New Bern will begin Friday, June 10, a weeklong celebration of Juneteenth.
Throughout the week, there will be festivities, educational programs and cultural activities offered for the community and visitors.
Sponsor Spotlight
Juneteenth is a federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, observed every year on June 19.
Juneteenth of New Bern, a volunteer group with the mission to actively preserve and promote African American heritage, has organized the events that conclude on Saturday, June 18, with a parade at 11 a.m. beginning at Henderson Park, proceed to Broad Street and ends in CT Big Field.
The festival will follow from noon to 4 p.m. along Broad and Roundtree streets, and CT Big Field. Fireworks are at dusk at Henderson Park.
Tryon Palace is one of the organizations participating in New Bern’s Juneteenth celebration. The historic site will host “The Journey to Juneteenth” at 7 p.m. June 16 in the North Carolina History Center’s Cullman Performance Hall, 529 S. Front St., in New Bern.
The program features Sauuda Eshe, who will offer song, recitations and historical data. Eshe will present a case for why we should celebrate Juneteenth, but also realize that the enslaved were not liberated, but participated in their own liberation, according to Tryon Palace. There’s no cost to attend.
Sponsor Spotlight
In addition to “The Journey to Juneteenth,” Tryon Palace’s 35th Regiment, United States Colored Troops interpretive group and Jonkonnu group will be participating in the Juneteenth Parade at 11 a.m. June 18.
