Every Jun. 19th, we celebrate Juneteenth to honor the emancipation of enslaved African American people in the United States. It’s important that we not only celebrate Black culture on this day, but also take time to reflect on the contributions of Black history and our country’s past and continue to work together to truly ensure equality for all.
We’ve rounded up some great events over the Juneteenth weekend to help you and your family make the most of the holiday. From festivals and film screenings to concerts and art exhibitions, there’s something for everyone.
Juneteenth Events & Activities in Los Angeles
Juneteenth: Links in a Chain
Jun. 14: The Watts Branch public library, Alma Reaves Woods, is hosting a special Juneteenth program that celebrates the emancipation of slavery by asking families to craft a chain where each link represents a barrier to equal treatment under the law. They will then destroy the chain to restore freedom, justice, and equality. Event details.
Juneteenth at the Pretend City Children’s Museum
Jun. 17: Head to the Pretend City Children’s Museum in Irvine for their Juneteenth celebration. Activities include an opportunity for kids to weave their own Kente cloth crafted with the bright colors of the Pan-African flag, as well as story times, and music and movement using songs that have been impactful to the African American community. All these amazing activities are included with the price of general admission. Event details.
Eat See Hear: Special Screening of 42
Jun. 18: In honor of Juneteenth and the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball, Eat See Hear’s outdoor film series will screen the movie, 42, starring Chadwick Boseman. In addition to the film, there will be a live performance from The Urban Renewal Project and a fab line-up of local, Black-owned food trucks serving up soul food to fit every taste. Event details.
Street Food Cinema: Special Screening of Black Panther
Jun. 18: Grab your picnic gear and snag a spot on the lawn at the Autry Museum for a special Juneteenth screening of Black Panther starring Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa. A wide variety of food trucks will be on site during the event, as well as live music before the film begins. Wakanda forever! Event details.
30th Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Virginia Avenue Park
Jun. 18: LaVerne Ross, the City of Santa Monica and the Juneteenth Celebration Committee will be hosting a fun event at Virginia Avenue Park in Santa Monica featuring dazzling craft vendors, live music, dance performances, mouthwatering food, and local resources. Event details.
Juneteenth Roll at the LA Kings Burbank Sports Center
Jun. 18: All ages are invited to celebrate Juneteenth at the LA Kings Burbank Sports Center for an evening of roller skating, groovy tunes, food, vendors and more. Beginners of all abilities are welcome and are encouraged to join the fun. Event details.
5th Annual Juneteenth Community Celebration
Jun. 18: This free event at Woodley Park in Van Nuys will showcase live music, an ethnic dance performance, a marketplace with over 70 vendors, giveaways, and plenty of food for guests to purchase. Event details.
Juneteenth Community Tennis Event
Jun. 18: In honor of Juneteenth, the US Tennis Association of Southern California and 40 Love Foundation invite families to Edward Vincent Jr. Park in Inglewood for a fun-filled celebration of Black history and the Black community’s impact on the world of tennis and beyond. There will be a kids’ tennis zone, tons of food, music, tennis activities, hitting exhibitions and more. Event details.
3rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration and Family Reunion
Jun. 18: If you’re willing to make the drive, this festive event at Central Park in Santa Clarita will feature live music, games, prizes, delectable food and more. Event details.
Juneteenth at Runway Playa Vista
Jun. 18: Runway at Playa Vista will be celebrating love, life, freedom, and culture in honor of Juneteenth. A variety of Black musicians and dancers will perform, in addition to fab vendors, artists and of course, tons of food. Event details.
Juneteenth Heritage Festival at Leimert Park
Jun. 18: This Black arts and culture community-driven festival celebrates Juneteenth in historic Leimert Park. There will be plenty of amazing food, music, art and good vibes. Stay tuned to their website for more details as they develop. Event details.
Juneteenth Celebration Pop Up Event
Jun. 18: This family-friendly Juneteenth event will celebrate the South Central Soul small business community and will feature a live DJ, lots of vendors and performances. Event details.
Long Beach Juneteenth Celebration
Jun. 18: Join the rest of the Long Beach community in helping to celebrate and support Juneteenth. Held at Rainbow Lagoon Park, the event will be filled with food, guest speakers, music, art, face painting, crafts, a step show, culture and activations. Event details.
The Music of Bob Marley for Kids & More at Troubadour
Jun. 18 and 19: The Rock and Roll Playhouse–the family concert series where kids and parents rock out to the classics—announces a special run of shows in celebration of Juneteenth and Father’s Day. Taking place on Jun. 18 and 19, The Rock and Roll Playhouse will play 19 concerts nationwide featuring the music of Bob Marley for Kids. This will be the playhouse’s biggest show return since pre-covid, occurring at 19 historic venues across North America, including their first ever show at LA’s Troubadour. Event details.
CAAM Prosperity Market
Jun. 19: Celebrate Black farmers, chefs, and entrepreneurs at this special Juneteenth edition of CAAM’s Prosperity Market. Expect tons of fresh fruits and veggies, incredible prepared foods, handcrafted artisan goods, cooking demos, a children’s reading hour from the LA Public Library, arts and crafts, raffles, a DJ spinning tunes, and even a morning sound bath by Sol & Sound. Event details.
Juneteenth Art X Culture Festival
Jun. 19: Hosted by the Open Arms Food Pantry and Resource Center, stop by Westchester Recreational Park for an African marketplace, lots of food, live performances, a children’s creative zone, notable children’s book authors, workshops and informative guest speakers. Event details.
Juneteenth: A Global Celebration of Freedom at Hollywood Bowl
Jun. 19: What will likely be one of the most memorable shows at the Hollywood Bowl this summer, the Global Celebration of Freedom will feature performances by the likes of Earth, Wind and Fire, The Roots, Billy Porter, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and many more. Thomas Wilkins and Derrick Hidge will lead the Re-Collective Orchestra, marking the first-ever performance by an all-Black symphony orchestra in the Bowl’s 100-year history. Don’t miss it! Event details.
Juneteenth Celebration at Aquarium of the Pacific
Jun. 19: Families are invited to the Aquarium of the Pacific to learn more about the holiday and its significance to the African American community through storytelling and music with Baba the Storyteller. Event details.
Juneteenth Special at Huckleberry
Jun. 19: This Juneteenth, one of Santa Monica’s most beloved eateries, Huckleberry Bakery and Cafe, will be selling slices of delicious strawberry rhubarb pie a la mode with Sweet Rose Creamery vanilla ice cream. They are donating 25% of all proceeds to the Loveland Foundation which provides Black women and girls with mental health support and therapy resources. Event details.
2nd Annual Juneteenth Jubilee in Burbank
Jun. 19: If you find yourself in the Valley on Juneteenth, swing by the 2nd Annual Juneteenth Jubilee in Burbank. The event will include fabulous vendors, performances, artists, drums, storytelling, trivia, raffles, prizes and more. Event details.
Soulful Noise Presents: Juneteenth Festival at Comfort LA
Jun. 19: This is a free celebration dedicated to uplifting the community. There will be live music, local vendors, games, food trucks and more. Guests are encouraged to bring lightly used clothes for the folks of My Friend’s House, as well as packs of socks to help support the people at SockIt2Me. The event will also raise funds for their Back 2 School Drive & Financial Literacy Program. Event details.
Embrace Black Culture & Art around LA
Matthew Thomas Enlightenment at CAAM
Throughout Jun.: For over five decades, Matthew Thomas has developed a career as an artist and art professor, first in Los Angeles, and since 2011 in rural Thailand. In the late 1960s, Thomas began researching Eastern religions and philosophies and later studied Buddhist Tantra, a system of spiritual practice and meditation that has profoundly impacted his life and art. Inspired by his practice of the Buddhist religion, his multimedia works are filled with complex patterns that express his progress toward enlightenment and provide a path for others to experience the same. His unique visual language of sacred geometric abstraction, which integrates a variety of symbolic shapes and colors, explores basic life principles and correlates with the five elements of earth, fire, water, wind, and sky. Matthew Thomas: Enlightenment features a site-specific installation and selection of recent paintings that function as visual prayers meant to harmonize humanity and the universe. Event details.
The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection at SoFi Stadium
Through Jun. 19: The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection is the inspired work of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, and their son Khalil, and considered one of the largest and most comprehensive of its kind. Beginning over 50 years ago, the Kinsey’s have been on a journey of collecting fine art and primary source historical objects that document the African American experience and illuminate the untold stories of Black Excellence throughout U.S. history. Curated by Khalil Kinsey and historian Larry Earl, the exhibition focuses on the lives, accomplishments, and brilliance of African Americans from the 16th century through the years of slavery and emancipation to the civil rights movement through modern day.
The Kinsey Collection Experience features over 100,000 square feet of masterful works of art, sculptures, photographs, rare books, and letters. The exhibition has been extended through Jun. 2022. Event details.
UNREPD Gallery Presents Like Watermelon for Chocolate
Throughout Jun.: UNREPD Gallery in Melrose Hill opens their newest exhibition in honor of Juneteenth–a solo presentation by artist Kirk Henriques titled Like Watermelon for Chocolate. This “meditation on the possibilities of freedom for Black people” features a selection of abstract and figurative paintings in oil and acrylic on fiberglass mesh and will run through Jul. 19. The work itself is kid appropriate and an opening reception will be held from 2 p.m.– 4 p.m. on Jun. 19. Event details.
COMING SOON:
Regeneration Black Cinema 1898–1971 at the Academy Museum
Aug. 21, 2022: Not quite in time for Juneteenth, but worth keeping on your radar for later this summer when the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures debuts Regeneration Black Cinema 1898 – 1971. The first exhibition of its kind will be a rigorous and celebratory exploration of the achievements and challenges of Black filmmakers in the United States since the dawn of cinema to the Civil Rights Movement. Filmmakers Ava DuVernay and Charles Burnett are among the exhibition’s advisers. Event details.
LA’s Black Landmarks & Historical Sites
From the Watt’s Towers and Ralph J. Bunche House to the Central Ave. Jazz Corridor and Inkwell in Santa Monica, LA is filled with incredible landmarks and historical sites that educate and celebrate Black history. We have a great list of places that should definitely be on your list to check out this month and beyond.
RELATED STORIES:
Parent’s Guide to the National Museum of African American History and Culture
14 African-American History Books to Read with Your Kids
21 Places to Visit to Understand Race in America
Need some fresh ideas?
Related reads
