2026 Downtown Akron Juneteenth Kick-Off Celebration Welcomes 1,500 for a Joyful Afternoon at Lock 3

This year’s Downtown Akron Juneteenth Kick-Off Celebration was the second held at Lock 3, since the unveiling of the renovated park at the end of 2024. After several years of testing and reimagining different formats for the event—from intimate community conversations to Black-owned business showcases to Saturday gatherings on Cascade Plaza—a kick-off celebration of Juneteenth earlier in the month is taking root downtown.

An estimated 1,500 people joined us this year throughout a delightfully mild Sunday afternoon and evening to commemorate the day enslaved people in Texas finally learned they were free. This year’s festival theme was Cultivating Our Future. The event took place on June 7, a few weeks ahead of Juneteenth (June 19), to serve as a kickoff to the plethora of Juneteenth festivities in and around Akron, many of which have been in place for several years.

In addition to our typical festival offerings—diverse food and beverage options, retail vendors, resource providers, and live music—we, for the second year in a row, held small-group workshops and demonstrations aligning with the seven principles of Kwanzaa, led by individuals from throughout the community, relating to preserving African American culture, strengthening community voices, financial empowerment, traditional health practices, appreciating African American beauty and more.

These free offerings were as follows:

“Planting Seeds of Wisdom for the Future” (Umoja – Unity): A recording station for people to leave messages of wisdom for others, presented by the Akron Griot Project

“Vision in Bloom: Designing the Future We Choose” (Kujichagulia – Self-Determination): Making your own vision board fan, presented by Dray Evans

“The Purpose Garden: The Call to Grow” (Nia – Purpose): Container gardening workshop, presented by Ira Daniels

“Imagine & Create: Designing a Brighter Future” (Kuumba – Creativity): Painting African masks, a self-guided art activity

“Harvesting Wealth or Growing Community Prosperity” (Ujamaa – Cooperative Economics): Juneteenth trivia for gift cards to Black-owned businesses, presented by Ebony Hill

“Growing Together: Stitch by Stitch” (Ujima – Collective Work & Responsibility): Sewing skills tutorial, presented by Debra Calhoun

“Spirit in Soil: Trusting What We Plant” (Imani – Faith): Spiritual clearing activity with water and incense, breathwork and meditation, presented by Angela Higgins

These workshops ran throughout the day and were well attended by festivalgoers, many of whom could be seen walking around with herbs they had planted in pots, masks they had painted, vision board fans they had created, and gift cards they had won playing Juneteenth trivia.

There was also a varied lineup of entertainment throughout the day, expertly led by emcee Ace Epps. The lineup included a libation and a drum call and dance by Embracing UR Journey, a choral performance of “Lift Every Voice,” storytelling by Donna Willingham of the Cleveland Association of Black Storytellers, live saxophone music by Saxy Rob, a History of Juneteenth presentation by Downtown Akron Juneteenth Kick-Off co-chairs Ebony Hill and Will Blake, along with Jay’Lynn Andrew, president of the Copley High School Black Student Union, a group step presented by the Divine 9 Greek organizations, line dancing with JustUs Line Dance Crew, music with DJ Vinnie G, and headliner Jeremy Seeden. The variety of music, storytelling, stepping, line dancing, and more resulted in a distinctly joyful, fresh atmosphere the whole way through.

We are grateful to the hundreds of people who joined us for a beautiful afternoon in the heart of our city, and we look forward to many years of continued celebration, education, and community togetherness.

The Downtown Akron Juneteenth Celebration was presented by Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP) and led by a planning committee made up of members of the Black community, including co-chairs Ebony Hill and Will Blake, along with numerous other volunteers. The festival was supported by the City of Akron and Lock 3. Additional support was provided by Knight Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, Akron Community Foundation, Akron Civic Commons, and GAR Foundation.

In creating this year’s celebration, the planning committee worked with a talented and accomplished local African American artist and educator, Stephanie Stewart, whose painting was the centerpiece of the visual identity of the 2026 celebration. Stewart is a multimedia artist and owner of P31 Art & Design, with studio space located inside Summit Artspace.

Want to join the committee? Contact DAP at info@downtownakron.com; we'd love to include you!

Photos: Matt Fox