Propelled in large part by last year's Black Lives Matter protests following the murders of George Floyd and other unarmed Black Americans killed by white police officers, the Washington Legislature finally passed a measure declaring Juneteenth (Sat June 19) an official state holiday, giving extra weight to the anniversary that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States in 1865 and the date when the last enslaved people received the news of the Emancipation Proclamation.

See the virtual and in-person happenings below, from the annual We Out Here Past Event Like List festival to the Museum of History & Industry's pop-up exhibition The Unspoken Truths Past Event Like List , and find more events on our complete Juneteenth calendar. 

Events are online unless otherwise noted.

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Jump to: Music & Performance | Lectures & Storytelling | Community | Food & Drink | Visual Art

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MUSIC & PERFORMANCE

Blu Meadows Trio Past Event Like List
Head to the backyard of the Central District Black arts space (which recently resumed its drop-in hours!) on Juneteenth for a live performance from Seattle-based "consciousness rock" trio Blu Meadows. Those over 21 can enjoy boozy beverages for purchase from Erudite & Stone. 
Wa Na Wari, Central District (Sat June 19)

BroHamm Past Event Like List
The members of R&B trio BroHamm will take the virtual stage as part of Snohomish County's series of Juneteenth events. 
(Thurs June 17)

Martial Arts Movement Piece: 'Black' - Ms. Carter Past Event Like List
Watch on Vimeo as Cornish grad Jeanne Misha Martinez Carter presents her latest martial arts movement piece, Black, which honors her mixed African American, Hispanic, and Native American heritage.
(Wed June 16)

STG Presents: Elevate Past Event Like List
This program of spoken-word performances with BIPOC poets will carry a theme of historical events that highlight systemic racism, as well as more recent events suggesting a mass challenge of those ingrained ideologies. 
(Wed June 16)

Two Towns for a Party - Juneteenth Above All - A Day Before Summer – One Party For All Past Event Like List
In honor of Juneteenth, enjoy two back-to-back sets from Seattle-rooted jazz players Dawn Clement (once deemed "Seattle’s jazz Wonder Woman" in the Seattle Times, logging on from Denver) and Ryan Burns (whose 2020 release Postponed Parade was nominated for a Golden Ear Award).
(Sat June 19)

LECTURES & STORYTELLING

1619: Resistance / Resilience / Remembrance Past Event Like List
Drawing from artifacts featured in the American History Traveling Museum exhibition The Unspoken Truths Past Event Like List (which will be displayed at MoHAI this weekend only), Delbert Richardson will share his own ancestors' stories of resistance during Jim Crow and periods of American chattel slavery.
(Sat June 19)

Juneteenth Family Story Time Past Event Like List
Courtney Clark will read from Camille Yarbrough's 1979 children's book Cornrows, which focuses on a tender moment centering the African heritage of multiple generations of Black American women, at this King County Library event. Stay logged on afterward for a poetry reading by Kiana Davis and live music by composer and pianist Joe Williams.
(Tues June 15)

Silver Kite Arts: Celebrating Juneteenth with Poetry Past Event Like List
Bring a pen and paper (or open your favorite digital writing platform) for this Juneteenth poetry workshop with Seattle-born, NYC-based writer AvionaCreatrix Rodriguez Brown, who will impart wisdom on "[defining] poetry as a healing passage of oneself from the inside to the outside."
(Sat June 19)

COMMUNITY

City Proclamations on Juneteenth Past Event Like List
The mayors of Edmonds, Marysville, Monroe, and Mukilteo will read proclamations establishing Juneteenth as an official state holiday.
(Sat June 19)

Juneteenth Celebration: Drive-Thru Event and Online Presentation and Red Velvet Cake Past Event Like List
Learn about the history and traditions of Juneteenth, from its Texas origins to its present-day Miss Juneteenth pageants, while you tuck into a slice of red velvet cake. You also have the option of skipping the cake and the drive-in and tuning in to the virtual presentation (1-2 pm) instead. 
Aegis Living, Lynnwood (Fri June 18)

#Juneteenth21 Freedom March & People's Assembly Past Event Like List
King County Equity Now and other local organizations will represent at this march and people's assembly on Juneteenth.
23rd and Madison, Central District June 19-20)

Juneteenth - Journeys of Remembrance Celebration
Past Event Like List Local artists Courtney Clark, Kiana Davis, Damien Geter, Black Stax, and Joe Williams will guide this Juneteenth storytelling program. 
(Sat June 19)

Juneteenth Week Past Event Like List
Celebrate Black history and culture with a week of online activities hosted by the Northwest African American Museum, including a field day jamboree at Judkins Park (Fri June 19, 12-6 pm). 
(Through June 21)

We Out Here Past Event Like List
Seattle's Black community—including artists, elders, and organizers—will be celebrated at this resource-sharing festival dedicated to raising visibility, making connections, and offering help. This year's mix of virtual and in-person happenings includes an all-day festival at Othello Park (Sat June 19, 11 am-5 pm) promising live sets from DJ Remi, Logic Amen, and DJ MIXX America; a twerk workshop with Tricia Diamond; and a performance from the Washington Diamonds Drill Team & Drumline. 
Various locations and online (June 18-20)

FOOD & DRINK

Celebrating Juneteenth – Inclusivity in the Coffee Industry Event Past Event Like List
The Seattle Good Business Network and SGB member Edward McFields, owner of NoirePack Inc., will link up with Boon Boona Coffee's Efrem Fesaha and Campfire Coffee Co's Quincy Henry for a chat on the barriers of entry for minorities in the coffee business, also promising to dish out advice to BIPOC entrepreneurs looking to pursue a career in the coffee industry.
(Wed June 16)

Create a Juneteenth Picnic Past Event Like List
Chef Matt Lewis of Where Ya At Matt Like List  will inspire your Juneteenth picnic with his expert assemblage of snacks. He'll also share stories from his childhood growing up in New Orleans and discuss the importance of Juneteenth.
(Fri June 18)

Jackson's Catfish Corner Grand Opening Past Event Like List
On Juneteenth, the beloved Black-owned restaurant Jackson's Catfish Corner will mark its long-awaited return to the Central District with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a day of festivities, including speeches from guest speakers, food, live music from the Marshall Law Band, and an appearance from Jenny Durkan.
Jackson's Catfish Corner, Central District (Sat June 19)

Scuttlebutt Brewery - Juneteenth Give Back Friday Past Event Like List
Get your pre-Juneteenth nourishment from a pint of beer ($2 cheaper than usual) and a bowl of fresh fish and fixings from the Poke Food Truck. 
Scuttlebutt Brewery Taproom, Everett (Fri June 18)

VISUAL ART

Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem Past Event Like List
Nearly 80 artworks created by Black artists between the 1920s to the present, from Barkley Hendricks to Lorna Simpson to Alma Thomas, are on display courtesy of the American Federation of Arts and the Studio Museum in Harlem. 
Frye Art Museum, First Hill (through Aug 15)

Juneteenth: Stories of Migration with Fabric Art Past Event Like List
Listen in as world-renowned fabric artist Alice Beasley explains how her latest piece, Blood Line, relates to the Black American experience.
(Wed June 16)

The Unspoken Truths Past Event Like List
Educator Delbert Richardson and his American History Traveling Museum exhibition The Unspoken Truths will come to town for one weekend only. Through artifacts and storyboards, the display offers a look at the Jim Crow South and periods of chattel slavery in the U.S. through an Afrocentric lens. 
Museum of History & Industry, South Lake Union (June 18-21)