Pittsburgh Juneteenth celebration sees peaceful end after Market Square fight prompts chaperone policy

The 2026 Juneteenth celebration in downtown Pittsburgh came to an end Sunday with no additional major issues reported following the large group of juveniles fighting Friday night in Market Square.

The group of 40-50 juveniles fighting toward the end of Friday’s celebrations led to police using pepper spray and clearing the square, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety.

Event organizer William “B” Marshall responded with a chaperone policy starting Saturday, requiring kids to be joined by adults in Market Square.

Pittsburgh Public Safety told KDKA-TV that they don’t know of any issues with groups of kids on Saturday evening, and Marshall called the policy—and the event—a success.

“It’s been fantastic,” Marshall said. “We’re getting a lot of parents coming down with their children. We don’t want to stop anybody from coming and enjoying some Juneteenth.”

KDKA-TV still saw groups of kids unaccompanied in the square on Sunday, but none were disruptive. Marshall said they didn’t have to remove any kids from the square, which had programming aimed at older adults.

“I’ve been seeing a lot of adults. I haven’t seen a lot of groups of kids,” said Zhane Wilds, a mother who brought her kids to the celebrations on Sunday. “Everybody’s getting along, which is great.”

A big crowd gathered in Point State Park for an evening of music, helping to wrap up another year of Juneteenth in Pittsburgh.

“It’s been a vibe down here. Everything is going very good,” Wilds said.

Other attendees said the event was nice and fun.

“The festival has been great, we’ve had great weather, people are happy, and I’m happy,” Marshall said.

It’s hard to say if the lack of fights was directly due to the police. Marshall said that overall, there weren’t too many issues.

Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Sheldon Williams told KDKA-TV on Saturday that they weren’t enforcing this chaperone policy, that it was Marshall’s idea, but they would be on standby inside the square in case they needed to step in.

At the same time, Williams said they support the idea and Marshall’s efforts.

Looking ahead to next year, Marshall said they plan to kick off the celebration with an indoor performance from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

More than 150 vendors took part in the event this year.