By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Juneteenth – celebrated June 19 — officially falls on a Wednesday this year, but there will be celebrations in downtown Beaufort and on St. Helena over the weekend to mark this important holiday.
Officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, it is a federal holiday celebrated annually to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
While the date has been celebrated since the Civil War, it was not made a federal holiday until 2021.
In northern Beaufort County, an inaugural Juneteenth Celebration event is being held at Penn Center on St. Helena Island.
“It was important for us to have a celebration for this day, and so many came together to make it happen,” said Barbara Gardner Hunter, one of the event’s organizers.
The event is free for the public to attend and will run from noon until 6 p.m., on Saturday, June 15.
A program featuring local choirs, dancers, a community fashion show and speakers talking about the historical significance of Juneteenth and the Penn Center will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the start of the celebration.
Following the scheduled program, the community is invited to dance to Motown hits played by a DJ and learn about and play different types of games that adults and children would play for fun in the 1860s.
The Beaufort County Library Bookmobile will be there, as well as local vendors and a farmer selling plants and produce.
The local Democratic club will be there helping to register people to vote as well as the fire department, Beaufort County EMS and Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office will be in attendance.
An ice cream truck and a shaved ice truck will be on site as well.
Attendees are reminded to bring their lawn chairs so that they can sit and enjoy the music.
For more information about the event, contact Barbara Gardner Hunter at 347-497-9326, Claretha Singleton at 843-812-3148 or Mildred Glover at 504-250-6546.
Following Saturday’s festival is a parade on Sunday in downtown Beaufort.
The One Community: Different Neighborhoods Unity Parade is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. in front of the Beaufort National Cemetery on Boundary Street and is expected to follow the traditional parade route.
The parade is hosted by Project Freedom 326 and is expected to feature floats, music and dance performances.
“Let’s commemorate the end of slavery in the United States and honor African American culture and achievements,” the event page said.
A King’s Day: Father’s Day Cookout is to be held at Washington Street Park from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. following the parade to honor the “active fathers and father figures of our many different neighborhoods.”
The cookout is free and open to the public.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
