Wednesday, June 11, 2008 | 3:44 p.m.
Besides having perhaps the best name for a festival, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration marking the end of slavery. Juneteenth dates back to 1865, when on June 19, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed in Galveston, with news that the war had ended and all slaves were free. This was two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
The date is recognized and celebrated all over the country; here in Las Vegas, the 8th annual Juneteenth Festival is 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Sammy Davis Jr. Plaza at Lorenzi Park (Twin Lakes Drive and W. Washington Avenue), with music by the Zap Band, Calloway Brothers, Cherrelle, and Najee. The free event will also offer guest speakers, live entertainment and family-oriented fun, prizes, exhibitor booths, traditional soul food, face painting and children's activities.
The Las Vegas Juneteenth Committee, which organized the event, was formed as an extension of the Anthony L. Pollard Foundation, a charitable organization whose goal is to enrich the lives of community youth by providing educational assistance and opportunities that would not otherwise be available.
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