The biggest Juneteenth celebration in Washington is in Tacoma. Expect live music, food
On Juneteenth this Wednesday Stewart Heights Park will be transformed into a free community festival with live music, food vendors, a career fair and play zone for kids.
Last year more than 8,000 people attended the “Juneteenth: A Road to Economic Freedom” celebration organized by WayOut Kids, according to Metro Parks Tacoma. This year the event will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 5715 Reginald Gutierrez Lane in Tacoma.
Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, the date the last enslaved people in the United States were officially freed, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It became a federal holiday in 2021.
The festival will honor, celebrate and show respect for Black history, tradition and cultures, and offer support and resources for the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) community to improve financial stability.
The headliners include R&B girl group 702 and gospel singer Crystal Aikin, as well as eight local creative artists. There will be more than 100 vendors and food trucks, an interactive children’s play zone with bouncy houses and games, speeches from Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland and state Sen. T’wina Nobles, as well as more than 50 vendors from trade associations, nonprofit organizations, businesses and finance, according to Metro Parks.
Organizers will also continue crowning Tacoma’s Miss Juneteenth during a pageant for girls in grades 9-12.
Although Black Americans were freed from slavery, they continue to face systematic challenges like poverty, education gap, disproportionate incarceration and health disparities, said Jerome “JD” Davis, event organizer and CEO of WayOut Kids in a press release.
“They were freed from slavery and then put into poverty. That isn’t freedom,” Davis said. “This event is around true freedom, which I believe is economic freedom.”
The festival is hosted by Metro Parks Tacoma and produced by partner WayOut Kids, with support from Washington Federation of State Employees, Amazon, MultiCare, Black Future Co-Op Fund, Umpqua Bank and others.
