Juneteenth Festival returns to Daytona Beach.

Written by Kristen Schmutz

Belden Communications News 

The City of Daytona Beach has announced the return of the city’s Juneteenth Community Celebration Festival, on Saturday, June 18, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Midtown Community Complex located at 925 George W. Engram Boulevard, after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Juneteenth marks the effective end of slavery in the U.S. and is the oldest known public celebration. At the end of the Civil War and more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, many people remained enslaved in the U.S.

According to a release, thanks to the commitment of an all-volunteer committee, Daytona Beach’s festival is one of the longest-running and largest Juneteenth celebrations in Florida. Admission is free to this community event featuring food and beverage vendors, merchandise, sponsor interactive activity booths, live music, dancing, children’s games, educational activities, and a pound cake contest.

On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and read the statement, “In accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,” marking the freedom for those 250,000 people still enslaved in Texas. 

Juneteenth is not only a celebration of freedom but also one of opportunity, equity, and access. Observation of Juneteenth is a visible way to demonstrate the commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.