City of Donaldsonville 29th Annual Juneteenth

Donaldsonville is set to celebrate its 29th Annual Juneteenth Festival. It will be held on Saturday, June 15, 2024 from 11am – 7pm at the Louisiana Square in Donaldsonville, LA.

Come out, bring your family, chairs, umbrella and listen to the sounds of South Louisiana musicians, learn the Juneteenth history, enjoy delicious cuisine of our local vendors, shop, stop by our health fair focused on African-Health and get vaccinated. Donaldsonville residents can sign up for Red Cross smoke detector installation and drive through our Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank non-perishable food distribution. RAIN or SHINE!

The City of Donaldsonville and the festival committee have carried on the Juneteenth Festival tradition locally since its inception in 1996. Started by former Donaldsonville Mayor the late B.J. Francis Sr. and his late wife, Janet Ganes Francis, it was continued through the efforts of the River Road African American Museum and other volunteers in the community.

In 2011, Tamiko Francis Garrison (daughter of the late Bernard and Janet Francis), Allison Hudson, and the City of Donaldsonville assumed the planning of the festival. In 2023, the city announced the appointment of additional committee members: Tamiko Stroud (granddaughter of the late Bernard and Janet Francis), Skye Taylor, SU Engineering Student and Wayne Hamilton, BASF.

Juneteenth commemorates the day when slaves in the last geographic area in America where slavery existed learned of their freedom. This took place on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, when Union General Gordon Granger read General Order #3, announcing that "all slaves are free"by Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, and issued on January 1, 1863. It took over two and a half years for the news to travel to southwest Texas.

"Juneteenth is a landmark in history, a celebration of freedom and the end of enslavement in America," states Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Founder & Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) and the National Juneteenth Jazz Artist.

Line-up:

11am-11:30am

Opening Prayer

Welcome

History

11:30 -12pm

Angel of Faith

Wanda August

Gospel Show live from Juneteenth

12pm - 1:30pm

Red Tape Musiq

Gonzales, LA

2pm- 3:30pm

Total Control Band

New Roads, LA

4pm - 5:30pm

Michael Foster Project

Baton Rouge, LA

6pm - 7pm
Royal Essence Band

New Orleans, LA

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the 2023 Committee:

Tamiko Francis Garrison, Co-Chair Festival

Tamiko Stroud, Co-Chair Vendors

Wayne Hamilton, Co-Chair, Volunteers

Host or Publisher Tamiko Stroud and Tamiko Garrison