Fredericksburg Kicks Off Juneteenth Observance At VCU Stadium

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Juneteenth observances in and around Fredericksburg kick off this weekend, with the Planning District 16 Juneteenth Celebration Saturday at Virginia Credit Union Stadium.

The Wednesday, June 19, federal holiday commemorates the day in 1865, more than two years after President 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.

On June 19, 1968, King's Poor People's Campaign held a a Solidarity Day rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

• Related: When Is Juneteenth? What To Know About Holiday Marking Slavery’s End

Since 2005, the District has celebrated Emancipation Day to celebrate April 16, 1862, which was when enslaved people were emancipated in the District.

Also in D.C., the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture will be hosting a number of free indoor and outdoor activities.

Other Juneteenth events in and around Fredericksburg include:

• Planning District 16 Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 15, from 2:30-9 p.m. at Virginia Credit Union Stadium, 42 Jackie Robinson Way, Fredericksburg.
• Juneteenth 2024 “Don’t Forget About the Blood, Sweat, and Tears": 23rd USCT (U.S. Colored Troops) tell the full history of Juneteenth locally and nationally, featuring a Harriett Tubman Reenactment by Ms. Cleo Coleman. Wednesday, June 19, from 12-6 p.m. at Fredericksburg Market Square, 214 William St. in Fredericksburg.
• Juneteenth at Mt. Bethel Retreat Center on Tuesday, June 18, from 12-6 p.m., at 17420 Mt. Bethel Lane in King George.
• Stafford NAACP Presents the 2024 Juneteenth Celebration, Saturday, June 15, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Colonial Forge High School, 550 Courthouse Road in Stafford.

Because Juneteenth is an official U.S. holiday, banks, federal offices and post offices in Fredericksburg.

Patch will be closed Wednesday. Many state, county and local government offices will be closed or are open but with holiday hour, including:

• All Fredericksburg governmental offices will be closed on Wednesday, June 19.
• All Stafford County governmental offices, departments, facilities, and all courts will be closed for the Juneteenth holiday on Wednesday, June 19.
• All Spotsylvania County offices and facilities will be closed on Wednesday, June 19 for the Juneteenth holiday.
• Stafford County Parks: All outdoor parks are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., on Wednesday, June 19.
• Spotsylvania Convenience Center will be open for regular hours on Wednesday, June 19.
• Spotsylvania Visitors Center and Museum will be open for regular hours on Wednesday, June 19.
• R-Board Regional Landfill, both the Eskimo Hill and Belman Road locations will be open on Wednesday, June 19.
• Livingston Landfill will be open on Wednesday, June 19.