On Saturday, a sea of easy-up canopies spanned the historic stretch of Welton Street in Five Points, one of Denver’s oldest neighborhoods.
A culmination of smells hovered over the street as vendors and volunteers buzzed back and forth carrying merchandise and food to and from their tents to prepare for the annual Juneteenth festival. However, this is not where the festival began. Rather, it started a half-mile east at Manual High School’s parking lot.
Registrants gathered as early as 9 a.m. for the festival’s annual parade and could be seen practicing dance routines, piecing together costumes or props and greeting old friends and colleagues.
A plethora of the registrants were youth dance and step groups who performed routines as part of the day’s entertainment. Other longtime parade participants were groups such as the American Legion Post 29, which leads the parade every year, the Panhellenic Council of Greek sorority delegates and, of course, Ms. Juneteenth.
Curators behind the event believe that the parade plays an important part in keeping the historical significance of the festival alive and keeping youths involved and educated.
“This is our driving force, especially with the committee being family oriented,” said parade coordinator Chiniqua Jackson. “We want them to love the history, to know the history and bring it back to life with the theme we choose for the festival each year. This year the theme is ‘Dream Big.’”
California native Mechelle Salley now lives in Glendale and marched for her fourth year with Delta Sigma Theta.
“To me, Juneteenth is a way to come together and celebrate and remember that we are free,” she said. “I also love walking around getting free stuff, learning different things and the food. Mo Betta Greens has nice healthy things to eat and drink.”
The celebration commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Gen. Gordon Granger, arrived at Galveston, Texas, with the news that the enslaved had been freed 2 1/2 years earlier.
“The younger generation doesn’t understand the history,” Jackson said. “We have booths set up to educate them.”
The parade, which kicked off at 11 a.m., marched straight down the half-mile stretch on East 26th Avenue from Gilpin Street to Welton Street. This was followed by an award ceremony in which organization president Norman Harris presented plaques to seven important contributors.
“I hope the overall community recognizes the greater significance of Juneteenth,” he said, honoring Wilma Webb, DJ CAVEM, Brother Jeff, Erica Loudd, Jon Platt, Big Al Richardson and Ryan Haygood.
Mayor Michael Hancock also took the stage.
“I’m proud to be a part of this festival. I’m proud to be here today at the largest (Juneteenth) festival in the country,” he said. “Let’s not forget that we are now unified as a family and as a city.”
He also commended Harris on sixth successful year of Juneteenth after a hiatus of several years.
That hiatus was, in part, due to the event’s somewhat checkered past. It struggled to keep its funding and support, as well as its family-friendly environment. In 2002, the event was cut short because of a shooting.
Harris experienced his own bout of difficulty in 2013 when reports focused on the poor cleanup of the event rather than its success.
However, he has learned from these past blemishes. The festival, which has partnered with several environmental organizations to clean up trash, is now a zero-waste festival. The event has also maintained a family-friendly, violence-free atmosphere.
“Our vendors don’t use Styrofoam, and we are one of the few festivals of our size to do this successfully,” he said. “We have had no issues. We are headed into a sixth year of zero safety issues.”
Denver has previously boasted the title of host of the biggest Juneteenth celebration. Harris and others have laid the groundwork for that to be possible again.
The event hosted almost 200 local vendors, and big-name talents Slick Rick and the Mary Louise Lee Band took the main stage while numerous local bands performed on the small stage.
Wells Fargo, new to this year’s festival, held a job fair, and Coffee on the Point held a dominoes competition.
“Vendors are the lifeline of the festival and the reason why we can make this happen,” Harris said.
The vendors are, indeed, what brings most patrons to the festival.
“These last four years, I’ve been coming to support my niece, who dances with the Platinum Divas,” said Denver resident Kelvin Williams, 28. “Before that, I’ve been coming since I was seven. My favorite part is definitely the food and the culture. I want a giant turkey leg.”