Augusta fairgrounds holds ninth annual Juneteenth Festival

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – On Thursday’s federal holiday, many are heading out to a Juneteenth celebration in Augusta at the fairgrounds.

Augusta’s ninth annual Juneteenth Festival is taking place on Thursday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is being hosted by Band of Brothers Augusta.

It’s a commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S. and celebrates African American culture, and for many, not just another day off.

Attendees and officials wanted to emphasize why we celebrate the holiday.

”Can you imagine someone coming up to you and letting you know that you are free? I mean, I’m just sure they was in pure jubilee. And so, we want to keep that spirit up. That’s why I’m here,” said Valente Fanning, Washington-Wilkes Black History Advisory Commission.

“It’s important to shine light on that date, shine light on why it’s important and why we actually celebrate it, as well as having a good time,” said Chavis Lawrence, vice president, Band of Brothers.

“You just reflect on where you came from, so that you can move forward to your future,” said Patrick Frazier, attended the festival.

The Festival is being held at the Augusta Exchange Club Fairgrounds with food, exhibits and music, all while bringing the community together and teaching everyone what Juneteenth is about.

“I have the freedom to start this business as a local entrepreneur. You know, those people then, they did their due diligence, and they sacrificed their lives and everything to allow me to be free to do this,” said Brig Westmoreland, Elite Shaken Lemonade.

Nearly a decade ago, the founder of the festival, Travis Wright, organized the festival for more reasons than one.

“Everybody knows about the 4th of July. But this is our Freedom Day in 1863. Everyone knows Abraham Lincoln; he freed the slaves through the Emancipation Proclamation, but it took that word two whole years to travel all the way to Galveston, Texas, where the last group of slaves were freed in 1865. And that is what we celebrate,” said Wright.

Fanning came all the way from Washington County to celebrate.

“I came out here because we’re actually planning our Juneteenth celebration at Washington, Ga on the 21st. And so, in the spirit of Juneteenth, my birthday was actually yesterday. I just turned 35, and so this is part of my birthday celebration as well as Juneteenth, because I wanted to see how other cities do their Juneteenth celebration. And also, just to support our beautiful Augusta,” said Fanning.

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