The first Juneteenth was celebrated more than 150 years ago, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Today, communities across the nation mark the day as one to uplift African American history and culture and the contributions of generations that came before.
It’s the basis, festival organizers say, for Fayetteville’s Juneteenth Jubilee, which returns to Festival Park (335 Ray Ave.) on June 15.
The city of Fayetteville and Cool Spring Downtown District (CSDD) will host the event from 1 to 9 p.m. to both commemorate June 19 — when enslaved people in Texas were informed of their freedom by Union soldiers in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed — and celebrate the idea that “we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams.”
That’s the phrase Ashanti Bennett, the CSDD’s director of special projects, kept coming back to as the organization entered the planning phases for this year’s edition of the jubilee, headlined by Pierce Freelon and Skip Marley.
“I look around at the accomplishments of Black Americans across the country and the globe, not to mention the inspiring excellence right here in Fayetteville, the barriers that we continue to break, the leadership and advancement of the culture, and the joy we continue to express even in the face of turmoil,” Bennett said in a news release. “I can’t help but reflect on the wonder and pride that our ancestors would feel if they could see us now.”
Two weekends later on June 29, also at Festival Park, Fayetteville PRIDE will be hosting its fifth annual PRIDEFEST 2024! from noon to 6 p.m.
The organization inaugurated the festival in 2018, which was attended by 1,500 people, according to the Fayetteville PRIDE’s website. The organization saw a boom in attendance just one year later with 5,000 festivalgoers at Festival Park. After a two-year break, PRIDEFEST broke its record with 6,000 attendees in 2022.
This year, Fayetteville PRIDE hopes to continue the tradition, serving its mission “to instill pride, celebrate unity, and embrace diversity and inclusiveness in our LGBTQ+ community and allies, and to provide a support network and educational advocacy group dedicated to increasing awareness and acceptance.”
For more information on Juneteenth Jubilee: Their Wildest Dreams, visit visitdowntownfayetteville.com/juneteenth-fayetteville-2024/, and for more information on PRIDEFEST 2024! visit facebook.com/fayncpride/events.
Read CityView Magazine’s “The Downtown Issue” June e-edition here.