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Weeklong Juneteenth celebration to bring community together

By Ellen Wagner
About 300 sat on the grass listening to music while vendors line the sidewalk at the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday in Youngstown (Photo by Ellen Wagner).
About 300 sat on the grass listening to music while vendors line the sidewalk at the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday in Youngstown (Photo by Ellen Wagner).

YOUNGSTOWN — A weeklong Juneteenth celebration June 12-20 will bring together the community to celebrate the cultural holiday through education, reflection and celebration.

Joseph Napier, chair of the Juneteenth Committee, said this year's goal was to "spread it out for a week with different events for different people who have different interests."

The events start on June 12 with a Market Street Corridor Clean Up. People will gather to clean up and plant flowers on Market Street between Indianola Avenue and Midlothian Boulevard.

The cleanup symbolizes "celebrating one another and giving each other our flowers," Napier said.

The weeklong events are a way to bring the community together and build up to the Juneteenth celebration on June 19 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre and will feature live music, food trucks, a job fair and local vendors.

Last year, under pandemic-era rules, about 300 people attended the event. Napier said this year the event will feature a health fair that will offer Moderna or Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccinations from the Youngstown City Health District.

"We're bringing in different elements to really build awareness around getting vaccinated and staying healthy," Napier said.

During last year's Juneteenth event, event-goers had their temperatures checked as they entered the amphitheater. On June 2, health restrictions were lifted on mask-wearing, social distancing and crowd capacity.

With regulations being lifted and replaced by on-site vaccinations this year, "it's a great thing to see," Napier said.

Over the past year, people have been in isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Napier noted. However, that also afforded organizers the time to expand last year's event to make it an annual event for years to come.

"Now, it's time to come back into the swing of things but also keep in mind that we're very blessed in this moment to be able to celebrate," Napier said.

Events throughout the week include:

  • June 12: Market Street Corridor Clean Up
  • June 13: 5th Annual Juneteenth Brunch (ticketed event)
  • June 14: SOTC: "A Walk In Our Garden" virtual watch party and discussion
  • June 15: Celebrating Juneteenth with Dr. Lashale Pugh
  • June 16: Black Artists Unite Mixer
  • June 17: Open Mic Night featuring Delinquency Jones
  • June 18: 90's Park Jam and Movie Night
  • June 19: LOUD 102.3 Juneteenth Celebration
  • June 20: Mahoning Valley Fatherhood Coalition Father's Day prayer service, cookout and car show

More information about all events can be found on the Youngstown Juneteenth website.

This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 5:26 AM with the headline "Weeklong Juneteenth celebration to bring community together."