Unite and celebrate
Juneteenth events planned in Uniontown, Connellsville
Celebrations in Fayette County will mark the day the Emancipation Proclamation reached its full promise.
Juneteenth observances will take place in Connellsville and Uniontown over several days this week.
The annual holiday celebrates the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with General Order No. 3, informing residents of the former Confederate state that slaves were now free.
Jubilees have occurred on the anniversary of the historic day ever since. In 2021, it became a national holiday.
Connellsville’s fifth annual Juneteenth celebration will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Yough River Park, 259 N. Sixth Street.
Gayle Stafford, chair of the Connellsville Diversity & Inclusion Board, is overwhelmed by the response the event gets in a small city.
“Because of the climate we’re in today, it’s so important to make people aware of what Juneteenth is, what it stands for, and moving forward, just to give people that education,” she said.
Delivering the keynote address will be Brian Burden, a retired Pennsylvania State Police trooper who now works as a counselor.
The event will also have vendors, games, food and live entertainment. Kaleigh French and the Antioch Baptist Church Youth Choir will sing, along with dance performances by Paige Morgan and Premiere Dance Studio.
In Uniontown, the Juneteenth Unity Fest will run from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Storey Square Park.
This will be the fifth year for the celebration, said Michelle Knight, office manager for the East End United Community Center, which puts on the event with One Voice One Community.
“We used to do it here at the center, but it just kept getting bigger,” she said.
The event features music from DJ Sean Nice, food trucks, a bouncy house, family-friendly activities, student performances, a historical presentation and food trucks. For the first time, alcohol sales will also be allowed within a designated area.
The day also offers a church cook-off where chefs will compete to see who has the best chicken wings. There will also be an awards ceremony for youth artists in poetry, dance, sculptures, essays and drawings who crafted works to answer what Juneteenth means to them.
Friday’s event will be preceded by a historical walk Thursday night around Uniontown’s East End from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. It will be led by Norma Thomas, who runs the African American History and Cultural Center.
Walkers should meet up at 5 p.m. at the East End United Community Center, 150 Coolspring St.
On Saturday, Thomas will open up the center to the public from 5 to 8 p.m. for a celebration of its second anniversary. The African American History and Cultural Center is located at 355 Connellsville St.
“She’ll have refreshments, and everyone can come in and look around,” Knight said.
The final event will be a Juneteenth recognition Sunday morning at John Wesley African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 349 E. Main St. Starting at 11 a.m., it will be followed by a flower-laying ceremony commemorating freedom.
The Juneteenth celebration is growing, with last year’s Friday event drawing about 300 people, Knight said.
“It’s definitely important for the community to come together and just unite and just celebrate freedom,” she said.