Performances, block parties and more: List of Minnesota Juneteenth events
MINNEAPOLIS -- Later this week, Minnesotans from all over will observe Juneteenth, a celebration of the day in 1865 when the last American slaves found out they were free after the Civil War.
Last year was actually the first year it was officially recognized as a federal holiday. A number of cities had already officially recognized Juneteenth.
WCCO has compiled a list of block parties, performances and learning opportunities connected with Juneteenth. Below are some of the most notable options.
Celebrations & Block Parties
Creekview Movie Night
Date: June 17
Time: 6:00-8:00pm
Location: Creekview Park, 5001 Humboldt Avenue N.
Description: Music, Food, Entertainment and Activities, followed by Movie in the Park: Summer of Soul, starting at dusk.
Juneteenth Parade
Date: June 18
Time: 11:00am-12:00pm
Location: Ending at Bethune Park, 1304 N 10th Ave.
Description: Presented by the Juneteenth Community Board.
Juneteenth Event
Date: June 18
Time: 12:00pm-6:00pm
Location: Bethune Park, 1304 N 10th Ave.
Description: Food Trucks, Stage Entertainment, Kids' Activities, Vendors, Exhibitors
University of Minnesota presents inaugural Juneteenth Celebration and Commemorative March: Was. Is. Will Be.
Date: June 18
Time: 12:00pm-6:00pm
Location: Willow Park - 1626 Queen Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55410) to Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC) 2001 Plymouth Ave. N.
Description: This free block party and commemorative march — centering on the theme of Was. Is. Will Be: Black Past, Black Present, Black Future — will feature Black vendors, speakers, teach-ins, storytellers, musicians, performers, DJs, roller skating, books, free food, free haircuts, mural and art-making, and more.
Freedom ain't Free
Date: June 17
Time: 5:00pm-9:00pm
Location: 8200 Noble Ave Brooklyn Park, MN 55443
Description: Brooklyn Park will be hosting a celebration that will be highlighting the educative and celebratory meaning behind Juneteenth. Activities include performance from local artists, family activities, raffles, food truck vendors and more.
CommUNITY Block Party
Date: June 12
Time: 3:00pm-6:00pm
Location: Emerson Avenue from 22nd-24th Street
Description: Free event Celebrating Juneteenth, featuring food trucks and live entertainment.
Juneteenth Celebration
Date: June 19
Time: 11:00am-3:00pm
Location: Centennial Lakes Park--7499 France Avenue S., Edina, MN 55424
Description: The city of Edina is hosting their first Juneteenth Community Celebration event. There will be food vendors, entertainment, and activities for the kids.
The Soul Train at Juneteenth
Date: June 18
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Park, 1738 E Center St, Rochester, MN
Description: Juneteenth celebration with a music concert.
St. Cloud Juneteenth 2022
Date: June 17
Time: 3:00pm-9:00pm
Location: Lake George Municipal Park
Description: This will be a full afternoon and evening of live music, games, activities, vendors, a grill off, health clinics and information, and so much more. It's fun for the whole family and everybody is welcome!
Juneteenth Minnesota – West Broadway Block Party
Date: June 19
Time: 8:00am-6:00pm
Location: 1007 West Broadway Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55411
Description: Event includes Industry-Diverse Black Owned Business Vendors, Food Trucks, Prominent Community Guest Speakers, Children's Activities, Live Entertainment and much more!
2022 Rochester Juneteenth Celebration
Date: June 18
Time: 12:00pm-5:00pm
Location: Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Park, 1738 E Center St, Rochester, MN
Description: As the summer approaches, the Rochester Branch of the NAACP and the community are excited about the Juneteenth Celebration 2022, the annual celebration of freedom held in Rochester.
Juneteenth Boat Ride
Date: June 19
Time: 7:00pm-10:00pm
Location: Magnolia Blossom Cruises, St Paul, MN
Description: Celebrate Juneteenth with music and food.
Soul of the Southside Juneteenth Celebration
Date: June 19
Time: 1:00pm-6:00pm
Location: Under The Canopy – 3010 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis 55406
Description: Festival featuring live music, speakers, poets, black owned business marketplace, live art, & food vendors. Bring the whole family on Father's Day to celebrate with the Southside community and beyond.
Maple Grove Juneteenth Celebration
Date: June 19
Time: 11:00am-6:00pm
Location: Central Park Maple Grove, 12000 Central Park Way N, Maple Grove, MN
Description: Noon HIIT fitness-high intensity interval training, 1:00p-6:00p vendor fair, music, food trucks, esports, splashpad and more!
St. Paul Juneteenth Celebration – The Sterling Club
Date: June 18
Time: 11:00am-4:00pm
Location: Caty Park – 300 St. Albans St. N, St. Paul, MN 55104
Description: Join TFBB as we celebrate Juneteenth with the Sterling Club in St. Paul's Carty Park. This is a fun, family event with opportunities to share our books with children of all ages!
Sounds of Blackness Juneteenth Celebration
Date: June 18
Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
Location: Brooklyn Center Community Center - 6301 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center, MN, 55430
Description: Join us 6/18 3pm CST at Brooklyn Center Community Center, Brooklyn Center, MN, for our performance at a Juneteenth Celebration event.
Black2Black Juneteenth Celebration
Date: June 19
Time: 10:00am-6:00pm
Location: Sabathani Community Center -- 310 East 38th Street #Ste 200, Minneapolis, MN 55409
Description: Join us as we celebrate the African-American culture with over 50 vendors from food, clothing, art and recourses. Come out and support local artists and group performances!
Burnsville Juneteenth
Date: June 18
Time: 1:00pm-3:30pm
Location: North River Hills Park -- 11501 19th Avenue, Burnsville, MN 55337
Description: Everyone is welcome and invited to join us in celebrating Juneteenth. Musical performances, live painting, Line dance party, kids crafts and Cave Café food truck.
Woodbury Juneteenth Celebration
Date: June 18
Time: 11:00am
Location: Ojibway Park Pavilion – 2695 Ojibway Dr., Woodbury MN 55125
Description: Woodbury for Justice and Equality is hosting our second annual Juneteenth celebration. Come and join us for food, music, speeches, and activities!
Rainbow Health Freedom Ball
Date: June 17
Time: 5:00pm-12:00am
Location: 3022 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55408
Description: The Ball will celebrate the youth and any newcomers to Ballroom and highlight anyone who may have experience in the scene. This is a 16+event with Cash Bar.
Brooklyn Park Juneteenth Event
Date: June 17
Time: 5:00pm-9:00pm
Location: 8200 Noble Ave., Brooklyn Park, MN 55443
Description: This is a FREE event open to all Brooklyn Park residents! Activities include Juneteenth Education/ Sankofa, Performances from local artists, Storytelling, Family Activities, Community Resource Fair, Live DJ and Raffles. Limited food will be provided, including food truck vendors.
Apple Valley Juneteenth 2022 – Unapologetically Black
Date: June 17
Time: 4:30pm-8:30pm
Location: Apple Valley Community Center -- 14603 Hayes Road, Apple Valley, MN 55124
Description: Join us for a Juneteenth celebration like none other before. Amazing Black owned food and retail vendors, kid activities, DJ AQUIL, and so much more!
Marshall Juneteenth Celebration
Date: June 19
Time: 10:00am
Location: Independence Park – E Lyon St. Marshall MN
Description: All community members are welcome to come enjoy great food from Tavern 507, Taste of Soul and Moore Good Eats, music and live entertainment, inflatables, yard games, and story hour for the family, and walk the park and enjoy the story walk.
Creekview Juneteenth Celebration
Date: June 17
Time: 6:00pm-8:00pm
Location: Creekview Park -- 5001 Humboldt Ave N., Minneapolis, MN 55430
Description: Shingle Creek Neighborhood & Creekview Recreation Center collaborate and host an outdoor Juneteenth celebration with music, dancing, activities, and food. Come on down to celebrate with us.
Black Excellence Juneteenth Celebration
Date: June 19
Time: 5:00pm-8:00pm
Location: The Neu Neu Event Center | 514 North 3rd Street, Minneapolis MN
Description: This year we are celebrating Black Excellence, dinner served, comedy, spoken word, along with prizes and awards.
3 on 3 Justice Basketball Tournament
Date: June 19
Time: 10:00am-6:00pm
Location: Sabathani Community Center -- 310 East 38th Street #Ste 200, Minneapolis, MN 55409
Description: Juneteenth is here and we have created a safer space for youth and young adults to play the game of basketball. This Tournament is designed to support victims of gun violence. Each team will be named after a victim of gun violence. Example Breonna Taylor, Philando castile.
Learning
St. Paul – Lunch & Learn: Juneteenth in Historical Context
Date: June 16
Time: 11:00am-1:00pm
Location: Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center – 130 South Macalester Street, St. Paul MN 55105
Description: A boxed lunch and learn event at Macalester College's Arts Commons on "Juneteenth in Historical Context." An in-depth background on: the histoy and significance of Juneteenth, how celebrations differ across the Black diaspora, the holiday's recent reemergence, and how Juneteenth fits into the long civil rights movement.
St. Paul – Juneteenth Breakfast
Date: June 17
Time: 8:30am-10:30am
Location: Minnesota Humanities Center – 987 Ivy Ave. East, St. Paul, MN 55106
Description: Join the Minnesota Humanities Center for a Juneteenth breakfast. Musical guest Jevetta Steele will perform, followed by a talk by Angela Tate, curator of women's history at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Story Strolls
Date: June 14-20
Location: "Juneteenth: A Children's Story" by Opal Lee at North Commons Park, "Family Reunion" by Chad Richardson at Bottineau Park, "Soul Food Sunday" by Winsome Bingham at Phelps Park
Description: Presented by the Hennepin County Library.
Performances
Kumbayah; The Juneteenth Story
Date: June 16
Time: 10:00am-12:00pm
Location: The Breck School – 123 Ottawa Ave. North, Golden Valley, MN 55422
Description: Kumbayah The Juneteenth Story written by Rose McGee is a 90-minute fictitious, two-act play that addresses a factual and traumatic time in our history – when news was deliberately withheld that Black people were no longer to be kept as slaves in this country.
Green Roof Poetry: Queering Juneteenth Curated by Free Black Dirt
Date: June 30
Time: 6:30pm-8:00pm
Location: Wurtele Upper Garden – Walker Art Center -- 725 Vineland Pl, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Description: Join Free Black Dirt in celebration of our individual and collective liberation. And the pursuit of more. Green Roof Poetry brings together some of the Twin Cities' most dynamic writers for literary evenings at the Walker. Grab your picnic blanket, stop at Cardamom's outdoor bar to purchase curated picnic boxes and libations, and relax on the hillside for these fresh air readings.
