A reenergized Juneteenth Music Festival is returning to Five Points this weekend with an emphasis on crowd-pleasing entertainment.
The free event, which marks the June 19, 1865, occasion of black residents in Galveston, Texas, finally learning of the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of slavery, runs June 15-16 at 27th and Welton streets in the Five Points neighborhood, Denver’s historic center of black culture.
Besides upscale amenities such as a VIP cabana or novel competitions like an NBA2K gaming competition, the event will bring back its 3,000-person-strong parade — starting at 11 a.m. June 15 at Manual High School, 26th and Gilpin streets — the #DreamBig awards ceremony (at noon on June 15 at 25th and Welton streets), dozens of local vendors and a youth zone.
The big draw is Sunday headliner and Grammy winner Ashanti, who plays at 7 p.m. on June 16, preceded by June 15 headliner Ro James (7:45 p.m.) Each day also features free performances on a pair of stages, from dance groups and DJs to solo artists and jazz bands.
There will also be historical reenactors from Five Points’ nearby Black American West Museum roaming the event, casually but engagingly teaching attendees about underappreciated black historical figures — including a couple from Denver: Clara Brown and Madam CJ Walker.
“A lot of these stories weren’t written down like the tales of famous white pioneers, so piecing together the lives of these people can often be difficult,” said Eleise Clark-Gunnells, coordinator of the recently reformed Jane Taylor’s Re-enactors Guild, in a press statement. “Therefore research is a major part of being able to authentically portray the characters. (Through) this, and when I get dressed in my character’s costume, I feel a sense of being transported back in time.”
The event is free, but brush up on the schedule and learn more about the other attractions at juneteenthmusicfestival.com.
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