Multiple events are slated throughout Gainesville to celebrate the Sixth Annual Journey to Juneteenth: Florida Emancipation to National Celebration.
The city of Gainesville will hold a flag-raising ceremony and proclamation from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20, at the City Hall Plaza (200 E. University Ave.) to officially recognize Florida’s actual emancipation date – May 20, 1865. The date marks the day when enslaved Africans first learned of their freedom in Tallahassee, over two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Wednesday’s ceremony is open to the public and is just one of several city of Gainesville’s monthlong program of events through June 19, the date when communities nationwide commemorate the announcement of freedom reaching Texas in 1865.
The city of Gainesville posted a list of the monthlong events below:
- Florida Emancipation Celebration, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center (837 SE 7 Ave.), free.
- Juneteenth Film Festival, 5:15-7:15 p.m. Saturday, June 6, at The Hippodrome Cinema (25 SE 2nd Pl.), free: “Mama Bhangra” (5:30 p.m.); “Broken Notes” (5:55 p.m.); “Live Performance: Wester Joseph” (6:05 p.m.); “The Florida Chitlin’ Circuit: Where the Legends Came to Play During the Jim Crow Era” (6:35 p.m.)
- Storytime at Depot Park, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday, June 18, at Depot Park (874 SE 4th St.) play area, free
- Juneteenth: Honoring The Journey, Advancing The Dream, Noon-7 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at the Santa Fe College Blount Center (837 SE 7th Ave.), free
- Juneteenth Breakfast and Black Music Month Celebration, 7:30-9 a.m. Friday, June 19, at the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center, ticketed event ($40)
- Juneteenth National Holiday Celebration, 10 a.m.-noon, Friday, June 19, at Bo Diddley Plaza (111 E. University Ave.), free
- Freedom Fest 2026, 3-9 p.m. Saturday, June 20, at Bo Diddley Plaza (111 E. University Ave.), free
- HAHAlelujah Comedy Show, 6-8:30 p.m. Saturday, June 20, ticketed event ($30/$35)
- Tha Cookout: A Juneteenth Fatherhood Celebration, Noon-6 p.m. Sunday, June 21 (Location TBA), free with RSVP.