Natchitoches announces details of Juneteenth festival

NATCHITOCHES, La. (KSLA) - The City of Natchitoches is hosting a Juneteenth celebration downtown on Saturday, June 17.

Mayor Ronnie Williams Jr. said June 19, 1865, is a monumental day in history and he couldn’t be more proud to celebrate its impact. “When you think about America and the history of this country, freedom is really important, really significant.”

Back in 2021, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared Juneteenth a state holiday. The day commemorates when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger led Union soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to announce the news that the Civil War was over and slavery had ended.

“Although the Emancipation Proclamation came 2½ years earlier on Jan. 1, 1863, many enslavers continued to hold enslaved Black people captive after the announcement, and Juneteenth became a symbolic date representing African-American freedom,” says a Congressional Research Service fact sheet about the federal holiday.

“Everybody knows about July Fourth, but certainly June 19, 1865, is very critical as well,” Williams said.

He said his city’s Juneteenth celebration will start at 3 p.m.

“There’s going to be pop-up shops, and I think there’s some really good pop-up shops,” the mayor explained.

“We’re also going to have a deejay who is a native of Shreveport; but I think Natchitoches, he would say, is his second home — DJ Rob Real. Rob Real is going to be with us from 3-6.”

“Then, we’ll have bands,” Williams continued. “That’s going to be our first band, first of two, Louisiana Sidemen and then our headline performance will be by Keith Frank.”

The celebrity basketball tournament will not return this year.

“Initially, we said we were going to do a basketball tournament. We were trying to make that happen,” the mayor said. “But, you know unforeseen circumstances, we’re not able to do that this year. I think a lot of people enjoyed that last year. Hopefully, the next Juneteenth festival we can put on a basketball tournament.”

In addition, there will be a designated area for the kids with bounce houses and sno-cones. A fireworks show will conclude the festival.

NATCHITOCHES JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

• Popup shops: 3-10 p.m.
• DJ Rob Real: 3-6 p.m.
• Louisiana Sidemen: 6-8 p.m.
• Keith Frank: 8:15-9:45 p.m.
• Fireworks: 9:45 p.m.

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