Sandy Springs celebrates Juneteenth with music, food and West African performances

The City of Sandy Springs is celebrating history and culture on Friday with its Juneteenth Festival, which starts at 5 p.m. It will be held at City Springs in Sandy Springs. 

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.

Sandy Springs City Council member Melody Kelley hopes the celebration will bring people together.

"It's just a wonderful opportunity in the middle of the summer to bring people together to explore and to introduce people to African American culture and history and experience in a way that they may not have been introduced to it before," Kelley said. 

The Juneteenth Celebration will feature live entertainment, food trucks, local vendors, and performances from the Djoli Kelan dancers and drummers. They are based in Sandy Springs and specialize in West African dances. 

"Tonight at the celebration, we will be having an on-stage production where we will be doing African dances and drums," Christian Carter, a dancer with Djoli Kelan, said. 

"We will be playing a rhythm called Kuku, which is a celebratory dance from Guinea, West Africa," Kenneth Crook, a drummer with Djoli Kelan, said. 

For more information on the celebration at City Springs, visit sandyspringsga.gov/juneteenth.