On a warm September Sunday during Labor Day weekend, downtown Salem’s Riverfront Park and Amphitheater came alive with sound, color, and community.
Guitars roared, laughter carried across the park, and the scent of food trucks filled the air. It wasn’t just another concert or music festival—this was Punx in the Park 2025.
What started as a resource fair is now a youth-centered celebration of music and purpose where people looking for a community came together to connect, learn, and feel a part of something bigger. Organized by Punx With Purpose (PWP), the event is now sponsored in part by SELCO.
Attendance in 2025 nearly tripled compared to the previous year, drawing more than 3,500 people to the event. Of the thousands who attended, 1,000 were youths.
A Gathering for Youth
Punx in the Park isn’t just a day filled with music; it’s more of a statement. At its core, the event is about giving youths a space where they can feel seen and supported. More than 800 of the youth attendees were served free meals throughout the day. Volunteers and local organizations worked side by side to make sure attendees had access to food, clothing, and other community resources.
The event also featured a passport for youths to fill out by receiving a stamp from every community resource organization that was hosting a booth. By day’s end, 245 completed passports were turned in, showing just how engaged attendees were throughout the day with the nonprofit organizations offering helpful services.
The heart behind Punx With Purpose
What started out as an idea for an annual event, Salem, Oregon-based Punx With Purpose turned into a year-round nonprofit organization providing resources and counseling for at-risk youths ages 11-18 in the Salem area. The focus isn’t just on at-risk youths; PWP also welcomes kids looking for community and an environment where they can be themselves.
What makes PWP unique is how the organization was founded—Hailey Hulsey envisioned creating an event where youngsters could seek mentorship from adults who lived similar experiences earlier in their lives. Hulsey, who experienced homelessness as a teen, was able to overcome her situation thanks to her sister, Stormie, and her family, who offered her a place to stay.
PWP has created a web of services slated to help youths in the area. In 2025, they opened Stormie’s Place (named after Hulsey’s sister), a community center in downtown Salem that offers youths low-barrier services and a safe place when they need somewhere to go. Shyanne Tovar manages Stormie’s Place and helps young people connect with services and essential items. Each room there serves its purpose, like the supply room containing a clothing closet, food pantry, and hygiene products among other necessary items.
Another service PWP offers is Epic Mobile Outreach Services (EMOS). Founded in 2023, the service geared toward at-risk youths can travel anywhere in Marion and Polk counties, offering an alternative to kids who can’t reach Stormie’s Place.
SELCO with PWP
SELCO’s partnership with PWP reflects a shared belief in lifting up Oregon’s communities through education, connection, and opportunity. SELCO has always supported programs that strengthen financial wellness and youth empowerment, and its sponsorship of Punx in the Park continues that legacy of contributing to an organization having a direct and positive effect on at-risk youths.
SELCO has long-supported programs that strengthen and unite communities in need, and its sponsorship of Punx in the Park continues to align with those efforts. By being a part of this event, SELCO is proud to have played a role in providing an environment for any young individual who seeks connection, while simultaneously being able to enjoy live music, refreshments, and help throughout the day. This is the kind of partnership that we seek out, and we’re thankful that we found PWP.
Looking ahead to 2026
With such remarkable growth, organizers are already planning the next chapter. Punx in the Park 2026 is set for Labor Day weekend, again at Salem’s Riverfront Park. Plans include more bands, an expanded resource fair, and even greater community participation.
If this year was any indication, the event is quickly becoming a Salem tradition—one that bridges generations and communities through something as powerful as music.
Not just music
By the time the amps quieted and the crowd began to leave around 6:00pm on this Sunday, one thing remained clear: Punx in the Park 2025 was about belonging.
It showed punk rock’s rebellious heart is also compassionate. It provided an insight into connection between those who feel disconnected, and that when people with shared experiences lead with empathy, young lives can also be impacted in a positive way.
The loudest part about Punx in the Park wasn’t the music, it was the message.
Published August 31, 2025
