Save the Date
FRIDAY, JUNE 19
3-7 PM
Waveny House Lawn, Waveny Park
677 South Ave, New Canaan, CT
All are welcome
FREE
Get ready for S.T.A.R.’s 5th Annual Juneteenth Community Celebration!
Four years ago, we had a dream: to bring New Canaan together to celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday that had been observed in America since 1866 but had never been formally celebrated in our town. That first gathering in 2022 was something special. And every year since, our "Hearts of Freedom" community has grown bigger, warmer, and more joyful.
This June 19th, we invite you to join us for our 5th Annual "Hearts of Freedom" Juneteenth Community Celebration at Waveny Park, and this year feels particularly meaningful as our celebration will be included in the Town of New Canaan's America 250th Anniversary calendar. As our nation marks 250 years of independence, we come together to also honor the 160 years of courage, resilience, and joy with which Black Americans have celebrated Juneteenth since 1866 because America's story of freedom belongs to all of us.
Come as you are! Bring your family, your neighbors, your picnic blanket. Enjoy live music by The Misfits, soul food from Black-owned food trucks, community art, and lawn games for all ages. It's free, it's joyful, and it's for everyone.
Parking: Plenty available at Waveny Park—just follow the signs.
With Gratitude to Our
Event Sponsors
2026 Featured Artist: Tara Blackwell
Tara Blackwell is a mixed media pop artist working in Connecticut and New York. Raised in a household of artists, Tara was immersed in differing artistic styles and modalities from a young age. Experimenting with a variety of mediums and techniques, Tara employs bold colors, layers, and texture, often incorporating nostalgic pop culture to explore contemporary social issues.
What is Juneteenth?
"On “Freedom’s Eve,” or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. At the stroke of midnight, prayers were answered as all enslaved people in Confederate States were declared legally free. Union soldiers, many of whom were black, marched onto plantations and across cities in the south reading small copies of the Emancipation Proclamation spreading the news of freedom in Confederate States. Only through the Thirteenth Amendment did emancipation end slavery throughout the United States.
But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as "Juneteenth," by the newly freed people in Texas.
Publishers throughout the North responded to a demand for copies of Lincoln’s proclamation and produced numerous decorative versions, including this engraving by R. A. Dimmick in 1864.
The post-emancipation period known as Reconstruction (1865-1877) marked an era of great hope, uncertainty, and struggle for the nation as a whole. Formerly enslaved people immediately sought to reunify families, establish schools, run for political office, push radical legislation and even sue slaveholders for compensation. Given the 200+ years of enslavement, such changes were nothing short of amazing. Not even a generation out of slavery, African Americans were inspired and empowered to transform their lives and their country.
Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day. Although it has long celebrated in the African American community, this monumental event remains largely unknown to most Americans.
The historical legacy of Juneteenth shows the value of never giving up hope in uncertain times. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a community space where this spirit of hope lives on. A place where historical events like Juneteenth are shared and new stories with equal urgency are told."
- The National Museum of African American History and Culture
