Juneteenth Kicks Off In Yardley With Flag Dedication

YARDLEY — Juneteenth observances in the borough kick off on Wednesday.

The borough will hold a Juneteenth flag dedication ceremony from 6-630 p.m. on Wednesday in front of Borough Hall. The Gather Place Museum is a co-sponsor of the event.

The Wednesday, June 19, federal 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.

Meanwhile, The African American Museum of Bucks County will hold a free family-friendly festival on June 22 to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday.

AAMBC will hold the event at Mayor’s Park in Langhorne from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 22. The event will include educational speakers, live music, kid-friendly activities and games, food trucks, and more.

Because Juneteenth is an official U.S. holiday, banks, federal offices and post offices in the Yardley area will be closed Wednesday.

• Related: When Is Juneteenth? What To Know About Holiday Marking Slavery’s End