Dena Juneteenth 2022 will be celebrated in Altadena on June 18 by local organizations with a day full of live music, interactive activities and a Father’s Day contest.
The event starts at 10:30 a.m. The location is yet to be announced.
“People can expect excitement and unity. We also will be educating on the history and origin of Juneteenth. We’re going to have several motivational speakers,” said Heavenly Hughes, Co-Founder and Director of My Tribe Rise, one of the primary organizers of the Juneteenth event.
My Tribe Rise, a local non-profit organization, is partnering with Music Changing Lives, to bring live entertainment to the Juneteenth event.
Other organizers include Rhythm of the Village, a family owned and operated business in Altadena, Dr. Sandra E. Thomas of the Altadena Town Council and Rhonda Shorter of Ms. Rhonda’s Crack-N-Pop Gourmet Popcorn in Pasadena.
“Rhythms of the village is partnering with us on this event and one of the founders there, Emeka, they have a designer line for men and a lot of their outfits will be shown at the event,” said Hughes.
The Juneteenth National Independence Day, recognized as a federal holiday, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The day’s name is a blending of the words June and nineteenth.
On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the slaves there were free.
President Joe Biden signed a bill last year making Juneteenth a national holiday after the House and the Senate passed the bill in a rare showing of bipartisanship.
Altadena town council member Dr. Sandra Thomas is among the speakers for the Juneteenth celebration, according to Hughes.
The upcoming event features a kids community fun center and several activities including arts and crafts and yoga. A number of food and retail vendors will also join the event. “It’s so much that is on our schedule for that day to really just bring the community together,” said Hughes.
Aside from Juneteenth, Father’s Day will also be celebrated at the upcoming event. Hughes said organizers will hold a “Number One Stunner Contest” to celebrate fathers.
“We want to really focus on celebrating and uplifting our men, let them get all dressed up and look, fly, pop their collars. And there will be prizes given out at the contest.”
Last year, more than a hundred residents celebrated Juneteenth at Charles White Park in Altadena.
