PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Thousands of people filled Albina Park in North Portland on Saturday afternoon for Portland’s largest Juneteenth celebration, a daylong event featuring food carts, live music, vendors, family activities and speakers discussing the history of the federal holiday.
Bands played a mix of jazz and funk as people danced in front of the stage, while children lined up for face painting and ran through the park with butterflies and superheroes painted on their cheeks. A person in a full Batman costume was also seen walking through the crowd, where many attendees sat on blankets listening to the music.
The seven-hour event drew a steady stream of visitors and marked Juneteenth, which celebrates the arrival of Union troops in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to announce the Civil War had ended, giving freedom to enslaved people in the state.
The day began with the Clara Peoples Freedom Trail Parade, the 54th annual, which walked along Martin Luther King Boulevard ahead of the afternoon festival. The parade started at 11 a.m. from Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and ended at Lillis-Albina Park.
Portland’s signature Juneteenth celebration returned to Lillis-Albina Park on Saturday, bringing crowds together for a day of music, food and community. June 20, 2026/David Ball, KATU News
The festival followed from noon to 7 p.m. near North Russell Street and North Flint Avenue.
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Among those attending was Tremaine Marshall, 19, who said the gathering was meaningful.
“I feel it’s great seeing everybody come together as one in the park for a parade and then for this big get together,” Marshall said. “It’s really empowering.”
Marshall said he appreciated the mix of ages and the positive atmosphere.
“As someone who’s 19 in this environment, I like to see how there’s a good mix of everybody,” he said. “There’s people my age, younger and older all coming together. There’s no problems or nothing. It’s just great times having fun with each other.”
He said his understanding of Juneteenth has changed as he has gotten older.
“It used to be not as fun,” Marshall said. “But now that I’m growing up more, I’m starting to see the real meaning of it and how it really has something to play a part in my life. So I like Juneteenth.”
He added, “Now I see it’s really something important to the community and I’m glad to be a part of it, honestly.”
Juneteenth Oregon presented its annual festival and said the celebration in Oregon traces back decades. The organization said Oregon’s Juneteenth celebration was founded 50 years ago by the late community leader and organizer Clara Peoples, who introduced the tradition in 1945 after moving from Muskogee, Oklahoma, and sharing it with co-workers at the Kaiser Shipyards.
Juneteenth Oregon said Peoples later helped initiate Portland’s annual citywide Juneteenth celebration in 1972.
The parade and festival were held Saturday, June 20, at Lillis-Albina Park.
