Juneteenth – Celebrating Freedom Day returns to Bethune Park

Community-led event features a parade, award-winning performers, great local food and a return to the site of the first Freedom Day celebration in Minneapolis!

Join us for Juneteenth – Celebrating Freedom Day on Saturday, June 16, at Bethune Park in North Minneapolis.

The all-day celebration kicks off with a parade for everyone to join or watch, led by grand marshal Walter “Q-Bear” Banks of KMOJ. It begins at 9:45 am, heading south from the Minneapolis Public Schools parking lot (at North Girard and 21st avenues) to Bethune Park.

From 11 am to 6 pm, enjoy great live local music, dance and other entertainment at the park, along with youth activities, a historical sharing area, and merchandise and food for purchase. Event details, a stage schedule and volunteer opportunities are available atwww.minneapolisparks.org/juneteenth.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) and the Juneteenth Legacy Committee host this day-long, community-led celebration. Bethune Park is the site of the first Freedom Day celebration in Minneapolis, led by two of its original founders, Michael Chaney and Spike Moss.

On stage, Juneteenth includes:

  • Music from Grammy Award winner Sounds of Blackness, Billboard Gospel Chart topper Jovonta Patton and Minnesota music legend Cornbread Harris
  • Performers Bernice Gregory, Libation, Jamela Pettiford, Kueen T, LaKame, Casual Confusion and DJ Dime
  • Storyteller Nothando Zulu
  • Performance of the play “The Trial of Willie Lynch the 5th and His Ancestors”

Youth activities range from a bungee trampoline and bounce house to a bike rodeo (kids should bring their bikes and helmets), double Dutch and much more.

More than three dozen vendors include eight food stands offering African fusion, collard green wraps, bean pies, ribs, tamales, tacos, hot dogs, ice cream and mini donuts.

Don’t miss this family-friendly celebration!  

About Juneteenth

Also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. It is one of two freedom celebrations held throughout the United States; the Fourth of July is the other.

Juneteenth Sponsors & Donors

The event organizers – Juneteenth Celebrating Freedom Day Legacy Committee, MPRB, Phyllis Wheatley and People of Color Union Members (P.O.C.U.M.) – thank our sponsors and donors for their support:

Sponsors

MN Council on African Heritage
City of Minneapolis
Comcast
Insight News
KMOJ
North News


Donors

Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation AFL-CIO
Teamsters Local Union NO. 120