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The Calumet Park Neighborhood Association and the LaGrange Housing Authority will hold a Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 18 with music, food and even job opportunities. This year organizers hope for a great turnout and good weather.

“We’re going to have a lot of different activities for the kids and for families,” said Calumet Park co-chair, Lanona Jones. “It’s going to be a wonderful event. I believe we are even going to have the Splash Pad open. We are going to have a lot of different things going on and just want everybody to come out and enjoy.”

The second annual Juneteenth celebration will be taking place at Calumet Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Coinciding with the festivities will be a father and son basketball tournament on Revis Street from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“We’re going to have a spoken word speakers, we’re going to have dancers, we’re going to have people doing some musical selections, and a DJ,” Jones said.

Along with over 58 different vendors confirmed for the celebration, Commissioner Jimmy McCamey will be this year’s keynote speaker.

Also attending the celebration will be a local community partners that will be doing on-the-spot interviewing.

“We are going to have pretty good selection of people at this event,” Jones said.

Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 each year and recognizes the end of slavery in the United States. Specifically, the date recognizes June 19, 1865, when the final slaves were freed in Galveston, Texas — more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.