Howard County Juneteenth Community Day & Block Party
About this Event
Join Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, Howard County Office of Human Rights & Equity, the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center, and the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks for our annual Juneteenth Block Party & Community Day. This vibrant celebration honors the richness of Black culture, the power of community connection, and the importance of telling our stories in our own voices. Featuring delicious food, exciting classes, fun activities, interactive exhibits, informative lectures, and engaging workshops, this event has something for the whole family.
More than a celebration, this event is an opportunity to connect, to learn, and to uplift the voices and experiences that have too often been overlooked or misunderstood. Juneteenth reminds us that freedom is not just a moment in history, but a lived experience that continues to evolve. As we gather, we celebrate how far we’ve come, strengthen the bonds within our community, and reaffirm the importance of centering our stories as we move forward together.
All ages welcome! See agenda below for a selected listing of activities, classes, and workshops (a full program will be provided to all registrants).
Agenda
🕑: 10:00 AM - 03:00 PM
Community Yard Sale and Block Party
Info: Shop amazing deals from our community yard sale vendors, enjoy music from C. James the DJ, savor delicious food, and play exciting games for all ages. Bring the whole family and connect with neighbors!
🕑: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Double Dutch with the 40+ Double Dutch Club!
Host: The 40+ Double Dutch Club
Info: Come hop into the weekly meetup of the Howard County 40+ Double Dutch Club! Enjoy this opportunity to participate in childhood activities like double dutch, hula hooping, and hopscotch, while fostering a sense of community through friendship, fitness, fun, and fellowship.
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Trust: Partner Dancing and the Quest for Safety in the Black Community
Host: Moving History
Info: This class will examine partner dancing as a counter strategy in the wake of Jim Crow and beyond. Join us for discussion, music and movement.
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
WHAT IS YOUR WHY? Finding the Spark That Ignites Your Flame
Host: Jonathan McKinney
Info: "What Is Your Why?" is a 50-minute storytelling session that guides participants in discovering the deep personal purpose that ignites their work and anchors their story. Through reflection, discussion, and community connection, participants explore how a clear "why" eliminates drift, attracts likeminded people, and pushes them toward lasting excellence.
🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
From the A-Train to Soul Train: 6 Decades of Dance in 60 Minutes
Host: Moving History
Info: In a historical survey through movement, this class will begin in 1930’s Harlem Renaissance, and end with the 1970’s Bronx Breaking culture making its way through Rock and Roll, and Funk and Soul along the way.
🕑: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Freedom Through Frequencies: A Sound Bath and Breathwork Experience
Host: Tiffani Peguese, Echo & Ease Wellness
Info: Sound healing honors the ancestors who used rhythm, song, and voice as acts of resistance and resilience – reminding us that vibration has always been a pathway to liberation. As we
celebrate freedom this Juneteenth, we will let sound healing and breathwork become practice – a sacred ritual of releasing what no longer serves us, restoring inner harmony, and reclaiming the boundless joy and liberation that is our birthright.
🕑: 11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
Everyday Acts of Liberation
Host: Julie Hackett, Healing Touch and Tones
Info: Contemporary levels of stress, urgency, and perpetual pressure of every day life, has distanced us from our natural state of being. In order to thrive in a system that seeks to confine and control our mental and physical function, we must seek, find and stay on the path to everyday liberation. Join certified Reiki practitioner and Sound Healer Julie Hackett for an exploration of individual and collective liberation as you participate in practical exercises to liberate the mind and body.
🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:50 PM
Rap: The Cultural Clapback
Host: Moving History
Info: Spoken word as a key ingredient in the fight for Civil Rights is as old as this nation. In this hour, participants will engage in exercises to create some meaningful rhymes of their own.
🕑: 12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
How Trauma is Stored in the Body: Breath & Bodywork as a Liberation Practice
Host: Camille Brown of Camille Intuitive Wellness
Info: Through this interactive workshop we will create space and compassion for ourselves- to recognize where, as marginalized people, we often bypass our feelings and reach for the armor and survival mechanisms that offer a sense of safety, being seen and valued. We will examine how systemic oppression not only shapes our ways of being, unconscious patterns, experience of the world and ourselves, it constricts our breath, circulation, nervous system, tissues and capacity to be at home in our bodies.
🕑: 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM
Cookout Prep: Line Dancing
Host: Moving History
Info: What better way to kick off the summer than with a little refresher of the Cha-Cha Slide? Grab a fan and learn the newest dances, or jump in to participate in your favorites in this family-friendly lesson.
🕑: 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM
Braiding: Maps and Meaning
Host: Moving History
Info: This drop-in class will invite participants to practice cornrows, Bantu knots, and other braiding designs which are both artistic elements of culture, and part of a legacy of the fight for freedom among Black Americans.
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:50 PM
Textiles: Hand Stitching, Indigo and Community
Host: Moving History
Info: Using swatches of dyed cloth, and distinctive fabrics from across the Diaspora, participants will learn to connect fabrics with geography, as they practice their embroidery skills.
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:50 PM
Culture and the Playground: Hand Games and Kids’ Songs
Host: Moving History
Info: “Say, say oh Playmate! Come out and play with me!” From Ms. Mary Mack to Down Down Baby, practice your speed, coordination and rhythm in this space dedicated to lessons learned on the playground.
🕑: 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
From the Motherland to Maryland: Djembe Rhythms
Host: Moving History
Info: This hand percussion class will connect ancient instruments to our present context by playing sounds that stretch across time and space.
🕑: 10:00 AM - 03:00 PM
The Traveling African American Stamp Exhibit
Host: Howard County Center of African American Culture
Info: Join the Howard County Center of African American Culture (HCCAAC) to explore the history, impact, and importance of Juneteenth. HCCAAC curates a rich treasure trove of historical artifacts, memorabilia and other resources, that tell the incredible story of the African American experience and contributions in Howard County and throughout the state of Maryland with strong ties back to the African Diaspora.
🕑: 10:00 AM - 01:00 PM
Juneteenth Reading Room
Host: The Harriet Tubman Foundation
Info: Join the Harriet Tubman Foundation for selected readings from 1986 publication 'History of Blacks in Howard County, MD', detailing the early history of African Americans in Howard County Maryland. These stories are documented from oral history, education and community/society issues throughout the years and published by the NAACP Howard County Branch.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00
