What to do in Salem from June 19-25: Make Music Day, Infinity Room’s finale
Summer begins this week with the solstice and longest day of the year on Friday.
As of Wednesday, the forecast calls for cooler temperatures and light rain for much of the weekend.
Still, there’s plenty to do around Salem to celebrate, including Make Music Day, which runs all day Saturday, June 21, at locations around town.
For a more complete list of events, browse our calendar here. You can submit an upcoming event here.
Here’s a roundup for the week from Thursday, June 19, to Wednesday, June 25.
*Starred events are free to attend, although they may include ticketed components or a suggested donation.
Make Music Day
*Saturday, June 21: Whether you love rock, classical, folk or hip-hop, Salem’s Make Music Day has something for you. Free music performances run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at dozens of locations around Salem, including downtown streets and alleys, Riverfront Park, restaurants and food cart pods across Salem and more.
A full schedule is available online with the option to sort by artist, venue or genre. Those interested in sampling a variety of options will likely want to stroll the downtown core, where there’s typically at least one band on every block.
Juneteenth
*Thursday, June 19: Celebrate Juneteenth with several free community events. From noon to 6 p.m., the Salem-Keizer NAACP is putting on a block party near the intersection of Cottage and State streets downtown. The “Black Wall Street” theme highlights local Black-owned businesses, and there will be vendors, art, music and food trucks.
Willamette Heritage Center is hosting free guided history walks leaving from the center at 1313 Mill St. S.E. The 2.8 mile walk will highlight the story of a mother and daughter who traveled the Oregon Trail with their enslavers in 1844. Guided walks are available at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. People can also do the walk as a self-guided tour.
Read more about the holiday here.
Infinity Room’s final week
Friday, June 20: Catch comedian and Infinity Room co-owner Emma Jonas performing stand up during the venue’s final weekend in Salem. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. and is 21+ only. Tickets $16.95 in advance or $20 at the door. Infinity Room is located at 210 Liberty St. S.E.
See other Infinity Room shows during closing week here, including Drag Time on Thursday and a Make Music Day afterparty starting at 10 p.m. Saturday.
Other events
*Friday, June 20: Catch a screening of the documentary “Farming While Black” about the new generation of Black farmers. The film screens at 7 p.m. at the Chemeketa Community College Agriculture Complex on the Salem campus at the intersection of 45th Avenue and Fire Protection Way. Following the screening, stay for a panel discussion including Mark Decena, the film’s director, writer and producer; Juli Ray Joy of Keizer’s Black Joy Farms; Nikita Vincent, Cultural Harvest Collective founder and David Barron of Cross-Eyed Cricket Farms and Friends.
Saturday, June 21-Wednesday, June 25: Salem Cinema hosts special 20th anniversary screenings of “Brokeback Mountain,” the Oscar-winning film about an affair between two cowboys in Wyoming. Four screenings run over the next week; see the theater schedule here. Tickets can be purchased online for $11. The movie theater is located at 1127 Broadway St. N.E.
*Sunday, June 22: Synergy String Quartet performs at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church at 2 p.m. The performance includes Hadyn’s “Emperor Quartet” and other selections. Free, with a suggested $10 donation. The church is located in downtown Salem at 970 Marion St. N.E.
*Wednesday, June 25: The “Amazing Bubble Man” Louis Pearl performs at Salem Public Library main branch at 2 p.m. His performances feature interactive tricks that leave everyone mesmerized. The library is at 585 Liberty St. S.E., and the performance is in the Loucks Auditorium. Doors open 15 minutes before the show and seating is first-come, first-served.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
