San Francisco Mayor London Breed kicked off the Juneteenth holiday season this past Friday with an announcement and flag-raising ceremony at City Hall. Juneteenth is the federal holiday that commemorates when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were notified of their freedom in 1865.
Biden made June 19 a federal holiday in 2021, but as Breed mentioned in her speech, people celebrated Black culture and history on the date for years prior. Here’s a snapshot of some upcoming public celebrations across the Bay Area this year.
San Francisco
• Juneteenth Freedom Celebration: June 18, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fillmore District, San Francisco. This celebration will span eight city blocks and feature community leaders, performances, vendors and fashion. Free.
• Freedom Day at MoAD: June 18, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission St., San Francisco. The Museum of the African Diaspora will offer free admission to their current exhibitions on Juneteenth. Free.
• SF Black Wall Street Celebration: June 19, Gilman Park, San Francisco. The third annual Black Wall Street celebration will include food vendors, the Black Millionaire Marketplace, live performances and amusement park rides for children all day. Free.
Marin County
• Marin City Juneteenth Festival: June 19, Rocky Graham Park, 800 Drake Ave., Sausalito. Marin City’s sixth Annual Juneteenth festival with kick off with live music, food and local vendor booths. This year’s theme is Looking Towards the Future. Free.
• Juneteenth Tiburon Celebration: June 17, 4 to 7 p.m., 1704 Tiburon Blvd., Tiburon. Tiburon’s celebration will commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S. with jazz, poetry readings and guest speakers including Mayor John Welner. Free.
• Mill Valley Freedom Festival: June 19, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mill Valley Downtown Plaza, 87 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. This inaugural event will celebrate Juneteenth with poetry, live music, storytelling and family-friendly games. Free.
Alameda County
• Oakland’s Juneteenth Festival: June 18-19, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Lake Merritt Amphitheatre. The tenth annual Pan African Wellness Fest on June 18 will showcase meditation, mental health resources, yoga, Tai Chi, self-defense, spoken word, interactive art installations, and more. On the 19th, party with some of the Bay’s most popular DJs. Tickets start at $5.
• Berkeley Juneteenth Festival: June 19, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Adeline Street and Alcatraz Avenue. The 35th annual Berkeley Juneteenth Festival, is focused on family fun and entertainment with live music from several jazz performers including Nate the Soulsanger. Free.
• Fallen Heroes, Rising Stars: Juneteenth through dance: June 25, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Virtual live stream. The Grown Woman Dance Collective of Oakland will have their annual dance performance celebrating strength, resilience, and joy. This year’s virtual showcase will be livestreamed is free to watch. Free.
• Hayward Outdoor Fitness Festival: June 18, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Hayward Heritage Plaza. Trap yoga, dance and work out sessions will headline a second annual Hayward Juneteenth Celebration that will take the form of a wellness festival. Free.
• Livermore Valley Arts Celebrates Juneteenth: June 18-19, Bankhead Theater and Plaza, Livermore. On June 18, radio personality and comedian Faith Alpher will speak about the state of racial justice today. On June 19, Livermore Valley Arts with with Tri-Valley for Black Lives will host a Juneteenth festival on the Bankhead Plaza. Free.
South Bay
• Juneteenth in the Streets Festival: Through June 18, San Jose. The weeklong event culminates with a street festival on June 18, complete with local food vendors, artists, musicians, businesses and community services. Tamar Braxton will headline. Free.
• Juneteenth at the Children’s Discovery Museum: June 19, 9:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m.,180 Woz Way, San Jose. The Children’s Discovery Museum with partner Silicon Valley African Film Festival will show animated shorts, host drumming workshops, and drum making classes for kids. $15.
Sonoma County
• Sonoma County Juneteenth: June 18, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, 1671 Hendley St., Santa Rosa. Join Sonoma County’s 52nd Annual MLK Juneteenth Community Festival with live entertainment, food and games. Free.
• Juneteenth Remembrance Project: June 18, 2 to 4 p.m., Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. The Remembrance Project is a community art project creates activist art banners for social justice. Participants in the Juneteenth workshop will design quilt blocks that highlight issues plaguing local or larger communities. Free.
• The Healdsburg Jazz Festival: June 19, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Healdsburg Plaza, Healdsburg. Performances will encompass a wide range of Black music and art including gospel, early blues, New Orleans jazz, funk, R&B, spoken word and modern swing music. The festival also includes educational programs and crafts for kids. Free.
Contra Costa County
• City of Richmond Juneteenth Parade and Festival: June 18, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Booker T. Anderson Center, Richmond. This year’s will be Richmond’s first in-person Juneteenth festival since 2019. The parade will start at 10 a.m. at the Booker T. Anderson Center and end at Nichol Park, where a food festival and live music awaits. Free.
• Juneteenth-Proud To Be — Partner Painting: June 19, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. 548 Contra Costa Blvd., Pleasant Hill. Celebrate Juneteenth with a night of painting led by instructors at Painting with a Twist. The whole family is welcome. $42.
Solano County
• Vallejo’s 32nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration: June 18, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr. park in Vallejo. Vallejo’s festival features 75-100 exhibitors and expects hundreds of visitors to come out and enjoy vendors selling merchandise and food, activities for children, and live entertainment. Free.