Moorestown Juneteenth To Feature Live Music, Family Fun, Black-Owned Businesses

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown is readying to celebrate Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of chattel slavery in the United States.

Moorestown's fifth-annual Juneteenth event will feature music and dance performers, poetry, community art making, a bounce house and family-friendly activities. Food and vendor offerings will be provided by some of the township's Black-owned businesses.

The event runs from 2-5 p.m. Saturday at Perkins Center for the Arts (395 Kings Hwy.). The arts center is hosting Moorestown Juneteenth in conjunction with local nonprofit Moore Unity and Curate Noir, a Black-owned gift shop located at Moorestown Mall.

"This year we will dedicate the Juneteenth planter that will feature tiles created by community members to form a beautiful design commemorating the celebration of Juneteenth in Moorestown," says the event posting.

Juneteenth commemorates the nation's last enslaved people becoming free in 1865, when Union troops reached Texas and informed them that the Civil War had ended. Celebrations date back to 1866, but Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.

Moorestown's event falls a few days before the holiday, which is annually observed on June 19.