Albany, Dougherty County plan Juneteenth celebration

ALBANY – The city of Albany and Dougherty are gearing up for the sixth Juneteenth celebration on June 20, with a lineup of music, activities and culture on tap.

The annual celebration will be held from 1-6 p.m. on June 20 at the Albany Civic Center, with doors opening at noon.

“This event right here is just going to be centered around the family,” Dougherty County Commissioner Anthony Jones said. “We would appreciate everybody to come out on June 20. This is the way the county and city are giving back to the community. This is a joint venture between the two governments.”

The event will include food trucks, and children up to 17 eat free, the commissioner said. There also will be a kid’s zone with a bounce house and other activities for youngsters. 

Live entertainment lined up includes the Freedom Singers of Albany, the Compilation Band and the Soulful Soundz Band. All but the headliner are local performers, Jones said, because a focus was put on including the abundance of local talent for the event.

Juneteenth celebrates broadly the end of chattel slavery and specifically commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger read Orders No. 3 in Texas, informing people there of the abolition of slavery, which had been  announced 2 1/2 years earlier with the Emancipation Proclamation.

President Biden signed the bipartisan Juneteenth National Independence Act into law on June 17, 2001, establishing a national holiday. 

The 2025 edition of Juneteenth cost about $37,000 between the two governments, Jones said. The commissioner did not have exact numbers for attendance for last year’s event but estimated it was about 2,000.

“Each year it’s getting bigger and better,” he said. “We’re going to have a little flavor for everybody, so this is great.”