How to celebrate Juneteenth around D.C.
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Washingtonians will be busy celebrating Juneteenth this Wednesday, thanks to a packed lineup of events.
The big picture: The holiday commemorates the ending of slavery by marking the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, after the end of the Civil War to let the last enslaved Black people know they were free under the Emancipation Proclamation — issued by President Lincoln more than two years earlier.
Here are some ways to celebrate around D.C.:
🎆 Scotland Juneteenth Heritage Festival: As part of the dayslong festival hosted by Scotland AME Zion Church, Wednesday will be stacked with activities: a 5K race, a children's Caribbean festival, a parade, and a nighttime fireworks show.
- Events take place across sites in Potomac and Rockville; times and prices vary.
🎨 National Harbor's Juneteenth Celebration: Head to the shores of Maryland to shop a marketplace filled with Black-owned businesses, check out a performance by Eleanor Roosevelt High School's step team, jam at a drummer's circle, and try your hand at a festive sip-and-paint class.
- Events are free to attend, and take place at National Harbor from 11am to 7pm.
🏋️ Juneteenth in the District: Sponsored by the District's FitDC program, this health and wellness-focused celebration will feature a yoga and meditation session, a HIIT workout, and an Afrobeat cardio class. Also happening: a festival with a drumline, go-go music, and a vendor market.
- Check it out for free at Bryant Street from 10am to 4pm.
🎭 We Move in Color: See and Feel the Journey: This immersive show uses techniques like African drumming, poetry, multimedia art, and dance to chronicle the African American journey from before slavery up to Afro-futurism.
- Check it out at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage at 6pm. Tickets are free but require registration and are limited.
🎵 Juneteenth Freedom Celebration: The Anacostia Community Museum will host a day of food trucks and live music, with performances by groups like DuPont Brass, Noochie, and CuzzinB.
- The event takes place at the museum from 10am to 5pm — it's free to attend, but registration is encouraged.
This story has been updated to clarify what happened on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, and its significance to the ending of slavery in the United States.