Who: Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks
What: Juneteenth Festival
When: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Where: Vance County Courthouse Square from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and the fireworks show at dusk at Fox Pond Park
Additional Details: The festival is the 6th annual event here. It includes music, food trucks, vendors, bingo, games for kids, a raffle and live performances downtown. And for the fireworks show at Fox Pond, there is a shuttle starting at 7 p.m.
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 – June 19, 1865 – when Union troops reached Galveston, TX and announced the news to the last enslaved people in the country.
The Civil War had ended, the Emancipation Proclamation issued and Union troops traveled widely throughout the Confederacy spreading the word that slavery was over and enslaved people were free.
But that news didn’t make it to Texas until June 19, 1865 – hence the name Juneteenth.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.
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