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If you are looking for Juneteenth celebrations in Lorain County, there are plenty of options in the coming days.

One of the longest running Juneteenth events in the area is the annual Juneteenth Bluesfest at Lakeview Park, 1800 W. Erie Ave. in Lorain, which features entertainment including blues music and historical skits.

The event, which will run from 3-7 p.m. June 16 this year, is put on by the Elyria YWCA in partnership with the Lorain County Metro Parks.

Elyria YWCA executive director Jeanine Donaldson said this will be the 11th edition of the Bluesfest and that the community had needed a Juneteenth event long before that.

“I wanted to do something on a larger scale,” Donaldson said. “Lorain is an International City, and there just didn’t seem to be anything that was representative of the African American culture, customs and traditions so we wanted to have the Bluesfest.”

Donaldson said Lakeview Park serves as a great location as one of the most iconic places in Lorain County.

It’s particularly important for African Americans to have traditions that can help connect generations, because slavery did so much to disconnect previous generations, she said.

“For young people, that’s how you pass it down,” Donaldson said. “What’s significant for the African American community, is that families rarely can trace their history beyond their great-grandfather and rarely get back further in the 1800s.”

The goal of the event is to introduce people of all backgrounds to African American culture and history, she said.

“It’s a front door to the African American community,” Donaldson said. “Juneteenth is also not just an African American holiday, but an American holiday.”

While the celebration falls on Father’s Day, Donaldson encourages people, if they can, to bring their families to the event.

“We try to encourage folks to give dad his tie and take him to Lakeview Park, bring a lawn chair, sit in the park and listen to the music,” she said. “It’s a fun time.”

Donaldson said the YWCA also is co-sponsoring a screening of “A Higher Law,” a documentary about the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue on June 19 at the Palace Theatre, 617 Broadway in downtown Lorain.

The screening is co-sponsored by the Oberlin Heritage Center, NAACP and Power 89.1 WZNZ.

There are several other Juneteenth themed events in Lorain and throughout the county coming up.

• Harrison Cultural Community Center, 1922 Hamilton Ave. in Lorain, is hosting a Juneteenth celebration from 6-9 p.m. June 14 with food and games.

• Caravan for Justice and Equality will take off from Greater Victory Christian Ministries, 559 Reid Ave. in Lorain, at 5 p.m. June 14 and finish at Elyria City Hall at 6 p.m. The caravan is sponsored by Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital, Elyria Black Legacy Connection, Vandermark Jewelers and the Caravan for Justice and Equality Committee.

• City of Lorain’s fifth annual Juneteenth celebration will take place at 2 p.m. June 16 at General Johnnie Wilson Park, located on the corner of Fulton Road and Plant Street.

• City of Elyria is holding its third annual Juneteenth celebration at from noon to 5 p.m. June 15 at Ely Square featuring a parade, an outdoor museum, entertainment, food and other activities.

• The 29th annual Juneteenth Oberlin event will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 15 with speakers, music, food and more fun activities throughout the day at the Abram Pavilion and Oberlin Underground Railroad Center located near Edison and Main streets.

• Oberlin Community Services is holding a free Juneteenth cookout from 4-7 p.m. June 18 at the Cooper Center, 500 E. Lorain St. in Oberlin.