Description

Celebrate Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States! The 4th Annual Gloucester Juneteenth Celebration is presented by the Cape Ann Museum in collaboration with community organizations across the city. This community celebration of Black Independence Day began through grassroots organizing by Gloucester resident Toni Waldron in 2021 and became part of the Cape Ann Museum’s annual calendar of events in 2022.  Learn about the Juneteenth Holiday and its connection to Cape Ann history while celebrating Black history through music, dance and food.  

As described by the North Shore Juneteenth Association, “Juneteenth is an American Holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865, the date that enslaved Black people of Galveston, Texas, learned that President Abraham Lincoln had freed enslaved people in rebel states two and a half years earlier. This was the last group of enslaved Black people to learn of their freedom! Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, a day to reflect on how far we have come and how we will continue to move forward, and a day to focus on the complexity of the Black American experience.” 

Schedule

• 12:00 pm – Juneteenth Flag Raising at Gloucester City Hall with Opening Remarks by Toni Waldron and elected officials
• 12:30 pm – Reading Frederick Douglass Together, supported by MassHumanities and the Mass Cultural Council
• 1:00 – 2:00 pm – Exhibition Dance Battle with The Expressive Movement
• 2:30 – 4:00 pm: Musical performance by Rhythm Plus Soul, sponsored by Rockport Music

Activities and Partners

• Food for sale from Butter Ur Biscuit
• Free Silk Screening with the CAM Teen Council
• Book Giveaway sponsored by Art for Equity with Dogtown Books and Bookstore of Gloucester
• 150 Free Scoops of a special Red Velvet Ice Cream by Holy Cow Ice Cream, sponsored by Discover Gloucester
• North Shore Juneteenth Association and the Lynn Museum
• Free Face Painting
• Plant Seedling Giveaway with Iron Ox Farm and the Creating Commons Collective
• Corn Hole and Herb Planting with Action Inc and The Willow Witch
• Free interactive activities with the Gloucester Education Foundation, the Cape Ann Museum, and the Gloucester Writers Center
• Kombucha Sale to benefit Diverse Books for Gloucester Schools
• AJ’s Print & Photo Studio

Thank you to all of the participating organizations: 

Cape Ann Museum, North Shore Juneteenth Association, Lynn Museum, Action Inc, City of Gloucester, Bookstore of Gloucester, Dogtown Books, Suzi’s Stories, Gloucester Education Foundation, Art for Equity, Discover Gloucester, Rockport Music, Holy Cow Ice Cream, Gloucester Stage Company, Gloucester Writers Center, and Sawyer Free Library

Exact time and details are subject to change, check back soon for more details!

This program is made possible by a grant from Mass Humanities, which provided funding through the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and by sponsorship from Rockport Music and Action Inc.