Juneteenth Holiday Festivities Through The Weekend In Palm Springs

PALM SPRINGS, CA — The Palm Springs Black History Committee will host Juneteenth holiday festivities Friday and Saturday.

"Juneteenth is an important celebration and reminder about how far we have come as a nation," Jarvis Crawford, manager of the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center, said in a statement.

A King and Queen Royal Pageant will begin at 5 p.m. Friday and there will be a Juneteenth Celebration of Culture event at the same time the following day, according to a statement from the city of Palm Springs. Both events will be at the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center, 480 W. Tramview Road.

Friday's event will feature participants from preschool to high school age with categories of "Beautiful Babies," "Tiny Tots," "Jr. Miss," and "King and Queen," according to the Palm Springs Black History Committee. Saturday's event will feature live music, free food, and family-friendly activities, according to city officials.

Committee officials said this year's events will include educational and cultural activities produced by members of the Coachella Valley and outside organizations.

"Juneteenth is a federal holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States," Palm Springs city officials said in a statement. "The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, the aftermath of the Civil War, slaves were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation."