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Juneteenth celebration set for this weekend at Memorial Park

The Juneteenth 2018 Celebration Committee will be sponsoring the 23rd annual Juneteenth Celebration to be held in the city of Dunkirk. Celebration days for this year will be this Saturday and Sunday, at Memorial Park, Lake Shore Drive West.

The theme for Juneteenth 2018 is “The Power of Love…Building Bridges, Tearing Down Walls.”

Juneteenth will kick off with opening ceremonies at noon at the park. During opening ceremonies there will be a special remembrance celebration honoring all community members who have passed away. This year, the committee will once again dedicate the two days to the family with a reminder of how important it is to spend time with family members in fun activities. In keeping with this theme, there will be many games for adults and children to enjoy including an Ice Cream Eating contest, Hula Hoop contest; face painting, balloons and sand art. Other activities will include Party Bouncers and a Crafts Corner with activities for children. Everyone is invited to spend time at The Family Tent where families can enjoy old-time favorite board games such as Monopoly, Tic-Tac-Dough, UNO, Trouble, Battleship, Checkers, Connect 4 and many more.

This year Zachary Torain will serve as master of ceremonies. He will have many give-a-ways as attendees participate in Juneteenth Jingo, trivia contests and skill activities.

There will also be a Juneteenth Basket Raffle with several exciting items on display. Returning this year will be the Corn Hole tournament that will begin at 1 p.m. Entry fee is $10 per team with monetary prizes for the winners. Interested participants can register by calling Carmen or Frank at 467-0824.

The Education Fair and Health Fair will begin at 2 p.m. Organizations in attendance include, among others, Chautauqua County Office for the Aging, Jamestown Community College, Upward Bound Program, Literacy Volunteers, Chautauqua County Health Department, New York State Troopers, Chautauqua County Red Cross, Edinboro University, Chautauqua Alcohol & Substance Abuse Council (CASAC), Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc., Jamestown Business College, Dunkirk School District Pre-K Program, and United States Army.

The dance troupe, SheWorks, from Erie, Pennsylvania, will perform as well as Pure Ink Poetry Slam from Buffalo, founder, Brandon Williamson.

Music will be rendered by R & B bands, 45.RPM from Dunkirk and Familiar Spirit from Erie, Pennsylvania.

The Gospel Service will be held on Sunday at noon. Congregations from the local churches will come together to worship the Lord in a gospel service at 1 p.m. All denominations, pastors, congregations and members of the community are invited to attend this service. The guest speaker is Minister Leonard Lannie, Jr., from New Life Harvest Church of God in Christ, Buffalo, New York.

The Gospel Fest will begin at 2 p.m. with performances by Friendship Baptist Church Choir; P. P. Mann Memorial Choir from the Open Door No. 3 Church of God in Christ, Dunkirk; musical group Reign, Dunkirk; soloist Dominque Sierra, Buffalo and soloist, Kimera Lattimore, Buffalo.

Food vendors, crafts, and informational booths will be present both days. There will be something for the entire family to enjoy and participate in.

The public is invited to attend. For more information, call 363-1102.

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