Gainey announces plans for Juneteenth
With a little over a month to go, Mayor Ed Gainey announced the city’s plans for this year’s Juneteenth celebration.
In partnership with Stop the Violence Pittsburgh, the city will help host the celebration at Point State Park from June 17 through 19.
The festivities will begin at 11 a.m. all three days and run until 9 p.m. June 19, and will kick off with a parade starting at Freedom Corner in the Hill District and ending at Point State Park.
The city will be contributing about $60,000 worth of “in-kind services” including the main stage and banners at Point State Park, it stated in a news release.
It will also be providing a secondary, mobile stage and technical support to the festival’s two performance areas.
“The City of Pittsburgh is proud to celebrate this important national holiday,” Mr. Gainey said in a news release. “African-American history is indeed American history and deserves to be treated as such. Juneteenth is a reminder that service never stops. We must always
ensure that change is realized in our cities and streets after it is enshrined into our laws. Even when we pause to celebrate a milestone, our work continues the very next day.”
Pittsburgh Public Works will assist in setting up fencing, barricades and the mobile stage.
In addition to various performers, the event will include African American cultural education, speakers and food vendors.
Live performances will come from musical artists and DJs like the rap group Arrested Development, ’70s funk group The Dazz Band and DJ Spinderella.
Juneteenth, the oldest nationally recognized commemoration of the ending of slavery in the U.S., was designated a state holiday in 2019 and became an official city and county holiday in 2021.
Stop the Violence Pittsburgh began hosting a Juneteenth celebration in the city in 2013.
Inaddition to support from the city, Stop The Violence Pittsburgh was awarded money from the state in April toexpand the event.