City Cast Portland logo

Get to Know the Black Rodeo Founder Ivan McClellan’s Portland

Posted on June 28, 2023   |   Updated on September 30, 2025
City Cast Portland staff

City Cast Portland staff

hallway of Lloyd Center full of vendors, Portland, Ore.

Lloyd Center on a busy Saturday in February. (Rachel Monahan/City Cast Portland)

City Cast Portland executive producer John Notarianni conducted the interviewed for this segment.

We’ve been asking City Cast Portland guests for the places that make the city feel like home. It’s a way to get to know the guests and the city at the same time.

Ivan McClellan, a Portland-based photojournalist, who started the Eight Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo, shares his favorite spots. (He also talked to us about why he chose Portland to host his — and the city’s — first Black rodeo.)

“I actually like the Lloyd Center. My kids go ice skating there. I like the building, and it reminds me of being a kid, trolling the mall. We go there every Saturday.” 

“They make good juice. You sit there and watch them make it, and it's fresh. The building is really big so you can kind of spread out and have meetings there. I don't drink coffee, and I don't drink alcohol, so if I have to have a meeting somewhere, the juice spot makes the most sense.”

“In the summer, our kids go there and it's just so much energy. There's so many Black folks out. There's kids playing basketball, there's people barbecuing, there's a big dog park there. There's people either roller-skating or playing soccer. It's just a really good vibe and a lot of good energy.”

How Portland Came to Host Its First Black Rodeo

Share article

Hey Portland

Stay connected to City Cast Portland and get ready to join the local conversation.

Can't subscribe? Turn off your ad blocker and try again.

Neighborhood Guides

See All
Neighborhood GuidesFebruary 3

Your Guide to Oregon City

To Portland, Oregon City may be just a small suburb. (If you don’t even really know where it is, take 99 south past the Goodwill Bins and...

Pink, purple and yellow sunset views of the Willamette River at Willamette Falls
Neighborhood GuidesJanuary 21

Get To Know South Burlingame

Portland's South Burlingame neighborhood is small, but mighty. From lively cemeteries to neighborhood gems, here's everything you need to...

View of autumn trees at a cemetery.
Neighborhood GuidesDecember 8, 2025

Your Guide to an East Portland Neighborhood You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Maybe you’ve never heard of the East Portland neighborhood Russell. But now you have: It’s an affordable, safe, and largely residential n...

trees line a paved path
Neighborhood GuidesNovember 10, 2025

The Neighborhood Hotspots in Family-Friendly West- and Eastmoreland

The charm of the Eastmoreland and Westmoreland neighborhoods is how great they are for the families that live there. Willamette Week’s ar...

people at tables at Monty's Red Sauce, Portland, Oregon
Neighborhood GuidesOctober 20, 2025

Your Guide to Hood River's Fruit Loop

Out near Hood River there’s a cluster of orchards and wineries along a 35-mile stretch of country roads. The area now goes by the attenti...

flowers in the foreground, Mount Hood in the background
Neighborhood GuidesSeptember 10, 2025

The Portland Neighborhood for Living in the Woods

Arnold Creek is a Portland neighborhood that you may never have heard of — maybe because it’s just barely inside city limits in Southwest...

map of Arnold Creek neighborhood. With Tryon Creek at the eastern edge.
Neighborhood GuidesAugust 14, 2025

Sunnyside Has Nickel Arcade Games and Peacock Lane

Sunnyside is a classic inner eastside neighborhood, with tree-lined streets. It’s walkable and bikeable. There’s Southeast Hawthorne for...

a Victorian house at night with red light in the top windows, Foxtrot, Portland, Oregon
Neighborhood GuidesJuly 21, 2025

Finding Old Portland in Foster-Powell's Back Alleys

Foster-Powell has the charms of Old Portland, with a maze of alleys where neighbors hang out. “I like the alleys; I think they're special...

pink tree in bloom on a back alley, Foster-Powell, Portland, Oregon

The latest in Portland

The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandJune 7

Side Quest: You Can Play These Games

Just a few hundred feet from Pioneer Courthouse Square (and one story below ground), you’ll find Glowing Greens Indoor Mini Golf, the per...

A retro style bowling alley with four lanes. Above the pins on each lane sits a retro Western painting in a golden frame.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandJune 7

Your Guide to Pioneer Courthouse Square

When it comes to Downtown Portland, there’s almost too much to tackle in one visit, so we’re keeping this week’s wander focused on places...

A crowd of people raise their hands in the air with Pioneer Courthouse in the background. A flock of pigeons are flying by in the sky.
Portland's BestJune 2

What To Do in Portland in June 2026

City Cast Portland contributor Alex Frane has a couple picks:

cyclists out for a group ride on a leafy street in Portland, Oregon
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 31

Where to Get Crafty in Portland

These craft workshops in Portland will certainly help stoke your artistic energy — just make sure to plan ahead, as classes can fill up q...

A top down view shows hands with red painted nails holding a blue triangle-shaped piece of stained glass. In the background there is a cluttered worktable with other multi-colored pieces of stained glass and beads.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 31

Your Guide to Portland’s Laurelhurst Neighborhood

Ornate sandstone arches and palatial century homes announce your arrival to the Laurelhurst neighborhood, one of Portland’s earliest parc...

Hundreds of people sitting on blankets and lawn chairs are packed together beneath the trees of Laurelhurst Park.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 24

Your Guide to Concordia

Wander the Concordia neighborhood, and you’ll always learn something new — like how one of Portland’s iconic gay bars found a new home in...

A colorful mural with a saxophone, rose blossom, coffee cup, and a bridge is emblazoned with the word Concordia. On the right edge, a tree’s swirling roots write the words transformation, integrity, and community on the pages of a book.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 24

Side Quest: Hit the Bricks

It can be mind-boggling to witness how much Portland has changed in just a few years — over decades, that transformation is even more dra...

Water cascades down the angular steps of Ira Keller Fountain.
The Weekly Wander by City Cast PortlandMay 17

Side Quest: Porch Power

There’s something magical about gathering on the front steps and jamming with friends. If you’re looking for a way to meet new people or...

People sit in camp chairs underneath pop-up canopies in a driveway while listening to musicians play guitar in the front yard.