This year, the community’s second annual Juneteenth Festival will be a two-event opening with a kick off with a parade at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 18, from downtown Flossmoor at Flossmoor Road and Sterling Avenue through the neighborhood ending at Parker Junior High School, 2810 School St. in Flossmoor.
members of the 40+ Double Dutch Club perform. The club
will be back for an encore on Sunday. (Chronicle file photo)
The heatwave of the past several days is expected to break in time for the one-hour parade of bands, floats and marchers on a route through Flossmoor. The parade will end back at the school.
The Juneteenth Festival, hosted by You Matter 2, will follow on Sunday, June 19, at Homewood-Flossmoor High School, 999 Kedzie Ave. in Flossmoor. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Organizers describe the parade as “a commemoration of our past and a celebration of our future … as we celebrate Emancipation Day.”
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved people there that they were free.
first H-F Juneteenth Festival in 2021. You Matter 2 is
again the lead organizer of the event. (Chronicle file photo)
The events are being billed by organizers as the largest Juneteenth celebration in the South Suburbs. You Matter 2, a youth service organization, leads the planning and operation of the event.
The festival schedule includes:
- 11 a.m.: Opening remarks.
- 11:20 a.m.: Juneteenth Community Choir.
- 11:40 a.m.: Ayodele African Dance & Drummers.
- 12:05 p.m.: 40+ Double Dutch Club.
- 12:35 p.m.: Spell Binder Magician.
- 1 p.m.: Forever Evolving Dance.
- 1:25 p.m.: Jesse White Tumblers.
- 1:50 p.m.: Fashion Show.
- 2:30 p.m. Goon Squad.
- 2:55 p.m.: Kenchris.
- 3:20 p.m.: Dynamic Sound Band.
- 4 p.m.: Mud City Blu.
- 5:25 p.m.: Vibe Live Music.
At 6:15 p.m. there will be closing remarks.
While the entertainment is going on, there will be a number of continuous activities, including food trucks, inflatable tic tac toe/connect four, a sand art table, shoot-to-win basketball, Berry Go Round, Toxic Meltdown, axe throwing, an inflatable zip line, a photo booth, a wide variety of vendors and a live DJ.
Anyone with questions about the event, including what’s allowed in the door, can visit the frequently asked questions page.
Admission to the event is free, although participation in several activities requires a fee. Organizers urge people to register in advance, although registration at the door will be possible until the event reaches capacity.