Jamestown Juneteenth’s Festival will be a three day celebration of live music, community, and worship.
Juneteenth recognizes when enslaved people living in Galveston, Texas, learned of their emancipation approximately 2.5 years after the Civil War ended. On June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Texas became free. This was the last state of the Confederacy to learn of the independence, even though President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.
Juneteenth Organizer and City Council member Regina Brackman said President Joe Biden made the day a national holiday in 2021, “In 2024 we are still dealing with issues of equality amongst cultures and races and preconceived conceptions of those cultures. So, this is just an opportunity to show the world cause it’s not just in Jamestown that they celebrate Juneteenth. It’s celebrated in many towns and cities in the United States.”
Brackman said a table at the festival at Jackson-Taylor Park will have information about the history of Juneteenth along with materials and kids activities. She said local historian Paul Leone also will give a history of Juneteenth during opening ceremonies on Saturday.
Festivities will kick off Friday with music by The Breeze Band on the Wintergarden Plaza from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
On Saturday, opening ceremonies will take place at 11:00 a.m. at Jackson-Taylor Park followed by kids activities, vendors, basketball clinic, live music performances, and more.
The event resumes Sunday morning with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and a worship service at 9:00 a.m. Festival activites begin again at 11:00 a.m. and then the Juneteenth Scholarship presentation will take place at 2:00 p.m and a Gospel Fest at 3:00 p.m.
All events are free and open to the public.
For more information about Juneteenth celebrations, visit facebook.com/JTownJTeenth
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