Juneteenth Kicks Off In Alexandria With Various Celebrations

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Juneteenth observances in Alexandria kick off with various events, from the Douglass Cemetery Remembrance to the Juneteenth African American History Bus Tour with Manumission Tour Company.

The Monday, June 19, national 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.

One event to kick off the weekend is the Douglass Cemetery Remembrance on Saturday, June 17 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at 1367-1473, Wilkes St., Alexandria, VA. Attendees will put purple ribbons of remembrance on the gravestones at the historic Black cemetery. A ceremony in honor of those buried in Douglass Cemetery and the Juneteenth holiday will follow.

The Juneteenth African American History Bus Tour will be also held June 17 at 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The tour is offered by Manumission Tour Company, led by Councilmember John Taylor Chapman. The 90-minute bus tour explores historic sites telling African American history in Alexandria. Some sites featured on the tour include Alfred Street Baptist Church; Barrett Library, which is the site of the 1939 Library Sit-In; Freedom House and more. The tour costs $35 per person and meets at the Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe St., Alexandria, VA.

Other Alexandria Juneteenth observances include Juneteenth at the Alexandria Archaeology Museum on June 16 from 11 am. to 4 p.m., Athenaeum and Carlyle House Historic Park Annual Juneteenth Celebration on June 17 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Washington Revels Jubilee Voices Concert Singing the Journey: Juneteenth Joy at Market Square on June 19 at 2 p.m.

Nearby Washington, DC is one of the top destinations to celebrate Juneteenth, U.S. News & World Report said in a story earlier this month. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture will hold various events, including a Juneteenth Community Day on June 17 from 11 a.m. to. 3 p.m. Another observance will be the National Archives displaying the original Emancipation Proclamation from June 17 to 19 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Related: What Is Juneteenth? Celebrating The End Of Slavery

Because Juneteenth is an official U.S. holiday, banks, federal offices and post offices in Alexandria will be closed Monday. Many state, county and local government offices will be closed as well, including:

• City of Alexandria government offices
• Alexandria City Public Schools and administrative offices
• Animal Welfare League of Alexandria's animal shelter
• Alexandria Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, Alexandria Circuit Court, Alexandria General District Court, Alexandria Juvenile Court, Domestic Relations District Court, and the Court Service Unit
• Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles locations
• Alexandria Health Department, the Flora Krause Casey Pharmacy, and the Teen Wellness Center at Alexandria High School
• City of Alexandria museums, except 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Alexandria Black History Museum and Freedom House Museum and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum and the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum
• City impound facility
• Alexandria Library locations
• Recreation and nature centers, except Charles Houston Recreation Center and Patrick Henry Recreation Center, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Residential trash, recycling, and yard waste collection will be delayed by one day during the week of Monday, June 19. Curbside waste food collection schedule will not be impacted. The Household Hazardous Waste & Electronics Recycling Center will be closed on June 19.
• Parking enforcement suspended, except spaces normally restricted, such as no parking zones, loading zones or spaces for persons with disabilities

Adjusted Openings

• Old Town Pool (1609 Cameron St) and Warwick Pool (3301 Landover St.): Open 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and Memorial Pool (901 Wythe St.) will be open 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. on June 19. Potomac Yard Park Interactive Fountain (2501 Potomac Ave.) will be open on June 19, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Torpedo Factory Art Center: Open daily, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• DASH bus service will operate on a regular weekday schedule on Monday, June 19. The free King Street Trolley will operate from King Street Metro to Alexandria City Hall every 15 minutes, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, visit dashbus.com.
• Metro weekend hours are 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to midnight Sunday and Monday. The shutdown of the Vienna, Dunn Loring, West Falls Church and East Falls Church stations continue. Silver Line trains run between Ashburn and McLean and between Ballston and Downtown Largo, while Orange Line runs from Ballston to New Carrollton.
• All emergency hotlines operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including the local child protective services hotline at 703-746-5800 or the state hotline at 800-552-7096; the domestic violence hotline at 703-746-4911; the emergency services for mental health or substance abuse crisis hotline at 703-746-3401; the local adult protective services hotline at 888-832-3858 or the Adult Protective Services State Hotline at 888-832-3858; the suicide prevention hotline at 988 or 703-527-4077; and the sexual assault hotline at 703-683-7273.