Athens Juneteenth Celebration & Festival
Friday, June 19, 2026
10:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Downtown Athens, Georgia
FREE • FAMILY-FRIENDLY • RAIN OR SHINE
Organized by Historic Athens for Athens-Clarke County Unified Government, People & Belonging Department
FESTIVAL & CELEBRATION
10:30 AM – March from Hot Corner to City Hall
11:00 AM – Flag Raising & Ceremony
11:30 AM to 3:00 PM – Performances at Main Stage and Street Festival with Kids Zone
1:00 PM – Black Elected Leaders Honorary Signature Ceremony
Why
Juneteenth?
“Juneteenth gives us the opportunity to honor and celebrate the anniversary of the freedom granted to all Americans. While Athens observes our own ‘Day of Jubilee’ nearly a month earlier, Juneteenth has become an important national moment to bridge communities through festivities and remembrance. We’re grateful for the opportunity to bring people together in downtown Athens to be part of it.”
— Denise Sunta
2026 Athens Juneteenth Chair & Historic Athens Senior Director of Operations
What can historic places
teach us about
equality, freedom, and belonging?
As part of the 2026 Athens Juneteenth Celebration & Festival, Historic Athens created pop-up landmark exhibit panels, placed around the festival zone throughout Downtown Athens to highlight important places, individuals, and events in African American history
Want to learn more? We created companion zines (small batch magazine publications) to go along with each exhibit panel, and you can pick up this FREE history resources at the Historic Athens Welcome Center, open 362 days a year, Mon-Sun, 10 AM to 5 PM or download a printable version below.
2026 Athens Juneteenth exhibit panels by Sarah Frazer, Director of Communications
Printable versions of the 2026 Athens Juneteenth Zines available for download and distribution below:
May 4, 1865 – Day of Jubilee by Sarah Frazer
Alfred Richardson & Madison Davis: Building a Legacy by Olivia Rogers
Black Excellence in Hot Corner by Sarah Frazer
The Struggle for Civil Rights by Sarah Frazer
Historic Athens Welcome Center is distributing their Juneteenth Kids Guide
+ free to download below!
Teachers, to request classroom sets of the Juneteenth Guide, please email libba@historicathens.com.
Juneteenth Kids Guide by Libba Beaucham, Historic Athens Welcome Center Guest Services Specialist
Movements for Freedom
by Meghan Mundy part of the Athens Protest Project
Signage denoting important protests in Athens history and modern day were placed throughout the festival zone, as part of the Athens Protest History project by Historic Athens. Through highlighting local examples of protest and the impacts such movements have had on the rights and liberties of all individuals, current and future generations of Athenians will be better informed and able to understand the progress which has been made …learn more
Historical Quilt Making: Celebrating Folk Artist Harriet Powers
In the Kids Zone, Historic Athens created an interactive exhibit for K-12 audiences centered around Athens native and revered American folk quiltmaker, Harriet Powers, with a children’s activity of creating small quilt squares from felt and construction paper to create a community “quilt.,” showcasing large, full-scale poster/banner “Bible Quilt” by Powers.
Download the free companion zine: America’s Most Revered Folk Artist: The Life & Legacy of Harriet Powers by Meghan Mundy
Festival Schedule
MARCH TO CITY HALL
Meet at 10:00 AM • March at 10:30 amMeet outside the Morton Building at Hot Corner for sign making with community march to City Hall and remarks by Rev. Dr. Allison M. Henderson-Brooks of Hill First Baptist Church at 10:30 AM.
FLAG RAISING CEREMONY
11:00 to 11:30 AMRaising of the Juneteenth flag at Athens City Hall from 11:00 to 11:30 AM with Bria Smith, Hope Iglehart, and Mayor Kelly Girtz featuring a performance by Dr. Nkululeko “Freedom” Zungu.
STREET FESTIVAL
11:00 AM to 3:00 PMArtisan market, food trucks, community tabling, and history exhibits throughout Downtown Athens with festival zone on College Ave. and Washingtown St.
MAIN STAGE PERFORMANCES
11:00 AM to 3:00 PMHosted by L.G. Heart of the City with musical performances from Blacknerdninja, Ishues, and T I K I C A, featuring line dancing from The Aunties with spoken word from Life the Griot, Celest Divine, and Hattie Thomas Whitehead. Jubilee Award for Humanitarianism given at 2:10 PM.
KIDS ZONE
11:00 AM to 3:00 PM Dedicated area of the festival zone for children, including bouncy houses, face painting, educational activities, and interactive exhibits.
Bouncy Houses with Ruckers
Face Painting by Ish N Giggles
Juneteenth Kids Guide by the Historic Athens Welcome Center
Plant Your Own Freedom Garden Children’s Activity
Historical Quilt Making: Celebrating Harriet Powers Exhibit
Custom Button Making
BLACK ELECTED LEADERS HONORARY SIGNATURE CEREMONY
1:00 PM next to the Costa BuildingAt the new park next to the Costa Building where the last 50 of the 1,000 signatures necessary to name the new downtown greenspace as ‘Richardson-Davis Park’, will be taken via ceremony signing by all living African American elected officials (past or present) with remarks by author and former State Representative Michael Thurmond and Pastor Chekibe Holman of First AME Church. The park namesake is in honor of the first two Black state representatives from Athens, Alfred Richardson and Madison Davis.
Event tear down starting at 3 PM to be complete by 4 PM. We ask everyone to honor the spirit of the Athenian Oath by leaving our downtown spaces better than we found them.