Juneteenth 2023: Fireworks, Celebrations, Closures In Passaic County

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — Juneteenth will be observed in Passaic County with a variety of celebrations, flag-raisings and other events.

Passaic County offices and state offices will be also closed on Friday to commemorate Juneteenth, though the federal holiday is on Monday. New Jersey recognized the third Friday in June as a state holiday before the Biden administration made Juneteenth a federal holiday.

The June 19 national holiday commemorates the day in 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, when word finally reached the last enslaved people in Texas that the Civil War had ended — and they were free.

Also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day and Jubilee Day, Juneteenth is the oldest-known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation making it a federal holiday, the first since the addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

Wayne Township is not having any ceremonies to mark the occasion, officials told Patch. The municipal calendar shows that offices operate as normal on Friday and Monday, as does the Wayne Township Schools calendar. The Wayne Public Library is also open during the state holiday Friday.

Here are other celebrations and commemorations around the county, with information about time and what's happening at the event:

Passaic

• The Passaic NAACP will hold a day of celebration from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 17 at Third Ward Memorial Park. Guest speakers, musicians, dancers, and spoken word artists are among the performers; there will also be vendors, food, arts and crafts, and scholarship presentations.
• Passaic City's 4th annual Juneteenth celebration is also on Saturday from 7-9:30 p.m. in the City Hall courtyard. Enjoy free hot dogs, hamburgers, and refreshments with music playing in the background — fireworks are scheduled at dusk.

Paterson

• The Paterson Juneteenth Committee has a celebration planned on Sunday, June 18 starting at 6 p.m. in Eastside Park, with local house music/R&B artist Adeva.
• The city will raise a Juneteenth flag at Paterson City Hall on Monday at 11 a.m.

Prospect Park

• The 3rd annual Juneteenth celebration in Prospect Park is Friday, June 16 at the borough's municipal building.