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MADISON HEIGHTS — Now in its fifth year, the Madison Heights Juneteenth Celebration will once again liven up Civic Center Park with music, food trucks, a vendor fair, a petting zoo, pony rides, climbing towers, bounce houses and more.
It will also be an opportunity to learn, with a nine-station educational exhibit that explores the history of the holiday, which commemorates the day that the last slaves were freed in the U.S.
That date was June 19, 1865, but this year’s Juneteenth Celebration will be a bit earlier. The festival takes place from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 14 at Civic Center Park, 360 W. 13 Mile Road, next to Civic Center Plaza. Admission and parking are free, with space available at both the municipal complex and Lamphere High School next door.
“Juneteenth is more than just an event. It’s a powerful reflection of our city’s commitment to honoring history and diversity, and building a more inclusive future,” said Madison Heights City Councilman Quinn Wright.
The group hosting this year’s event is Madison Heights Citizens United, a licensed 501(c)(3) nonprofit that launched in 2021 to provide a forum for discussions of racial reconciliation.
This year’s festival begins at noon with remarks by Patricia Perry, superintendent of the Madison District Public Schools, and a prayer by Dr. Benjamin Jones, senior pastor at Nehemiah’s Temple of The Apostolic Faith in Madison Heights.
There will also be a reading of General Order No. 3, read by Tony Austin, a retired U.S. Army officer who resides in Madison Heights. General Order No. 3 was the proclamation originally made by Union troops when they arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1965, informing the last slaves they were freed, several months after the end of the Civil War.
The fun then gets underway with live music at the city’s new bandshell, including acts by the Detroit Social Club Blues Band, at 12:30 p.m.; Groove Fellowship, a Detroit funk band playing at 1:15 p.m.; Denise Davis and the Motor City Sensations, playing Motown and R&B, at 2 p.m.; Kayfabe: The PPLs Band, playing covers at 2:45 p.m.; X. Alexander Durden, an award-winning actor and vocalist, with a Black Church tribute at 3:30 p.m.; and Smoke Jones and the Heart and Soul Band, playing jazz at 4:15 p.m.
This will be the first appearance at the Juneteenth Celebration by both the Detroit Social Club Blues Band, and Denise Davis and the Motor City Sensations.
There will also be plenty to eat. A food truck rally will feature African American-owned businesses selling items ranging from vegan and Caribbean cuisine to ice cream and elephant ears.
Participating businesses include Big Bo’s Grill, Mr. Creole, Chicken Headz, Eight Claws Crab Boil, Greedy Rice, Love’s Cooking & Baking, Cynt-Sational Eats (vegan), So Icy Italian Ice, Royal Treats & Eats, and Motor City Sweet Treats.
In addition, more than 40 small business vendors will be present at a nearby pop-up sale. There will also be booths for local groups such as the Madison Heights Historical Commission, the Madison Heights Human Relations and Equity Commission, and the city’s food pantry. Attendees are encouraged to donate nonperishable food items there.
A free activity area for families and children will include a 25-foot-tall climbing tower courtesy of Oakland County Parks, bounce houses, a petting zoo, pony rides, crafts and more.
And then there’s the nine-station educational exhibit, with informational displays detailing topics such as life in Africa before enslavement, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the history of Juneteenth and the Civil Rights era.
The event is paid for entirely by donations and organized by volunteers. Sponsors include the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, Oakland County Parks, DTE Foundation, Consumers Energy, Henkel, Sheetz, New Standard Cannabis, Target, and state Rep. Mike McFall, D-Hazel Park.
Event organizer Kevin Wright — who is unrelated to Quinn Wright — said he is proud of the way the community has embraced the Juneteenth Celebration.
“Our first Celebration was in 2021. We were just starting to come out of the uncertainty of COVID and it ended up raining on and off all day. Still, several hundred people showed up, and it has grown steadily since. Last year, we estimated 2,000 people attended from all over the metro Detroit area,” Kevin Wright said in an email. “We had people from Pontiac, from Saginaw, even Ohio, come to attend our Celebration.
“I think the Celebration has been very positive for Madison Heights,” he said. “Our primary goal is to spread awareness of Juneteenth and its significance in our nation’s history, but I think it’s also had a cultural and economic impact on our city. Our festival has grown into one of the largest Juneteenth Celebrations in the state of Michigan, and I think that’s a pretty amazing statement about our community.”
