Juneteenth Celebration
2024 Juneteenth Celebration
Friday-Saturday, June 14-15
This year's Juneteenth Celebration will serve up two days worth of fun and excitement for the entire family - and it's all free!
Friday, June 14
Community Gathering
4-6:30 pm
Taylor Street Park, 416 N. Taylor St.
Join your friends and neighbors at Taylor Street Park for a community gathering featuring giveaways, Jay's Italian Ice, arts and crafts, and more!
The Taylor Street Park Sprayground will also be open.
Saturday, June 15
Walking Parade
10 am
Hope House, 334 N. Allen Road
The Juneteenth festivities resume Saturday, June 15, at 10 a.m. with a walking parade from Hope House, 334 N. Allen Road, to the Dubois Center, 518 N. Franklin St. The parade lineup begins at 9 a.m. at the corner of East Pine Avenue and North Allen Road.
Freedom Historical Walk & History of DuBois
10:35 am
The Dubois Center, 518 N. Franklin St.
The walking parade will be followed by a Freedom Historical Walk that begins and ends at The Dubois Center. Anyone wishing to participate is encouraged to assemble at 10:35 a.m. to begin the Freedom Historical Walk which will conclude with a “History of DuBois” presentation.
Festival, Food & Fun
Noon-4:30 pm
The Dubois Center, 518 N. Franklin St.
Our afternoon activities will feature a festival with booths, DJ, local dance groups, food, and fun!
Ailey Young House Tours
10:30 am-3:30 pm
Ailey Young House, 400 N. White St.
The Northeast Community Coalition and the Town of Wake Forest will open the historic Ailey Young House to visitors on Saturday, June 15, from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Located adjacent to the Wake Forest Cemetery at 400 N. White St., Ailey Young House tours are free and open to the public.
Anyone interested in touring the home should note the following:
Parking is available in two lots inside the cemetery at the bottom of the main driveway.
Parking is not permitted along the cemetery’s main drive.
Visitors must walk to the house from the cemetery parking lot.
Due to the small size of the house, only a few visitors at a time are allowed inside.
The site and house are not considered accessible for wheelchair users or persons with mobility or physical disabilities. Contact Town staff at 919-435-9516 for additional information and alternatives.
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.
A combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth,” Juneteenth commemorates Union Major General Gordon Granger’s reading of the order freeing enslaved people of Texas in Galveston on June 19, 1865. The reading of General Order Number 3 came two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862.
Despite the Confederate Army’s surrender in May of 1865 at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, the remote Trans-Mississippi continued fighting until June 2 within Texas.
Today, Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom and achievement, while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures.
Special thanks to our sponsor Republic Services.