From food to dancing: How Lexington is celebrating Juneteenth this year
For its fifth Juneteenth Celebration, Lexington is expanding events to a week-long celebration of the end of slavery.
Juneteenth, also recognized as Emancipation Day, became an official federal holiday in 2021. It celebrates June 19, the day slaves in the United States were legally freed.
According to the University of South Florida, the holiday commemorates the day when 250,000 slaves in the state of Texas, which became the last bastion for slavery during the final days of the Civil War, were declared free by the U.S. Army in 1865.
Celebrations paying homage to June 19 began in the Deep South and Texas the next year and became an annual commemoration.
Texas, in 1980, became the first to make it a state holiday. Juneteenth officially became a state holiday in Kentucky on May 23, 2024.
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said although the official holiday is June 19, there will be events from June 14-21. Gorton and others spoke at a news conference announcing the June 19 celebration at Cadentown, an historic Black hamlet the city is working to preserve.
“Our Juneteenth celebrations in 2025 will be bigger and better than ever,” Gorton said.
Here’s some of the key celebrations:
- 20th Annual Juneteenth Jubilee
- 7-8:30 p.m., June 14
- African Cemetery No. 2, 419 East 7th St.:
- Lexington’s original Juneteenth Celebration will again highlight the spirit of freedom, and honor the Civil War soldiers who fought for that freedom. Sgt. Robert Bell, of the 12th Heavy Artillery, will provide the keynote address on the evolution of the American flag (National Flag Day is June 14). The event will also include “A Soldier’s Story,” presented by Grace Davis, a history major at the University of Kentucky and current summer intern at Camp Nelson National Monument.
- WiseGuys Juneteenth Father’s Day Celebration
- 2-8 p.m., June 15
- 726 Georgetown St.
- A community celebration to raise awareness of culture, history, equality and bring peace to the neighborhood through food, music and youth activities.
- “A Sense of Place” Juneteenth Celebration
- 11 a.m., June 19
- 705 Caden Ln.
- A special celebration honoring freedom and community in one of Lexington’s historic Black neighborhoods. The day will be filled with live music, cultural performances, food and storytelling that highlights the rich history and resilience of the community. The program will also feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the recent renovation of the historic Cadentown Rosenwald School.
- We Still Dance: A Juneteenth Celebration of Rhythm, Resilience and the American Spirit
- 4 p.m., June 19
- The Lyric Theater and Cultural Arts Center, 300 E. Third St.
- “We Still Dance” is a community event designed to uplift and inspire through music, movement and storytelling. Inspired by Maya Angelou’s iconic poem “And Still I Rise,” the event honors the enduring spirit of the American people, and the contributions that continue to define the soul of the country. The dance show starts at 7 p.m. but Lyric Theater Executive Director Christian Adair encouraged people to come early as the theater only seats 500.
- Kentucky U.S. Freedmen Coalition
- 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., June 21
- Charles Young Park, 215 Midland Ave.
- Entertainment, food, information booths, vendors and community fellowship celebrating Black American liberation.
- Soulteenth Fest
- 2-9 p.m., June 21
- Moondance Amphitheater, 1152 Monarch St.
- Celebrates Black liberation and ingenuity through music, art, agriculture and food.
