Juneteenth is on Monday, and Brooklyn will be celebrating throughout the long weekend. Friday will kick off the city’s 14th annual Juneteenth Celebration in the borough with an awards reception. The holiday, which was officially signed into federal law in 2021, commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned from federal troops — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted — that the Civil War had ended and they were free.
Elsewhere, the 41st Mermaid Day Parade will hit Coney Island on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, the 15th annual Punk Island Zine Fest comes to the American Veterans Memorial Pier. And while most Juneteenth events happen over the weekend, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum will hold a special event for kids on Monday.
Here’s what’s going on around town:
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Saturday June 17
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Juneteenth Food Festival
Noon to 7 p.m.
The Juneteenth Food Festival with Weeksville Heritage Center will host 29 food vendors and five non-food businesses, curated by Black-Owned Brooklyn. Enjoy barbecue, fried fish, a crab boil, red beans and rice, red drinks, and red velvet cake, as well as flavors from regions of Africa and the Caribbean. The Festival will also feature a marketplace of apparel, accessories, records, and books, all from Black brands. 158 Buffalo Avenue. Free.