Juneteenth Downeast Commemoration
Everyone is welcome!
Join in commemorating Juneteenth 2023 at Knowlton Park, 11 Shore Road, Ellsworth, Maine on Monday, June 19, from 2 to 6 p.m. "Deepening Our Vital Connection to Nature and Each Other" will feature music, poets, speakers, and free delectable food from the celebrated tv personality and author, Chef Chris Scott and others.
Every year, Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, were first told that they were freed from slavery, nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. As we celebrate Juneteenth, it is important to recognize it as an opportunity to highlight Black people in business and the arts who have been and continue to be central to the formation and growth of Maine. It is an opportunity for exposure to the diversity that exists in this state as we’re reminded that the struggle for freedom and equality persists.
Featuring Maine’s own Pihcintu Multinational Girls' Chorus, Stream Reggae, and Chief-Nze Oscar Mokeme, CEO and Founding Director of The Museum of African Culturelocated in Portland, Maine, who returns with the ‘Touch Table’ featuring masks from the museum and the Blessing event which moved so many participants last year. Hands-on activities for both children and adults as well as tables for vendors. The Commemoration on Monday will be broadcast live on WERU Community Radio 89.9 FM, and at WERU.orgas well as video streaming at juneteenthdowneast.org.
For the full list of the Day’s speakers and the program schedule, click the button below or visit juneteenthdowneast.org. Follow @JuneteenthDowneast on Facebook for event updates.
View/download event flyer: English | Spanish | Haitian Creole
The 2023 Juneteenth Downeast Commemoration and Weekend on the Water events are being organized by a collaboration among community organizations, businesses, and individuals, including MDI Racial Equity Working Group, Healthy Acadia, Greater Bangor Area Branch NAACP, YWCA MDI, Downeast Diversity, The Exercise Design Lab, Black Spirit 4 Life, Mano en Mano | Hand in Hand, The Jackson Laboratory, and Friends of Acadia. The 2023 Juneteenth Commemoration and Weekend on the Water are funded in part by grants from The Maine Humanities Council, Maine Initiatives, and the Nature Based Education Consortium, as well as by the amazing generosity of individuals, businesses, and organizations in our community.
Juneteenth Downeast is fiscally sponsored by Healthy Acadia. To make a donation in support of the 2023 Downeast Juneteenth Commemoration and Weekend on the Water events, click below.