RICHMOND, Va. -- While the Juneteenth holiday may be over, there is one more celebration planned for this weekend.
Juneteenth, A Freedom Celebration was created after the Elegba Folklore Society commissioned interpretive programming for an exhibition 25 years ago.
Fast forward to 2021 and Elegba kicked off this anniversary at the annual Festival of Arts at Dogwood Dell and participated in Henrico County's Juneteenth event on the holiday.
"And so we pushed our celebration that's now 25 years old to the following weekend so that we continue to lift up what liberation really means in the context of Juneteenth," Janine Bell with the Elegba Folklore Society said.
This year's celebration is a one-day event at the African Burial Grounds.
"And because we're at the African Burial Grounds and because our theme is Dancing with the Ancestors, we're asking people if they want to bring an offering to say thank you once again," Bell said.
Bell said that these offerings could be flowers, fruits or whatever is in your heart.
The event will be packed with entertainment. Some of this includes the Get Woke Youth Summit, historian Dr. Gerald Horne, dancers and drummers, food, elements of the torch-lit walk and other activities.
"We will do one, as you say, fully-packed day at the African Burial Ground. We will have elements of what the walk is, elements of what the symposium is, elements of that independence day our way, all there in that one space," Bell said.
Juneteenth, A Freedom Celebration is June 27. The Get Woke Youth Summit is at 1 and the grounds will be open from 2 to 6 p.m. A donation of $5 is suggested and scholarships are available for those between 12 and 18. Children under the age of 12 can attend for free. The suggested dress code for this event is white.
More information can be found on the Elegba Folklore Society's websiteor Facebook page.
