20 May 2022
CLEVELAND (May 19, 2022) – Cleveland welcomes visitors to celebrate Juneteenth with the city's dynamic arts and culture community leading the festivities. This year, new events and exhibits join the city's annual Freedom Fest to commemorate the holiday.
EVENTS & PERFORMANCES
Cleveland Juneteenth Freedom Fest
The second annual Cleveland Juneteenth Freedom Fest will spotlight the history and culture of Cleveland's African American community. Freedom Fest is a family-friendly celebration that will feature performances by Karamu House– the nation's oldest Black producing theater– programming from Ingenuity Cleveland and Tri-C JazzFest, a vendor village of Black-owned businesses, art demonstrations, food trucks, spoken-word performances and more. The event will culminate with a fireworks display over Downtown Cleveland and Lake Erie. The event takes place Saturday, June 18 from noon to 10 p.m. at Mall C in Downtown Cleveland.
Mx. Juneteenth: A Black & Queer Liberation Celebration
Mx. Juneteenth celebrates freedom and community with an event featuring live music, drag performances, local vendors, food and educational workshops. The event honors the spirit of the Juneteenth holiday by providing a liberatory space and environment of respect. Mx. Juneteenth takes place Saturday, June 18 from noon to 6 p.m. at Blk Punx Press.
Rid-All Green Partnership: Guess Who's Cooking Juneteenth Celebration Dinner
Visitors can join the Rid-All Green Partnership and chef Eric Wells on Saturday, June 18 for a celebratory five-course Juneteenth dinner featuring fresh tilapia from the urban farm and live entertainment. Rid-All Green is the dream of three childhood friends who transformed a forgotten piece of land in Cleveland's Kinsman Neighborhood into an urban farm with two green houses, four hoop houses and a 40,000 square-foot aquaponics fishery.
The Runway 2022
The Runway 2022 brings a high fashion event to the Cleveland Museum of Art. The event will celebrate diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry by showcasing Black and minority designers. Organized by Fashion Talks, guests of the event will enjoy an evening of elevated fashion with opportunities to meet the designers, shop the runway, enjoy live performances and more. The Runway 2022 takes place Sunday, June 19 at 6:30 p.m.
ONGOING EXHIBITS & EXPERIENCES
Cleveland Museum of Art - The New Black Vanguard (May 8–Sept. 11)
The New Black Vanguard presents images of Black lives, bodies and heritage through photographs, videos, publications and fashion installations. It features 15 emerging artists, including Tyler Mitchell, the first African American to shoot a cover for Vogue, as well as Awol Erizku, whose work has appeared in GQ, The New York Times and The Museum of Modern Art.
Photos available here.
Expressions of Black Culture Public Art Passport
Destination Cleveland's 'Expressions of Black Culture' Public Art Passport features 35 unique public art installations celebrating Black culture and commemorating contributions of Black Clevelanders. The passport features pieces by both local and national artists that can be viewed from public access points. Users who check in at 25 of the 35 sites will be entered in a quarterly drawing for a $200 gift basket filled with items from local businesses owned by residents of underrepresented communities.
Photos available here.
HISTORICAL & CULTURAL SITES
African American Cultural Garden
Located in Rockefeller Park along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the African American Cultural Garden conveys the past, present and future of the African American community. The construction of three pavilions (one currently complete) will tell a story that starts with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Developers of the garden seek to create a space that promotes interest in African American culture and heritage and inspires a spirit of friendship among all people.
St. John's Episcopal Church – “Station Hope”
Founded in 1816, St. John's Episcopal Church in the Ohio City neighborhood was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. St. John's became known as “Station Hope” as the bell tower served as a hideout for people escaping slavery to watch for the signal from boats on Lake Erie that would transport them to Canada. The site hosts an annual Station Hope event developed by Cleveland Public Theatre.
Cozad-Bates House
The only remaining pre-Civil War structure in Cleveland's University Circle neighborhood, the Cozad-Bates House is home to an interpretive center focusing on the neighborhood's history as a center of the abolitionist movement. Exhibits are organized in three areas: the national and local context for slavery leading up to the Civil War, stories of anti-slavery activists and freedom seekers and a space that examines the impacts of slavery still seen today. Outdoor spaces combine art and landscape to highlight the people and places of the Underground Railroad network in Cleveland.
To keep up-to-date on new developments and activities, please visit www.thisiscleveland.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.
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ABOUT DESTINATION CLEVELAND: Destination Cleveland is Cleveland's destination marketing and management organization. This private, non-profit organization's mission is to drive economic impact and stimulate community vitality for Greater Cleveland through leisure and business travel. In 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic reduced visitation by 30 percent, with 13.8 million visits occurring. Prior to the pandemic, Cleveland hosted 19.6 million visits annually, with the County experiencing annual visitation increases that surpassed the domestic travel growth rate for nine consecutive years. For more information, visit www.thisiscleveland.com.
