The Juneteenth Celebration Committee will be sponsoring the 26th annual Juneteenth Celebration to be held in the city of Dunkirk. Celebration days for this year will be Friday to Sunday, June 19, at Memorial Park, Lake Shore Drive West. The theme for Juneteenth 2022 is “Together We Can Create Change.”

In 1996, citizens of the Dunkirk-Fredonia community co-sponsored the first Juneteenth Celebration to be observed in Chautauqua County. The main goal of this celebration is to commemorate and perpetuate the heritage, culture and contributions of African Americans.

Juneteenth 2022 will kick off Friday night with the showing of the movie “A Wrinkle in Time” by Josh LaTona of El Rigby Theatre. “A Wrinkle in Time” is a science fantasy adventure film that includes, among others, the cast of Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Michael Pena.

Saturday, June 18, will begin with opening ceremonies at noon at the park with a special Remembrance Celebration honoring all family members who have passed away, the Buffalo 10, and Uvalde, Texas, students and teachers who lost their lives in the May 24 school shooting. This three-day Juneteenth celebration will be dedicated to families. All activities and events have been planned so that family and community members can come together to celebrate unity.

There will be many activities for all members of the family including: Ice cream eating contest, face/hand painting, balloon animals, children’s crafts, games, sand art, party bouncers, Father’s Day competition, and a Juneteenth Basket Raffle. Through the generous donations of community members “See Me” will once again be giving books and games away to all children.

aEveryone is encouraged to come out both days and support the many vendors that will include food, crafts, jewelry, purses, clothes, and much more.

Other organizations in attendance will be League of Women Voters, Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene, Upward Bound Program and Jamestown Community College.

Small Town, BIG Minds under the leadership of A. J. Morales and Evon Hernandez will run a Cornhole tournament.

Sunday will include “Church in the Park” with special guest speaker, Elder Leonard Lannie, Pastor of New Life Harvest Church of God in Christ, Buffalo. Music entertainment on Sunday will include M.O.D. (Men of Distinction) and Friends of OD3, Dunkirk, New York, and New Life Harvest Praise and Worship Team.

All are invited and welcomed to attend this freedom celebration.