The third annual Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom will be Saturday, June 22, at Dr. A. L. Lott Sportsplex in Brookhaven.

Beginning with the Freedom Parade at noon, the day will be filled with food, fun and music, and conclude with a fireworks show at 8:30 p.m.

Aa’Keela & The Beats, a group of musical performers based in Meridian who have become lo-cal favorites, will provide entertainment from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. Other performances will begin at 3 p.m., featuring local artists Mookie U-Nik, ZVN, Damonte, and DJBlackboy601.

Parade participants must register with Valerie Moore at 601-695-0556. The $10-per vehicle fee will go for improvements at the Sportsplex. All families, individuals, cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs and golf carts are invited to be a part. Lineup will be at 11 a.m. at the old Piggly Wiggly parking lot on West Monticello Street. The parade will conclude at the Sportsplex, 918 Egypt Circle.

Vendors can still register at no cost with Chancey Armstrong at 601-754-2866, but space is limited. Attendees are encouraged to bring tents, chairs, grills, etc., but tailgating space is also limited. 

“There will be food trucks, inflatables for children,” said Moore. “Bring your lawn chairs, enjoy the food, performances, and some local shopping.”

This is the third year for the community celebration organized and sponsored by Alderman Shannon Moore and the A.L. Lott Sportsplex. 

On Jan. 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, declaring all enslaved people in the Confederate States as legally free. The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution made freedom from slavery national law in 1865.

It was in June of that same year that more than 250,000 slaves in Texas found out they had been freed by law more than two years prior. The date of June 19, when Union troops arrived in the area and made the law known, became called “Juneteenth” and marks the day of freedom celebration still, 158 years later.

Since 2010, Mississippi has recognized June 19 as a state holiday.

“This event is to bring the community out and celebrate together and have a good time,” Valerie Moore said.