See photos from Syracuse Juneteenth Festival 2025

The 2025 Syracuse Juneteenth Festival brought food, music and entertainment to Clinton Square on Saturday, June 14.

The main attraction is the Juneteenth Victory Parade, which stepped off from the Dunbar Center at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Spectators lined the streets, waving flags, cheering and soaking in the sights and sounds. The crowd was a mix of families, friends, and individuals, dressed in festive attire with some wearing hats and face paint. As participants waved to the audience, paradegoers responded with cheers and applause.

Juneteenth festivities kicked off with a flag raising at City Hall on Friday at noon.

Attendees enjoyed live music, dancing, food and retail vendors in Clinton Square. See photos of the event in the gallery above.

At the Syracuse.com booth in Clinton Square, photographers offered free family portraits following the parade.

Juneteenth (June 19) marks the day at the end of the Civil War in 1865 that Union troops told the last slaves (in Galveston, Texas) they were free. It has been celebrated in the African-American community ever since and became a federal holiday in 2021.