Juneteenth logomark

Juneteenth 2024

Healing our soul

Juneteenth is one of the most important annual celebrations in Columbus and it keeps growing and growing! Check out all of this year’s activities and bring your family and friends to celebrate Black culture and learn about the importance of commemorating this date in history. The main event is Saturday June 22 with a full day of Juneteenth Jubilee activities planned downtown, but don’t miss all the other events happening the week prior.
Juneteenth photo

Art gallery opening & reception

June 14th

6:00pm – 10:00pm

Historical Society Speaker

“Preserving black history in columbus”

June 18th 6:00pm

Lego Stem Camp

June 17th – 21st

9:00AM – 12:00pm

Advanced Lego Stem Camp

June 24th – 28th

9:00AM – 12:00pm

Blood Drive

June 19th

10:30AM – 4:30pm

‘Taste of Color’

June 22nd

6:00pm – 10:00pm

Juneteenth Jubilee 

June 22nd

10:00am – 6:00pm

Event Timeline

10:00am – 11:30am – Bartholomew County Library

Author Michael Twitty Talk “Keeping Family Recipes Alive”

11:30am – 4:00pm – 4th Street Entertainment District

Welcome & Blessing Kid Zone & Healthy Corner open on 5th Street Bounce House, Crafts, Free Icees, & More!

11:45am –  1:00pm – First Christian Church

Healthy Corner Event

12:00pm – 2:00pm – 411 Art Gallery

One Drop Art Exhibit

12:30pm – 1:30pm – Columbus Area Visitors Center

Columbus Black History Tour Group 1

1:30pm – 2:30pm – The Crump

Why History Matters Panel moderated by Stephanie Carmer

2:45pm – 3:45pm – Bartholomew County Library

Author Michael Twitty Talk “How I Found My Soul in Soul Food”

4:00pm – 5:00pm – Columbus Area Visitors Center

Columbus Black History Tour Group 2

4:30pm – 4th Street Entertainment District

NAACP Red Food Booth Opens

5:15pm – 6:15 – 4th Street Entertainment District

Juneteenth Ceremony Mayoral Proclamation, Reenactment, Music, Singing, & Dancing

The Origin of Juneteenth

On June 19, 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas with news of freedom. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day. With the principles of self-determination, citizenship, and democracy magnifying their hopes and dreams, those Texans held fast to the promise of true liberty for all.

– National Museum of African American History & Culture

President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth the eleventh American federal holiday in 2021, the first to obtain legal observance as a federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was designated in 1983.

Juneteenth dancers
vendor at Juneteenth
performer at Juneteenth
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