Juneteenth Celebration brings culture and community together

Triad Cultural Arts will present a Juneteenth weekend celebration throughout Winston-Salem June 16-18, with events culminating in an all-day festival in Biotech Place and Bailey Park on Saturday, June 18. Presenting partners for the celebration are Food Lion and the City of Winston-Salem. The celebration’s theme is Black Health and Wellness: Healing Rituals & Traditions.

The weekend will start with the opening of an art exhibition that will feature medical professionals from the Twin City Medical Society who are providing diversity in healthcare as an intentional means to address health disparities.  The opening reception is Thursday, June 16, 6-8 p.m. in the Main Gallery, Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, 251 N. Spruce St.

The inaugural Queen Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant takes place Friday, June 17, at Paisley IB Magnet School, starting at 7 p.m. Thirteen junior high school girls will compete for a four-year renewable tuition scholarship to a historically Black college or university (HBCU).  Ms. Talitha Vickers, former WXII new anchor, will host the culturally based theatrical production.

The Juneteenth Festival will be held Saturday, June 18, in the Innovation Quarter, inside Biotech Place, 575 Patterson Ave., and outside in Bailey Park, 445 Patterson Ave. 

Biotech Place will be hosting events from 1 to 5 p.m. They include performances, panel discussions, and heritage demonstrations. Bailey Park events will run from 1 to 8 p.m. and include vendors, displays, music and food. The entertainment headline will be P-Funk Connection, an Atlanta-based old school band that has the DNA of Mr. George Clinton of Parliament Funkadelic, and was formed as a group in 2011.

Here are the highlights to date:

2 p.m. – Black Health Panel Discussion – Biotech Place Panelists:

*Fernando G. Little, MSL, Enterprise Chief Diversity Officer, Atrium Health

*Kayla Mays, Brody Medical School, former SciTech Summer Institute student 

Moderator: Dr. Brenda Latham-Sadler, MD, associate dean, associate professor, Wake Forest School of Medicine

Workforce Diversity: Reducing Disparities through an Intentional Focus

*Reducing financial barriers to education and training

*Intentional development of pathways for minority students

*Academically support and professionally develop students toward healthcare careers

*Talent acquisition in all areas on site

Kids Area – Wayne Jones, resident artist at North Forsyth High School, will lead the kid’s area. Award-winning choreographer and founder of Greater Vision Company and the Choreo On Deck Project. Amir Alexander, health professional and author, will launch her book, “Gio’s Heart,” which shares real lessons learned through a challenging ICU experience and journey with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). “Gio’s Heart” encourages the spread of love, forgiveness, hope, and kindness and allows young readers to practice visual recognition, use their motor skills, and use their imagination.

Children’s activities include:

*Face painting – Tribal Dot

*Juneteenth Bingo

*Crafts

*African movement crowd participation

*Stepping demo crowd participation

Exhibitors/Vendors:

Over 75 wellness, merchandise, and nonprofit exhibitors and vendors will participate, including food trucks with soul food menu items.

Performances/Entertainment:

An array of entertainment will be offered on three stages:

Inside stage –Biotech Place (1 – 5 p.m.)

1:00 p.m. – Piney Grove Baptist Church Choir

1:30 p.m. – Deborah Patterson – (Gospel)

2:00 p.m. – Health Panel Discussion (Auditorium)

3:00 p.m. – GIFT3D – (Gospel)

4:00 p.m. – Renaissance Choir – (Gospel)

Outside stage – Bailey Park – Youth Area (1 – 5 p.m.)

1:30 p.m. – African movement crowd participation

2:00 p.m. – Greater Vision Company

2:30 p.m. – Youth yoga

3:00 p.m. – Stepping demo crowd participation

4:00 p.m. – Book launch and reading by Amir Alexander, “Gio’s Heart”

Outside stage – Bailey Park (1 – 8 p.m.)

1:00 p.m. – Quick Image Band (R&B)

Line dancing

2:00 p.m. – Big Ron Hunter (Blues)

Yoga demonstration

3:00 p.m. – Band Clazz – (R&B, Jazz, Hip Hop)

Line Dancing

Yoga demonstration

4:00 p.m. – Urban Standard II (Jazz)

Line dancing

Yoga demonstration

5:00 p.m. – Otesha Creative Arts Ensemble (African Dance)

6:00 p.m. – P-Funk Connection (Old School)

Juneteenth partners include Presenting Partners: Food Lion, City of Winston-Salem; Gold Sponsors: Innovation Quarter, Novant Health, Ralph Lauren, 97.1 QMG; Silver Sponsors: Wells Fargo, Inmar Intelligence, Allegacy Federal Credit Union, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Truliant Federal Credit Union, Salemtowne, Inc., North Carolina African American Heritage Commission, ABC45.My48, Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County; Bronze Sponsors: Hanesbrands, S.G. Atkins CDC, The Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, NC Healthy Blue, Winston-Salem Urban League; Patron Sponsors: LAMAR Outdoor Advertising, Kilpatrick Townsend, St. Philips Moravian Church.

For more information, please visit the website: triadculturalarts.org or call 336-757-8556.

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