One of the biggest and longest-running Juneteenth celebrations in Kansas happens every year in Salina, and 2024 will be no different.
While it has been celebrated for decades, the first official Salina Juneteenth Celebration took place on June 16 and 17, 2007, with its committee formed with the goal of promoting African-American culture and history for the community of Salina.
This year’s Juneteenth events in Salina will take place over a few days finishing with big celebrations on Saturday, June 22.
Free showing of Juneteenth film at Salina Art Cinema
Margaret Dixon, president of the Juneteenth Committee, said commemorations will begin with free screenings of the documentary film “Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom,” at the Salina Art Center Cinema, 150 S. Santa Fe Ave.
A description on the cinema’s website said the film follows “a Black American (who) is troubled by the legacy of American slavery and the misuse of Christianity to justify it. He travels throughout Texas, discovering how the Juneteenth reveals faith and a fight for freedom in an unjust society.”
The film will be showing twice, with the first at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 19. The second showing will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 20, and will be followed by a virtual discussion with the director, Ya’Ke Smith.
Misty Serene, executive director of the art center, said she was thrilled to be able to work with the committee to show a film like this in Salina, and to be a part of telling the history of this important holiday.
“I think it’s a great opportunity, particularly this film, to learn the meaning and the purpose and the ideas behind recognizing Juneteenth,” Serene said.
City-wide Juneteenth Celebration on a new stage this year
As the Juneteenth Celebration grows in popularity in Salina, the committee has decided to move its main event from Oakdale Park to City Lights Stage at the corner of Ash Street and Santa Fe Avenue.
Cash Hollistah, committee member who also helps with the entertainment for the event, said this move to the stage is intentional.
“City Lights Stage is right there in the heart of downtown,” Hollistah said. “Juneteenth is something that is all-inclusive, even though the origins of it, obviously, are for African-American culture, it is something that everyone can enjoy.”
The stage has become more popular in the past couple of years since it opened, becoming more of a centerpiece to the downtown community.
“As opposed to having them come to a park we wanted to be where the people are,” Hollistah said. “And we noticed over the past few months, with the Farm and Art Market opening, and just with the resurgence of downtown, we wanted to be where the people are, so we chose City Lights Stage.”
The City-Wide Celebration happens from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, and will feature vendors, food, games and more fun.
Hollistah said a big thing this year will be the return of live music during the celebration, musicians including Salina-based Zafaja, an R&B, jazz, funk band and Jon’Nea Soul, an R&B, soul artist.
“(Soul) is a Salina native, currently living in Wichita, who was a breakout hit of last year’s Festival Jam,” Hollistah said. “We wanted to give her an opportunity to come back home and perform in front of her hometown.”
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After the City-Wide Celebration will the the annual Juneteenth Celebration Dance beginning at 8 p.m. at Martinelli’s, 158 S. Santa Fe Ave. Hollistah said the dance will feature DJ Big Smoov playing hits from the 1970s to today. While the rest of the Juneteenth celebrations are free, the dance costs $25, with tickets available for purchase on the committee’s website or from a committee member.
Join in the Salina Juneteenth Celebration
For more information about the Salina Juneteenth Celebration, visit the committee’s website, salinajuneteenth.org.
Updates on this year’s event, including a complete schedule of events can also be found on the committee’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/salinajuneteenth/.
