Shameka Bogan didn’t grow up celebrating Juneteenth. Raised in a small town in Alabama, she said the Fourth of July was the holiday that brought out flags, fireworks, grilled meats and family pride. 

“I had heard of Juneteenth and I kind of knew what it was but the Fourth of July was a huge thing for us,” Bogan said. “Even as a Black child growing up in the South, it was like something was missing.”

That something, she would later discover when she moved to north Minneapolis, was Juneteenth, the federal holiday marking June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Texas finally learned they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. 

Now Bogan is the co-founder of Northside Juneteenth, a nonprofit that started in 2023 organizing a weekend of events leading up to the official Juneteenth holiday. This year’s lineup includes a community movie night, a family festival and a neighborhood barbecue and swim day. 

“I want my kids to have the same experience I had with the Fourth of July, but with things that relate to our culture,” Bogan said. “We want people to come out, have fun and also walk away with something they didn’t know. Not in a traditional classroom sense but through culture and community.”

Here’s a look at Northside Juneteenth and other Juneteenth events happening across the Twin Cities:

Northside Juneteenth Celebrations

Northside Juneteenth presents a weekend of events, beginning with a Friday movie night of Pixar’s 2020 animation “Soul,” followed by a Saturday festival and a Sunday swim day at the Webber Natural Swimming Pool in celebration of both Juneteenth and Father’s Day. 

The Saturday festival includes performances by DJ IceMan, Known Mpls, Sanctuary Covenant Praise and Worship Team, Step with Soul, the TKO Drill Team, and a visit from the Minnesota Juneteenth queens. Attendees can explore a kids’ zone, food court, community health fair, more than 45 Black-owned vendors, and activities such as African face and body painting.

Juneteenth Freedom Walk, Fun Run and history tours

The Cultural Wellness Center, in collaboration with the Midtown Greenway Coalition and Lake Street Lift, will host a “Juneteenth Freedom Walk and Living History event.”

Participants will meet at 9 a.m. at Venture Bikes for a guided ride through Fort Snelling to Cepro Park. At 11:30 a.m. in Cepro Park, a reenactment will depict Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger’s arrival in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, when he announced the freedom of all enslaved people. Following the reenactment, attendees can store their bikes at Venture Bikes and walk together to Midtown Global Market, symbolizing the journey from slavery to freedom. 

At noon, the market will host “We Claimed the Soil: An Interview with Dred and Harriet Scott,” a live theater performance exploring the Scotts’ fight for freedom in Minnesota. The 1857 Supreme Court ruling that denied their citizenship and legal rights heightened the political tensions that contributed to the start of the Civil War. 

Prefer to run instead? 

The Loppet Foundation will host its first-ever “Juneteenth Fun Run,” featuring a 5K and a kids’ half-mile run for runners and walkers of all ages. Sign up here.

Want a deeper look at Black history in Minnesota?

The Minnesota Historical Society is hosting “Juneteenth at the Fort,” offering several guided tours focused on the lives of enslaved people and their connections to Fort Snelling.

Juneteenth with the Minnesota Orchestra

The Minnesota Orchestra will celebrate Juneteenth with a concert spotlighting Black musical traditions and voices. The evening begins with a pre-concert performance by Ghanaian drummer Sowah Mensah. The main concert brings together conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush, poet and songwriter Wordsmith and countertenor John Holiday, alongside the full orchestra. 

The program includes Jazz pianist James P. Johnson’s “Victory Stride,” a composition evoking the resilience of Black communities during the Harlem Renaissance; Mary D. Watkins’ “Soul of Remembrance,” a reflection on the emotional legacy of enslavement; and Michael Abels’ jazz-infused “Delights and Dances,” celebrating joy and liberation. 

Wordsmith joins the orchestra for “Freedom’s Genuine Dawn,” a spoken-word performance with composer James Lee III. The evening closes with Valerie Coleman’s “Umoja: Anthem for Unity,” a piece calling for togetherness among African diasporic communities, and Carlos Simon’s “Ring Shout,” inspired by a ritual of song, dance and prayer born among enslaved Africans in the American South. 

Soul of the Southside Festival

The fourth annual Soul of the Southside Juneteenth Festival features live music, film, art, dance and wellness programming at several south Minneapolis venues.

Events will be held at the Hook and Ladder Theater, Moon Palace Books, Arbeiter Brewing, Solcana Fitness, and the Historic Coliseum Building, with the main festival hub located at the intersection of East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue.

Live music will run from 1:30 to 8 p.m. at the Hook and Ladder Theater, both indoors and on an outdoor stage. Scheduled performers include East African rapper Fanaka Nation, reggae artist Brandyn Tulloch, Twin Cities band Soul Flower, Minneapolis-based artist Xina, and more. 

At Arbeiter Brewing, visitors will find Rondo Double Dutch, a bounce house, face painting and a KRSM radio tent with live DJ sets. Moon Palace Books will host children’s storytelling, a Black film series, a local marketplace, wellness offerings and a KFAI radio DJ booth. Solcana Fitness will provide drum and dance circles, yoga classes, and free massages.

The Coliseum Building will feature a visual art exhibit aligned with this year’s festival theme, “Family: A Revolutionary Force,” a lantern-making workshop with the Semilla Center, and an open house at the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery.

The main festival area will include an art fair, live mural painting hosted by Memorialize the Movement, and a DJ tent curated by Carbon Sound. Food vendors will offer burgers, sambusas, Caribbean dishes, plant-based juices, cheesesteaks, tacos and donuts. 

A Family Celebration at the State Capitol

The Anika Foundation will host a “Family Celebration” at the Minnesota State Capitol featuring live music, a kids pavilion, food, health and wellness resources and more. 

Date: Saturday, June 21

Juneteenth with the Rondo Center of Diverse Expressions

The Rondo Center of Diverse Expressions’s fifth annual Juneteenth celebration will feature a new exhibit that tells the history and stories of five families from the Rondo neighborhood. The program includes speeches from public officials, food vendors, exhibitors and resource tables. 

READ MORE

‘Language carries many things’: How Minnesotans are preserving six rare languages 

Indigenous band Bizhiki brings electronic powwow music to The Cedar

‘A miraculous place’: ‘The Jungle’ brings refugee camp life to Minneapolis’ Mixed Blood Theatre