Juneteenth celebrations in Worcester will begin with a community flag raising and continue with a full day of music, food, culture and reflection as the city marks one of the nation’s most significant commemorations of freedom.
The Black Heritage Committee and community partners are preparing for the 29th Annual Black Heritage Juneteenth Festival, scheduled for Saturday, June 20, at Institute Park. The event runs from noon to 8 p.m. and is expected to draw families from across Central Massachusetts for a day of live entertainment, local vendors, food and community programming.
The festival is rooted in the history of Juneteenth, which commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved people that they were free — more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation…