Your guide to Juneteenth events in Portland
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Portland has no shortage of events to celebrate Juneteenth this week, which commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas learned they had been freed.
Here are a few of our top picks. All are free unless otherwise noted:
🚲 Black Liberation Ride
The 10th annual Black Liberation Ride invites Portlanders for a Black- and Brown-centered bike ride that starts and ends at Irving Park, kicking off at 6pm on Thursday.
💃🏾 History of Black Drag in Portland
Race Talks presents the fourth annual History of Black Drag in Portland, hosted by Lawanda Jackson and Isaiah Esquire at McMenamins Kennedy School, starting at 7pm Thursday.
- Tickets are $28.
🎷 Juneteenth Oregon
The Juneteenth Oregon festival kicks off Saturday with the Clara Peoples Freedom Trail Parade leaving from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School at 11am.
- The celebration gets underway at Lillis Albina Park with food, a beer and wine garden, and music from noon to 7pm.
👠 Bloom Runway: Dynasty IX
After five years away, the Bloom Agency returns with an "an immersive fashion experience showcasing visionary BIPOC designers" at the Melody Ballroom from 6-10pm Saturday.
- General admission tickets are $65.
📚 Juneteenth at the Hillsdale Library
The Hillsdale Library is hosting a week's worth of Juneteenth events: pot painting and planting from 4-6pm on Tuesday, an open mic for poetry on Wednesday from 4-5:30pm on Wednesday, and a Black superheroes craft fair on Friday from 1-3pm..
📍 Juneteenth beyond Portland
There are plenty of celebrations beyond Portland's borders, too, with events in Vancouver, Milwaukie, Tigard, Oregon City and Lake Oswego, to name a few.