Busy weekend in the Cape Fear with plenty of events celebrating Juneteenth

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — With the upcoming Juneteenth holiday on Monday, there is no shortage of events taking place in the Cape Fear this weekend.

The holiday, which was adapted by the City of Wilmington last year, commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S.
On June 19th, 1865, soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas to announce the end of the institution of slavery — two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

President Joe Biden signed legislation to make it a federal holiday in June of 2021.

Amy Schlag, who works for the City of Wilmington’s Equity and Inclusion office, explained one of the biggest events going on this weekend for the celebration.

“Tomorrow is the annual Juneteenth festival, it’s also being held at the MLK (MLK Center). There will be performers and booths and venders and all kinds of fun events happening there. That will be from 12pm to 6pm at the MLK Center,” said Schlag.

The celebrations will conclude with a Juneteenth breakfast on Monday.

The breakfast will be held from 9:30 to 11:30am at the MLK Center located at 401 South Eight Street.