Colorado Springs, Pueblo commemorate Juneteenth with weekend of festivities
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The second annual Southern Colorado Juneteenth Festival kicks off Friday at America the Beautiful Park in Colorado Springs.
Activities during the three-day event include live musical performances, car show, fashion show, giveaways, 5K run, and farmers market.
The festival runs from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and 12 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
The event is free and open to the public. Please note that Cimino Dr. between W. Colorado Ave. and Conejos St. will be closed from 9 a.m. Friday to 10 p.m. Sunday.
The 45th annual Pueblo Juneteenth celebration kicks off Saturday at 11 a.m. at Bessemer Park. There will be more than 30 vendors and food trucks plus live music, beer garden, and networking opportunities.
Festival organizers will also be awarding scholarships to the 2022 Miss Juneteenth royalty.
In 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday and the first to be added to the list of federal holidays since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. This year, Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill declaring Juneteenth a state holiday.
The day commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and not only announced that the Civil War had ended but also that enslaved Black people were free.
