City of Austin

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department invites the community to celebrate Juneteenth at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, 1165 Angelina Street, on Saturday, June 16, 2012; 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. On January 1, 1863 President Lincoln, under the Emancipation Proclamation, declared all slaves living in states under rebellion, forever free.  The Juneteenth celebration is in commemoration of June 19,1865, when General Gordon Granger, the commander of U.S. troops in Texas, arrived in Galveston Texas and read General Order 3 proclaiming that all slaves were free.   This year’s celebration will feature a marketplace, live music, games, food, and history.  Characters in historical dress from this period will greet visitors and share Emancipation Proclamation era stories.  There will be performances from the Carver African Drum Class, and Frenesi.  The Theater Action Project will offer self-portrait art instruction, Capital Metro is providing a bus which will be decorated bythe public, and the Austin Fire Department will be providing children with an educational tour of a fire engine.