What is Juneteenth?
The Juneteenth Festival is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in America. The Emancipation Proclamation issued January 1, 1863, freed slaves in areas covered by the Union army. Unfortunately, in particularly isolated areas, owners kept word of the Emancipation Proclamation from their slaves so that they would not flee. On June 19, 1865, some of the last slaves in America were freed when word of the Emancipation Proclamation at last reached Confederate Galveston, Texas. Since that day, Juneteenth has been celebrated in American for 140 years. The celebration started in Galveston, and then spread across the Southwest and up the Mississippi River into the Midwest. Iowans began celebrating Juneteenth in the 1990's and it is now a festival that is celebrated every year.
What Will Happen?
This year's celebration offers an exciting variety of activities. We will honor our African American military and veterans at a soul food dinner. The next day is our celebration day which starts off with the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and a posting of the colors. Musicians, singers, and dancers will perform gospel, jazz, hip-hop, blues, and more. There will be a curator's tour of the exhibit gallery at the Museum. Fun sports and educational activities will be offered to children. Cultural food and arts and craft vendors will have their products available for sale.
What is the Schedule?
June 18th 5pm - 8pm Taste of Freedom
Celebration Hall African American Museum of Iowa, 55 12th Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Cost: $10/adult ~ $5/child 12 and under ~ Dinner/Dance Combo $15
A Taste of Freedom is a journey through history with food as your guide. Visitors will enjoy unbelievable education where the syllabus is the menu and the object of study is food specifically, the history of and evolution of some of our favorite soul food recipes! This year's event will celebrate the soldiers who have sacrificed to achieve the freedom that we enjoy today. The evening will feature speeches poetry and song honoring our brave men and women for their past and present sacrifices. African American veterans and active military are encouraged to attend and be honored. Participants will spend an evening eating, drinking and learning. Tickets will be $10.00 per person.June 18th 8:30pm - 1:30am The Light up the Night with Freedom Dance
Celebration Hall African American Museum of Iowa, 55 12th Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Cost: $10 ~ Dinner/Dance Combo $15
Enjoy a fun night filled with your favorite dance music as you jive, jam, boogie and sway your way through hits from the 60's,70's,80's,90's through today. Admission is $10.00 for adults, with a combination ticket of the dinner and the dance $15.00.Click below to purchase tickets for these events, or contact Ed Young at 319-862-2101 ext. 16 or edyoung@blackiowa.org.
Note: If you are a veteran or member of the military, do not use the buttons below to purchase your dinner tickets. You will be charged $10 per ticket. Instead, please call Ed Young at 319-862-2101 ext. 16to rsvp.
To purchase additional tickets, choose a ticket type and adjust the quantity for the number of extra tickets you wish to purchase. Please be sure to fill in your mailing address and telephone number on the payment form so that you can receive your tickets and confirmation.
Ticket Type Purchase Dinner Only Child Dinner Ticket Dance Only Dinner and Dance June 19th 10am - 6pm Celebration Day
Viola Gibson Park, 12th Ave. and 10th St. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA
This all-day event will be the culmination of three day Juneteenth activities in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. The "Celebration of Freedom" located at Gibson Park in Cedar Rapids, at 12th Avenue and 10th Street SE, will begin at 9:00 am with the posting of the colors. The remainder of the day's activities will feature museum tours, on-going performances of music and dance, vendors and information booths, and children's activities including games, crafts, and sports activities.