Event of Interest
Juneteenth of Buffalo 2015
June 13, 2015 10:00 am - June 14, 2015 8:00 pm
Festival Events @ MLK Park
June 13: Praise & Worship Service - 10 to Noon. Parade begins at 11:00 A.M. Sharp. The Parade starts at Genesee & Moselle Streets. The parade will proceed down Genesee into the park. The festivities in the park will follow until 8:00 P.M.
June 14: Praise & Worship Service - 10 to Noon
The festivities in the park will follow until 8:00 P.M. Festivities include: Main Stage Entertainment, Arts & Culture Stage Entertainment, vendors, Antique Car Show, Health Pavilion, Health & Wellness Tent, Underground Railroad Tours, Children's Activity Tent, Basketball Showcase, Family Photo Booth, Chalk Walk, African Dance and Drum Lessons, Heritage Tent, Youth Activities and more.
For more information, visit the Festival Website.
About the Festival
The Juneteenth Festival of Buffalo was started in 1976 by B.U.I.L.D., a community-based organization, as a culturally relevant alternative to the country's Bicentennial Celebration. The group blocked off part of Jefferson Avenue -- the "Main Street" of Buffalo's Black community -- for a weekend celebration. Murals were painted and vendors set up booths to sell ethnic foods and wares -- entertainment and festivity were abundant. After several years, the Juneteenth Festival outgrew Jefferson Avenue. It is now held in Martin Luther King Jr. Park at the intersection of Best Street and Fillmore Avenue. Juneteenth Festival Inc. received 501(c) (3) status in 1985. In 2000, the name of the organization was changed to Juneteenth of Buffalo, Inc. to reflect its broader mission.
The Juneteenth Festival of Buffalo, NY is an important component of summertime events in the Buffalo-Niagara region.
Juneteenth of Buffalo, Inc. exists exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Staffed by volunteers, its mission is to actively preserve and promote the broad spectrum of African American heritage through educational and cultural activities that will benefit the community as a whole. Juneteenth Festival, Inc. partners with existing organizations with similar community-based objectives to help achieve its mission.