2nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration

The City of Montevallo’s Parks & Recreation Board will host their 2nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration from 10 AM – 1 PM at George Dailey Park on Wednesday, June 19. This free-admission event will feature a program, refreshments, children’s activities, and community organizations.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in June 2021. It is a national celebration of freedom: the anniversary of June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Texas learned they had been set free for two years.

The event will kick off at 10:00 AM. Retired educators Dr. Annie McClain and Mr. Johnny McClain will be the Mistress and Master of Ceremonies of the Program. Other program participants will include Mayor Rusty Nix, Ashley Evans, youth from local churches, City Council District 2 representative Lelia Horton Mitchell, and Parks & Recreation Board Chair Pamela Smith. Special recognitions will include a posthumous honoring of longtime former Parks & Recreation Board member Johnny Holsombeck, as well as DRUM the Program, and Girl Scout Troop 205.

At 10:30 AM, event-goers will enjoy a performance led by students of DRUM the Program, a Montevallo-based cultural arts platform that provides relevant educational experiences of West African drum and dance that serves to develop social-emotional learning skills, serving youth ages 8 -16. From 10:45 AM – 11:15 AM, the audience will be invited to participate in a drum class led by master percussionist Aboubacar Sylla. Learn more on his website, https://www.syllamusic.com/.

Other community partners who will be on site include Montevallo Junior City Council, Impact Montevallo, Montevallo Legacy Project, Montevallo Main Street, Shelby County NAACP, Parnell Memorial Library, God Did It Ministries, Survivor’s Rock, Inc., the Town of Wilton, and Gamma Phi Delta Sorority Inc. Alpha Pi Chapter.