Oak Ridge Juneteenth celebration planned June 15

The Oak Ridge City-Wide Juneteenth/Freedom Day celebration will take place noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 15, at the old Scarboro School Site on Hampton Road.

The Juneteenth Festival will get underway at noon on Hampton Road and continue until 6 p.m. with food, drink, clothing and other apparel vendors, according to a news release. There will be carnival games, face painting, live gospel music, dramatic dance and spoken word performances, and rhythm and blues music. For the young at heart will be sports combo and slide bounce houses, as well as other activities. For those who like bingo, try your luck at winning prizes. A flyer will be produced telling the public of special scheduled events in the near future.

Special parking will also be provided for those with accessibility needs.

Juneteenth marks the date − June 19, 1865 − when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.

For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts.

Most U.S. states now hold celebrations honoring Juneteenth as a holiday or a day of recognition, like Flag Day. Juneteenth is a paid holiday for state employees in Texas, New York, Virginia, Washington, and now Nevada as well. Hundreds of companies give workers the day off.

“Oak Ridge holds this day of churches, organizations, and the Oak Ridge community coming together as an opportunity for activism and education to unite,” said Tyler Gulley, citywide coordinator. He thanked the area church community, especially the Scarboro community churches, in the implementation. The Juneteenth Celebration in Oak Ridge began with the Mitchell family and last year was the first time it was a city-wide event co-sponsored by churches in the Scarboro Community.

Bring lawn chairs and tents for the afternoon event.

“This is an opportunity to remember the sacrifices that were made for freedom in the United States − especially in these racially and politically charged days,” Gulley said.

There is still opportunity for vendors and participants. For additional information contact: Angela Threat at Athreat1@gmail.com for vendors and_Rose Weaver at rs_wvr@yahoo.com for performers. Cost for vendors is $75. Vendors must provide their own table, cooking utensils and grease container if cooking. Set up time is 9 to 10:30 a.m. and shut down at 5:30 p.m. Vendor registration deadline is June 10.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Oak Ridge Juneteenth celebration planned June 15