The Juneteenth Family Festival has become the City of St. Petersburg's signature event for celebrating freedom for African Americans.  Each year we celebrate our freedom and the end of slavery at this festival.

The next festival will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2009 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm at Campbell Park & Community Center, 601 - 14th Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33705.

The event is co-sponsored by the City of St. Petersburg.  The city has been the co-sponsor for the past seventeen years.  This is the third year the festival will be hosted by the Juneteenth of St. Petersburg, Inc.  This non-profit organization was formed on September 18, 2006 for the sole purpose of coordinating the Annual Juneteenth Family Festival.  The main purpose of the festival is to recognize achievements and to educate the public.  We make learning fun!

The festival demonstrates citizens' and city officials' commitment to preserve freedom, justice, and equality in our city.  The event is open to the public.  All ages are welcome to attend.  Vendors at the festival and other local merchants realize the economic benefits from festival attendees.  This is a special invitation for you to support Juneteenth activities!

              WHY WE CELEBRATE

Juneteenth represents the joy of freedom - the chance for a new beginning
Unless we expose the truth about the African American slave experience, Americans won't be truly free
Never must we forget our ancestors' endurance of one of the worst slave experiences inhuman history
Every American has benefited from the wealth blacks created through over 200 years of free labor and Juneteenth allows us to acknowledge that debt
To encourage every former slave-holding state to follow Texas' example and make Juneteenth a state holiday
Everyday in America, blacks are reminded of the legacy of slavery.  Juneteenth counters that by reminding us of the promise of deliverance
Even on the journey to discover who we are, Juneteenth allows us to reflect on where we've been, where we're at and where we're going as a people
Never give up hope, is the legacy our enslaved ancestors left. It was this legacy that produced black heroism in the Civil War and helped launch the modern civil rights era. It is this legacy we celebrate
To proclaim for all the world to hear, that human rights must never again become subservient to property rights
History books have only told a small part of the story; Juneteenth gives us a chance to set the record straight 

 FREEDOM IS ALWAYS WORTH CELEBRATING!
 
                         ~Author Unknown