Where to celebrate Juneteenth in Maine

PLANNED ACROSS THE STATE TO COMMEMORATE JUNETEENTH… JAMIE AZULAY JOINS US LIVE IN WESTBROOK… AND JAMIE – IF PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO ON THIS HOLIDAY – THERE’S CERTAINLY NO SHORTAGE OF OPTIONS… NO JESS… HERE AT RIVERBANK PARK IN WESTBROOK THERE’S A FREE EVENT HAPPENING 11 TO 2 TO CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH AND HELP MAINERS UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY AND SUFFERING BEHIND IT… BUT IF YOU’RE NOT LOCAL TO WESTBROOK THERE IS SURE TO BE A DIFFERENT EVENT CLOSER TO YOU. THERE’S A CELBRATION IN DOWNTOWN BIDDEFORD… A FILM SCREENING AT BROADTURN FARM IN SCARBOROUGH… IN FREEPORT — THE SIXTH ANNUAL CELEBRATION AT THE WOLFE NECK CENTER.. THE DOWNEAST CELEBRATION IN ELLSWORTH… A FARM TO TABLE DINNER CELEBRATION IN NOBLEBORO… AND SEVERAL EVENTS TO CHECK OUT IN PORTLAND… THERE’S THE COMMUNITY DAY AT VICTORIA MANSION AND A JUNETEENTH FLOWER CRAFTING IN CONGRESS SQUARE… THE CITY HAS SEVERAL OTHER GATHERINGS SCHEDULED THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND IF YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO CELEBRATE TODAY. THE STATE’S PERMANENT COMMISSION ON RACIAL, INDIGENOUS, AND TRIBAL POPULATIONS HAS A FULL LIST OF JUNETEENTH EVENTS ON THEIR WEBSITE… AND COMING UP IN THE NEXT HALF HOUR I’LL TELL YOU MRO

Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, recognizes the end of slavery in the United States. It may also be referred to as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, Black Independence Day or Juneteenth National Independence Day. According to the U.S. congressional research service, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery on June 19, 1865. That declaration came two years after the emancipation proclamation, because many Americans continued to hold their slaves captive after President Abraham Lincoln’s announcement. Juneteenth is now viewed as a symbolic date representing African American freedom. It became a federal holiday in 2021, and it is officially recognized by the Maine legislature and Gov. Janet Mills as a state holiday. To celebrate, there are several events planned around the state. Biddeford:Downtown Biddeford Juneteenth CelebrationEllsworth:Juneteenth Downeast CommemorationFreeport: “A Restorative Juneteenth with The Third Place” Lewiston:”Resistance Through Joy” (June 20)Nobleboro:”Juneteenth: A Farm-to-Table Celebration of American agriCULTURE” dinnerPortland:Community Day at Victoria Mansion Juneteenth Flower Crafting in Congress Square Park Guest artist at Children’s Museum & Theatre “Eastern Cemetery Tour: Black History in the Old Burial Ground” (June 21)”Ancestral Echoes: Walking the Water, Singing the Land” (June 22)Scarborough:”Farming While Black” — Movie ScreeningWestbrook:Juneteenth in WestbrookYork:”Juneteenth Walking Tour: History of Slavery in York County”The intercultural community center is co-hosting this year’s celebration in Westbrook. The organization’s youth program director, Emily Loder, said Juneteenth events are just as much an opportunity to educate Mainers as they are an opportunity to have fun. She told Maine’s Total Coverage, “Let’s embrace all the different people that are a part of the American story, which includes the Black story and Black history, which helped to make up the U.S. Instead of neglecting and forgetting that story, we want to embrace it as well.”If you cannot attend any of the Juneteenth events, Loder suggests doing some research to learn more about the history behind the holiday.

According to the U.S. congressional research service, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery on June 19, 1865. That declaration came two years after the emancipation proclamation, because many Americans continued to hold their slaves captive after President Abraham Lincoln’s announcement.

Juneteenth is now viewed as a symbolic date representing African American freedom. It became a federal holiday in 2021, and it is officially recognized by the Maine legislature and Gov. Janet Mills as a state holiday. To celebrate, there are several events planned around the state.

Biddeford:

Ellsworth:

Freeport:

Lewiston:

Nobleboro:

“Juneteenth: A Farm-to-Table Celebration of American agriCULTURE” dinner

Portland:

Scarborough:

Westbrook:

York:

“Juneteenth Walking Tour: History of Slavery in York County”

The intercultural community center is co-hosting this year’s celebration in Westbrook. The organization’s youth program director, Emily Loder, said Juneteenth events are just as much an opportunity to educate Mainers as they are an opportunity to have fun.

She told Maine’s Total Coverage, “Let’s embrace all the different people that are a part of the American story, which includes the Black story and Black history, which helped to make up the U.S. Instead of neglecting and forgetting that story, we want to embrace it as well.”

If you cannot attend any of the Juneteenth events, Loder suggests doing some research to learn more about the history behind the holiday.