Juneteenth celebrations kicked off in Idaho Falls today with a music festival at Heritage Park.
The goal of the Juneteenth Community Heritage Music Festival is to celebrate freedom for all through the universal language of music, education, and human connection.
“Art comes out of struggle [and] tends to be inspired by struggle,” said Mosy, owner of the heart event center and emcee for today’s event. “People see themselves in this art and celebrating other people’s art helps connect to that struggle and the joys that we’ve all been through.”
Juneteenth was first recognized as a national holiday in 2021. It is celebrated every year on June 19th.
The holiday marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in Texas were finally told they were free, more than two years after the emancipation proclamation.
Despite the holiday’s origins in African American culture, Mosy said today’s event was focused on unity and freedom for all.
“When the community forgets about freedom and forgets about unity we can have in that freedom, we begin to be more divisive,” Mosy said. “Talking about the unity and freedom we have and celebrating that brings people together.”
Today’s event was only an appetizer to another Juneteenth event happening in Idaho Falls next Thursday.
The event will be held on Thursday, June 19, from 7-9 p.m. at the Colonial Theater in downtown Idaho Falls. The free program at the Colonial Theater will include a readers theater presentation on the holiday’s history and musical performances.
Idaho Falls isn’t the only place Juneteenth will be celebrated in Eastern Idaho.
The Pocatello NAACP will be having an event at the Pocatello Senior Activity Center on June 21st.
