The second annual Juneteenth celebration at the Henderson Tobacco Warehouse will take place Sunday, June 19 and organizers are planning for a triple play that day to honor churches, fathers and the day when the last enslaved people got news of their freedom in 1865.

Alex Green, vice president and director of operations at Acquest Group, said several area churches and other nonprofit agencies have teamed up for a joint outdoor worship service they’re calling “Worship in the Streets.”

There will be live gospel music, praise dancers and choral performances as well as children’s activities such as a bounce house and face painting for the community to enjoy between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Green told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s TownTalk.

Acquest Group is developing the tobacco warehouse project, located at 203 Zene St. and Green said she’s excited to bring back the Juneteenth celebration to the area.

“We’ve got a lot of local partners that we’re working with…celebrating Black fatherhood and families,” she said of the Sunday event. ReBuild Communities Inc. will be hosting their annual fashion show as part of the celebration, and the non-profit Manhood is helping with the giveaways and prizes. “Manhood is focused on trying to provide services to young men in the community, especially in the areas of counseling and mental health.

“We’re really excited to showcase them and partner with them,” Green said.

In addition to celebrating families and Black fatherhood, Green said Sunday’s celebration also will include a focus on the church. Among the churches partnering for the event are A Place of Deliverance, Holy Temple Church, Greater Zion United Church and Kesler Temple AME Zion Church.

Green also said the work of the Flint Hill Kittrell Vance Community Development Corp. has been instrumental in the work at the Zene Street project, which is designed for mixed-use retail and office space.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Green said, “but we’re really close to starting construction soon.”

Acquest Group, a commercial and residential development company, set its sights on Henderson in 2014 with plans to transform the former tobacco warehouse at 203 Zene St. into a hub of community activity.

“We see so much potential… and so many good people trying to work for the community and dedicating their lives to the betterment of this community,”

Green added.

“It’s always community first. It’s always people first,” she said.

 

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