Celebrate Juneteenth at Area Events
Celebrate Juneteenth with activities at local venues including Morven Museum and Garden, the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum, and Washington Crossing Park. The observance commemorates that it took until June 19, 1865 for Union troops to arrive in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863.
The Princeton Festival will observe Juneteenth on Wednesday, June 19 beginning with a 1 p.m. flag-raising at Monument Hall, and from 4 to 7 p.m. at a community celebration Morven Museum and Garden, 55 Stockton Street. The Let Freedom Ring Booth is a free community oral history project at the Stockton Education Center where visitors can step into an antique phone booth and record reflections. Food vendors will be on site.
At 7 p.m., Vinroy D. Brown Jr., choral conductor of Westminster Choir College, will lead a Juneteenth Celebration Honoring Black Choral Music with a choir drawn from the community and anchored by the Capital Singers of Trenton. The program will feature Robert Ray’s Gospel Mass with additional choral selections by Capital Singers Women’s Ensemble, Caritas Chamber Chorale, Elmwood Concert Singers, St. David the King, and Union Baptist Church, Trenton. For tickets, which range from $10 to $60, with youth 17 and under half price, visit princetonsymphony.org/festival or call 609.497.0020.
On Saturday, June 15, from 12 to 4 p.m., the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum will hold its third annual Juneteenth celebration, Freedom Forward, at the historic grounds in the Sourland Mountain Region, 189 Hollow Road, Skillman. The family-friendly event will feature gospel music, original plays, interactive games, and local cuisine, including vegan options. Tickets and opportunities to participate are at ssaamuseum.org/juneteenth-2024.
Washington Crossing Historic Park at 1112 River Road in Washington Crossing, Pa., will host several free Juneteenth events and activities on Sunday, June 23 from 3 to 7 p.m., educating visitors about the contributions of Black American soldiers during the Revolutionary War and Civil War as well as why Juneteenth is important today. At 3 p.m., two historic reenactors will present the contributions of Black soldiers. At 5 p.m., The Quake band from Philadelphia will provide live music. More information is available at the Park website.