Scottsdale Observes Juneteenth On Monday

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — In April, the Scottsdale City Council established Juneteenth —June 19 — as a designated city holiday.

The holiday, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., will be celebrated on Sunday and observed on Monday in Scottsdale. In years where June 19th falls on a Saturday, the city will observe the Juneteenth holiday on a Friday.

On June 19, 1865, a Union general arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans of their freedom and that the Civil War had ended.

Scottsdale's free Community Juneteenth Celebration will take place from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday in a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces at Scottsdale Stadium, 7408 E. Osborn Road.

The event will feature music, entertainment, games and education, according to organizers.

"Commemorating Juneteenth is an important community event where we can gather in fellowship and celebration, and also an opportunity to learn and have honest conversations about our country's history with racial injustice," Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega said.

Sunday's event also will feature a presentation about breast cancer and prostate cancer facilitated by the Mayo Clinic and the Coalition of Blacks Against Cancer. The presentation will take place from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Scottsdale Stadium Banyan Room.

On Monday, the commemoration of Juneteenth will be a paid city holiday. City services available that day will follow a similar pattern to office closures for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day and Veterans' Day, according to the city.

City offices will be closed on Monday, though garbage and recycling will not be affected, the city said. Scottsdale libraries will be closed on Sunday and Monday.