Seasonal & Holidays
Juneteenth Kicks Off In Georgia With Parade, Music Festival
Juneteenth events are plentiful in Georgia this weekend while some government offices plan to be closed Monday in observance of the holiday.
GEORGIA — Juneteenth observances in Georgia kick off with the Juneteenth Atlanta Parade and Music Festival.
The Monday, June 19, national holiday commemorates the day in 1865, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, when word finally reached the last enslaved people in Texas that the Civil War had ended, and they were free.
Also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day and Jubilee Day, Juneteenth is the oldest-known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation making it a federal holiday, the first since the addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
Find out what's happening in Across Georgiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Other Juneteenth events in Georgia include:
- Concert on the Green: A Juneteenth Celebration, Acworth
- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Phi Phi Omega’s Juneteenth Celebration, Alpharetta
- Juneteenth Flag Raising, Athens
- 19th is the New 4th (Juneteenth Celebration), Athens
- Atlanta History Center's Juneteenth Public Program, Atlanta
- Juneteenth Jumpoff, Atlanta (Underground Atlanta)
- Juneteenth ATL 5K, Atlanta
- Juneteenth Atlanta 5K Freedom Run, Atlanta
- Children’s Museum of Atlanta's Juneteenth Celebration, Atlanta
- Historic Oakland Foundation’s Juneteenth Celebration, Atlanta
- Juneteenth 5K Fund Run, Atlanta
- Juneteenth Maker’s Market, Atlanta
- SheaButter Empowerment's Juneteenth Celebration 2023, Augusta
- City's Juneteenth Festival 2023, Austell
- 2nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration, Canton
- Juneteenth Celebration on Downtown Market Street, Clarkston
- DeKalb County Juneteenth Concert, Decatur
- Service to Humanity’s 3rd Annual Juneteenth Community Festival, Douglasville
- City’s Juneteenth Celebration, Duluth
- Juneteenth 2023 Walk for Change, East Atlanta
- Atlanta NAACP Juneteenth Concert 2023, East Point
- Juneteenth Festival, Hiram
- City's Juneteenth Celebration, Johns Creek
- A Juneteenth Celebration of Unity, Kennesaw
- Kennesaw State’s Juneteenth Festival, Kennesaw
- Celebration and Music Festival Juneteenth 2023, Lawrenceville
- Juneteenth Nature Hikes, Lithia Springs
- 20th Annual Cobb County NAACP Juneteenth Celebration, Marietta
- City's Juneteenth Festival, Norcross
- City's Juneteenth Celebration, Sandy Springs
- Savannah Juneteenth Fine Arts Festival, Savannah
- Juneteenth Concert, Smyrna
- 2nd Annual Juneteenth Festival, Snellville
- City's Juneteenth Celebration, South Fulton
- Juneteenth Celebration: Music, Food and Fun, Sugar Hill
- 2nd Annual Tucker Juneteenth Jubilee, Tucker
Atlanta is one of the top destinations to celebrate Juneteenth, U.S. News & World Report said in a story earlier this month. This is due to Atlanta’s deep-rooted civil rights history, some of which is memorialized through famous landmarks such as the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta was a home to renowned civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the late U.S. representative John Lewis.
Find out what's happening in Across Georgiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Because Juneteenth is an official U.S. holiday, banks, federal offices and post offices in Georgia will be closed Monday. Many state, county and local government offices will be closed as well, including:
- All Georgia state agencies and the Georgia Capitol
- Athens-Clarke County offices
- City of Acworth
- City of Austell
- City of Brookhaven
- City of Canton
- City of Chamblee
- City of Dacula
- City of Doraville
- City of Dunwoody
- City of Lawrenceville
- City of Lithonia
- City of Marietta
- City of Savannah
- City of South Fulton
- City of Stonecrest
- City of Stone Mountain
- City of Tucker
- Cobb County offices
- Douglas County offices
- Fulton County offices
- Gwinnett County offices
Garbage and recycling pickup in Georgia will be affected for some cities and counties.
Be aware that some businesses in Georgia may be closed.
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