- December 20, 2024
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Locals celebrated the 25th annual Daytona Beach Juneteenth Community Festival on Saturday, June 17, at Cypress Park in Daytona Beach.
The inaugural Juneteenth Celebration Parade in Daytona Beach’s historic Midtown District preceded the festival. The parade’s theme was “Celebrating Diversity, Unity and Community,” and, despite a downpour, the parade marched on.
Linda McGee, chairman of the Juneteenth Festival and Parade, said that the city of Daytona Beach’s Parks and Recreation Department had originally started the celebration.
“It started with a banquet at the Dickerson Community Center,” she said. “It has grown to 6,000 people.”
The festival featured cultural and educational activities, pony rides, food trucks and merchandise vendors, a pound cake contest, and the Sankofa African-American Museum On Wheels.
The celebration ended on Monday, June 19, with the Hometown Heroes Awards Banquet at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.