Buffalo’s 49th 19th Birthday Celebration is this weekend

Buffalo is a very vibrant and diverse city and home to one of the largest and oldest Juneteenth celebrations.

2024 marks the 49th year that the Juneteenth Festival of Buffalo, Inc. has held its Eastern Juneteenth Celebration and Parade Buffalo.

The global COVID-19 pandemic made the festival virtual in 2020 and 2021, but after two years of digital hijacking that the entire world took, it became an in-person celebration again in 2022. Each year since, it has become even more bigger than the previous year.

What is Juneteenth?

According to the Juneteenth Festival of Buffalo website, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. According to historical records, the celebration began on June 19, 1865, the day Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army entered Galveston, Texas, for the final execution of the Emancipation Proclamation .

READ MORE: What is Juneteenth and why you should celebrate it

The word Juneteenth itself is a portmanteau, or combination, of the words June and nineteenth, which is the day it is generally celebrated.

What happens at the 49th annual Juneteenth celebration in Buffalo?

This year’s celebration began on Friday, June 7, 2024, when the Juneteenth Committee and the City of Buffalo raised the African American Pride Flag in Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo.

Then, starting Saturday June 8, 2024, the monthly activities are called Sankofa Days. Sankofa is a Swahili term which means it’s good to go back to our past and bring out the wisdom of our ancestors in our present. Events held during Sankofa Days include a variety of activities intended to help engage the community in cultural arts, sciences and various financial and empowerment skills.

The crown jewel of the entire celebration is the Grand Parade and Festival which will take place on Saturday, June 17, 2023, starting at 10 a.m. This time is new since the festival and parade in previous years started at 11 a.m.

The parade begins on Genesee Street at Moselle Street, directly across from Juneteenth headquarters, and goes down the street about a mile until entering MLK Park at Fillmore Avenue and Best Street.

From there, a huge street festival takes place for the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday to celebrate the end of American slavery. The festival will feature all kinds of food, music, community resources, performances and historical information about our heritage.

If you would like to get more involved in this year’s activities, the full list is on the Juneteenth of Buffalo website.

Different ways to celebrate Juneteenth all year round