Bluffton’s Juneteenth festival is back with 3 days of celebration. Here’s what to expect
The Bluffton Juneteenth Festival, commemorating the emancipation of the last enslaved people in the Confederacy in 1865, is back for a seventh year.
While Juneteenth is a federally and town-recognized holiday falling on the 19th of the month, Bluffton’s celebration is robust and will span June 17-19.
The free June 17 event, held from 5 to 9 p.m. at Bluffton Eagles Field, will kick off with Black Food Truck Friday, featuring 10 Black-owned food trucks, a DJ battle, and tournaments for Spades and cornhole.
Cuisines will range from Gullah and Caribbean-inspired food to sweet treats. To register for the Spades tournament, go to blufftonmlk.org.
Day Two, held at the Burnt Church Distillery from 4 to 10 p.m., will include free performances from artists, food and artisan vendors, kid’s activities and a drum circle. Performers include The Promise Land Band, Energy Evolution Drum Circle and gospel singer Angela Bonaparte.
Shuttles will be provided for the Saturday event, starting at 3:30 p.m. from Red Cedar Elementary School, located at 10 Box Elder St.
On June 19, tickets will be required for the 2nd annual Blues Brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m at Burnt Church Distillery. The brunch will offer a catered buffet from Melly Mell’s, mimosas and dessert bars. Tickets can be purchased through midnight Saturday, June 11, on The Bluffton MLK Observance Committee’s website.
Juneteenth’s history
While enslaved people were legally freed under the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln’s declaration did not instantly free enslaved African Americans. On June 19, 1865, 2 1/2 years later, Union soldiers, led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, landed in Galveston, Texas, with news the war had ended and the enslaved were now free.
The following year, freedmen in Texas organized a celebration of “Jubilee Day” on June 19. Over decades, the celebration grew and Black people who migrated from Texas spread word of the tradition. It’s also referred to as “Juneteenth Independence Day,” “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day.”
Over a century later, in 1979, Texas became the first state to mark Juneteenth an official holiday. Last year, two days before June 19, President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday.
In South Carolina, June 19 was designated as “Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom Day” in 2018, but lawmakers stopped short of making it a legal holiday, according to previous reporting by The State.
