DIVERSE VOICES: A Juneteenth Celebration
June 17-25, 2023 | DIVERSE VOICES: A Juneteenth Celebration
Join the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts & Culture, Washington Revels, and communities around the Washington D.C. metropolitan area for a festive week celebrating freedom! From June 17-25, Diverse Voices: A Juneteenth Celebration, the DMV’s first regional Juneteenth festival, will commemorate the end of slavery in America and honor the rich history of the Civil Rights era, particularly the desegregation of the former Glen Echo Amusement Park in Montgomery County. These events will recognize how the span of history from abolition to Civil Rights has shaped American history, our communities and culture, and how that history helped to transform a segregated amusement park into an arts destination and green space that is open to all.
The festival will feature concerts, virtual and in-person songfests, historical discussions and educational activities, a film preview, community sings, local events, storytelling, and performances by local, regional, and internationally known artists, and Washington Revels’ performance ensembles. On June 25 (Montgomery County Heritage Days), the week ends with a family-friendly FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM, starting with a symbolic procession into Glen Echo Park and Carousel ride, as well as a concert featuring legendary, GRAMMY Award-nominated vocal ensemble, Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Why do we celebrate Juneteenth? >> | Directions and Parking >> | Park Map >> | Festival of Freedom >>
SATURDAY, June 17th, Kensington's 2nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration
Noon to 4pm | St. Paul Park, 10564 St. Paul Street, Kensington, MD
An afternoon of fun educational activities for all ages and a commitment to building a better future together. Includes a performance by Washington Revels' Jubilee Voices.
Co-sponsored by the Town of Kensington, the Racial Justice Committee, and Kensington's Historical Society
DAILY, June 18th-25th, The Daily Antidote of Song — "Juneteenth Week"
Noon | Zoom & Facebook
Get a musical boost every day at noon! Artists will offer songs of freedom and social justice—and the stories behind them. Live from Glen Echo Park, June 24 & 25! Join here >>
Presented by Carpe Diem Arts
MONDAY, June 19th, Singing the Journey: Juneteenth Joy
2pm | Market Square, 301 King Street, Alexandria, VA
Washington Revels Jubilee Voices will present traditional African American music and spoken word that traces the history of African Americans from enslavement to freedom.
Presented by the Office of Historic Alexandria
Co-sponsored by Washington Revels and the Alexandria Black History Museum
TUESDAY, June 20th, Voices of History & Hope: The Past and Future of Juneteenth in Montgomery County
7:00pm | Zoom
“Voices of History and Hope: The Past and Future of Juneteenth in Montgomery County” brings together a panel of local leaders – founder Jamie Boston (Kensington Juneteenth Celebration); historian Tony Cohen (Button Farm); filmmaker Jason Green (Finding Freedom); and music director Andrea Blackford (Washington Revels’ Jubilee Voices) – to discuss their work to preserve and promote Montgomery County's African American history through community, agriculture, film, and the arts. Learn what motivated each panelist to pursue and realize their projects and how the national recognition of Juneteenth has affected their work. Be part of the discussion about the future of Juneteenth in the DMV region! Moderated by Shirl Spicer, Countywide Museum Manager for the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission, the program will also feature a special performance that you won't want to miss! Register for the event >>
Hosted by Montgomery History
WEDNESDAY, June 21st, Juneteenth Community Sing
6:30pm | Zoom & Facebook | carpediemarts.org/community-sing
Celebrate Juneteenth with music from the African American tradition, the Civil Rights Movement, protest songs, and more, featuring area and regional artists.
Presented by Carpe Diem Arts
THURSDAY, June 22nd, Book Talk with Author Imani Perry
6:30pm | Barbara M. Donnellan Auditorium, 1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA
Library director Diane Kresh will lead a discussion of Perry's new novel as part of Arlington Reads. Performance by Washington Revels' Heritage Voices at 5:45pm. RSVP required >>
Presented by Arlington Public Library
FRIDAY, June 23rd, Jazz Night in D.C.
6pm | Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I Street SW, Washington, D.C.
A D.C. jazz institution with the best musicians and the best jazz lovers, featuring a tribute to Freddie Hubbard. RSVP required >>
Free tickets to the first 100 who RSVP; tickets normally $10.
Presented by Westminster Presbyterian Church
SUNDAY, June 25th, Festival of Freedom
11am - 5pm | Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Boulevard, Glen Echo, MD
A day of family-friendly activities, this celebration commemorates the desegregation of the former Glen Echo Amusement Park in 1960 and features Story Tapestries, Heritage Voices, an Artist Talk at Photoworks, and musical artists Dan+Claudia Zanes, Hubby Jenkins, and Sweet Honey in the Rock®. Learn more >>
Presented by Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts & Culture and Washington Revels
View a PDF of the Schedule | Read the Press Release
Did you know that Glen Echo Park's carousel was central to the civil rights story of the Washington, DC area?
Learn about the Park's civil rights story!
Every contribution helps us present free festivals, concerts, preserve and maintain the Park's historic buildings, and more.
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