglected children by providing them with Court Appointed Special Advocates who support them through the court process.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event goes on from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets can be bought on the organization’s website for $100, and organizers say attire is “formal floral.” The event is at the Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road N.E.
Market for the Strange: Cursed Carnival
Sunday, April 27: Market for the Strange will hold a market filled with eerie art, haunting crafts and spellbinding decor at the Salem Convention Center. It will feature artists, creators and crafters from the Pacific Northwest.
The Salem Convention Center is located at 200 Commercial St. S.E. The market will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased on the market’s website.
See photos from a previous Market for the Strange event here:
Climate-themed theater
*Through Saturday, April 26: Willamette University Theatre is performing a comedy about climate and gender. It follows the story of Meg, a nonbinary person in a small, conservative Ohio town shaped by climate struggle. Her life gets more interesting when she decides to learn about the city’s algae problem and meets “The Creature.” Bloom Bloom Pow is inspired by 1950s monster movies and the 2014 algae bloom in Toledo, Ohio. The play “de-centers humans, elevates microorganisms, and celebrates queer joy in the face of climate devastation,” according to the university’s website. It is the last show of the season.
The theatre will perform the plays from Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m. with an additional show on Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets for Willamette students are $9, for people over 60 they are $12 and general admission is $15. They can be purchased online.
Swan Lake
Wednesday, April 30: Salem’s Historic Grand Theatre will host a Swan Lake performance brought by Grand Kyiv Ballet. The story follows a prince who falls in love with a beautiful swan princess under a spell. Performers will dance to Tchaikovsky’s music.
Tickets are sold online and start at $53. The event starts at 7 p.m. and goes on for approximately two hours. Salem’s Historic Grand Theatre is located at 187 High St. N.E.
Contact reporter Alan Cohen: [email protected].
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Alan Cohen is an intern at the Salem Reporter and an undergraduate at Willamette University. Born and raised in Spain, he has also been involved in student journalism for three years, and is passionate about bringing a voice to underrepresented communities through ethical reporting.
