Juneteenth celebrations planned at Merced parks. Here’s where
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- McNamara Park hosts a Juneteenth event June 19–21 with food, games and swimming.
- Applegate Park features a June 21 festival led by local groups with rides and vendors.
- Juneteenth honors the 1865 news of freedom for enslaved people in Texas
What events are happening in Merced for Juneteenth?
McNamara Park: 2-6 p.m. June 19-21
A Juneteenth Celebration will be held with food, games, swimming at the public pool and a bounce house. Ron Rushing, an organizer, said it was a continuation of a long-running event at the park and hoped “people come out and learn our culture”
Applegate Park: noon-5 p.m. June 21
Positive Brothers United and the NAACP Merced County branch, will host a Juneteenth Festival with food, games, music, trivia and the Kiddieland rides in the park. Food, retail and informational booths will also be at the festival.
This is the second year the groups have hosted an event at Applegate Park. Shannon Phillips, with Positive Brothers United said they “want everyone to come out to celebrate African American culture.”
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is a federal holiday observed on June 19, which this year is a Thursday.
It commemorates when word reached enslaved people in Texas in 1865 that they had been freed. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on Jan 1, 1863.
In 2021, then-President Joe Biden signed a law to make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday.
How is Juneteenth observed?
According to the Congressional Research Service, in Texas where Juneteenth began, the day includes “community-centric events, such as parades, cookouts, prayer gatherings, historical and cultural readings, and musical performances.”
In 2022 and 2023, Juneteenth was observed with a parade in Merced.
Will businesses be closed?
Federal offices will be closed across the United States. Because the Federal Reserve observes Juneteenth, some banks may also be closed.
State, county and city offices will be open and private businesses will make their own decisions about whether to open on the day.