Granby Celebrates Juneteenth on June 17
The second Granby Celebrates Juneteenth festival will be held at Salmon Brook Park on Saturday, June 17. This free arts and education festival is hosted by Granby Racial Reconciliation (GRR) to commemorate Juneteenth and celebrate Black culture through music, dance, art and presentations.
The day’s events will start at 10 a.m. with a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Musical festivities will begin at 2:45 p.m. with Leonard Epps African Drumming. DJ DPHR Music will return to emcee the event, introducing the rest of the lineup:
10 a.m., 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament (pre-registration required)
2:45 p.m., Leonard Epps African Drumming– honoring our past and present experiences.
3 p.m., Welcome – DJ DPHR
3:15 p.m., Sazzy Brass–Granby resident Rosemarie Roy, and Dawn Zukowski join a full ensemble to get the day moving with jazz, blues and R&B numbers.
4:15 p.m., Double Dutch exhibition–Carrie McCrorey from JADHA Foundation will provide an exhibition of beginning and experienced double Dutch skills. Throughout the day she will also teach attendees who are willing to give it a try. There will also be an amateur contest for children and adults.
4:30 p.m., GHAA Jazz Band and Choir–The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Jazz Ensemble will perform songs from the Great American Songbook and familiar jazz pieces.
5:15 p.m., Building Relationships–Granby residents Ellen Thomson and Bill Bentley will share their experiences in building cross racial relationships.
5:25 p.m., Granby Students Anthems–Granby students will sing our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner and Lift Every Voice and Sing, informally known as the Black national anthem.
5:30 p.m., Liberty Christian Center Praise Team–performing songs of worship and praise
5:45 p.m., Deacon Art Miller–author, Vietnam veteran and civil rights worker Arthur Miller will share his life experiences as a schoolmate of Emmett Till and a participant in the historic events of the civil rights movement.
6 p.m., The SKJ Experiment–a high energy mix of Motown, R&B and Pop
7:15 p.m., Medusa–experience the tap-n-jazz ensemble featuring renowned percussionist Jocelyn Pleasant
7:30 p.m., The Alvin Carter Project featuring Kenny Hamber and Friends –Grammy-nominated Kenny Hamber joins celebrated performers to present a blend of jazz, R&B, gospel and Afro-Caribbean music
Visual artist David Jackson will create an original painting on site for an auction later in the day. On exhibit will be other works for sale.
All events are free and open to the public. Food and drink will be available for purchase from various multicultural food vendors such as Just Fish, Jerkwave, Four Dads Pub, Mama Nena, and Bdelicious Ice Cream. The Salmon Brook Historical Society, Two Guys Comics and Collectibles, YMCA, Express Personnel, and Granby Racial Reconciliation will all have booths.
In the event of rain, the celebration will be held on Sunday, June 18. For more details visit GranbyRacialReconciliation.com/juneteenth