The 18th Annual NC Juneteenth Celebration Pays Homage to the Ancestors this Weekend

Photos of Juneteenth flag (Michael Dwyer/AP)

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DURHAM, NC – In honor of the federally-recognized holiday of Juneteenth, there will be the 18th Annual NC Juneteenth Celebration from Saturday, June 17 through Sunday, June 18th. This event is presented by Spectacular Magazine and Triangle Cultural Awareness Foundation. This event is free, open to the public, and family-friendly.

The opening ceremony will begin at 1pm on Saturday, June 17th followed by various live performances, special musical guests, and a fashion show produced by Shea Ramirez Productions. The fashion show is centered around honoring the ancestors of the past as they learned about their way to freedom in this nation. Performers such as the Empowering Steppers, Tesh I am, Jay Reid, Allie Capo & Band, Vicky Vida, and Johnny White & The Elite Band are just a few of the live performances happening on Saturday.

On Sunday, June 18th, beginning at 12pm DJ Fatz will get the celebration started for a second day of live performances and musical guests. This includes the Breathe Dance Studio, Da Party MC, The Phoebes Band, and Premium Sound Band just to name a few. In addition to the entertainment, there will be community-based organizations and Black-owned small business vendors. We welcome event attendees to shop local and support Black-owned small businesses.

There will be community health professionals on-site to provide educational resources, health screenings, and engage with event attendees about common health disparities that have historically and present-day affected the Black community at-large. In an effort to support staying hydrated during the festivities, the City of Durham will have refillable water stations and water fountains sponsored by their community initiative Durham H2O 2 Go. This community effort will feature hydration stations throughout the event weekend to support water hydration and reduction of plastic bottles. To learn more about this program go to Durham H2O 2 Go.

The festivities for both days will take place at 1005 Franklin Street in Durham, NC located in the Golden Belt Campus district. To see the full event schedule go to Spectacular Magazine to learn more information and to plan ahead for the weekend festivities.

As community members and visitors plan to arrive you are invited to view the official Juneteenth Flag flying from June 5 – June 19 at the Durham County Courthouse. Spectacular Magazine founder Phyllis Coley serves as the NC State Juneteenth Director under the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF), the organization responsible for legislation which culminated in Congress passing and President Joe Biden signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Bill on June 17, 2021.Continuing to provide proper context and narrative of Juneteenth National Independence Day is a primary objective of the NJOF.