Juneteenth in New York. (Getty)
Four years after being officially recognized as a national holiday, Juneteenth will be celebrated throughout New York City with an expansive lineup of events to commemorate June 19, 1865 — the date when U.S. Army soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed into law.
Here are some of the Juneteenth events happening throughout the city in 2025:
Thursday, June 19
Juneteenth Food Festival
Juneteenth Food Festival. (Curt Saunders for Black-Owned Brooklyn)
Foodies will converge for the fourth annual festival featuring local businesses in a family-friendly cultural marketplace with performances, food demos, dance workshops and sounds from DJ Spinna. Nearly 30 local Black food businesses, including The Crabby Shack, Black Rican Vegan and Biscuits N Thangs, are offering diverse culinary concepts. Plenty of vegan options will be available, too.
A collaboration between Black-Owned Brooklyn and Weeksville Heritage Center, it will include an array of cuisine from the American South alongside flavors from the Caribbean, Africa and Latin America. It’s no coincidence that the event is happening on sacred ground — historic Weeksville, the site of one of the largest free Black communities in the U.S. before the Civil War.
“There aren’t enough food festivals showcasing Black culture, and we’re happy to help fill the void,” Black-Owned Brooklyn co-founder Cynthia Gordy Giwa told the Daily News. “Juneteenth is the perfect occasion, and Brooklyn is the perfect place to celebrate our rich food traditions.”
Free. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday at Weeksville Heritage Center, 158 Buffalo Ave in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth
Jon Michael Hill and Kara Young. (Getty)
Kara Young and Jon Michael Hill, stars of this year’s Tony-winning play “Purpose,” will host a free outdoor concert — rain or shine — featuring performances by cast members from current productions such as “Boop! The Musical,” “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Gypsy” and “Hell’s Kitchen.” There will also be the return of the kids of “Young Gifted and Broadway.”
The 90-minute program will honor Tony winner André De Shields with its Juneteenth Legacy Award.
Free, 11 a.m. at Father Duffy Square in Times Square.
Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s Juneteenth Celebration
Juneteenth at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. (Joshua Miller / Brooklyn Children’s Museum)
Brooklyn Children’s Museum is partnering with several community organizations for a family-friendly event themed “Still We Rise” in tribute to Maya Angelou’s powerful poem of resilience and determination. There will be live performances from the Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir and musical duo Red Sahara, a line dance workshop led by STooPS, and a special bookmaking and quilting project inspired by the historic African American quilting community of Gee’s Bend.
“Our annual Juneteenth celebration in Brower Park is exactly what community looks like – people learning together, sharing experiences, and creating the kind of connections that make our neighborhood stronger,” Brooklyn Children’s Museum CEO Atiba T. Edwards said.
Free. 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. at the Shirley Chisholm Circle in Brower Park in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
3rd Annual Juneteenth in the Park
Ghost Note. (Photo by Jan Van Hecke)
With a nod to Juneteenth’s Texas origins, this year’s BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! event in Prospect Park will feature talent from the Lone Star State.
Dallas-based funk, hip hop and jazz fusion group Ghost-Note (headed by Snarky Puppy’s Grammy–winning duo Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werthwill) is set to light up the stage after DJ Flash Gordon Parks — an ethnomusicologist hailing from Houston — kick it off with a set inspired by Houston’s deep musical legacy of Black music.
There will also be dramatized readings from the likes of James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, and Langston Hughes recited by Alexis Floyd, Harron Atkins, and Russell G. Jones.
Free. 6 p.m. on Thursday at Lena Horne Bandshell, 141 Prospect Park West in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
A Juneteenth Celebration with Black Theatre United
LaChanze, Tamara Tunie and Wendell Pierce. (Getty)
As part of Lincoln Center’s just launched Summer for the City series, Broadway and theater royalty will show up and show out for the campus’s fifth annual campus-wide Juneteenth celebration. Conceived by Black Theatre United founders Michael McElroy and Lisa Dawn Cave, the Schele Williams-directed concert will “highlight African American music weaving its evolution through the progression of Juneteenth status as a national holiday today.”
Hosted by “Beyond The Gates” star Tamara Tunie, with appearances by 2024 Tony award-winner LaChanze and “Elsbeth” star Wendell Pierce, the show will include movement pieces created by Ayodele Casel, Darrell Grand Moultrie, spoken word performed by Mel Chanté, and music from Broadway Inspirational Voices, Matthew Whitaker, Norm Lewis, Capathia Jenkins, Darius de Haas, Brian Stokes Mitchell, J. Harrison Ghee and vocal powerhouse Lillias White.
Free. 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday at Damrosch Park, Amsterdam Ave. and W. 62nd St. in Manhattan.
Celebrate Juneteenth 2025
Edge School of the Arts dancers on Juneteenth 2023. (Photo by Christos Katsiaouni)
The Museum will honor Juneteenth with activities including a gallery scavenger hunt, dance performances by Edge School of the Arts and music by The Entrfied Band. There will also be a workshop organized by the Louis Armstrong House Museum and themed activities in the Museum’s Media Game Lab.
Some events are free, some are included with museum admission. 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday at Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Ave. in Astoria, Queens.
“Paris Blues”
Paul Newman, Diahann Carroll and Sidney Poitier in “Paris Blues” (1961). (Photo by FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images)
Classic movie fans and jazz music aficionados will get a special treat when the 1961 drama “Paris Blues” shows on the big screen. Directed by Martin Ritt and set in the jazz club scene of 1960s Paris, the film stars Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Diahann Carroll, Joanne Woodward and jazz great Louis Armstrong.
Following the screening there will be a conversation with historian Hyland Harris about Armstrong’s film performances, featuring a presentation of archival materials. (The film will also be shown for free on Saturday at 1 p.m.)
Free with museum admission. 4 p.m. on Thursday at Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Avenue in Astoria, Queens.
The Tune Up, a Juneteenth Celebration
Suzan-Lori Parks. (Getty)
Tribeca’s Flea Theater is offering public performances this week throughout the city for its fifth annual celebration. On Juneteenth, award-winning artistic director Niegel Smith tapped Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Suzan-Lori Parks to perform alongside her band, The Joyful Noise, to showcase original songwriting and new storytelling.
“This is a sip-your-drink, make-new-friends, dance-in-the-aisles kind of evening that traffics in big sounds and bold ideas, booty-shaking, and statement-making,” the description reads.
Free. 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, 1887 Broadway in Manhattan.
Juneteenth at the Guggenheim with Rad(ical) Poets
The Guggenheim’s Late Shift on Thursday night will honor Juneteenth through poetry, movement, and reflection. (Jason Lowrie / BFA.com)
As part of the circular-shaped landmark’s June Late Shift evening programming, the Guggenheim partnered with the Bronx-based DreamYard Project to host an event of poetry readings and live performances spotlighting the organization’s Rad(ical) Poetry Consortium Fellows. Poets and writers to be featured on the lineup include Alondra Uribe, Carlina Duan, Dena Igusti, Diego Báez, Ellen Hagan, Charlotte Abotsi, e.jin and Andy Powell.
The collaboration coincides with the recently launched Rashid Johnson solo exhibition, “A Poem for Deep Thinkers.”
$30, with discounts available. 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan
Comedy and Candidates
Miss Jones (left), Jumaane Williams (inset) and Rob Stapleton (right). (Courtesy of Tarsha Jones; Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News; Getty)
“Jonesy in the Morning” star Miss Jones is hosting a night of heightened hilarity for the holiday at Comedy In Harlem Manhattan’s only Black-owned comedy club.
The trailblazing broadcaster, singer and author is not only bringing the funny — with comedians such as Shawn Harvey, Stephani K, Onika and Rob Stapleton —she also has politicos like New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Brooklyn borough president candidate Khari Edwards on deck.
$25, Doors open at 6 p.m. at Comedy In Harlem, 750A St.Nicholas Ave. in Harlem, Manhattan.
Friday, June 20
Unapologetic: Our Celebration of Queer Black Love
New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. (Michael Gulcicek)
As part of the Cathedral’s Pride Month programming, the event will honor the intersection of Black and queer identities with members of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus sharing personal stories, singing solos, and performing songs about the meaning of Juneteenth. Themes of freedom, resilience, and the experiences of the Black LGBTQIA+ community will be highlighted throughout.
Free, with reservations. 8 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John The Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan
Sat. June 21
The Soapbox Presents “We Outside: A Brooklyn Juneteenth, Vol. III”
“We Outside: A Brooklyn Juneteenth” (Anthony Artis / Courtesy of 651 ARTS)
Brooklyn’s 651 ARTS will join forces with The Soapbox Presents outdoor concert series for the fifth year of programming featuring marching bands, majorette squads, a step show, spoken word workshops and signature “stoop sessions.”
Organizers say this year’s theme, “We Outside…” will center around the concept of “building coalitions to build community — which becomes critically important in the midst of the current climate in the country.”
Free. 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Saturday at The Plaza at 300 Ashland/85 Flatbush Ave. in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
2025 Juneteenth Jubilee
Juneteenth at the Brooklyn Museum in 2024. (Photo by Kolin Mendez)
For this year’s festivities, the Brooklyn Museum offers up an afternoon of activities and music celebrating self-expression, community, and Black liberation and creativity.
Music from the Bruce Edwards Trio with Alisa Ohri will be performed, and a stage will be set for a poetry open mic. SoulSummit is tapped to mix sets and there will also be a special tour of the new exhibit, “Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch” — the first museum examination of the under-recognized and groundbreaking sculptor known for her work in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s.
Free with museum admission. 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday at Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights.
https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/06/18/juneteenth-2025-roundup-nyc/