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A recent Grammy-award winning group will be at this year’s Fifth Annual Juneteenth Jubilee, the Cool Spring Downtown District announced Thursday.

This year’s celebration will be from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. June 14 at Festival Park, 335 Ray Ave. in downtown Fayetteville.

The event is a community celebration of history, unity, and Black American contributions and culture, and will amplify the accomplishments and contributions of Black women in the culture and in local community, the news release stated.

Organizers said the event “strives to offer a thoughtfully curated, inclusive, educational” and joyful experience for all.

Headlining acts

The opening headliner is country singer Rissi Palmer, who also blends R&B music and other genres into what she calls “Southern soul.”

Palmer is known for charting singles like “Country Girl,” “Hold On To Me” and “No Air.”

She has performed nationally at the White House, New York’s Lincoln Center and the Grand Ole Opry and shared stages with Taylor Swift, the Eagles, Chris Young and Charley Crockett.

“As a passionate voice for country artists of color and those who have been marginalized in mainstream country music,” she also hosts her own “Color Me Country” radio show on Apple Music Country, the news release states.

The marquee headliner for this year’s event is Tank and the Bangas, which won a Grammy in the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album Grammy category for their three-art album, “The Heart, The Mind, and The Soul.”

The album features tracks like “A Poem Is” with Jill Scott, and “This Black Girl.”

The group also won the NPR Tiny Desk Contest in 2017, and their performance for the contest has gained more than 14 million YouTube views.

Organizers said this year’s event also features local performers, food trucks, small-business and corporate vendors, artists/artisans, history, games and other entertainment.

New to this year’s event is a partnership with the Miss Juneteenth Fayetteville Scholarship Pageant, with a crowning ceremony taking place during the Jubilee.  For more information regarding the pageant, contact J19 Unity Pageant Director Linyi Ridgell on Facebook at Juneteenth Queens Fayetteville NC.

“Every year that we do this event feels significant, but this year, in particular, we want to mindfully offer a space for reflection and joy, as we ponder events from the past, their re-emergence in the contemporary landscape, and the potential impact on a transcendental future,” Cool Spring Downtown District interim president and CEO Ashanti Bennett said in the news release. “Gathering in unity and love is a powerful balm during uncertain times.”

The significance of Juneteenth

Also known as Freedom Day or Juneteenth Independence Day, June 19 became a federal holiday in 2021 to commemorate the day in 1865 that Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that enslaved Black people were free, according to the National Museum of African American History and the presidential proclamation. The announcement came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, decreeing all enslaved people free.

The city of Fayetteville is the title sponsor of the Juneteenth Jubilee.

“Juneteenth event is about commemorating a pivotal moment in history; and affirming our commitment to diversity, equality and community,” Mayor Mitch Colvin said in the news release. “It’s an opportunity for us to reflect on our past, celebrate progress and unite in our ongoing journey towards a more inclusive and equitable future.”

Deadline coming up for vendors

Organizers said vendors have until April 2 to submit applications at Eventeny.com.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.