Juneteenth festivities kick off Thursday in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Juneteenth festivities get underway Thursday in the City of Pittsburgh.

The holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, marking when enslaved people in Texas received news of the Emancipation Proclamation.

“We are celebrating freedom, acknowledgment, and our ancestors— you can’t beat that,” said Richard Wheeler.

The Pittsburgh event at Mellon Park, which is one of the largest Juneteenth celebrations in the country, will take place June 19-22. Each day will feature free live entertainment, family-freindly programming and opportunities to connect with Black-owned businesses through a massive vendor plaza open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to VisitPittsburgh.

YouthFest will start at 11 a.m. Thursday, kicking off the four days of festivities.

Thursday night, Pittsburghers ages 25 and up can grab tickets to the “All White Boat Party,” which will take place from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on the Gateway Clipper Fleet. “Dress in white, bring your energy, and celebrate freedom on the water,” a description of the event says.

“I am super excited to be in Pittsburgh. This is my first time here, and it’s lovely to be part of such a great cause,” said Kasi Nayels, the owner of For the Few Minutes. Nayels mentioned that she had been looking forward to this festival for weeks and traveled from Texas to participate in the festivities.

The Grand Jubilee Parade will take over Downtown Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The parade will make its way through Centre Avenue, Fifth Avenue and Liberty Avenue.

The festival will also feature performances from national acts like Morris Day & The Time, Dru Hill, Donell Jones, and many more.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, click here.

Just last week, Channel 11 reported a bit of back and forth between the city and the Juneteenth organizers over their permit for the festival.

Organizer B. Marshall asked for a permit for the event in February. After repeated delays, Marshall hired an attorney and filed a petition last month asking a judge to force the city to act on the permit. The city approved the first phase of his celebration on Tuesday, but the event became official on Friday.

“I had to turn down about 30 vendors, I lost two sponsors, and we had to scale back the activities for the festival this year,” Marshall said.

Last year, the Gainey administration withdrew funding from the event, but after public outcry, the city council reinstated the funding. This year, however, Marshall did not receive any funding from the city.

“We had 70,000 people last year and generated $5 million for the city of Pittsburgh. Why would anyone want to fight against that?” Marshall questioned.

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