A Juneteenth-themed event will “celebrate freedom” on Saturday, June 22, at St. Clare Walker (SCW) Middle School in Locust Hill.
The family event is open to the public and will be educating, empowering and entertaining, organizers say.
Admission is free to the four-hour event presented by Game Changers of Middlesex County. It begins with a dance party in the SCW cafeteria from 2-4 p.m. with music by the “One More Time Band.” SCW is located at 6814 General Puller Highway (Route 33).
The Show
From 4-6 p.m. “The Show” will light up the SCW stage. The master of ceremony, the Rev. Dr. John C. Wright, will introduce a lineup that includes dance acts byVibe Squad, Macedonia Baptist Church Praise Dancers, and Ballroom Dancers; and choir performances by “MGM & SRBA.” There will also be a performance by Mime Performances.
The Northumberland High School Honor Guard will present the colors.
Several merchandise vendors will be on hand including Motherland Fashions, and hair stylist Andre’ Billups of “Million Dollar You.”
There will also be storytelling and poetry reading, along with “information row.”
Outside the school will be food vendors, the car and motorcycle show and the Middlesex County Public Library Bookmobile.
Call Minister Davelin Gresham at 804-530-2791 for information.
About Juneteenth
Juneteenth National Independence Day became a federal holiday in 2021 when it was signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden after being passed by both houses of Congress. The new holiday commemorates an order issued by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, in which he declared that the enslaved people in Texas would thereafter be free.
Although Middlesex’s Juneteenth-themed celebration is set for June 22, the official Juneteenth holiday observance is Wednesday, June 19. While most restaurants, grocery and retail stores are open on the holiday, banks and the United States Postal Service are closed, as is the Southside Sentinel office.
