New London celebrates Juneteenth this Saturday

A Juneteenth Jubilee sponsored by the New London Branch of the NAACP, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and the Hempsted Houses will run from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, June 13 at the Hempsted Houses. There is no charge for admission or for any of the activities. (Join the event on Facebook at https://goo.gl/c8L9Rl.)

The celebration will feature a variety of family activities, including an opportunity to help paint a 10-foot mural on a canvas provided by New London’s Expressiones Cultural Center. Kids also can get their faces painted, learn to write with a quill pen, play colonial games and color pictures of local scenes.

Several local organizations will have booths, and food will be available for purchase from A Taste of New Orleans and Sweetie’s Bakery. Frank Lo Marchany will emcee the event. The schedule is:

1 p.m. A Call to Celebrate
Dwight Baldwin, Professor of Percussion

1:30 p.m. To My Old Master: A Conversation between Col. P.H. Anderson & Jourdon Anderson
McKinley Winston & Gary A. Poe

2 p.m. Lift Our Voices
New London Community Choir

2:30 p.m. Our New London Story
Historian Lonnie Braxton

3 p.m. Welcome to The Lion’s Den
Lillian Moriah Cook’s The Lion’s Den Dance Co.

3:15 p.m. An American Icon
Harriet Tubman, portrayed by Adwoa Bandele-Asante, accompanied by Ibiju Bandele-Asante

3:30-4 p.m. Let Freedom Ring
The Professor and the Shades of Joy will perform

Roaming storytellers will also entertain through the afternoon.

Juneteenth began as a commemoration of abolition in Texas in 1865, but now celebrates the end of slavery across the U.S. South.

The Hempsted Houses, located at 11 Hempstead St. in New London, are at the heart of the city’s first African-American neighborhood. Visitors can take a self-guided walking tour of the neighborhood using a brochure that will be available at the celebration. Guided tours of the Hempsted Houses will be offered on the hour and half hour.