Historic Athens

THE JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL MAP IS HERE!

FREE • FRI JUN 19 • 10:30 - 3 • FAMILY-FRIENDLY • RAIN OR SHINE

Get ready to celebrate Juneteenth with this FREE, family-friendly event in Downtown Athens on Friday, June 19, 2026! Honor the country’s second independence day and celebrate African American joy, freedom, and culture with storytelling, live performances, local history exhibits, interactive activities, food trucks, and bouncy houses, all set in Downtown Athens, Georgia from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM. See below for the day's schedule and go to historicathens.com/athens-juneteenth for more.

DAY-OF SCHEDULE

10:30 AM – March from Hot Corner to City Hall

11:00 AM – Flag Raising & Ceremony

11:30 AM to 3:00 PM – Performances at Main Stage and Street Festival throughout downtown with food trucks, market, community tabling, exhibits, and Kids Zone

1:00 PM – Black Elected Leaders Honorary Signature Ceremony

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Hosted By: L.G. Heart of the City

Music Performances By: Blacknerdninja, Ishues, T I K I C A, Dr. Nkululeko “Freedom” Zungu, with line dancing from The Aunties

Spoken Word From: Life the Griot, Celest Divine

Remarks By: Pastor Chekibe Holman of First AME Church, Rev. Dr. Allison M. Henderson-Brooks of Hill First Baptist Church

Featured Speakers: Hattie Thomas Whitehead, Hope Iglehart, Bria Smith

Athens Juneteenth Celebration & Festival organized by Historic Athens with funding support from ACC Gov.

This year marks the fifth year of Juneteenth as a federal holiday in the United States, but the celebrations are far from new. For more than 150 years, June 19th has been a deeply important observance for many African American communities across the country.

While the Emancipation Proclamation declared freedom for enslaved people in the Confederate states and the Civil War ended in April 1865, freedom didn’t reach everyone. In remote areas, slaveholders made no effort to free those they held in bo***ge. News of emancipation traveled slowly, and for many isolated from Union forces, life continued as though freedom had never come. Over 250,000 enslaved African Americans were unaware of their liberation until military intervention came two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

On June 19, 1865, news of emancipation finally reached the last group of enslaved individuals at the furthest edge of the nation. Union General Gordon Granger with 2,000 Union troops arrived to Texas in Galveston Bay, announcing that all enslaved Black people in the state were free by executive decree:

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”
–General Order Number 3, June 19, 1865

On December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment was ratified and extended the prohibition on slavery beyond the former rebellious states, saying that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
It took the Emancipation Proclamation, the end of the Civil War, and the passage of the 13th Amendment to finally bring slavery to an end throughout the United States. The moment when freedom finally reached the furthest corners of the nation became the foundation of Juneteenth.

The first Juneteenth celebrations began in 1866, centered in churches and community gatherings in Texas. These traditions spread across the South and beyond, sustained by newly freed African Americans and their descendants. Juneteenth was finally recognized federally in 2021, observing it as an official holiday.

We’ll see you this Friday June 19th at the FREE Athens Juneteenth Celebration & Festival in Downtown Athens, Georgia. More info at historicathens.com/athens-juneteenth.

The whole family is welcome at Athens Juneteenth! Parents, go ahead and bust out them babies dancing shoes and meet us in the kids zone for a day of celebrating African American joy, freedom, and culture with this free, family-friendly, rain-or-shine festival on Friday, June 19th.

The Kids Zone at 2026 Athens Juneteenth Celebration & Festival is open 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM, and includes:

⭐️ Bouncy Houses with Rucker Family Amusement Inflatable Rentals
⭐️ Face Painting by Ish N Giggles
⭐️ Juneteenth Kids Guide by the Historic Athens Welcome Center
⭐️ Plant Your Own Freedom Garden Children’s Activity
⭐️ Historical Quilt Making: Celebrating Folk Artist Harriet Powers
⭐️ Custom Button Making

Join us for the full day of live performances at the main stage and street festival with storytelling, music, local history exhibits, interactive activities, food trucks, and more! Full schedule and line-up with more at historicathens.com/athens-juneteenth.