Lexington is celebrating Juneteenth with events across the city starting this weekend.
The holiday is celebrated June 19, but the city is planning events from June 14 through June 21.
2025 marks Juneteenth’s fifth year as a national holiday, celebrating the ending of slavery in the United States. Lexington began its own local celebrations much earlier, starting in 2005.
Historian Yvonne Giles says Lexington was an early adopter of Juneteenth.
“For African Cemetery No. 2, we've been doing it since 2005. We just started out thinking there was a movement to make Juneteenth a national holiday with more states being involved, and we got on board, and have stayed on board,” Giles said.
The series of events will start Saturday with the Juneteenth Jubillee, Lexington’s oldest such celebration hosted at African Cemetery No. 2.
“This year, our program will be about our national flag, how it has changed over the years, and every year, every year, I learn more than I ever knew,” Giles said.
The Wise Guys Urban Uplift Foundation is also hosting a celebration Sunday at Douglass Park.
Events on Juneteenth include a ribbon-cutting event for the newly renovated Cadentown Rosenwald School and a music and dance event at the Lyric Theater.
A celebration by the Kentucky U.S. Freedmen Coalition at Charles Young Park, and the Soulteenth Fest at Moondance Ampitheater will both be held on the 21st.
