The Oregon legislature recently unanimously approved a bill recognizing Juneteenth as a state holiday beginning in 2022. Please join Travel Oregon and partners this year on June 19 to commemorate, recognize, and celebrate Juneteenth, also known as “Independence Day” or “Freedom Day.” On June 19, 1865, the abolition of slavery and emancipation of enslaved African Americans was announced. The events below offer Oregonians opportunities to volunteer, sponsor, donate, attend and learn more about Juneteenth.  

In addition to the events above, the Willamette Valley region has shared a list of resources.

If your region or community is hosting a virtual or live event in commemoration of Juneteenth, please send details to industry@traveloregon.com. 

Beyond featuring educational breakout sessions, the 2021 Oregon Governor’s Conference on Tourism will feature multiple nationally recognized inspirational speakers. Specifically, Travel Oregon is pleased to welcome Olympian and NYC Marathon Champion Shalane Flanagan and New York Times best-selling cookbook author, educator, and inspirational speaker Elyse Kopecky to the conference. With their third cookbook soon to be released, Shalane and Elyse sit down with Travel Oregon’s VP of Global Strategic Partnerships, Teresa O’Neill, to discuss what Oregon means to them, why Oregon is a running haven, and how they successfully navigate busy lives. This must-see conversation is part of the conference’s opening session on Wednesday, June 16.

On June 17, professionals, individuals and local business owners committed to the recovery of Portland will come together to support the local economy, engage in constructive and meaningful conversations about the issues affecting local businesses — and embrace the opportunity to network together in person again.

Participants will check in at a designated location, grab lunch from a nearby food cart or truck of their choice (at their own expense), then walk to Waterfront Park for an outdoor networking lunch. Blankets or folding chairs are recommended for seating.  

Event organizers are seeking local hotel partners to assist with registration check-in on the day of the event. Please contact Felicia Rahm, Director of Sales and Marketing at The Hotel Zags, at 503.457.6643 to get involved. Learn more. 

Cycle Oregon is considering ways it can evolve in order to support bicycling in rural communities beyond a few signature events each year. Their hope is to connect with community leaders and bicycle advocates who live and work in rural Oregon, to better understand what type of support is needed to further enable bicycling in these communities. Your input will help inform the evolution and growth of their organization.

If you live or work in rural Oregon, please consider taking this brief 10-minute survey. Cycle Oregon would appreciate your perspective. The survey closes Friday, June 18.    

The next Oregon Tourism Commission meeting is Tuesday, June 15. The meeting will be lived-streamed on Travel Oregon's Industry YouTube channel. 

View the agenda, meeting materials and register here.

If you have questions, please contact industry@traveloregon.com.