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Thursday is June 19 and the holiday known as Juneteenth, a celebration of freedom.

For the Good, the Mid-Utica Neighborhood Preservation Corporation, or MUNPC, and Munson will all host special events in Utica to mark the occasion on June 19, 20 and 21. The Rome Branch of the NAACP has organized two events, one with the city.

And the inaugural Peterboro Freedom Folk Festival will cap several days of Juneteenth festivities in Peterboro, a place with ties to the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that people living enslaved in Texas found out that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier. What started as a local celebration in Galveston has become a national holiday recognizing Black culture, contributions and freedom.

“Juneteenth is not just a date—it’s a declaration of presence and pride,” said Hilda Jordan, MUNPC board president, in a statement. “In Utica, we are proud to be continuing a tradition that predates the national holiday recognition, thanks to the leadership of Robbie Dancy and many others who believed in honoring Black history and future through community celebration.”

Peterboro celebration

Peterboro, in the town of Smithfield in Madison County, is the site of the Gerritt Smith Estate National Historic Landmark, the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum and the Peterboro Area Museum, which includes exhibits on Smith, an abolitionist, and the Underground Railroad in Peterboro.

The hall of fame is located in the Smithfield Community Center, the site of the first meeting of the New York State Antislavery Society in 1835. 

“We are deeply dedicated to commemorating Juneteenth and illuminating the profound legacy of the Freedom Trail,” said  Nell Ziegler-Glass, board president of the Smithfield Community Association, which owns the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark, in a statement. “With the addition of the music festival, we’re creating even more ways for people to engage with these vital stories and celebrate Peterboro’s unique place in the ongoing pursuit of freedom.”

Events in Utica

Here are the events scheduled in Utica on Juneteenth and the days that follow:

Thursday, June 19

  • Back 2 the Bricks: Noon to 3 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Temple, 110 Washington St. Oral histories, local archives and a portrait project to honor Black people in Utica’s past and future. Organized by the MUNPC.
  • Talent show: Noon to 4 p.m. at City Hall, 1 Kennedy Plaza. To include spoken word, music, dance and inspiration, according to the organizers. Vendors and performers are welcome. Organized by For The Good.
  • Juneteenth @ Munson: 5 to 7 p.m. at Munson, 310 Genesee St. Poetry readings; piano music by Winston Oluwole Soboyejo, president of SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy; singers from St. Matthew’s Temple; a DJ set by D King and an exhibit of work by local Black artists. Organized by Munson and its African American Community Partners board.

Friday, June 20

  • Soul Food Fish Fry: Noon to 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s Baptist Church, 219 Leah St. “Enjoy soulful meals with a side of history,” according to the event’s publicity. Meals cost $17 at presale. Organized by the MUNPC. For tickets, call  (315) 941–0837.
  • Gospel choir concert: 6 to 8 p.m. at St. Paul’s Baptist Church. Local choirs will perform. Suggested donation is $5. Organized by the MUNPC.

Saturday, June 21

  • 9th Annual Juneteenth Festival: Noon to 8 p.m. at Kemble Park, 102 James St. The event will include more than 30 vendors and community groups; a 15-piece live band and line dancing; a kid zone with games, face painting and educational activities; and a community reflection station where attendees can share their stories.

“We invite everyone — whether you’re from Utica or visiting — to take part in this celebration,” Jordan said. “Juneteenth belongs to all of us who believe in freedom, dignity, and community. Let’s connect. Let’s celebrate. Let’s keep building.”

For more information, click here.

Events in Rome

Friday, June 20

  • Juneteenth Family Movie Night. 7 p.m. at Franklyn Field. Sponsored by the NAACP in Rome and the City of Rome. Showing of “Captain America: The First Avenger” (rated PG-13), a chance to meet some superheroes and first responders, and free popcorn, snocones and soft drinks.

Saturday, June 21

  • Juneteenth Celebration. Noon to 5 p.m. at Bellamy Harbor Park. Pop-up museum with exhibits from the Rome Historical Society, the NAACP of Rome and the Afro-American Heritage Association of Rome; food trucks; kids’ activities; children’s books from Connected Community Schools, the Rome YMCA and Jervis Public Library; music all day from On the Move Mobile Music and Photography; live performances by the Utica Royalties; vendors; and guest speaker Jan Deamicis, of the Oneida County Historical Society.

Events in Peterboro

The events in Peterboro in Madison County have been organized through a collaboration by the Gerritt Smith Estate National Historic Landmark, the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum, Peterboro Table Restaurant and Peterboro United Methodist Church.

Here’s the schedule:

Thursday, June 19

  • Bell ringing. 6:19 p.m. at the Peterboro United Methodist Church. The bell will ring 19 times to honor the spirit of freedom and remembrance.

Friday, June 20

  • “Slavery by Another Name” screening. 7 p.m. at the Smithfield Community Center. The film will be followed by a discussion on the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.

Saturday, June 21

  • 9 a.m. at the Smithfield Community Center. After an introduction by Madison County historian Matthew Urtz, Judith Wellman, creator of the Wellman Scale for rating the probable accuracy of stories about the Underground Railroad, and members of the Madison County Freedom Trail Commission will present “Researching Underground Railroad Sites.”
  • 11:30 a.m. at the community center. Kate Clifford Larson — biographer of Fannie Lou Hamer and Harriet Tubman, and a consultant to the two National Park Service parks honoring Tubman in Auburn and in Maryland — will speak on “Hamer, Tubman and the Underground Railroad Byway.”
  • 12:30 p.m. at the community center.  Donald Yacavone, an associate at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, will present “Teaching White Supremacy.”
  • Peterboro Freedom Folk Festival. 3 to 8 p.m., rain or shine, at the Gerritt Smith Estate National Historic Landmark, 5304 Oxbow Road, Peterboro. Food and music from the Cadleys, an acoustic band based in Syracuse who play bluegrass, “new acoustic” music and original songs; Rod MacDonald, a singer-songwriter and novelist who was part of the 1980s Greenwich Village folk revival; and Sean Ceilly, a musician and singer-songwriter from Cleveland, New York who blends blues, jazz, folk and folk rock while playing the guitar, banjo and harmonica.

Sunday, June 22

  • 10:45 a.m. at the Peterboro United Methodist Church. Talk by Donna Dorrance Burdick, Town of Smithfield historian, on the role of churches in enslavement in the early 19th century.

For more information, go here.