From soul food to music, here’s a complete list of Lexington’s Juneteenth celebrations

Beth Musgrave
·2 min read

Lexington is hosting a series of Juneteenth celebrations starting June 10, Mayor Linda Gorton announced Tuesday.

“Thanks to members of our community, Juneteenth will be celebrated with flags, and art, and food, and singing, and much more,” Gorton said during a press conference announcing this year’s Juneteenth line up.

The press conference was held at the Rosenwald School, a historic Black school, in Cadentown.

Juneteenth banners and flags will adorn Main Street beginning June 13. Similar banners will be on some of the city’s most popular trails, including the Legacy Trail.

The events are from June 10 to 19, the official Juneteenth holiday, celebrated as the official end of slavery. Juneteenth became a national federal holiday in 2021.

Here’s a round up of most of the events in the next two weeks:

June 10: 18th Annual Juneteenth Jubilee, 7:30-8:30 p.m., African Cemetery No. 2, 419 East 7th St. It’s Lexington’s oldest Juneteenth celebration. Historian and educator Dr. Alicestyne Turley will provide the keynote address, “Kentucky’s United States Colored Troops.”

June 17: Soulteenth Fest, noon to 6 p.m., Moondance Amphitheater, 1152 Monarch St. Food festival with vendors, music and art.

June 17: Juneteenth Independence Day Celebration, doors open at 4 p.m. with performances beginning at 6 p.m., Lyric Theatre, 300 E. Third St. A celebration of African-American independence with hip hop, jazz, ballet and other dance performances.

June 18: Seventh Annual Juneteenth Celebration by the U.S. Freedmen Coalition, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden, 577 E. Third St. Music and celebration, open to families.

June 18: Juneteenth Celebration Day, 2-8 p.m., Douglass Park, 726 Georgetown Road. Sponsored by Wiseguys Barbershop and the Georgetown Neighborhood Association. Free food and activities for children, including boxing demonstrations.

June 19: Sense of Place campaign launch, 11 a.m., Cadentown Missionary Baptist Church, 2950 Cadentown Road. Committee working to preserve and celebrate Lexington’s Black Hamlets, including the preservation of the Rosenwald School in Cadentown, will have its inaugural kick off event.

Historical Marker for the old Rosenwald School on Pike St. in Sadieville, Ky., Monday, May 23, 2011. Preserve Kentucky says the state’s small towns (population 2,000 or less) top its annual list of the most endangered sites in the Bluegrass State. They’re using Sadieville in Scott County as a prime example. The old Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church is in the background. The school is on a hillside behind the church.
The former Rosenwald School in Cadentown, one of 20 historic Black hamlets that were settled by Black people in Fayette County, Lexington, Ky., Friday, March 31, 2022. There are efforts to save the Rosenwald School and to mark and celebrate Fayette County’s Black hamlets. Julius Rosenwald built 158 schools for Black students in Kentucky between 1917 and 1932.
Four new headstones have been placed for veterans at African Cemetery No. 2 in Lexington, Ky., Yvonne Giles uses old military records to apply for headstones for veterans whose headstones have gone missing over the years.Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022
Four new headstones have been placed for veterans at African Cemetery No. 2 in Lexington, Ky., Yvonne Giles uses old military records to apply for headstones for veterans whose headstones have gone missing over the years.Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022