Free For All
Raising the Juneteenth Flag
City Hall, June 14 at 12 p.m.
Cincinnati Art Museum, June 15
Hamilton County Courthouse, June 18, 10 a.m.
Cincinnati’s Juneteenth tradition began in 1988 as a neighborhood festival in Kennedy Heights, more than three decades before it was declared a national holiday
This year, the celebration of freedom continues, with community events in Eden Park, The Banks, and for the first time, at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
Cincinnati Juneteenth Festival
Eden Park
Saturday, June 15 and
Sunday, June 16, 12–9 p.m.
juneteenthcincinnati.org
The family-friendly, free event features fun for all ages.
The Juneteenth Festival kicks off at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday with a parade of flags representing the African diaspora—the origins and forced destinations of Africans during the slave trade that lasted for more than 400 years. The festival continues through Saturday afternoon and evening with crafts, books, games, and horseback rides. More than 25 performances on two stages will be presented, reflecting the shared heritage within the African diaspora.
In 2005, Juneteenth Cincinnati revived June Fest, a concert series that served the African American community, from the late 1920s through the early 1950s, when African American performers and audiences were not welcome in Music Hall and other venues. The Juneteenth weekend ends on Sunday afternoon with the June Fest Father’s Day Concert, from 2 to 6 p.m., featuring a variety of inspirational music and praise dancing in Seasongood Pavilion.
Fifth Annual Juneteenth Block Party at The Banks
Freedom Way at The Banks
Saturday, June 15, 4–11 p.m.
paloozanoire.com
This marks the fifth year Paloozanoire has thrown the Juneteenth Block Party.
Celebrate the holiday and enjoy DJs, food trucks, and entertainment for the entire family. This event is free to the public and open to all ages.
Paloozanoire was founded in 2019 to focus on enriching the lives of people of color throughout the Midwest in the areas of creativity, corporate leadership, and entrepreneurship. Along with the Juneteenth Block Party Experience, the organization’s works on the annual Black & Brown Faces Art Exhibition.
Publishers throughout the North responded to a demand for copies of Lincoln’s proclamation and produced numerous decorative versions, including this engraving by R. A. Dimmick in 1864.
National Museum of American History, gift of Ralph E. Becker
Juneteenth Jubilee
The Freedom Center
Wednesday, June 19,
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
freedomcenter.org/juneteenthjubilee2024
The inaugural Juneteenth Jubilee at the Freedom Center is a free, daylong festival celebrating true independence with live music, programming, community vendors and food trucks. Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Orlando Brown, Jr., will be the event’s featured guest, delivering a motivational speech followed by a photo and autograph session.
Enjoy extended hours and free admission to the Freedom Center, thanks to support from the Fifth Third Foundation, with drop-in programming and mini tours for guests of all ages.
The celebration will culminate in a “second line” style march to the banks to the Ohio River, the symbolic River Jordan over which thousands of enslaved people crossed into freedom on the Underground Railroad.