INDIANAPOLIS — For those already making plans for the weekend, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is hosting its "Juneteenth Jamboree" on Saturday.
June 19th commemorates the emancipation of slavery in the United States. It was on June 19, 1865, that slaves in Galveston, Texas, finally received word from Union soldiers that President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery two years earlier.
The museum has a day full of activities planned for Juneteenth on Saturday including storytelling, music performances, visits from local artists, arts and crafts, and more.
During the museum's Juneteenth Jamboree families will get to enjoy a “summer social” feel with classic yard games and a Juneteenth-inspired menu.
Plus, the Griot Drum Ensemble will showcase authentic traditional West African and Diaspora drumming. Local artists, Ashely Nora and Nathaniel Rhodes, who worked on the Black Lives Matter mural in downtown Indianapolis, will lead art programs for families and children during the event.
Families will also be able to hear Freetown Village Singers perform music popular in Indiana’s African American communities following the end of the Civil War.
The museum said families with new or existing CollegeChoice 529 accounts who are attending Juneteenth Jamboree, will be eligible to enter a drawing for 529 scholarships. Winners will be announced the following week.